GOLF CLUB LEAGUE CHAMPS, CRICH ARE CUP VICTORS

MATLOCK GOLF CLUB League champions L-R: Ian McKay, Tony Blant, Graham Jones and Paul Roe.
Also played: Charlie Hodgkinson and Chris Parker.

MATLOCK GOLF CLUB became a new name on the list of T & M Snooker League winners as their decisive 4-1 success over Belper Strutt Club crowned them worthy champions at the end of another exciting regular season.
With either team still in the hunt going into the final fixture, along with onlookers Bolehill No 1, it was perhaps the tightest finish yet to a league season and seemingly ever more so when Steve Bullock took a tight opening frame 72-65 to put the visitors ahead.
Ian McKay levelled matters on the pink in the next however before a barnstorming performance from captain Graham Jones, amassing a tremendous 99-25 scoreline made it 2-1 and ensured he took the prize for the winning most league player.
Tony Blant then turned on the style in the remaining singles and doubles legs, concluding with a fine run of 27 to send the golfers on their way in a blaze of glory.

CRICH COMRADES Captains Cup winners L-R: Ade Smith, Cliff Gould and Nick Berry.
Also played on the night: John Smith, other squad members: Paul Trevett, Keith Fretwell and Ady Lowe.

Two nights later it was a case of role reversal as Crich Comrades rose to the challenge to defeat the Golfers 365-199 and avenge their loss to the same rivals in the earlier six red cup final.
John Smith with a 95-42 success followed by 80-35 and 89-35 wins respectively by Cliff Gould and Ade Smith pretty much had sealed the deal after the opening three frames leaving a mammoth task ahead for the new league champions.
And although they battled to the end, Nick Berry and the doubles pairing of Smith and Gould ground out closely fought frames to complete a fantastic night for the Tramwaymen, who adjusted to the lightning fast table conditions at Edgefold with some aplomb.

In the final pairs semi final, Ricki Slack and Keith Robertson progressed to meet Steve Bullock and Mark Newby in the remaining contest.
League results: Matlock Golf Club 4, Belper Strutt Club 1.
Captains Cup (team aggregate) final: Matlock Golf Club 199, Crich Comrades 365.
Breaks: T Blant 27; G Jones 25; R Slack 24.

T & M Motors Snooker League   P        W      L     Pts

Matlock Golf Club                         18       12       6     53

Bolehill Institute No 1                    18       13       5     51

Belper Strutt Club                         18         8     10     48

Crich Comrades Club                   18       11       7     47

Edgefold Matlock                          18         8     10     46

Bolehill Institute No 2                    18         7     11     38

Matlock Club                                 18         4     14     32

Leading wins: G Jones 13/18; C Marchington 12/16.
Leading breaks: R Dicken 40, I McKay 39.

THREE TEAMS CLING ONTO TITLE HOPES IN FINAL FIXTURE

MARK SAYER found his range for BOLEHILL No 2

AS HAS been the case in recent seasons, everything rests on the final league match of the season after Bolehill No 2's 3-2 defeat of Matlock Golf Club left the latter needing to defeat Belper Strutt Club this week to lift the T & M Motors Snooker League championship trophy.
Strutt themselves can retain the silverware with a maximum points win while four points will see them leap frog their final day opponents into the runners up spot.
Meanwhile, Bolehill No 1 will be hoping neither team attain their remaining goals in order that they may hold on to top spot having completed their fixtures already.
But their No 2 team certainly did them a favour as Ian Peacock eeked out a 76-74 win in a thrilling opener and then Mark Sayer opened his account for the season to add the second.
Keith Robertson (22 break) soon made it 3-0 before the golfers realised they needed to hit back fast and Chris Parker (24 break) took each of singles and doubles legs to reduce the deficit to the minimum margin.
Steve Bullock reached the final of the "B" Individual Handicap for the fourth time in six years as he defeated Keith Manlove 3-0 to gain some compensation for his defeat by the reverse scoreline in the Open Handicap to the same player.
League: Bolehill Institute No 2 3, Matlock Golf Club 2.
Breaks: C Parker 24; S Bullock 24; K Robertson 22.

