ALFRETON No 2 LIFT CAPTAINS CUP AT EDGEFOLD CLUB

ALFRETON PALMER MOREWOOD No 2 Captains Cup winners 2021/22 Left to Right:
Gavin Shirley, Simon Mays, Steve Donner, Ben Monk and Andrew Beardsley.

Also played: Kyle Ryde, Adam Cupit, Jamie and Kevin Rowland.

THE MAIN EVENT of the week was the Captains Cup Team Aggregate final which pitted this season's champions against the previous season's table toppers Matlock Golf Club at the Edgefold.
As circumstances dictated, the teams held a trial run for the big event with the final League game between the pair a couple of days earlier. The Golfers took the spoils down at Alfreton on that occasion, courtesy of a 3-2 win. Steve Donner (breaks of 33 and 31) had the hosts off to a flyer but Graham Jones' black ball win levelled matters and wins from Tony Blant and Ian McKay put the game to bed.

It was an important win for the Golfers who sneaked into the fourth and final play off spot on the head to head ruling as they finished level on points and wins with Belper Strutt Club. And ironically it will be another match against Ben Monk's Alfreton team to boot!

Onto the final and Chris Parker continued Matlock Golf Club's good work with a 72-47 success in the opening frame before Steve Donner, without his usual cue for the second time this season, still delivered a decisive blow with a 72-37 verdict garnished by a run of 30.
Graham Jones hit back with a 28 break the highlight of his 70-31 victory in the next but a barnstorming display from Simon Mays turned the game on its head as he romped home 89-38 to leave the Amber Valley cuemen in a healthy position going into the final frame.
And there was no letup from there as Donner and Gavin Shirley carved out a 65-26 triumph to give the most recent champs an overall 304-243 decision.

Ben Monk and Mays also reached the final of the Denis Morton (pairs handicap) Trophy for the second successive season with narrow 3-2 defeat of Jones and McKay of which Monk's 43 break was the highlight.

In an outstanding T & M Motors Snooker League encounter, Alfreton No 1 edged out Crich No 1 3-2 with Andrew Haggarty and Nick Berry top scoring respectively.

And in the semi finals of the Jimmy Harper Plate, the team aggregate consolation competition, Belper Strutt Club and Crich Comrades No 2 made it through to play each other.
Strutt defeated Edgefold 328-224 in a match which by agreement of the players and the League, also counted towards League points to pull in their outstanding game and in that respect saw the Belper cuemen take a 4-1 win.
Justin Weller and Dan Stone were respective top scorers for their teams.

Crich No 2 saw off Whitworth 298-253 with Jack Lowe notching a massive 108 points in the star performance of the evening while Dale Shaw also won both singles and doubles. Philip Johnson was in good nick for Whitworth but there was too much ground to make up for the visitors.
Captains Cup (Team Aggregate) final: Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 304, Matlock Golf Club 253.
League: Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 2, Matlock Golf Club 3; Belper Strutt Club 4, Edgefold Matlock 1; Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1.
Jimmy Harper Plate (Team Aggregate) semi finals: Belper Strutt Club 328, Edgefold Matlock 224; Crich Comrades No 2 298, Whitworth Institute 253.
Breaks: B Monk 43,28; S Donner 33,31,30,23; G Jones 28,22; N Berry 24; K Ryde 22; D Smith 22; A Haggarty 22; S Mays 20.