Top two tussle in Division Two

New Boys were sitting at the top, but Royal Oak had won the previous two meetings, 12-3 and 8-7 between the sides this season and have been the only team to beat New Boys in the league. 

Given the league positions and the fact that the top seven players in the division rankings were on show, it was clear that this match was going to be a close one and it lived up to its billing, with the lead changing hands several times over the night.  

Eventually New Boys took a decisive, 7-5 lead, but Oak fought back winning the next two frames to send the match into a final frame decider, which Greg Fothergill won to complete his hat-trick, with a fine shot on the black, to give New Boys a much needed, 8-7 victory. 

As well as Fothergill, Billy Russell was also unbeaten on two frame wins, with the other three frames shared between Dave Fulkes and Michael and Melissa Barnes. 

This triumph has given New Boys a massive step towards the title, as they are now twelve points ahead of their rivals with only two games left to play. 

Royal Oak will now be anxious, as to whether they can keep second place because they are only eight points ahead of Sea the Angles in third and they have a game in hand over Royal Oak. 

It was derby day at the Anglesea as Anglesea Arms hosted Sea the Angles with the latter one place and eleven points ahead in the table. 

Sea the Angles got off to a great start, taking the first set, 4-1 with Reece Stewart, Dan Brown, Jo Williams and Claire Stork all claiming a frame. 

The second set was closer, but Sea the Angles were still successful, with Stewart, Brown and Williams all winning frames to give their side the set, 3-2. 

This made the score, 7-3 putting Sea the Angles on the hill but they were rampant in the final set, whitewashing it, 5-0 for a, 12-3 triumph. 

Stewart, Williams and Brown all secured their hat-tricks in the last set, with Angie Hobbs and Jade Holmes joining them to complete the final set whitewash. 

It was a wonderful night for Sea the Angles as their comprehensive victory has virtually guaranteed them third place, as they are 20 points ahead of their opponents and as previously mentioned they can still snatch second place from Royal Oak. 

The last three weeks of the season promises be exciting for Sea the Angles, as they still have the top two and bottom side, Farmhouse left to play. 

The SLKPA Division One and Premier Division still have six weeks left to play, so there is still lots to play for in both divisions. 

After their victory last week, Just Bellegrove were brought back down to earth with a massive, 13-2 bump, after they were thrashed by Division One leaders, Pickwick.

There was some solid pool played by the league leaders, with no fancy shots and that was the difference between the two sides, as they only dropped frames in the first and third set. 

Pickwick only had a bare five players, so there were hat-tricks flying around all over the place, with the triumvirate of Pauls; Slater, Gafa and Dawson each winning three frames, and they were joined by Dave Pile, whose triple included a break and dish in frame six. 

Just Bellegrove are extremely happy to not play Pickwick again this season, as they are far too good for this division and it just goes to show how strong the league is with teams like this playing in the first division. 

Pickwick are now fourteen points ahead of Eltham Terrace Nuthouse, who like Pickwick are looking to return to the top division at the first attempt, and are taking this division by storm, having lost just one match all season. 

This week they played Falconwood Club and recorded their own comprehensive victory by 11 frames to 4. 

Ian Stringer won the first frame for Falconwood, but Nuthouse won the next three frames to take the set, before Brett Crawley took frame five to bring the score back to, 3-2. 

However, that’s where the closeness ended as the next two sets mirrored each other, with Nuthouse taking the first four frames and Crawley preventing the whitewash in each set for his hat-trick. 

Given the size of the victory it was surprising that there were only three unbeaten players for Nuthouse; Louis Wilbourne, Shane O’Reilly and Jon Syta, who all won two frames. 

It looks like Pickwick and Nuthouse will be the two automatically promoted teams, as they are now sixteen points ahead of the chasing pack where there is a real battle for positions. 

New Eltham New Stars and Eltham Terrace Rack Pack have been swapping positions recently and Rack Pack have replaced New Stars in third again this week after they beat them, 9-6. 

The difference between the two teams was the fact that Rack Pack had three unbeaten players; Dean Rider on three out of three, and Tony Frost and Dave Avery, who both won two frames. 

Rack Pack may have leapfrogged New Stars but they both have 98 points and Rack Pack are only above by one more victory. 

Four points behind New Stars and Rack Pack are Fox & Hounds, who bounced back from last week’s defeat with a massive, 12-3 triumph over Academicals. 

The Academicals could quite easily have been following up last week’s win with another this, when they potted four blacks in the first set however, they were,4-1 down, as three of them were followed by the white. 

The second set returned to normality, going to a set decider, which Fox took to go, 7-3 ahead, but the final set went crazy again, with Fox whitewashing it, 5-0. 

Shane Hutley, Dean Williams and Gary Mason were the winners for Academicals on a night that could have been so different but for lady luck. 

Academicals are now ten points ahead of Rugrats Guardians at the bottom, who suffered another defeat this week against Bellegrove A, who needed to bounce back after last week’s heavy defeat. 

This game started off very close with the first four frames being shared, but John Skuza won the set decider for Bellegrove and that sparked them into action, winning all five frames of the second set. 

This gave them the match before the start of the third set by 8 frames to 2.

With the pressure off, Martin Hart pulled a frame back for Guardians however, Joe Hills and Jack Taylor increased Bellegrove’s lead to, 10-3. 

Guardians rallied and Dave Beshaw and Ross Webster won the last two frames to give them the set and reduce the final score to, 10-5. 

Webster and Hart did their best for Guardians, both scoring two out of three to win four of their team’s five frames. 

Hills, Skuza and Steve Hughes also won two of their three frames for Bellegrove, with Taylor going one better with an unbeaten hat-trick. 

This win puts Bellegrove eight points clear of their neighbours, Just Bellegrove in the relegation zone. 

The top two in the Premier Division, Allstars and Hotshots are pulling away with massive wins this week to put them 20 points ahead of third. 

Allstars heaped misery on Eltham Terrace Club A, with a, 14-1 hammering that has left Terrace in seventh, just nine points above the relegation zone. 

Hotshots played strugglers Crayford A and their season went from bad to worse, as the, 13-2 defeat has meant that Crayford have hit the bottom of the table this week. 

This means that it was a bitter sweet week for Rose Inn, as they have come off the bottom for the first time this season despite losing to third placed Bellegrove. 

The reverse fixture Bellegrove won, 13-2 but they knew it wasn’t going to be that easy this time round, as each set was won by the odd frame, 3-2 with Bellegrove winning two sets and Rose Inn one, for an overall, 8-7 triumph. 

Dec Kelly produced his best pool of the season on his way to an unbeaten three frame wins, which included a break and dish in the second set. 

He wasn’t the only unbeaten player on the night, as Barry Barham and Kieren Evans both scored two out of two, with Evans producing a fine clearance in set two. 

Rose Inn are now one point ahead of Crayford at the bottom and seven points behind Rugrats above them. 

Sharks are riding high in fourth, just two points behind Bellegrove, after they beat Rugrats, 9-6 this week. 

Perhaps the most interesting result this week was the one between Bull Tavern, who were in fourth and The Fox in seventh. 

The Fox won, 9-6 for their eighth victory of the season to go up to sixth, whereas Bull drop to fifth but have only won six games this season and are three points ahead of their opponents. 

In fact the only teams to have won more games than The Fox this season are the top two, which just goes to show how close together the chasing pack are, with just eight points separating Bellegrove in third and The Fox in sixth and Terrace are only five points behind them.  

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 looking at potential sponsors; any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.