T & M Motors Snooker League   P        W      L     Pts

Bolehill Institute No 1                   18       13       5     51

Matlock Golf Club                         17       11       6     49

Crich Comrades Club                   18       11       7     47

Belper Strutt Club                         17         8       9     47

Edgefold Matlock                          18         8     10     46

Bolehill Institute No 2                    18         7     11     38

Matlock Club                                 18         4     14     32

Leading wins: C Marchington 12/16; G Jones 12/17; M Newby 11/17.
Leading breaks: R Dicken 40, I McKay 39.

EDGEFOLD PUT SPANNER IN WORKS FOR BOLEHILL No 1

SAM LAVELLE... took pink to secure third frame

WITH Matlock Golf Club having to rearrange their final two league games due to holiday commitments, three teams are still in contention for the T & M Motors Snooker League title after the final scheduled round of matches came to its conclusion this week.
Bolehill Institute No 1 travelled to Edgefold No 1 needing at the very least a win to keep up the pressure but were toppled 3-2 by the home side to leave the golfers in a strong position to be end of season table toppers.
Colin Marchington got the visitors off to a great start with a 57-25 verdict in the opener, recording his 12th win in 16 contests in the process but Duncan Harwood equalised in the next, a tap in on the blue making sure of a 56-34 success.
Sam Lavelle held a resounding lead in frame three but it ultimately went down to the pink before he stroked in a fine mid range pot with the rest and then James Travis added a third to put the cat amongst the pigeons for the title contenders.
Ricki Slack and Guy Shirley pulled one back in the concluding doubles leg.

Elsewhere, Belper Strutt Club are still hanging in there after a 4-1 win over Matlock Club. Mark Newby took each of his singles and doubles legs after Graeme Wood had put the visitors ahead early doors.
Newby also teamed up with Steve Bullock to reach their fourth Denis Morton Trophy (pairs handicap) final in as many outings, a sequence broken only by a couple of years when they did not enter.

Sean Dobney (40 break) overcame stiff resistance from Keith Robertson to edge into the OMYA Cup (individual scratch) final, taking pink and black in the deciding frame and thus repeating his 3-2 victory margin over the same player in the individual handicap final.

League week 21 results: Edgefold Matlock 3, Bolehill Institute No 1 2; Belper Strutt Club 4, Matlock Club 1.
Breaks: S Dobney 40; K Robertson 28.

T & M Motors Snooker League   P        W      L     Pts

Bolehill Institute No 1                   18       13       5     51

Matlock Golf Club                         16       11       5     47

Crich Comrades Club                   18       11       7     47

Belper Strutt Club                         17         8       9     47

Edgefold Matlock                          18         8     10     46

Bolehill Institute No 2                    17         6     11     35

Matlock Club                                 18         4     14     32

Leading wins: G Jones & C Marchington 12/16; M Newby 11/17.
Leading breaks: R Dicken 40, I McKay 39.

WINNING WEEK FOR BUNTING IN ALL COMPETITIONS

MICK BUNTING ... successful week on the baize

TWO teams out of play-off contention battled it out for pride of place in the penultimate round of T & M Motors Snooker League fixtures and it was Bolehill Institute No 2 who came through courtesy of a 3-2 win over Matlock Club.
Graeme Wood edged the opener  62-50 but Keith Robertson equalised soon afterwards and Mick Bunting scored the first of two victories in a week over Keith Manlove, 62-45 on the night before repeating the dose with a 3-2 success in the Open Individual Handicap semi final the following evening.
Paul Holmes levelled at 2-2 but Robertson and Bunting teamed up to score a 57-34 verdict in the deciding doubles leg.
Bolehill No 1 took advantage of Matlock Golf Club's inactivity to spearhead the table again as they scored a last gasp 3-2 triumph over Belper Strutt Club.
Paul Jarrett had edged Strutt in front but Ian Birks took his singles match and then teamed up with Ricki Slack to score a nail-biting black ball success in the all important pairs leg.
Elsewhere, Edgefold defeated Crich Comrades 3-2 with Rob Muxlow and Sean Dobney doing most of the damage and Cliff Gould and Ade Smith offering resistance from the Tramwaymen.
League week 20 results: Matlock Club 2, Bolehill Institute No 2 3; Bolehill Institute No 1 3, Belper Strutt Club 2; Edgefold Matlock 3, Crich Comrades 2.

