WHITWORTH EXCEL IN TOPPLING NEW CHAMPIONS-ELECT

MR CONSISTENCY GEOFF BRAILSFORD

WHITWORTH INSTITUTE gained their best result since rejoining the T & M Motors Snooker League with a fantastic 3-2 success over this season's champions elect, Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 and in fact wrapping up the contest in the opening three frames.
Peter Lee opened with a cliff-hanging black ball win over Andrew Beardsley, whose twelve game unbeaten run for the season came to an end in similar fashion the previous week before Philip Johnson, in for only his second appearance of the term, soon made it 2-0 with an 83-33 margin.
Kyle Ryde also went under for the first time with home team captain Geoff Brailsford epitomising his steady consistency over the campaign with a 59-49 verdict.
Simon Mays pulled one back for the Amber Valley cuemen courtesy of an 84-31 victory in the next before teaming up with Ben Monk to engineer a further doubles success in a tight final frame.

Elsewhere, Matlock Golf Club moved narrowly into the fourth play-off spot with a 4-1 win at Alfreton No 1. Les Mooney and Ian McKay were successful in both singles and doubles legs whilst Andrew Haggarty registered for the hosts.
And Crich Comrades No 2 secured their play off place with a 3-2 win at Bolehill No 1 and will meet the same opponents there again after a closely fought encounter was played out.
Graeme Wood and Simon Zoppi top scored respectively for their teams before Ady and Jack Lowe took the concluding doubles leg 65-40.

Ben Monk progressed to the OMYA Cup final in search of a third win in the event (previous victories in 2011 & 2012) courtesy of a 3-0 defeat of Edgefold's Sean Dobney in a high quality contest with half a dozen breaks of 30+.

League week 18 results: Whitworth Institute 3, Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 2; Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1 1, Matlock Golf Club 4; Bolehill Institute No 1 2, Crich Comrades No 2 3.
Breaks: B Monk 40,38,31,30,20,20; S Dobney 40,30,26; G Jones 23.

T & M Motors Snooker League        P        W       L      Pts 
Alfreton P Morewood No 2                  17      14        3      61
Bolehill Institute No 1                          18       13       5      54
Crich Comrades No 2                         18       12       6      50
Matlock Golf Club                               17       10       7      46
Belper Strutt Club                               17       10       7      45
Crich Comrades No 1                         16        6      10      37
Bolehill Institute No 2                          17        5      12      37
Edgefold Matlock                                17        6       11     35
Whitworth Institute                              17         4      13     31
Alfreton P Morewood No 1                 16         5       11     29
Leading breaks: S Donner 120; S Dobney 74; Gavin Shirley 70..
Leading wins: A  Lowe 13/18; A Beardsley 12/14; B Monk 12/17.

ALFRETON No 2 LIFT TITLE, BOLEHILL No 1 RUNNERS-UP

SIMON ZOPPI... break of 31

WITH ALFRETON No 2 confirming the T & M Motors Snooker League title courtesy of a 3-2 win over Crich Comrades No 1 in the penultimate round of games, it was left to the three clubs below to battle it out for the runners up spot.
Bolehill No 1 faced Alfreton No 1 and were looking to avenge a recent defeat to that opposition in the Amber Valley and the evening featured some excellent play.
Tom Broughton struck first for the visitors after opponent Colin Marchington had almost snatched the frame with the last four colours only for the black to rattle and the Alfreton man needed no second invitation to put the frame to bed.
It was pretty much the identical situation in reverse in the next with Des Smith taking brown, blue and pink before Ricki Slack equalised with a long pot on black.
Simon Zoppi (31 break) put the home side ahead in the next and then Ian Birks took the fourth frame 69-31 before clearing the colours in the remaining pairs leg to snatch that on the black too.

And results elsewhere meant that Bolehill had done enough with nearest rivals Belper Strutt Club falling 5-0 at Matlock Golf Club.
Les Mooney and Graham Jones were in great nick for the hosts as they bossed proceedings throughout.

Crich No 2 therefore moved third, five points adrift of Bolehill but unable to match their number of games won which is the deciding factor should there be a tie on points. The Tramwaymen defeated Bolehill No 2 3-2 with Ady and Jack Lowe undefeated in both singles and doubles. Keith Robertson did likewise for the vanquished.

Edgefold saw off Whitworth Institute 4-1 with Steven Clark top scoring before Geoff Brailsford registered for the Darley Dale cuemen but ultimately to no avail.

