ALFRETON HOLD ON IN FINAL PAIRS FRAME THRILLER

ANDREW BEARDSLEY ... decisive win for ALFRETON PALMER MOREWOOD

THE FIRST round of the Captains Cup team aggregate competition took place this week and the most exciting battle came at Belper Strutt Club who lost out by just seven points to visitors Alfreton Palmer Morewood.
Justin Weller edged the first for the home side with a black ball win over Kevin Rowland and after Dave Needham had narrowly defeated Jamie Rowland, the home side led by 12 points.
Andrew Beardsley has been in fine form for Alfreton this season though and he produced a storming display with an 86-35 win in frame three to turn the aggregate around.
And after Chris Stubbs had narrowly seen off Simon Mayes, the home side needed a 33 points winning margin in the final doubles frame.
But despite a herculean effort from Needham and Stubbs in the home corner, Ralph Edgson and Mayes just held out as they sunk the decisive pink with a final points tally of 261-254 despite Belper winning four of the five frames contested.

Elsewhere Edgefold No 1 defeated Edgefold No 2 in a double header of Captains Cup and Bob McCartin Six Red Cup matches.
The aggregate encounter finished 397-269 in their favour with Richard Ferguson (31 break) and Andy Russell top scoring while only Martyn Taylor could stem the flow for their counterparts.

And in the six red semi final, they won 4-3 as Ferguson, again with a run of 31, took his singles and the decisive scotch doubles frame with Russell to decide the issue after Taylor had notched breaks of 42 and 20 for the No 2 outfit.

Captains Cup Team Aggregate Competition 1st round: Belper Strutt No 2 254, Alfreton Palmer Morewood 261; Edgefold Matlock No 1 397, Edgefold Matlock No 2 269.
Bob McCartin Six Red Cup semi final: Edgefold Matlock No 1 4, Edgefold Matlock No 2 3.
Open Individual Handicap 2nd round: Paul Bryan 0, Andy Russell 2; Keith Manlove 0, Ben Monk 2; Sean Dobney 1, Steve Bullock 2.
OMYA Cup (Individual Scratch) quarter final: Ricki Slack 2, Ian Peacock 0.
Denis Morton Pairs Handicap 1st round: R Slack / C Marchington 2, P Jarrett / B Monk 0.
Breaks: B Monk 44,30; M Taylor 42,20; R Ferguson 31,31; A Russell 30,27,24;
R Slack 25,24,21; S Bullock 25; S Dobney 25; R Muxlow 24.

STRUTT CLUB No 1 ROLL CONTINUES WITH DERBY WIN

BEN MONK scored the highest league break of 51

BELPER STRUTT No 1 moved to within one point of second place in the J K Interiors and Joinery Services League with their seventh successive victory courtesy of a 4-1 home win over neighbours Jaxx Q Club in a re-arranged fixture.
Ben Monk opened proceedings for the hosts and his run of 51 ensured his team started off on the front foot, also catapulting him to the top of the highest break chart.
Kevin Holmes, enjoying a good season for the visitors, won his fifth game in six outings to level matters before Steve Bullock nudged the home team ahead again.
And following Mark Newby's success in frame four and a pairs verdict for Monk and partner Paul Jarrett, it sets things up nicely for a clash with second placed Bolehill Institute No 2 in a couple of weeks time.

There were also semi final and quarter final matches in the Bob McCartin Six Red Cup, where Alfreton Palmer Morewood saw off the challenge of Matlock Cons 4-1 to reach the final in their debut season as Andrew Beardsley and Ken Rowland won both their singles and scotch doubles legs.
Only Chris Parker could offer any resistance for Cons.

There was a thriller in the held over clash between Edgefold No 1 and Belper Strutt No 2 with the Matlock side edging it 4-3 to take their place in the semi.
Richard Ferguson (29 break) got them off to a flyer but after wins for Dave Needham and Justin Weller, it ultimately fell to Duncan Harwood and Robert Muxlow to clinch the deciding scotch doubles frame.

Highlight of the competitions was a 54 break from Ricki Slack during his Open Individual Handicap 2nd round win.

League: Belper Strutt No 1 4, Jaxx Q Club Belper 1.
Bob McCartin Six Red Cup, semi final: Alfreton Palmer Morewood 4, Matlock Cons 1; quarter final, Edgefold Matlock No 1 4, Belper Strutt No 2 3.
Open Individual Handicap 2nd round: Ricki Slack 2, Martin Forster 0.
Denis Morton Pairs Handicap 1st round: S Bullock / M Newby 2, K Manlove / P Holmes 0; S Dobney / M Taylor 2, N Parkinson / R Muxlow 1; P Bryan / M McFall 2, N Kay / J Lynch 1; D Needham / K Hubbold 0, L Thomas / A Parker 2;
K Robertson / A Gray 0, A Russell / D Harwood 2.
"B" (Intermediate) Individual Handicap 1st round: Nick Kay 0, Jack Lynch 2.
Breaks: R Slack 54; B Monk 51; R Ferguson 29; M Taylor 27; S Dobney 25;
A Russell 25; R Muxlow 24.