T & M Motors Snooker League   P        W      L     Pts

Bolehill Institute No 1                   17       13       4     49

Matlock Golf Club                         16       11       5     47

Crich Comrades Club                   18       11       7     47

Belper Strutt Club                         16         7       9     43

Edgefold Matlock                          17         7     10     43

Bolehill Institute No 2                    17         6     11     35

Matlock Club                                 17         4     13     31

Leading wins: G Jones 12/16; C Marchington 11/15; P Jarrett 10/13.
Leading breaks: R Dicken 40, I McKay 39.

GOLF CLUB TOP AGAIN AFTER TIGHT BATTLES ALL ROUND

KEITH ROBERTSON...big wins for BOLEHILL No 2

RATHER APTLY it would take a fool to predict the outcome of this season's T & M Motors Snooker League after three more tightly contested matches that went down to the wire on the first day of April.
Belper Strutt Club had been timing their run nicely up until now to move within shouting distance of the leaders but they fell 3-2 to a rejuvenated Bolehill No 2 side.
Keith Robertson (21 break) stormed through the opener for the hosts, winning 72-17 before Mark Newby and Ian Peacock shared frames for their teams.
Steve Bullock edged a tight fourth frame on the pink to level it up but Robertson finished as he started as he teamed up with Martin Forster (21 break) to take the deciding doubles leg 74-21.

Matlock Golf Club moved a point clear in the title race as they defeated Edgefold also by the minimum margin.
Charlie Hodgkinson, the reigning speed champ, once again showed he is no back number with a 61-22 success to equalise before Graham Jones and Tony Blant secured the deciding pairs match.
Sean Dobney had put the visitors temporarily in front prior to that.

Crich were back to winning ways as they saw off Bolehill No 1 also by 3-2. Paul Trevett took the last three balls to snatch the second and Ade Smith was in fine form to put his team ahead before Keith Fretwell made the game safe. Ricki Slack and Ian Birks hauled back some respectability in the pairs leg with breaks of 27 and 25 respectively.

Sean Dobney (37 break) is making a brave fist of retaining the Open Individual Handicap competition as he once again has reached the final, defeating Keith Robertson (34 break) 3-2.

And Ian McKay notched the week's highest break of 42 via a 3-0 win over James Travis in the OMYA Cup scratch semi final.

League week 19 results: Bolehill Institute No 2 3, Belper Strutt Club 2; Matlock Golf Club 3, Edgefold Matlock 2; Crich Comrades 3, Bolehill Institute No 1 2.
Breaks: I McKay 42; S Dobney 37;  K Robertson 34,21; R Slack 27,20; I Birks 25;K Manlove 22,22; D Harwood 21; M Forster 21; S Zoppi 20.

T & M Motors Snooker League   P        W      L     Pts

Matlock Golf Club                        16       11       5      47

Bolehill Institute No 1                   16       12       4     46

Crich Comrades Club                  17       11       6      45

Belper Strutt Club                        15         7       8      41

Edgefold Matlock                         16         6     10      40

Bolehill Institute No 2                   16         5     11      32

Matlock Club                                16         4     12      29

Leading wins: G Jones 12/16; C Marchington 10/14; A Lowe & M Newby 10/15.
Leading breaks: R Dicken 40, I McKay 39.

