BCI win despite player shortage

Nottingham & Notts Institutes Association Snooker League


Week 11 League Matches (26 January 2009)

DIVISION 1

Team of the week BCI'A' went away to Top Spot with only 3 players and won. Being 147-0 down from the start wasn't going to be easy, but Jason Bettridge reduced the deficit with a 79-36 win over Dave Milner. Wayne Martin convincingly beat Mick Walker by 81-7 and Steve Coleman won 91-29 against C. Needham. They are now joint top of the division. Match score 4-1 to BCI 'A' points score 241-219 (includes the 147 for the frame that wasn't played).

Joining BCI 'A' in at the top of the division are City Hospital LC after a 4-1 win at Sherwood SC 'D'. Top Spot drop to third after losing.

Sherwood SC 'A' stay in fourth place although they suffered a crushing 5-0 defeat at the hands of Carlton LC. Danny Di Folco winning the first frame by 81-55 over Lee Crombie, Bob Walker winning the second frame by 57-45 against Jason Turner, Andy Ball winning in style against Ant Scarborough by 72-37, and Bob Wright winning a black ball game against Brendan Murtagh 40-32.

BCI 'E' stay in fifth place after their match against Spot On (Hucknall) was postponed. Carlton LC move up to sixth place after their win. Spot On (Hucknall) drop to seventh and Sherwood SC 'D' stay eighth. Masters SC didn't have a match and remain in bottom place.

DIVISION 2

BCI 'B' are starting to run away with the divison after a 5-0 against one of their nearest competitors. They have now opened an 8 point gap at the top with a decisive win against BCI 'C'. Neil Elliott winning a close first frame over Steve Capsey (Senior) by 64-59. Toby Irons then won 73-22 over Connor Kelliher. Mick Salmon won the third frame against Shaun Parkinson by 50-46, another close frame. Jeff Allen won the fourth frame in a very close game with Steve Capsey (Junior) by 51-48.

Mapperley CC move up to second spot after a massive 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest SSC. BCI 'C' stay third along with Oakleigh Lodge who lost 2-3 against fifth place Spot On (Sneinton). Sherwood SC 'B' drop drastically to sixth after failing to turn up at Ruddington CC. The consequences of this are that Ruddington CC get 4 points and Sherwood SC 'B' lose 5 points. Nottingham Forest SSC remain in bottom place.

More information including the latest league tables is available on the league's website.

Beeston's Jones hits century break

Nazareth House Snooker League



Week 14 League Matches (20 January 2009)

DIVISION 1

Arnold Civil Defence “A” remain unbeaten after defeating Beeston Snooker Hall 5-3, however there’s no doubt that the highlight of the match was Neil Jones’ 113 break, the first century break of the season. At Arnold James Booth beat Chris Hodgkinson 49-29. Steve Cheung performed badly and struggled to get going, missing easy chances against James Notman, who won comfortably. Brian Kinton also won comfortably against a nervous Lee Harlow, who was making his debut for Beeston. Booth and Notman then beat Hodgkinson and Shaun Harlow, Lee's younger brother, in the pairs. At Beeston Chris Winter took an early lead leaving Clint I'anson needing all the balls with 2 Reds remaining, I’Anson fought hard to try to pull himself back into the frame, but Winter eventually took his chance and clinched the win. Kaleem Ashraf put on a solid performance to beat Malc Belshaw 63-2. In the third frame Gary Spencer failed to score as Neil Jones strung together a fabulous 113 break. It could have been a 131 clearance had he not ran out of position on the blue. Andy Spicer and Jones then went on to beat Spencer and Winter in the pairs.

