The penultimate week of the South London & Kent Pool Alliance winter league season and after being bottom of the Premier Division for almost all the season, Bears have finally been relegated. 

 

Even though Bears are twelve points away from safety, they have run out of matches, as after losing to the league leaders, Sharks 11-4 they have played all their sixteen fixtures and will finish bottom. 

 

On the other hand, Sharks have opened up a six-point lead at the top, as Hotshots could only manage an, 8-7 victory over The Cocked Hats in fifth place.

 

 All eyes will be on Hotshots and Sharks next week and as Sharks play Bull Tavern in third and Hotshots travel to relegation threatened Eltham Terrace Nuthouse, they will feel it is possible to overturn the six points and regain top spot and the title. 

 

After this close game, The Cocked Hats are sitting in fifth, just one point behind Pickwick, who didn’t have a game this week. 

 

At the bottom of the table there is a two-horse race to see who will join Bears in Division One next season between Nuthouse and Rugrats. 

 

Going into this week Rugrats occupied the relegation spot with only three points separating them from Nuthouse and both teams had tough fixtures this week, with Rugrats hosting Bellegrove and Bull Tavern visiting Nuthouse. 

 

With Bull looking to secure prize money in third place, it was always going to be difficult, but Nuthouse gave a good account of themselves only going down by 9 frames to 6, extending their lead over Rugrats in the table to nine points. 

 

Bellegrove were looking to build on their shock victory over Hotshots whereas, Rugrats were fighting for their Premier Division survival, and the strugglers got off to a fantastic start, with Scott Foley, Steve Gibson and Pat Firth winning the first three frames. 

 

They felt they should also have taken the next two, but Dec Kelly and Dan Foley won those to bring Bellegrove back to within a frame. 

 

The second set started with a battle of the Foleys, as Scott took on Dan and the Rugrat didn’t give the man from the Bellegrove a chance, performing a break and dish to put his team, 4-2 up. 

 

Graham Levingbird was looking for revenge against Gibson, after playing each other in the first set and after a dry break, Gibson was clinical, clearing up in one visit to extend his team’s lead. 

 

Ashley Hewson made it three in a row for Rugrats, giving them a four-frame advantage, 6-2. 

 

There was another rematch from the first set, with Aaron Shephard taking on Kelly and it was Shephard who turned it around, with a fantastic finish on his last four yellows, which included a spectacular long final colour to finish on the black. 

 

Peter Whyte prevented the set whitewash and Rugrats taking the match before the start of the third set. 

 

Rugrats had stunned Bellegrove, racing to a, 7-3 lead going into the final set and only needing one frame for the victory. 

 

Hewson duly obliged with a brilliant black played down the rail to beat Barry Barham for the second time in the match, giving his team the shock victory. 

 

But Rugrats needed frames and Scott Foley extended that lead to, 9-3 before Dan Foley pulled one back for Bellegrove. 

 

Lady Luck was looking down on Gibson, facing Levingbird for the third time in the match and he made it a hat-trick to put his team into double figures. 

 

Shephard added insult to injury, taking the last frame to make the final score, 11-4. 

 

Scott Foley joined Gibson as a hat-trick hero for Rugrats, but it was a great team performance. 

 

This result leapfrogged Rugrats over Nuthouse into the safe zone by just two points, putting the pressure back onto Nuthouse. 

 

Both teams are going to have a difficult final week, with Nuthouse hosting title chasing Hotshots and Rugrats visit Cocked Hats, so every frame will count. 

 

Week two of the League Cup for the lower division teams and there will be five unbeaten teams going into the final week of randomly drawn matches. 

 

I say there will be, because there was an unusual event in the SLKPA, with an unfinished game between current League Cup league leaders Falconwood Club and Farmhouse.  

 

however, with two frames left to play we do have a winner, but the remaining frames need to be decided for points and are under committee review. 

 

Luke Matthews won the opening frame for Falconwood, but Division Two Farmhouse shocked the first division champions by taking the next two frames. 

 

Brett Crawley levelled the match to send the set into a deciding frame, which Steve Carpenter won to extend the shock factor and give Farmhouse a first set lead. 