BUMPER TURN OUT SEES SEAN SCORE DEBUT SUCCESS

CHRISTMAS singles champion SEAN DOBNEY (Edgefold No 2)

THE fourth Christmas shootout night saw new winners all round on the honours board with players from Bolehill Institute No 1, Edgefold No 2 and Jaxx Q Club of Belper all playing prominent roles.
The turnout of 18 matched the best yet of a couple of seasons ago and made for a competitive evening of light hearted yet keenly contested quickfire snooker with the six red formats.

The Alan Hopkinson Memorial Trophy (6 reds individual handicap) went to Edgefold's Sean Dobney, who with breaks of 31 in the semi final against team mate Jodie McLarkey and 24 in the final against Jaxx's Ben Turner, triumphed on his Christmas competition debut.
Martyn Taylor made the evening's top break of 39 in the second round to see off last season's champion Ian Peacock.

SHAUN SMITH (Jaxx Q Club) and ANDREW BROUGH (Bolehill No 1) scotch doubles winners

Turner also went close in the George Mills Trophy competition (6 reds scotch doubles handicap) as he and partner Wayne Shooter of Strutt No 1 fell at the final hurdle, this time to Andrew Brough (Bolehill 1) and Shaun Smith (Jaxx).
Yellow, green and brown put the latter pair 19 in front with 18 on and that was enough to see them home after Brough's fluke on the black had earlier put out Kevin Holmes and Chris Drabble in their opening match, also culminating in a 22 clearance.

SIMON ZOPPI (Bolehill No 1) was top speedster pictured with Martyn Taylor runner up.

Simon Zoppi (Bolehill 1) lifted the Eddie Lomas Speed Snooker Challenge Trophy (fastest to clear the colours), as a switch of tables seemed to de-rail final opponent Martyn Taylor, having had to come from well adrift in the semi final to see off  Jodie McLarkey whose attempts to toy with his team-mate backfired in spectacular style at the end!

Kevin Holmes gave an interesting "slow is fast" approach to the event, which nearly paid off in a tortoise-and-hare type style against Wayne Shooter but generally the key to victory was to pot the balls cleanly and leave the ideal position as ever.

Zoppi had a very quick eye for this all evening, having earlier seen off Shak Mirza, Chris Drabble and Wayne Shooter en route to success and afterwards revealed he is proposing a shot clock rule be introduced for the rest of the season as well as being lined up as the exclusive figurehead for a leading brand of sportswear trainers in the Belper area.

The leading scotch doubles break for the Presidents Cup remains in the hands of the Alfreton father of son pairing of Jamie and Kevin Rowland (26) with now just the semi finals and final left in the Bob McCartin Six Red Cup for it to be overhauled.

Thanks to everyone for turning out and to Jaxx Q Club for providing the venue for an excellent night of entertainment with some superb grub to boot.

It just remains to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all players and supporters of the Snooker and Billiards Leagues and matches re-commence the week beginning Monday, January 5th.

Christmas Six-Red Individual Handicap for the Alan Hopkinson Memorial Trophy: winner, Sean Dobney (Edgefold Matlock No 2); runner-up, Ben Turner (Jaxx Q Club Belper).

Christmas Six-Red Scotch Doubles Handicap for the George Mills Trophy: winners, Andrew Brough (Bolehill Institute No 1) and Shaun Smith (Jaxx Q Club Belper); runners-up, Wayne Shooter (Belper Strutt No 1) and B Turner (Jaxx Q Club Belper).

Christmas Speed Snooker Shootout Handicap for the Eddie Lomas Trophy: winner, Simon Zoppi (Bolehill Institute No 1); runner-up, Martyn Taylor (Edgefold Matlock No 2).

Breaks: M Taylor 39,30; S Dobney 31,24; A Brough / S Smith 22 (scotch dbles).

CHRISTMAS SHOOTOUT NIGHT 2014 IS ON THE HORIZON....

RALPH AND WILL SECURE ALFRETON'S SEMI FINAL DATE

RALPH EDGSON .. heroic doubles success with Will Salt

THE quarter finals of the Bob McCartin Six Red Cup couldn't have been more thrilling as all three games completed finished in 4-3 scorelines, each being decided on the final frame and two of them down to the very last black (one a re-spotter).
Alfreton Palmer Morewood took the spoils at Belper Strutt No 1 with Kevin Rowland edging out danger man Ben Monk on the black in the opener before Simon Mayes increased the lead.
Mark Newby with his own black ball win pulled it back to 2-1 and then Steve Bullock defeated Jamie Rowland 29-19 to leave it all square.
However, after the first two scotch doubles frames were shared, the heroes were Ralph Edgson and Will Salt who edged out Newby and Wayne Shooter 45-38 on a re-spotted black after the scores had initially finished tied, to thus ensure a semi final berth for their team.

