END OF SEASON MEETING AT MATLOCK CONS CLUB

End of season meeting for Darley Dale Billiards & Snooker Leagues will be on Thursday, May 22nd 7.45pm @ Matlock Conservative Club.
Business of meeting: distribution of end of season stats where required, confirming billiards presentation night, plus anything of relevance that came up during the season, setting date for AGM.

CHRIS AND ADAM BRING CURTAIN DOWN WITH PAIRS WIN

DENIS MORTON TROPHY finalists: L-R: Mark Newby and Steve Bullock with
Chris Stubbs and Adam Winson.

THE curtain came down on the Darley Dale & District Snooker League season with the all-Belper Strutt Club Denis Morton Trophy pairs handicap final between Steve Bullock and Mark Newby of the No 1 team and the No 2 team's Chris Stubbs and Adam Winson.
With the pairings knowing so much about each others game, it always seemed likely to be a cagey battle and so it proved but  a string of consistent teen breaks from Stubbs in the opener saw himself and Winson draw first blood with a 60-11 frame scoreline.

Stubbs was soon in again with 24 in the next and the No 2 team pairing led by 18 with 22 left on the table before the unlucky Newby inadvertently knocked in the pink to leave snookers required and eventually it became 2-0.

The next frame saw Stubbs finish the job by taking the blue with the rest for 3-0 and leading by 20 with just the colours left in frame four, thoughts were turning to a possible clean sweep.

Bullock had other ideas, however, and took yellow to pink in a timely burst of potting to leave it resting on the black.

And after a safety exchange, Newby converted a long range cut into the bottom pocket to pull one back at 3-1.

However, this proved to be a short term reprieve as once again the No 2 pairing set the tone from the break off in the next and eventually ran out 53-24 winners when Winson despatched the blue into the middle pocket for an excellent 4-1 success.

Denis Morton Trophy (Pairs Handicap) final: Chris Stubbs / Adam Winson 4, Steve Bullock / Mark Newby 1 (at Belper Strutt Club).
Breaks: C Stubbs 24.

Note: There will be no inter league game this season as the visitors could not raise a team, hopefully we can sort something out for next time around.

ITS DEJA VU AS EDGEFOLD SECURE CHAMP OF CHAMPS

MATLOCK'S Edgefold Club are Jaeger Trophy Champion of Champions Play off winners for the second successive season as the No 2 seeds saw off No 4 seeded Matlock Cons in the grand final at Matlock Club on Dale Road.
Cons' experienced campaigner Charlie Hodgkinson was charged with keeping young gun Martyn Taylor at arms length in the opener and he was off to a flying start, being around 50pts ahead with half of the reds gone.

Taylor however, has been in a real hot streak of late and a 32 break brought him back into contention going into the colours, of which he needed the last three to win.

Great pots on blue and pink saw him in behind the black not far off the cushion only for his last ditch salvage attempt to stall as it remained in the jaws to leave the black for his opponent.

Duncan Harwood soon had his long potting off to a tee in the next as he raced ahead of Nick Kay early doors before maintaining his advantage for a 60-15 win to equalise.

Rob Muxlow and Chris Parker fought out a great battle of wits in the following frame before Muxlow with fine pots on blue and pink scored a narrow 50-40 verdict to set up a 2-1 lead.

Neil Parkinson sealed the deal in frame four when after another largely tactical battle, he took brown and with blue and pink over the pocket soon to follow, that was enough to see off Jack Lynch and clinch the silverware for his team.


PAUL OGDEN and RICKI SLACK, Open Individual Handicap finalists

The previous day, Bolehill Institute's Ricki Slack lifted the Open Individual Handicap trophy at Edgefold Club with a 4-2 final win over Paul Ogden of Belper Strutt Club.

Ogden with breaks of 41 and 20 took the first, Slack replied with 30 to level and a run of 39 looked set to put him 2-1 ahead.

However, his opponent dug deep on the colours, taking brown, blue and pink to leave a great chance on the black but on this occasion it went astray and a relieved Slack immediately doubled it into the middle pocket.

The roles were reversed in the next as the Bolehill player required the last four colours but again it went down to the final black and this time a fluke made it 3-1 after his initial attempt had rattled and  ran along the bottom cushion into the opposite pocket.

