The South London & Kent Pool Alliance league program took a break this week, with five fixtures in the first round of the Founders Cup. 

 

The fixture with the biggest gap between the two teams came with The Cocked Hats from the Premier Division hosting Division Two’s bottom team, Bexleyheath Working Men’s Club, sixteen places below them. 

 

There were no surprises in this match, as winless Bexleyheath didn’t manage to trouble the scorers, with Cocked Hats whitewashing the match, 8-0. 

 

There was another game that saw a top division side playing one from the bottom division, as Eltham Terrace Nuthouse took on ten places below them, Duke of Northumberland. 

 

Nuthouse are currently eighth, with only two wins on the board, whereas Duke are top of Division Two, winning four of their five matches, so although Nuthouse may have had the quality, Duke had the winning momentum. 

 

This momentum saw them through the first set, giving them a, 3-2 lead however, Nuthouse’s quality showed in the second set, taking it, 4-1 for an overall, 6-4 lead. 

 

To compound Duke’s woes, they only brought five players and one of those had to leave before the third set, meaning the score had effectively become, 7-4 with the bye. 

 

Nuthouse only needed one frame, but Duke had to win all the remaining four frames to reach the next round. 

 

Duke did win the next three frames to take the match into a final frame decider, which John Cochrane won to cause the upset and give Duke the, 8-7 victory. 

 

The winning frame was Cochrane’s second win out of three played and he was joined by Paul Clements and Phil Tworek on two out of three. 

 

The other upset in the competition came as fourth in Division One, New Eltham New Boys lost to fifth in Division Two’s Happy Hustlers by 8 frames to 4. 

 

There was an all Premier Division affair, as sixth played seventh, with Bull Tavern facing Bellegrove A. 

 

This should have been a lot closer than the, 8-3 score line, but Bull won’t be complaining and the current holders of the cup head into round two. 

 

The final fixture in this round of the Founders Cup had Fox & Hounds from the first division facing Farmhouse from the second. 

 

The first two frames were shared, but Fox ramped up the pressure with Glenn Ward, Clive Forrest and Kerry Wyatt winning the remaining three frames of the set to take a, 4-1 lead into the second set. 

 

Mel Barnes and Neil Shelton won the first two frames of the second set to make it five in a row for Fox, giving them a, 6-1 lead. 

 

Barrie Blake prevented the second set whitewash, but Fox was rampant, with Forrest and Wyatt taking frames nine and ten to give their team the, 8-2 triumph, with no need for the third set. 

 

Mel Barnes won her only frame, with Forrest, Wyatt and Shelton going one better on two out of two. 

 

Fox are currently bottom of rheir division, winning just one match, whereas Farmhouse are fourth with three wins, so what was surprising here was the ease of Fox’s victory. 

 

For more information on the SLKPA, including league tables visit our website at www.slkpa.com or contact our Secretary, Paul Gafa on 07443 456662 or secretary@slkpa.com with any queries.

 

The league is always looking at potential sponsors and any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.