Their opponents will be Matlock Cons who defeated Bolehill Institute No 1 on their travels after coming from 2-0 and 3-2 down to win by the minimum margin.
Simon Zoppi won both his frames for the hosts but Richard Deakin and Nick Kay took the decisive doubles frame on the blue.

The other black ball finish saw Edgefold No 2 shade Bolehill No 2 after coming from 3-2 down.
Sean Dobney levelled matters on the black after Ian Peacock had nosed the visitors ahead and eventually it fell to Adam Gregory to take the match winning ball in the scotch doubles after a couple of opportunities had gone begging for the visitors.
The other match is held over to the New Year due to scheduling difficulties.

Bob McCartin Six Red Cup quarter final results: Belper Strutt No 1 3, Alfreton Palmer Morewood 4; Bolehill Institute No 1 3, Matlock Cons 4; Edgefold Matlock No 2 4, Bolehill Institute No 2 3; Edgefold Matlock No 1 v Belper Strutt No 2 postponed until Tues Jan 06.
Open Individual Handicap 1st round results: Ricki Slack 2, Nick Kay 1; Paul Holmes 2, Duncan Harwood 0; Andy Russell 2, Martyn Taylor 0; Sean Dobney 2, Mark Sayer 0.
Breaks: R Slack 23.

No 1 TEAM TAKE THE SPOILS IN STRUTT CLUB DERBY

WAYNE SHOOTER's frame win saw BELPER STRUTT No 1 over the line

THE STRUTT Club derby is always a keenly contested affair in the Belper sporting calendar and this time around it was the No 1 team who emerged with bragging rights after a 4-1 win in the latest round of games in the J K Interiors and Joinery Services League.
Ben Monk, fresh from a starring role in the Derby League the previous night, held too much firepower in the opener to register a 79-46 success over Keith Hubbold.
Chris Stubbs equalised in the next with a classy display but a narrow verdict for Steve Bullock over Dave Needham edged the No 1 outfit back into the lead.
And another hard fought game saw Wayne Shooter deliver the decisive blow, as he edged out Justin Weller 75-62 to secure the victory before further icing on the cake came via the pairs leg.

The top two teams clashed in Matlock and Bolehill No 2 ended the unbeaten run of Edgefold No 1 with a battling 3-2 triumph.
Martin Forster scored a pivotal 81-71 win over Andy Russell (28 break) in the second frame, as in attempting an ultra thin cut to take the spoils, the home player missed the ball and left Forster to take what was now the decisive pink in a topsy turvy contest.
Narrow wins for Keith Robertson and Mick Bunting sealed the deal before Neil Parkinson (runs of 28 and 20) and Russell eroded the deficit in the doubles leg.

Matlock Club maintained their unbeaten home record as they shaded Jaxx Q Club of Belper 3-2. Paul Holmes black ball win proved crucial while Ben Turner top scored for the visitors.

Alfreton Palmer Morewood gained their second 4-1 scoreline in as many weeks as they saw off Matlock Cons.
Simon Mayes took both his singles and doubles legs while Jack Lynch opened his account for Cons.

In the other match Edgefold No 2 defeated Bolehill No 1 3-2  as Sean Dobney came from 1-40 behind against Andrew Brough (29 break) to win 55-40 before scoring a decisive 38 break in the deciding doubles leg.

League week 8 results: Belper Strutt No 1 4, Belper Strutt No 2 1; Edgefold Matlock No 1 2, Bolehill Institute No 2 3; Matlock Club 3, Jaxx Q Club Belper 2; Alfreton Palmer Morewood 4, Matlock Cons 1; Bolehill Institute No 1 2, Edgefold Matlock No 2 3.
Individual Handicap 1st round: Keith Robertson 1, Robert Muxlow 2.
Breaks: S Dobney 38; A Brough 29; N Parkinson 28,20; A Russell 28; B Monk 28; R Muxlow 24,20; K Robertson 21.

J K Interiors & Joinery Services Snooker League
                                         P      W      L      Pts
Edgefold Matlock No 1     8       7       1       30
Bolehill Institute No 2       8        6       2       24
Bolehill Institute No 1       8        4       4       21
Belper Strutt No 1            7        6       1       19
Jaxx Q Club Belper         6        4       2       19
Alfreton P Morewood       8        3       5       18
Matlock Club                    8        4       4       17
Edgefold Matlock No 2     7        2       5       16
Belper Strutt No 2            8        1       7       14
Matlock Cons                   8        1       7       12
Leading breaks: R Ferguson 47; K Robertson 45.
Leading wins: M Bunting 6/7; A Russell, D Harwood, R Ferguson, R Slack &
K Robertson 6/8.

FURTHER HANDICAP ADJUSTMENTS

LATEST handicap adjustments are as follows:.
Dave Needham (Belper Strutt No 2) goes to +5 from Scratch
Ralph Edgson (Alfreton Palmer Morewood) goes to +5 from Scratch
Graeme Wood (Matlock Club) goes to +15 from +10
Shaun Smith & Craig Sheppard (Jaxx Belper) - new registrations off Scratch