 

Carpenter couldn’t make it two in a row, losing to Matthews in frame six and Akar Necati edged Falconwood into the lead, 4-3. 

 

Barrie Blake tied the match, but Ross Webster and Brett Crawley won the next two frames for a, 4-1 set win and a, 6-4 overall lead for Falconwood. 

 

Matthews scored a personal hat-trick to put his team on the hill and Necati secured the victory with the first two frames of the last set. 

 

Nick Brown won the last frame that was played on the night, making the current score, 8-5 to Falconwood and we await to see what happens with the last two frames. 

 

Because of this, the result has not been entered onto the table and therefore Falconwood have slipped down to sixth, but they are still unbeaten and will definitely rise up the table once this result has been decided. 

 

However, if the eight points they already have still stand, they would currently sit in second, three points behind the top team. 

 

Also unbeaten and replacing Falconwood at the top are New Eltham New Stars, who beat perennial wooden spoon winners Bexleyheath Working Men’s Club, 12-3. 

 

New Stars are five points ahead of Fox & Hounds, who recorded another excellent victory this week over Happy Hustlers. 

 

Fox & Hounds built on their victory last week, by winning the opening two frames this week. 

 

Hustlers Captain, Angie Hobbs pulled one back, but Clive Forrest gave Fox the set, before Alfie Cambridge brought Hustlers back to within one. 

 

It was another tight set in the second, with Reece Stewart tying the match and Melissa Barnes putting Fox in front again with her first frame. 

 

The next two frames were shared sending the set into a deciding frame, which Fox’s Captain, Kerry Wyatt won to give her team the set and an overall, 6-4 lead. 

 

Fox then raced out of the blocks in the final set, with Alan Dolan putting them on the hill, Glen Ward securing the win and Barnes making it four in a row for a, 9-4 lead. 

 

Jade Holmes and Donna Mullins won the last two frames to make the final score a more respectable, 9-6. 

 

The Fox’s victory was inspired by Alan Dolan and Melissa Barnes, who were both unbeaten, winning three and two frames respectively. 

 

Sitting in third and two points behind Fox are the Division Two champions, Duke of Northumberland, who beat Bellegrove A, 9-6. 

 

This was an even bigger result for Duke, as Bellegrove had won promotion to the Premier Division during the league season. 

 

The last remaining unbeaten side was another Division Two team who had success over a team from the first division, with Bellegrove Flyers beating Eltham Terrace Rack Pack. 

 

The lower division side got off to the better start, with Jason Brunton and Mark Porter winning the opening frames. 

 

Tony Frost put Rack Pack’s first frame on the board with frame three, but Richard Marsh and Keith Smith took the last two frames of the set to take a, 4-1 lead into the second. 

 

Brunton and Alan Boltwood made it four in a row for Flyers, with the first two frames of the second set to extend their lead to, 6-1. 

 

However, Rack Pack weren’t lying down, with Frost, Chris Parlett and Adam Watts taking the next three frames to bring their team back to within two frames at, 6-4. 

 

Watts made it two in a row for him and four on the spin for his team to make it, 6-5. 

 

The next two frames were shared, putting Flyers on the hill, with Rack Pack just a frame behind with two to play. 

 

Marsh won the penultimate frame to give Flyers the victory, before John Ly took the final frame to finish up, 8-7. 

 

Despite the loss, there was a shining light for Rack Pack with Frost scoring an unbeaten hat-trick. 

 

This result put Flyers in fourth, one point behind Duke and one point ahead of this week’s opponents. 

 

In the last match of the week, Academicals travelled to New Eltham New Boys and despite losing, 9-6 for the second week running, Academicals stay above their opponents by one point. 

 

There will be a real battle for the two League Cup final spots next week; as two of the five unbeaten teams face each other, with Falconwood travelling to Fox & Hounds, New Stars visit Bellegrove A, who they pipped to second place in the league table, Division Two champions Duke face first division Rack Pack, and Flyers probably have the easiest tie against Farmhouse.

 

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.