Ogden with a contribution of 27 pulled it back to 3-2 but Slack hit back with 26 and 21 to finish off an entertaining contest.

Jaeger Trophy Champion of Champions Play off final: Edgefold Matlock 3, Matlock Cons 1 (at Matlock Club).
Open Individual Handicap final: Ricki Slack 4, Paul Ogden 2 (at Edgefold, Matlock).
Breaks: P Ogden 41,27,20; R Slack 39,30,26,22,22,21; M Taylor 32.

BELPER STRUTT No 1 & MARTYN TAYLOR LAND TROPHIES

CAPTAINS CUP WINNERS: L-R: Steve Bullock, Mark Newby, Paul Jarrett and Wayne Shooter.
Also played: Ben Monk.

BELPER STRUTT No 1 lifted the Captains Cup team aggregate trophy at Matlock Cons as Bolehill Institute No 2 were thwarted in the final for the second consecutive season.
After a bout of early sparring, Ben Monk burst into life with a 54 break mid way through his opener with Ian Peacock to transform the frame and topped things off with the last three balls to boot for a 93-54 verdict.

Paul Jarrett then increased the lead with a steady performance as he overcame Martin Forster 79-47 and there was more of the same from Mark Newby who defeated Keith Robertson 65-27.

Mick Bunting eventually gave his team some kind of a foothold in the match with a 72-32 beating of Wayne Shooter but that still left a margin of 76 to erode going into the doubles.

But the experienced head of captain Steve Bullock and Shooter were never likely to offer any easy invitations at that stage and they saw off Robertson and Mark Sayer 50-37 for a comfortable overall success.

Strutt were gaining compensation for their Jaeger Trophy play off semi final defeat earlier in the week when Mark Newby (46 break) was their star turn.

However, a stupendous display from Edgefold's Martyn Taylor (breaks of 77 and 27) in a century points haul coupled with a decisive doubles win alongside Rob Muxlow saw his team prevail 3-2.

MARTYN TAYLOR and CHRIS PARKER ... OMYA Cup finalists

Taylor landed the OMYA Cup Individual Scratch prize the following night with a 4-0 final win over Matlock Cons' Chris Parker at Strutt Club, embellished by breaks of 83,43,36 and 24.

Parker and his cohorts had better luck in their Jaeger Trophy semi, as for the second successive season the No 4 seeded team ousted the No 1 ranked team to make the final.

Jack Lynch snatched the first for Cons by taking all the colours in a couple of visits for a vital black ball win, Colin Marchington cleared with 22 to equalise but it was Parker taking both his singles and doubles frames in some style (the latter paired with Charlie Hodgkinson) that sealed the 3-2 success.

Captains Cup (Team Aggregate) final: Belper Strutt No 1 319, Bolehill Inst No 2 228 (at Matlock Cons).
Jaeger Trophy Champion of Champions play off semi finals: Bolehill Inst No 1 2, Matlock Cons 3; Edgefold Matlock 3, Belper Strutt No 1 2.
OMYA Cup (Individual Scratch) final: Martyn Taylor 4, Chris Parker 0 (at Belper Strutt Club).
Breaks: M Taylor 83,77,43,36,27,24; B Monk 54; M Newby 46; C Marchington 22.

STRUTT No 2 TASTE JIMMY HARPER CUP SUCCESS AGAIN

BELPER STRUTT No 2 - L-R: Dave Needham, Keith Hubbold, Chris Stubbs and Paul Ogden.

THE final round robin match in the Jimmy Harper Cup Team Plate competition was also a winner takes all decider as Matlock's Edgefold Club travelled to Belper Strutt Club No 2 with both teams having a win each under their belts.
Paul Ogden was off to a good start against the league's most prolific player this season Martyn Taylor but once again a superb break of 60 turned things around to give the visitors a 23-point ascendancy early doors.

Keith Hubbold and Chris Stubbs then set to work though and with respective scores of 72-32 and 92-39 put the home team into a commanding position.

Neil Parkinson made some inroads in the next with a 61-33 win but with a 42pts lead going into the doubles, it was still very much advantage Strutt.