And so to the new champs who this week called on squad player Gavin Shirley to notch outstanding breaks of 70 and 26 in the starring role while Ben Monk (31) also impressed. Jack Long, with a black ball win, pulled one back in frame four to end Andrew Beardsley's 12-match unbeaten run and Long then teamed up with Ade Smith for another thriller which they took 63-62 to reduce the scores to the minimum margin.
League week 17 results: Bolehill Institute No 1 4, Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1 1; Matlock Golf Club 5, Belper Strutt Club 0; Crich Comrades No 2 3, Bolehill Institute No 2 2; Edgefold Matlock 4, Whitworth Institute 1; Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 3, Crich Comrades No 1 2.
Breaks: Gavin Shirley 70,32; S Zoppi 31; B Monk 31; K Ryde 28; R Slack 24; I Birks 22; G Wood 22; A Beardsley 21.

T & M Motors Snooker League        P        W       L      Pts 
Alfreton P Morewood No 2                  16      14        2      59
Bolehill Institute No 1                          17       13       4      52
Crich Comrades No 2                         17       11       6      47
Belper Strutt Club                               17       10       7      45
Matlock Golf Club                               16        9        7      42
Crich Comrades No 1                         16        6      10      37
Bolehill Institute No 2                          17        5      12      37
Edgefold Matlock                                17        6       11     35
Alfreton P Morewood No 1                 15         5       10     28
Whitworth Institute                              16         3      13     28
Leading breaks: S Donner 120; S Dobney 74; Gavin Shirley 70..
Leading wins: A  Lowe 13/17; A Beardsley 12/13; B Monk 12/16.

STEVE DONNER'S 120 BREAK IS A SINGLE FRAME RECORD

CENTURION STEVE DONNER

IT WAS  a record breaking week in the T & M Motors Snooker League as Alfreton No 2's Steve Donner conjured up a magnificent break of 120 which is the highest ever in a one frame match in League history, surpassing Scott Cooney's 104 in 2004 with Ben Monk's exact 100 in 2012 the only other on record.
Steve joins a select group of names to hit a ton locally over the years. Scott Cooney with 126 in a 2006 Individual event remains the top break in all competitions whilst others to record competition centuries are Jimmy Gratton (114 and 103), Cooney again (109), Monk again (108 and 101), Andy Russell (104) and Mark Hird (102).
Alfreton No 2 were cementing their position at the top of the table which now looks safe, after back to back 5-0 wins in successive days over Edgefold and Alfreton No 1.
The rearranged encounter with the Matlock team saw a trio of 31 breaks respectively from Monk, Donner and Kyle Ryde whilst the following night, apart from the excellence of Donner, Monk had classy runs of 65 and 29.

Bolehill No 1 moved into a clear second with a 4-1 success at Matlock Golf Club. Andrew Brough went into overdrive after Ian McKay's early run of 30 to topple that opponent and Ricki Slack's third frame win put the game to bed before Chris Parker and McKay pulled back a late doubles point for the golfers.

Fourth placed Crich Comrades No 2 scored an important 4-1 win over third placed Belper Strutt Club and now lie just a point adrift of those opponents. Paul Jarrett put Strutt ahead early doors but Ady Lowe was successful in both singles and doubles whilst Dale Shaw amassed 77 points.

Crich No 1 were also in irresistible form with a 5-0 win at Whitworth Institute. Nearly all the games were very tight and Nick Berry's black ball success in the third frame was just one of a string of  frames which hung in the balance but went the way of Tramwaymen.

The remaining match resulted in a 3-2 win for Edgefold at Bolehill No 2. The Matlock side took all three of the opening frames with James Travis top scoring before Mick Bunting started a belated fightback for the hosts with wins in singles and doubles to reduce the deficit to the minimum margin.

In competition action, Tom Broughton notched a 40 break as he and Des Smith reached the final of the Denis Morton Pairs Handicap knockout for the second successive season whilst Nick Berry is in two finals after defeating Graham Jones 3-1 in the semi final of the Individual Handicap.
League week 16 results: Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 5, Edgefold Matlock 0; Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1 0, Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 5; Matlock Golf Club 1, Bolehill Institute No 2 4; Crich Comrades No 2 4, Belper Strutt Club 1; Whitworth Institute 0, Crich Comrades No 1 5; Bolehill Institute No 2 2, Edgefold Matlock 3.
Breaks: S Donner 120,31; B Monk 65,31,29; T Broughton 40; K Ryde 31; I McKay 30; D Smith 24; J Neville 23; A Lowe 22; G Shirley 21; J Rowland 21; S Dobney 20.