Pegasus Snooker Club beat Stadium Leisure 5-3. At Pegasus Chris Brooks won comfortably against Bob Walker whilst a good 38 break from Jamie Mathers helped him to victory against Steve Butler. Stadium were far from finished though, Danny Di Folco knocked in a 32 break in his win against Andy Orange and Stadium’s pairing of Butler and Walker then enjoyed a good win against Pegasus’s Brooks and Mathers to complete a fine come-back. At Stadium, Chris Piech knocked in a classy 57 break against Pete Gormley. Mike Langdon then beat Matt Ellis. Ross Wilkin pulled a frame back for Stadium after overturning a 30 odd point lead against Steve Booth before Pegasus got the all important winning frame. Stadium's tactic of distracting the Pegasus pairing of Piech and Langdon with giant chip butties failed as they built up a healthy lead before Langdon put the frame beyond doubt with a good 27 break.

DIVISION 2

Sherwood Social Club suffered their first defeat of the season, going down 3-5 to Lenton Liberal Club. At Lenton Matt Savage beat Paul Bell and Steve Dixon beat Mick Salton. James Wood lost 25-50 to Les Smith but Savage and Dixon then beat Bell and Salton in the pairs to make it 3-1 to Lenton. At Sherwood, Roy 'The Boy' Hamlin impressed once again with a solid performance in his singles leg against Kev Smith. Trev 'Nobby' Clarke also picked up a good win against Ross Scarborough. Lee Crombie impressed for Sherwood as he won his singles frame against Adam Goodall and also his pairs frame together with Smith against Goodall and Jim Wright.

BCI Snooker Centre “B” defeated City Hospital Leisure Centre 6-2. The only wins for City came from captain Rob Wallace and veteran Dave Buckley.

More information including the latest league tables is available on the league's website.

Masters whitewashed by new leaders Top Spot

Nottingham & Notts Institutes Association Snooker League


Week 10 League Matches (19 January 2009)

DIVISION 1

There are new leaders at the top of the division after Top Spot’s 5-0 win at bottom club Masters SC. Mick Walker won a close first frame against Cary Davies 48-47. Chris Needham won convincingly against Paul Bell 86-17 and Steve Needham won a third frame for Top Spot against young debutant Eric Towle 59-25. The fourth frame was conceeded to Dave Milner as Nigel Bradford was not available. BCI 'A' moved up to joint second spot after a close 3-2 win at home to Sherwood SC 'D'. Jason Bettridge lost the first frame to Gareth Evans 62-68. Tony Collins won the second frame against Kev Smith 96-26 but Steve Coleman lost a close third frame to Andy Fitton 55-57. Hanson Stowe lost on a re-spotted black against Les Smith to hand victory to Sherwood. Joining BCI 'A' in second place are City Hospital LC who had a convincing 4-1 win away at Carlton LC. Chris Clarke defeated Danny Di Folco on the black, G.Morrison then won the second, another black ball frame, against Bob Walker 47-35. Paul Wrathal won his frame easily against an out of form Andy Ball. Bob Wright won the final frame to secure a valuable point for Carlton LC. Sherwood SC 'A' dropped to fourth place after being beaten by fifth placed BCI 'E' 3-2. Jonathan Mason took the first frame for BCI by beating Jason Turner by 76-31. Lee Crombie then took the second frame for Sherwood SC 'A' with a good 73-37 win against Wong Yip. Wong's brother Kwok Yip then pulled BCI 'E' ahead with a 79-41 win against Ant Scarborough. Brendan Murtagh won the last frame for Sherwood SC 'A' against Sam Haugh 62-45.

DIVISION 2

BCI 'B' consolidated their place at the top of the division with a good 5-0 win away at Ruddington CC. Neil Elliot did the damage in the first frame agianst David Griffiths with a good 67-28 win. Toby Irons kept BCI 'B' ahead by beating Morris Hudspeth 72-46. Mick Salmon won a close frame against Dennis Dyer 54-41, and Jeff Allen completed the victory by winning 61-36 against Lee. Sherwood SC 'B' stay second, but only just, beating a resurgent Nottingham Forest SSC 3-2. Nottingham Forest SSC doubling their points Tally for the season in this match. BCI 'C' drop to third place after being beaten 3-2 by Spot On (Sneinton). Ant for Spot On won the first frame by beating Steve Capsey Snr 78-29. The second frame was won by Mick O'Neill 52-35 for Spot On against Shaun Parkinson. Connor Kelliher then pulled a frame back for BCI 'C' with a 56-35 scoreline , and Steve Capsey Jnr won the final frame for BCI 'C' 52-28. This wasn't enough to take the extra point, thus leaving Spot On the match winners by 3-2.