And despite the Edgefold duo splitting the pack open from the break in a bid to get Taylor back in amongst the balls, the early chances fell to the home pairing of Stubbs and captain Dave Needham and with the aggregate lead extending to 74, handshakes were offered with the home team retaining the trophy having also won it in the previous season.

It was also their second piece of silverware this time around following their earlier victory in the Bob McCartin Six Red competition.

KEITH MANLOVE and STEVE BULLOCK before contesting the "B" (Intermediate)
Individual Handicap final.

Meanwhile, it was a Strutt No 1 player, Steve Bullock, who lifted the "B" (Intermediate) Individual Handicap Trophy with a 3-0 final win over Matlock Club's Keith Manlove at Bolehill Institute.

The match was much closer than the scoreline would suggest however, as in the opening frame Manlove led by 12 going into the colours until an excellent yellow to pink clearance of 20 saw the Strutt player snatch it from his grasp.

Frame two saw a fine opportunity for 1-1 go astray with pink and black both in the open before Bullock made no mistake himself to extend the advantage and it soon became a hat-trick of pink ball deciders when he clipped a fine cut into the middle pocket in the third to secure the prize.

Bullock will also be contesting another final as he and partner Mark Newby came from 2-1 down to edge out Ricki Slack (46 break) and Colin Marchington 3-2 in the Denis Morton Trophy Pairs Handicap semi final.

Jimmy Harper Cup Team Plate (round robin decider): Belper Strutt No 1 285, Edgefold Matlock 211.
"B" (Intermediate) Indiv Handicap final: Steve Bullock 3, Keith Manlove 0.
Denis Morton Trophy Pairs Handicap semi final: Ricki Slack / Colin Marchington 2, Steve Bullock / Mark Newby 3.
Breaks: M Taylor 60; R Slack 46,20; S Bullock 20.

EDGEFOLD SECURE SECOND AND CONS MAKE PLAY-OFFS

ROB MUXLOW ... black ball win for EDGEFOLD

THE final round of games in this seasons Highfields Farm Butchers Premier Division saw two barnstorming finales with both runners-up spot and the final play-off place up for grabs.
Belper Strutt No 1 entertained Edgefold Club with the victors guaranteed of the runners up spot and ace cueist Martyn Taylor drew first blood with a 77-33 win over Mark Newby, complemented by a break of 39.

Rob Muxlow (24 break) secured a vital 57-56 verdict over Paul Jarrett in the next on the black but Strutt weren't going to go down lightly and Ben Monk, the man for the big occasion, pulled one back with a 78-58 success over Neil Parkinson.

Wayne Shooter equalised shortly after a hard fought battle with Duncan Harwood so all rested on the concluding doubles frame.

And it was Taylor and Harwood who took the spoils 69-10 as they froze out Monk and partner Steve Bullock to earn their side the coveted second placing.

The fight for the final play-off spot for the Jaeger Trophy was possibly even more of a cliff-hanger, as with Belper Strutt No 2 gaining five points from their final fixture, Matlock Cons knew a defeat at Bolehill Institute No 2 would see them out of the top four, which they had occupied for almost the entire season.

And after Ian Peacock had put the home side ahead with a convincing display, it needed calm nerves from firstly Charlie Hodgkinson and then Chris Parker (with a black ball win) to steer the visitors in front.

Keith Robertson maintained his unbeaten record since returning in late season to equalise but plenty more drama was to follow.

Mick Bunting and Peacock led 52-39 in the all-important final frame against Parker and Jack Lynch with just three balls remaining but, after opportunities came and went, it was Lynch who saved the day for Cons, taking them all in one visit in a quite pulsating finish to the regular season.

Elsewhere, Ricki Slack (36 break) came from 2-1 down to edge out Keith Manlove in the Open Individual Handicap semi final.

League week 21 results: Belper Strutt No 1 2, Edgefold Matlock 3; Bolehill Inst No 2 2, Matlock Cons 3; Belper Strutt No 2 5, Matlock Club 0 (walkover due to the latter being unable to raise a team on the advertised or any alternative dates).
Open Indiv Handicap semi final: Ricki Slack 3, Keith Manlove 2.
Breaks: M Taylor 39; R Slack 36; R Muxlow 24; B Monk 22.