T & M Motors Snooker League        P        W       L      Pts 
Alfreton P Morewood No 2                  15      13        2      56
Bolehill Institute No 1                          16       12       4      48
Belper Strutt Club                               16       10       6      45
Crich Comrades No 2                         16       10       6      44
Matlock Golf Club                               15        8        7      37
Crich Comrades No 1                         15        6        9      35
Bolehill Institute No 2                          16        5      11      35
Edgefold Matlock                                16        5       11     31
Alfreton P Morewood No 1                 14         5        9     27
Whitworth Institute                              15         3      12     27
Leading breaks: S Donner 120; S Dobney 74; B Monk 63.
Leading wins: A Beardsley 12/12; A Lowe 12/16; C Marchington 11/12; B Monk 11/15.

GOLF CLUB AND ALFRETON No 2 TO MEET IN TEAM FINAL

CHRIS PARKER ... man of the match display

MATLOCK GOLF CLUB and Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 will contest the Captains Cup Team Aggregate final after they both came through stern examinations with only 61 and 35 points separating their semi final matches when the overall points were totted up.
The Golfers took on Alfreton No 1 on Chesterfield Road and it was the visitors who struck first with Des Smith taking a 54-38 success before Les Mooney's 77-63 reply put the game back in the melting pot.
Chris Parker's 90-42 scoreline was more than enough to give him man of the match status, especially as he later notched a fine break of 46 in the decisive pairs leg with Mooney after John Smith had reduced the points deficit to just 19 after his fourth frame win.

Although Alfreton No 2 won all five frames contested at Bolehill No 2, several of them were down to the wire as Ben Monk (4pts), Kyle Ryde (4pts) and Andrew Beardsley (3pts) were all taken to the brink by their plucky opponents.
Ryde impressed with a run of 31, but Steve Donner's 43 break proved pivotal in his 92-58 verdict in frame three and he teamed up with Jamie Rowland to rubber stamp the place in the final later in the evening.

The Jimmy Harper Plate competition got underway and with Edgefold struggling for players, it was left to Duncan Harwood and Steven Clark to don their "Superman" capes and see off the best Bolehill No 1 could muster with just the pair of them contesting all the five frames.
Harwood remained unbeaten throughout, even whilst giving up the extra handicap, whilst Clark got his team off to a flyer with a confident start. Simon Zoppi was the only visitor to register after taking pink and black in his frame.

And in the battle of the Crich cuemen, it was the No 2 team who took the spoils with Jack Lowe starring courtesy of a century points haul whilst Graeme Wood and Dale Shaw also impressed. Paul Trevett won both singles and doubles for the No 1 outfit.
Captains Cup (Team Aggregate) semi finals: Matlock Golf Club 322, Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1 287; Bolehill Institute No 2 297, Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 358.
Jimmy Harper Plate (Team Aggregate) first round: Edgefold Matlock 312, Bolehill Institute No 1 239; Crich Comrades No 2 322, Crich Comrades No 1 254.
Breaks: C Parker 46; S Donner 43; K Ryde 31; C Marchington 25.

END OF SEASON PLAY-OFF POSITION IN SIGHT FOR CRICH

GRAEME WOOD .. got Crich off to a flyer

CRICH COMRADES No 2 scored a fine win at last season's champions Matlock Golf Club to leave them with a fine chance of making the end of season play offs after the latest week's round of T & M Motors Snooker League fixtures.
Graeme Wood and Jack Lowe each secured their frames on the final black before Ady Lowe made the game safe in the next, in the process going to the top of the most individual wins table.
Dale Shaw piled on the pressure with a fourth straight frame for the Tramwaymen, courtesy of a 76-47 victory before Mooney (35 break) and Tony Blant, both earlier defeated on the final black, paired up to pull one back in the remaining doubles leg.

Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1 continued their merry way at the top with a 4-1 home win over Bolehill Institute No 2.
Andrew Beardsley, with his tenth victory out of ten, showed he is no slouch in the breakbuilding stakes either with an excellent half century after Kyle Ryde had edged the opener on the black. Joe Neville offered the only response for the visitors.