More information including the latest league tables is available on the league's website.

Arnold Civil Defence are back on top

Nazareth House Snooker League



Week 13 League Matches (13 January 2009)

DIVISION 1

Arnold Civil Defence “A” made the most of their double header against The Peoples Hall this week, winning both matches 5-3 to go two points clear at the top of the table. Team captain Gary Spencer starred for Arnold as he made his second 70 break of the season. James Booth also played well, making a 32 break as he defeated Zed Zubair. Peoples Hall’s Nav Hussain had a good win against Chris Winter, which included a run of 35. Arnold’s James Notman was also on form, making an excellent 47 break. The double defeat for Peoples Hall has really opened things up at the top of the division as they slipped down to third.

BCI Snooker Centre “A” were held to a 4-4 draw by Pegasus Snooker Club. At BCI, Jason Bettridge made a good 37 break from an initial fluked red from which Pegasus’s Chris Piech never really recovered. Other wins for BCI came from Neil Elliott against Steve Booth and Tony Collins against Mike Langdon. Chris Piech pulled off an audacious long double on the blue in the pairs to pull a frame back for Pegasus. At Pegasus, Chris Brooks won a close frame against Kwok Yip whilst Jamie Mathers put in an excellent performance as he got the better of BCI captain Wayne Martin to put Pegasus two up. Jonathan Mason then defeated Andy Orange in the third frame. The final frame of the evening was full of drama as Pegasus’s Brooks and Mathers came from behind to pip the BCI pairing of Martin and Sam Haugh. The Pegasus pair were left with a formidable task after Wayne Martin put BCI in the driving seat with a classy 51 break. Brooks pulled Pegasus back into contention with a 22 break but BCI should perhaps have won the frame with a brown into the middle pocket, which was missed by Haugh. Brooks punished the miss and ended the frame with a superb black to give Pegasus an excellent 3-1 home leg win.

A fantastic 59 break by Barry Stark was the highlight of the match between Stadium Leisure and Cotgrave Welfare. Stadium won the match 5-3 to cement their place in the play-offs and leave Cotgrave staring relegation in the face.

DIVISION 2

City Hospital Leisure Centre continue to suffer as they went down 2-6 to Lenton Liberal Club. City’s only singles win came from Russ Kirk against Jim Wright. Adam Goodall was on form for Lenton as he made a good 42 break to defeat Lee Archer on the black.

More information including the latest league tables is available on the league's website.

Nottingham Forest secure first win of the season

Nottingham & Notts Institutes Association Snooker League


Cup Matches (12 January 2009)

KNOCKOUT CUP

Sherwood SC 'B' go through to the third round after a 21 point win away at Masters SC. They will now play Mapperley CC in the remaining match to be played in the third round. Mapperley CC have a 21 point start. Top spot had a walk-over in their match against BCI 'A'. Unfortunately BCI 'A's Wayne Martin was taken ill on the Monday afternoon and Steve Colemans's wife had a baby. This left BCI 'A' with only 3 players. Going to a cup match already 147-0 down and giving away a handicap wasn't a viable option for them. Carlton LC win through to the semi-finals with a convincing 280-179 win at home to BCI 'C'. Danny Di Folco winning the close first frame by 58-46 against Shaun Parkinson. It was Bob Walker who did all the damage to BCI'C's 35 start by beating L. McRay by 93-24. Andy Ball then made another 40 points by winning a hard fought match against Connor Kelliher 74-34. Bob Wright had only to keep the points score close in his match against Steve Capsey (Junior) for Carlton LC to win. Although a close frame Wright was always ahead and managed to win 55-40. BCI 'E' came through against City Hospital LC in a close match at BCI.

