TEAM KO 2ND ROUND Eden Elite began the night with a 170 point advantage as they hosted high flying top flight side Dawley A. In a close first frame it was the visitors Sean Nolan who edged out Joe Rixom 42-34. The next frame however was a different story as Eden's Paz Chande found Ade Henry in scintillating form with Ade running out a 103-11 winner and the lead now reduced to 69. The third frame was another close encounter as Dawley's Pete Nolan squeezes past Leon Wood 46-34 to further reduce the deficit to 57 and everything still to play for. Next up for the league newcomers was James Beckett who found Adam Moore in form, Adam winning 76-31 but Eden still clung to a slim 12 point lead going into the last frame. Unfortunately dreams of a debut season cup win was ended when Dawley's Mick Reynolds showed his experience as he defeated Alan Turner 95-14 to send his side through by a 69 point margin. Shifnal F entertained Anstice B (Dawley) and with only one place separating the teams in the league, a close game was always on the cards. Spencer Rowley beat Frank Williams in the opener 74-49 to overturn the deficit and put Shifnal ahead by 15. However a nice 36 break helped the ever reliable Noel Stones to a 66-26 win over Gareth Lloyd putting the Anstice boys back in front by 25. It was proving a tops you turvy affair as Shifnal's Rob Wright once again tipped the balance in the hosts favour, winning 85-44 against Billy Watson, the lead now 16. The pattern continued in the fourth frame with Nigel Wallcroft edging out Willie Brown on the black 63-55 to leave Shifnal with an 8 point advantage with one frame to go. In the final frame it was home sides Chris Petford who held his nerve to beat visiting skipper Stu Wimbush 55-23 to seal Shifnal's win by 40 points. At the Bayley it was Derby time as the D team hosted the E side and began with a 90 point start. Andy O'Brien set about reducing the arrears as he defeated Jim Lewis 57-23 in the opening exchange, so just 56 the difference. The next three frames were all extremely close encounters, Ben Godding beat Steve Hoof 41-37, to extend the lead to 60. Dave Beyer hit back to edge past Dave Dudley 52-47 and Ali Jones beat Ade Smith 45-39 so with one frame to go the D sides lead was 49. In the last Chris Morgan-Adams proved too strong on the night for 'visiting' captain Dave France as he ran out a 58-11 winner to put the D side through by 96. At Hadley first division Hadley B faced second division Allscott who held a 135 advantage at the start. A good start was required and Phil Dix duly obliged as he beat Dave Finney 93-21 to reduce the arrears to 63. Damien Currier continued the good start as he defeated Dan Brenthall 64-12 to leave the visitors with a slim 11 point lead. Home skipper Ken Booty put in a strong performance to beat Kev Waland 98-17 and put Hadley ahead for the first time by 70. The final two frames were close affairs but it was not to be a fairytale ending as first Laki Badhan beat Nick Gwynne 55-38, then Aaron McCann edged past Carl Starling 56-39 to send Hadley through by a 104 point margin. There was a shock at Eden as the G side lost to Bayley Cue by 500 points! Shifnal D travelled to Newport with a 90 point advantage against Newport B. mick Beech won the first for the home side on the black 49-39 against Jimmy Langley. Another black ball game saw Colin Farge edge past Karl Wilson 46-39 in the next frame to further reduce Shifnal's lead to 73. A fantastic performance from Wayne Weeks in the third frame saw him beat Mokesh Mehmi 93-9 and put the home side in front by 11. Steve Speake added to this in defeating Mark Hebden 75-36 to leave Shifnal trailing by 50 at the end of the penultimate frame. Dean Harris managed to win the last frame of the night 58-45 but experienced Les Stirling saw his side through by 37. For those of you who hadn't realised already the Cue team didn't actually win by 500 points, just wishful thinking ...and to see how many of you read this report (sorry Rob!). The final match of the main cup saw Eden G entertain Bayley Cue with the visitors defending a 55 point start. A fine 28 break helped Andy Elliott open up a 40+ lead early on but Richie Jones dug in to close the gap, Andy eventually winning 61-35 to