Thre was also an emphatic win for Alfreton No 2 as they took the spoils 4-1 at Edgefold Club. Des Smith with breaks of 30 and 25 and Andrew Haggarty who was unbeaten in both frames he contested, did most of the damage while Duncan Harwood offered the only resistence.

Bolehill No 1 remain second on the most wins rule after a 3-2 verdict at Crich No 2. Ricki Slack (28 break) top scored for the victors and Simon Zoppi put the game to bed with an excellent pink and black before Nick Berry was successful in both singles and doubles for the hosts, thanks in no small part to Ade Smith's superb colours clearance in the latter to pull the frame out of the fire.
Earlier in the day Berry had defeated team mate Paul Trevett 3-1 to reach the "B" Individual Handicap final, in which he is seeking a third win in four seasons.

Belper Strutt Club also kept up their own challenge with a 4-1 win over Whitworth Institute. Geoff Brailsford levelled for the Darley Dale cuemen on a black ball decider but Justin Weller notched in both singles and doubles as the hosts took control.
It became an even better week for Weller the following night as he defeated Ricki Slack 3-1 in the individual scratch competition to reach his inaugural OMYA Cup final.
League: Matlock Golf Club 1, Crich Comrades No 2 4; Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 4, Bolehill Institute No 2 1; Edgefold Matlock 1, Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1 4; Crich Comrades No 1 2, Bolehill Institute No 1 3; Belper Strutt Club 4, Whitworth Institute 1.
Breaks: A Beardsley 50; D Smith 30,25; R Slack 28,25; A Smith 27.

T & M Motors Snooker League        P        W       L      Pts 
Alfreton P Morewood No 2                  13      11        2      46
Bolehill Institute No 1                          15       11       4      44
Belper Strutt Club                               15       10       5      44
Crich Comrades No 2                         15        9        6      40
Matlock Golf Club                               14        8        6      36
Bolehill Institute No 2                          15        5      10      33
Crich Comrades No 1                         14        5        9      30
Edgefold Matlock                                14        4       10     28
Alfreton P Morewood No 1                 13         5        8     27
Whitworth Institute                              14         3      11     27
Leading breaks: S Dobney 74 & 55; B Monk 54.
Leading wins: A Lowe 11/15; A Beardsley 10/10; C Marchington 10/11; J Weller 10/15.

BOLEHILL EDGE OUT STRUTT IN BATTLE FOR RUNNERS-UP

COLIN MARCHINGTON ... struck first for BOLEHILL

WITH league leaders Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2 sitting this week out due to a late postponement, the teams immediately below clashed in what is increasingly looking like a battle for the runners-up spot.
Bolehill No 1 and Belper Strutt Club were locked together with identical records before the contest and it was the home side who struck first with Colin Marchington extending his already impressive record this season with a 71-38 success.
After a tight battle, Ricki Slack increased the lead in the next, taking the last four balls for a 65-39 success.
Paul Jarrett put up a rearguard resistence to pull one back before Ian Birks ensured victory for Bolehill as he edged another close encounter in frame four.
But with Jarrett and Wayne Shooter dominating the doubles leg, just one point separated the teams in the table at the end of the night.

Bolehill No 2 pulled off a spectacular 5-0 stampede at Alfreton No 1 with Mick Bunting (95 points) in sparkling nick along with triumphant performances from Keith Roberson and Joe Neville in singles and doubles.

The battle of the Tramwaymen went to the No 2 team courtesy of a 3-2 verdict this time around with Ady Lowe successful in both singles and doubles, after Jack Long had nudged the No 1 outfit into an early lead.

And Matlock Golf Club secured a 3-2 win at Whitworth Institute, with Ian McKay's fluked black in frame two proving a pivotal moment after Geoff Brailsford had put the hosts ahead. Tony Blant notched an excellenet run of 29 but Mark Gwynne-Jones made sure it went down to the final pairs leg where McKay teamed up with Les Mooney to quell the storm.
League week 14 results: Bolehill Institute No 1 3, Belper Strutt Club 2; Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1 0, Bolehill Institute No 2 5; Crich Comrades No 2 3, Crich Comrades No 1 2; Whitworth Institute 2, Matlock Golf Club 3.
Breaks: T Blant 29; L Mooney 22; R Slack 22.