KNOCKOUT PLATE

A re-spotted black decided the outcome of the match at Spot On (Sneinton). Sherwood SC 'A' were victorious after Brendon Murtagh potted the final ball. Nottingham Forest SSC had their first win of the season away at Sherwood SC 'D'. They had a 49 points start over their opponents and held on to it to go into the semi-finals. BCI 'B' won in devastating style over Oakleigh Lodge. Neil Elloitt started the win by beating Steve Roe by a massive 92-17, which included breaks of 30 & 32. Toby Irons did a lot more damage to Oakleigh Lodge with an even better 96-19 win over Ryan Cooper. Mick Salmon kept up the scoring by beating Paul (Spider) Wilkinson by 70-22, and Ian Campbell-Dawson finnished the rout with a 68-23 win against Adam Robinson. Spot On (Hucknall) also go through after a win against Ruddington CC.

More information including the latest league tables is available on the league's website.

Pegasus hold league leaders to a draw

Nazareth House Snooker League



Re-arranged League Matches (6 January 2009)

DIVISION 1

Pegasus Snooker Club failed to pick up the two points they desperately required to force their way back into the title race and had to settle for a hard fought draw against the league leaders. The result was decided in the final frame at The Peoples Hall where the Pegasus pairing of Chris Piech and Mike Langdon took on Zeb Ahmed and John Marshall. The Pegasus pair got off to the worst possible start with Mike Langdon guilty of conceding some 15 points in fouls alone as Peoples Hall took command of the frame with an early 34 point lead. The Pegasus pair pulled themselves back into contention with a run of 17 from Piech before Langdon swung the frame back in Pegasus’s favour with a well taken 32 but the break ended with a missed red which was punished by Ahmed to restore the lead before John Marshall closed out the frame sinking blue and pink to give Peoples Hall a share of the points. Earlier in the evening Chris Piech got the better of Zeb Ahmed helped by a good 29 break in a comfortable win but Peoples Hall responded when Yasir Hussain beat Andy Orange. Mike Langdon then put Pegasus on the brink of victory with a solid win against John Marshall who was left at the snooker’s required stage with one red left remaining. At Pegasus a tactical switch by Peoples Hall very nearly backfired as Nav Hussain only just scraped past Pegasus’s Jamie Mathers by sinking Pink and Black whilst the sacrificed Yasin Abbas was no match for Chris Brooks. With the scores level the final singles frame suddenly became a must win match for Peoples Hall who probably wouldn’t have relished needing a win against the formidable Pegasus pairing of Brooks and Mathers in the final doubles frame. It proved to be a tight tactical encounter but it was Peoples Hall's Nasir Hussain who came through against Steve Booth to ensure at least an away leg draw. In the doubles frame the normally ruthless Nav Hussain missed a dolly of a black, which would have forced a re-spot and perhaps the chance of Peoples Hall repeating their victory from earlier in the season but a draw was probably a fair result.

BCI Snooker Centre “A” had a solid victory against Cotgrave Welfare. At BCI, Jason Bettridge was rampant with breaks of 31 and 44 during his singles (against Ted Cope) and doubles frame. Steve Coleman was a comfortable winner against Colin Armstrong. Hanson Stowe was also comfortable against Phil Foster. The combination of Bettridge and Coleman were too good for Cope & Armstrong with the help of Bettridge's 44 break. At Cotgrave, things were a lot closer and it could have been quite easily 4-0 to Cotgrave. Anthony McMahon made a quality 31 break in his win against Jon Mason. Sam Haugh was 30 odd points up before a good comeback from Billy Johnson. Johnson eventually missing the black completely to give Haugh the frame. Wayne Martin pipped Harry Briody on the pink and Kwok Yip scraped past John Cyrek on the pink as he went in-off.