MANLOVE INSPIRES MATLOCK CLUB TO A FOURTH WIN

KEITH MANLOVE... in winning form for MATLOCK CLUB

MATLOCK CLUB gained their fourth win of the campaign with a 3-2 success over Edgefold Club as Keith Manlove and Paul Bryan turned on the style in the deciding doubles leg to secure a decisive 87-44 verdict.
Graeme Wood had got his team off to a convincing start courtesy of a 63-18 scoreline before James Travis equalised but then Manlove got his outfit rolling again with a fine performance to edge his side ahead and despite Josh Lee's equalising fourth frame, it ultimately proved to be in vain.

Manlove also continued in winning form in the Open Individiual Handicap competition, moving into the semi final with a 3-2 win over Crich's Ady Lowe.

At the top of the table, Bolehill No 1 drew alongside Matlock Golf Club holding on to a 3-2 win after taking the first three frames. Colin Marchington notched a century haul of points and Andrew Brough was in excellent touch but Charlie Hodgkinson's black ball decider in frame four kick-started a defiant resistance from the home team.

Belper Strutt Club continue to gain ground and are now five points behind with a game in hand after a 4-1 win at Crich Comrades.
Mark Newby made the game safe in frame four after Ady Lowe had kept his team in the hunt following early reverses.
League week 18 results: Matlock Club 3, Edgefold Matlock 2; Matlock Golf Club 2, Bolehill Institute No 1 3; Crich Comrades 1, Belper Strutt Club 4.
Breaks: W Shooter 24; I McKay 23; K Manlove 22.

T & M Motors Snooker League   P        W      L     Pts

Bolehill Institute No 1                   15       12       3      44

Matlock Golf Club                        15       10       5      44

Crich Comrades Club                  16       10       6      42

Edgefold Matlock                         15         6       9      38

Belper Strutt Club                        14         7       7      39

Bolehill Institute No 2                   15         4     11      29

Matlock Club                                16         4     12      29

Leading wins: G Jones 12/15; A Lowe 10/15; M Forster 9/10.
Leading breaks: R Dicken 40, I McKay 39.

GOLF CLUB RUN RIOT TO USURP TRAMWAYMEN AT TOP

GRAHAM JONES made it 12 wins from 14 outings for MATLOCK GOLF CLUB

MATLOCK GOLF CLUB laid down a strong marker for the league title as their 5-0 whitewash of erstwhile leaders Crich Comrades took them to the summit with just a handful of games remaining.
Tony Blant (32 break) exhibited his best form of the campaign yet to take the opener 85-41 and dual Derbyshire champ Graham Jones continues to roll back the years with his 12th win in 14 outings making it 2-0 soon afterwards.
A crucial black ball verdict courtesy of Charlie Hodgkinson made the game safe before Ian McKay (30 break) continued the onslaught in frame four.
And to rub salt into the away teams' wounds, Jones and Blant teamed up to snatch an unlikely pairs win after taking each one of the colours to deny the Tramwaymen a small consolation.

Bolehill No 1 kept up the pressure with a black ball clincher in the deciding pairs leg seeing them defeat Matlock Club 3-2.
Colin Marchington and Mick Mackfall excelled for each team.

Edgefold defeated Bolehill No 2 4-1 in the remaining fixture with Rob Muxlow and Josh Lee turning on the style whilst Martin Forster scored his ninth win in ten matches for the vanquished.

League week 17 results: Matlock Golf Club 5, Crich Comrades 0; Bolehill Institute No 2 3, Matlock Club 2; Edgefold Matlock 4, Bolehill Institute No 2 1.
Breaks:  T Blant 32; I McKay 30; R Muxlow 23; I Birks 20.

T & M Motors Snooker League   P        W      L     Pts

Matlock Golf Club                        14       10       4      42

Bolehill Institute No 1                   14       11       3      41

Crich Comrades Club                  15       10       5      41

Edgefold Matlock                         14         6       8      36

Belper Strutt Club                        13         6       7      35

Bolehill Institute No 2                   15         4     11      29

Matlock Club                                15         3     12      26

Leading wins: G Jones 12/14; M Forster & P Jarrett 9/10.
Leading breaks: R Dicken 40, I McKay 39.