T & M Motors Snooker League        P        W       L      Pts 
Alfreton P Morewood No 2                  12      10        2      42
Bolehill Institute No 1                          14       10       4      41
Belper Strutt Club                               14        9         5     40
Crich Comrades No 2                         14        8        6      36
Matlock Golf Club                               13        8        5      35
Bolehill Institute No 2                          14        5        9      32
Crich Comrades No 1                         13        5        8      28
Edgefold Matlock                                13        4        9      27
Whitworth Institute                              13         3      10     26
Alfreton P Morewood No 1                 12         4        8     23
Leading breaks: S Dobney 74 & 55; B Monk 54.
Leading wins: A Lowe 10/14; A Beardsley 9/9; C Marchington 9/10 B Monk 9/12; J Weller 9/14.

COMPETITION DRAWS, SEMI FINALS & PLATE FIRST ROUND

THE draws for the latest rounds of the individual competitions  were made recently.
As agreed by the committee, dates will be put on the matches again this season, though you can of course play them in advance of the set date by re-arranging with your opponent (please give at least 48hrs notice and preferably more). 7.30pm start unless stated or else agreed differently prior to match.
If absolutely necessary, you can re-schedule it within an extra 7 days, failing agreement you can apply to the match secretary for a further 7 days to play it.
If someone doesn't contact the opposition and then fails to show, they are eliminated obviously.
Contact relevant team captains or the secretary for any required contact info.
Dates will be added for later rounds when match ups become known.
Matches to be played off the latest handicaps on the scheduled date of the ties (if any are delayed and handicaps change subsequently, the original match handicap will stand).
Matches to take place as drawn for the semi finals, and finals will take place at selected neutral venues or if agreed, toss of a coin for venue between parties, all matches best of 5 this season with finals best of 7 (except "B" final which is best of 5).
Note that substitute players switching over from teams in same club are not eligible to play in team semi finals or finals.
Please play any outstanding matches before the dates of the next round or the player who cancelled the original fixture may be liable to forfeit depending on circumstances.

OMYA CUP (Individual Scratch) Semi Finals

Best of 5 Frames - No handicaps - 7.30pm or as agreed

Tue Mar 22: Ricki Slack (Bolehill 1) v Justin Weller (Belper Strutt Club)

Wed Mar 23: Sean Dobney (Edgefold Matlock) v Ben Monk (Alfreton PM 2)

DENIS MORTON PAIRS HANDICAP TROPHY Semi Finals
Best of 5 Frames - Normal League Handicaps apply - 7.30pm unless stated
Mon Mar 28: G Jones / I McKay (MGC) v  B Monk / S Mays (APM 2)  (7pm)

Tue Apr 12:  D Smith / T Broughton (APM 1) v Bullock/Weller or Dobney/Travis
(to be confirmed when winners of previous round are known)

CAPTAINS CUP (Team Aggregate) Semi Finals

5 Frames - Overall Points Aggregate To Count - 7.30pm unless stated

Tue Mar 29: Matlock Golf Club v Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 1 (7pm)

Wed Mar 30: Bolehill Institute No 2 v Alfreton Palmer Morewood No 2

JIMMY HARPER PLATE (Team Aggregate) First Round

5 Frames - Overall Points Aggregate To Count - 7.30pm unless stated

Mon Mar 28: Edgefold Matlock v Bolehill Institute No 1

Mon Mar 28: Crich Comrades No 2 v Crich Comrades No 1

OPEN INDIVIDUAL HANDICAP Semi Finals
Best of 5 Frames - Normal League Handicaps apply - 7.30pm unless stated

Mon Apr 04: Graham Jones (MGC) v Nick Berry (Crich Coms 1) (7pm)

Tue Apr 05: Justin Weller (Belper Strutt) v Duncan Harwood (Edgefold Matlock)

"B" (INTERMEDIATE) INDIVIDUAL HANDICAP Semi Finals
Best of 5 Frames - Normal League Handicaps apply - 7.30pm unless stated

Wed Apr 13: Joe Neville (Tansley) v Josh Lee (Edgefold Matlock)

Tue Apr 12: Paul Trevett (Crich Comrades 1) v Nick Berry (Crich Comrades 1)

JIMMY HARPER PLATE (Team Aggregate) Semi Finals

5 Frames - Overall Points Aggregate To Count - 7.30pm unless stated

Mon Apr 25: Belper Strutt Club v Edgefold Matlock or Bolehill Institute No 1

Mon Apr 25: Crich Coms No 2 or Crich Coms No 1 v Whitworth Institute