Highfields Farm Butchers Premier Division
                                         P      W      L      Pts
Bolehill Institute No 1     18      15       3       59
Edgefold Matlock           18      13       5       54
Belper Strutt No 1          18      10       8       53
Matlock Cons                 18        9       9       45
Belper Strutt No 2          18        9       9       44
Bolehill Institute No 2     18        6     12       37
Matlock Club                  18        1     17       23
Leading breaks: M Taylor 74; B Monk 53.
Leading wins: M Taylor 15/16; R Slack 14/18.

BOLEHILL No 1 RIDE AN EDGEFOLD STORM TO TAKE TITLE

CHAMPIONS - BOLEHILL No 1: L-R: Simon Zoppi, Ian Birks, Colin Marchington,
Ricki Slack and Andrew Brough.

BOLEHILL INSTITUTE are Highfields Farm Butchers Premier Division champions as their No 1 team eventually got over the line in their final league match at Edgefold Club.
A black ball win by Ian Birks over Rob Muxlow secured the one point they required for the silverware in the fourth frame and Birks followed up by taking pink and black in the concluding doubles contest (partnered by Andrew Brough) to reduce the eventual deficit to the minimum margin.

This is the first time in the history of the club one of their teams has topped the highest division, but things weren't looking quite so positive in the early exchanges.

The home side came out of the traps in flying fashion with Jason Ankers showing sterling ability around the black spot to win 84-42 after Ricki Slack had edged back into the frame and then Duncan Harwood producing his performance of the season in seeing off Colin Marchington 83-35.

Martyn Taylor made sure of the most individual wins award as he notched a 47 break en route to defeating Simon Zoppi 81-54.

Edgefold and Belper Strutt No 1 will battle it out for the runners-up spot in their match next week as they each stand on 51 points with the latter defeating Bolehill No 2 4-1.

Steve Bullock top scored for the victors and also played his part in securing the doubles frame on the deciding black, partnered by Wayne Shooter.
Mark Gwynne-Jones achieved the sole register for the vanquished.

Belper Strutt No 2 kept alive their chances of reaching the remaining play off place as they won 3-2 at the other contenders, Matlock Cons, though will still be hoping the latter slip up in their final game in order to have a chance of capitalising.


RICHARD DEAKIN ... top scored for Cons

Richard Deakin top scored in putting the hosts ahead before a fantastic performance by Adam Winson levelled things up.

Dave Needham eventually made sure of victory with a black ball win in frame four before Chris Parker and Charlie Hodgkinson edged what could be a vital doubles frame at the death.

Martyn Taylor and Chris Parker will contest the OMYA Cup individual scratch competition final as they each won their semis in decisive fashion with Taylor compiling a run of 60 and Parker 35, whilst Chris Stubbs and Adam Winson earlier reached the Pairs final.

League week 20 results: Edgefold Matlock 3, Bolehill Inst No 1 2; Belper Strutt No 1 4, Bolehill Inst No 2 1; Matlock Cons 2, Belper Strutt No 2 3.
OMYA Cup (Indiv Scratch) semi finals: Ricki Slack 0, Martyn Taylor 3; Paul Ogden 1, Chris Parker 3.
Denis Morton Trophy (Pairs Handicap) semi final: Chris Parker / Nick Kay 1, Chris Stubbs / Adam Winson 3.
Breaks: M Taylor 60,47,20; C Parker 35,22,20; A Winson 22; D Harwood 22;
R Slack 22; I Birks 21.

Highfields Farm Butchers Premier Division
                                         P      W      L      Pts
Bolehill Institute No 1     18      15       3       59
Edgefold Matlock           17      12       5       51
Belper Strutt No 1          17      10       7       51
Matlock Cons                 17        8       9       42
Belper Strutt No 2          17        8       9       39
Bolehill Institute No 2     17        6     11       35
Matlock Club                  17        1     16       23
Leading breaks: M Taylor 74; B Monk 53.
Leading wins: M Taylor 14/15; R Slack 14/18; P Jarrett & C Marchington 11/16.