extend the Bayley lead to 81. Home skipper Graham Copson also knocked in a 28 break in defeating Rob Cook 81-21 to reduce the arrears to 21. The third frame was a close affair as Steve Powell opened up a lead only for Danny Weaver to come back, Steve getting over the line 62-56 leaving Bayley just 15 ahead. The Cue team captain Noel Hitch enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges before a missed pink in the middle let Craig Reynolds in with a 20 break. After a long safety exchange it was Craig who knocked in the green before taking all the colours to run out a fine 86-43 winner, Eden in front for the first time by 28. The final frame was quite a tight contest but some assured potting saw Roy Leneveu defeat Spencer Clarke 54-38 to seal a quarter final berth for Eden by 44 points. CONSOLATION CUP 1ST ROUND In their debut season Bayley Lads hosted 2nd Club A defending a very slender 25 point advantage. Mike Cooper lost out to experienced campaigner Ian Ferriday 57-15 in the opener. A 17 break helped Paul Crooks defeat Will O'Hara 83-31 in the next. The closest frame of the night saw Keith Mears squeeze past home captain Josh Devey 59-48. In the fourth Nick Holmes beat Ron Broad 97-18 leaving Lloyd Giles to finish the evening off with a 64-25 win over the improving Ross Bowater. 2nd Club progressing by 198 points. Yet another game at Eden saw an all first division battle between Eden A and Hadley A, with the home side beginning with a slight 20 point lead. Tom Maxfield extended that lead in beating Ian Eldridge 65-52 to 33. Another black ball finish saw Andy Kendrick edge out Chris Morris 50-41 to reduce the deficit to 24. In the third frame Hadley's Steve Clayton beat Dan Morris 79-18 to put the visitors in front for the first time by 37. In the next frame Darren Weston edged another close encounter against the promising Lewis Round 70-55 to further extend the advantage to 52. Another player to watch out for is Eden's Mikey Mancini who potted well to defeat Paul Lloyd 63-37 but it wasn't to be enough as Hadley progress by just 26. There was another Derby match on the night, this time at Maddocks as the E side played host to the D team, looking to overcome a 45 point handicap. However it was the D team's James O'Hara who out pointed Mark Wall 73-24 to extend that lead to 94. Andy Jones beat Richie Parker on the black 65-61 so the difference was now 90 points with three to go. Roy Lowe continued to build on his sides good start, beating Tony Garmson 53-33 to extend the lead to 110. Although the E team took the last two frames, Steve Downes winning 61-47 against Maj Ilyas and Simon Yeats beating Graham Arnold 89-43, it was the D team who held on to win by 50. Dawley B were looking to continue their impressive start to the season as they faced Bayley B with a 35 point lead to defend. However it was the visitors Kev West who took the first frame 58-33 against John Davies to reduce that advantage to just 10. Liam Goodman managed to beat Craig Baugh 61-46 to extend the lead again, this time to 25. Danny Oliver hit back again for Bayley beating L Hewitt on the black 44-39, the lead now 20. Home captain Barry Roden couldn't hold off Chris Smith who edged another close game 53-36 to leave Dawley just 3 points to the good going into the last frame. In the end it was the home sides Andy Garbett who held his nerve to defeat visiting skipper Kelvin McLeod 67-50 to give Dawley the win by a slender 20 points. The final match of the round saw high flying Broseley A host Maddocks F, trying to overcome a huge 190 point handicap. Craig Griffiths got them off to the perfect start winning 88-12 against Anthony Stevenson, which included the highest break of the round, a fine 44. With the deficit cut to 114 a win seemed a little closer but Maddocks Kirk Stevenson had other ideas as he out scored Steve Jones 65-25 to increase the advantage to 154. Nick Carson beat Mick Pearson 63-29 to reduce it again, this time to 120. A strong performance from Neil Pearson to defeat Mark Jones 60-34 left Terry Askew looking to claw back a 146 point deficit. He gave a valiant effort but his 86-30 victory over John Archer wasn't quite enough so it is Maddocks F who complete the quarter final line up, winning by 90.