Arnold Civil Defence “A” maintained the pressure on top spot with a determined 5-3 win over Stadium Leisure. A strong win at home for the Arnold boys with Gary Spencer starting the misery with a win over Barry Stark who never seemed to get going. Chris Winter was too strong for Danny Di Folco in his frame with some solid potting not leaving Do Folco much of a chance in the balls. James Notman took on Bob Walker in a close fought frame but Notman came through in the end. In the doubles, Spencer and Winter demolished Walker and Di Folco for a fine 4 -0 home leg win. At Stadium, Matt Ellis was on top form to beat James Booth. Steve Butler then dug deep to secure a rare win against Malc Belshaw. Pete Gormley and Brian Kinton then fought out a nip and tuck frame which Gormley just managed to edge on the pink to put Stadium 3-0 up. In the pairs Butler & Ellis opened up a 20 point lead against Booth & Belshaw and looked odds on to make it 4-0, but Booth showed real class to take yellow, green, brown, blue and pink and with it the frame.

DIVISION 2

Phoenix Cue Sports cemented their place in the play-offs with a resounding 6-2 win against City Hospital Leisure Centre. At City Hospital, the home side’s Russ Kirk, Dennis Peet, Alan Taylor and Steve Tring were all defeated by Steve Howard, Gary Birks, David Allsopp and Ryan Baker respectively. Things were a little tighter at Phoenix as Ashley Goring was beaten by the impressive Rob Wallace. Anthony Adkin just pipped the improving Lee Archer on the black. Roger Giddens beat Barry Chadwick and the pairing of Archer and Wallace won a black ball frame against Stephen Lally and Giddens.

More information including the latest league tables is available on the league's website.

Sherwood "A" remain top despite defeat

Nottingham & Notts Institutes Association Snooker League


Week 8 League Matches (22 December 2008)

DIVISION 1

Sherwood SC 'A' stay top of the division although they lost 1-4 away at Top Spot. City Hospital LC stay second with a 3-2 win at home to BCI 'E'. This leaves BCI 'E' in joint third place with their other team in the division, BCI 'A', who could only muster a 3-2 win against bottom club Masters SC. BCI 'A' won the first frame, but only just with Jason Bettridge winning a close frame against Cary Davies (45-35). James Booth rallied for Masters SC with an excellent 60-28 win against Tony Collins. Nigel Bradford then pulled Masters SC ahead with a close 62-51 win against Steve Coleman. Hanson Stowe however pulled BCI 'A' ahead again by beating James Robinson by 60-23.

Top Spot move up to fifth after their 4-1 win against Sherwood SC 'A'. Carlton LC, who didn't have a match this week, are joined in sixth place by Spot On (Hucknall) who enjoyed a 3-2 win away at Sherwood SC 'D'. Sherwood SC 'D' took the first two frames, Mick beating Tim Hudson by 58-43, and Kev Smith winning gainst M.Grocock 61-46. Spot On then rallied with Daz Clarke beating Les Smith by 62-20, and Adam Goodall convincing beating Andy Fitton by 82-25. This leaves Sherwood SC 'D' in eighth place and Masters SC at the bottom of the division. See attached tables.

DIVISION 2

Sherwood SC 'B' stay at the top of the division despite being beaten 2-3 by fifth placed Spot On (Sneinton). The big movers of the week BCI 'C' had a comprehensive 5-0 win at home to Oakleigh Lodge and are now second in the division. Shaun Parkinson got his team off to a good start by beating Paul (Spider) Wilkinson by 58-37. S. Capsey (Senior) enjoyed a good 69-38 win over Ryan Cooper, Connor Kelliher won a close frame against Steve Roe by 46-41 to leave BCI 'C' 3-0 up. S.Capsey (Junior) surpassed his fellow team members with a magnificent 96-38 win against A. Robinson.

BCI 'B' postponed their match against Nottingham Forest SSC but stay third, Oakleigh lodge stay fourth, and Spot On (Sneinton) move up to fifth after their win. Ruddington and Mapperley drop to joint sixth as no match result in from either team. Nottingham Forest SSC stay bottom.

More information including the latest league tables is available on the league's website.

Stadium win puts them in play-off places

Nazareth House Snooker League



Week 12 League Matches (23 December 2008)

DIVISION 1

Only one first division match survived this week as three fixtures were postponed due to illness and injury.

Stadium Leisure climbed out of the relegation zone and into the play-off places with a terrific win against Arnold Civil Defence “B”. The victory was all the more impressive because Stadium had to concede two frames away from home as they were a player short.

At Stadium, Alan Cunningham was unlucky to come up against an on-fire Barry Stark. Cunningham broke off in the traditional manner leaving white in baulk only for Stark to pot a terrific red from which he proceeded to make a 28 break. Luckily for Stark, Cunningham was forced to play his next shot from the jaws of the yellow pocket. He caught the pack far too thick leaving Stark in the balls and he than made a superb 72 break for a 100-0 victory. Steve Butler fought out a close frame with Andy Nichols. Butler was 28 points in front with the colours remaining and Nichols potted the yellow, green and brown but still needed one snooker. Butler fluked a snooker on the blue which Nichols failed to escape from and Butler ran out a 67-31 winner. Pete Gormley beat Pete Ellins 80-22 to put Stadium 3-0 up going into the pairs. Cunningham and Ellins took on Stark and Butler and it was the Arnold pair to took an early 31-8 lead with the help of a good 16 break from Cunningham. Stark fought back though with a good run of 40 and this spurred the Stadium pair on to a 57-31 win and a 4-0 home win for Stadium.

At Arnold, with Stadium a player short, Danny Di Folco or Bob Walker had to win one of their singles frames to seal an important victory for Stadium. Bob Walker did the business as he beat Sean Kelly with the help of a couple of flukes in the middle bags. Kirk Wesselby simply could not get into his frame against Danny Di Folco and the Stadium player ran out an easy winner to secure a 6-2 match victory for a delighted Stadium team.

DIVISION 2

Sherwood Social Club showed their class as they whitewashed City Hospital Leisure Centre 8-0.

At City Hospital, Gareth Evans beat Rob Wallace 67-39, Paul Bell beat Steve Tring 61-25, Kev Smith beat Russ Kirk 50-22 and Les Smith beat Des Oldham 49-40.

At Sherwood, Lee Crombie beat Lee Archer 49-37, Brendan Murtagh beat Dennis Peet 60-28, Ross Scarborough beat Alan Taylor 46-14 and Andy Fitton beat Barry Chadwick 50-10.

More information including the latest league tables is available on the league's website.

Kerslake defeated by Anastasiou in Regional Junior Tour final

Midlands Region - Rileys, Lincoln

Derby's Alex Anastasiou had not managed to get further than the last 16 in the first two midlands regional junior tour events, however he defeated event 2 finalist Tom Kerslake of Long Eaton 2-0 in the final to leap up to 9th place.

Anastasiou only scraped into the last 16 from 3rd in his group behind Kerslake who recorded a 11/1 frame score to match Callum Downing’s average who made the regions highest break of 78.

Anastasiou overcame Sameer Knight 2-0 and then previous event winners Sharukh Nasir and rankings leader Nikolas Charalambous.

Kerslake cruised through to his group, winning all three matches 2-0.

Top 8: Charlambous 556, Kerslake 511, Nasir 497, Andrew Smith 360,
Phil Parkin 351, Downing 323, Knight 321, Lewis Mayes 320.

A full report including North and South events can be found on the Nottingham Snooker Forum.

All reports courtesy of Malcolm Thorne, English Snooker.