It was all change at the top of the table in the Stone Pool League as Little Stoke moved ahead. Here’s all the action from week 13…
#Jokaz 3 Little Stoke 5
Nick Griffin is leading his team to new heights this season, thanks in no small part to Lee Walker, one of the players to beat in 2016. Walker took his two frames for the night, as did team-mate Craig Foster. The match had looked to be heading the way of Nick Beech’s Blurton-based side, as Tom Sharman took frame 5 to put it #Jokaz 3-2 up, but Little Stoke showed why they now lie top of the table, reeling off the last 3 without reply.
Stone Cricket Club 2 Joker 6
The Joker moved into second in the table with a strong performance after half-time, when the match had been poised at 2-2. Tony Douthwaite and Gaz Cummings managed great clearances to give Mark Perry’s men a guaranteed point at 4-2. The night turned on frame 7, where Mark Welton met Chris Banks. It was Welton who came out on top, with snooker-after-snooker to defeat the former Singles Merits finalist. Melvin Archer ground out the last frame to give the score a one-sided feel that belied the tightness of the critical games.
Lamb ‘A’ 4 Moddershall 4
A topsy-turvy affair saw the former leaders lose ground as they dropped a point against Moddershall. Dave Clift was the star of the show for the hosts, winning both of his frames and striking with an 8-ball in the second. Shaun Brian won both of his frames for the visitors, including a tough scrap against Lamb ‘A’ skipper, Andy Conner, in the final game of the night. Conner had his opponent in all sorts of trouble with a succession of snookers, gaining foul after foul, but wasn’t able to complete the win when left with a shot at the 8-ball. This left Brian a straightforward black to seal the draw for the men from Spot Acre.
Langtry’s 2 Lamb 6
Darryl Norman’s men got off to the fastest of starts, taking all 4 in the first-half to guarantee at least one point at the break. Langtry’s staved off defeat with a win for skipper, Rob Hughes, but both John Grobnik and Paul Loughhead Jnr took their second frames of the night to put the result beyond doubt.
Lamb Hot Pots 6 Talbot 2
The Talbot were handicapped in this match as they were only able to field 3 players. Notwithstanding their numerical disadvantage, the shock looked on as they won the first two of the night to send alarm bells for Ben Smith’s side. However, Smith came on with a captain’s performance to stem the flow, before Scott Price, Neil Dale and Smith again sealed the points for perennial title contenders, Lamb Hot Pots.
Longton Cricket Club 6 Lamb Phall 2
Kev Plant and Colin Paterson were the stars of the show, taking two frames apiece as Longton CC reinforced their position in 7th in the table. The best efforts of Mark Tolley, taking 2 from 2 for the Phall, were not enough, as Russ Johnson’s men were the better side on the night.
Longton Snooker Club 7 Labour in Vain 1
It was a tough night for the side from Yarnfield as Nick Backhouse led his side to a dominant win. The Snooker Club were 6-0 up by the time Andy Gibson struck with a consolation for the Labour. Rich Lewis, Liam Flaherty and Dave Roberts all managed 2 out of 2 for their side, who now lie just below halfway in the table in 9th place.
Eccleshall Eagles 8 Cuckoo 0
The Cuckoo were unable to fulfill this fixture, handing an automatic 8-0 win to the Eccleshall side. The Eagles are at the head of the chasing pack, sitting in 6th place and hoping to push on to bridge the 5-point gap to the title chasers
[box type=”info” ]Top of the table:
1. Little Stoke 23 points
2. Joker 22 points
3. Lamb ‘A’ 22 points
4. Lamb 21 points
5. Lamb Hot Pots 20 points[/box]
This week: Undoubtedly the highlight of Week 14 is the clash between The Joker and Lamb ‘A’. If either side wins, they will open up a handy cushion over the other and keep the pressure on Little Stoke, who are at home to Eccleshall Eagles.
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Blistering quarter-finals in store as top cue-ists qualify!
The Nick Brookes Photography Singles Merits competition took centre stage in The Crown Street Garage Stone and District Pool League. Rounds 1, 2 and 3 were played out over eight venues. 43 players started out, now only 8 remain!
The Lamb:
Rd 1 (64)
A Conner 2 C Colin Paterson 0
Steve Loughhead Bye
Mark Welton Bye
Sean Doolan Bye
Rd 2 (32)
Andy Conner 2 Steven Loughhead 0
Mark Welton 2 Sean Doolan 0
Rd 3 (16)
Andy Conner 2 Mark Welton 0
Andy Conner came through a very tough group, having to play in every round to qualify, and not conceding a frame. Colin Paterson had chances to win in his round 1 fixture but failed allowing Andy to progress to defeat Lamb A team mate Steve Loughhead, revenge for Andy as Steve had beaten him partnering his father the previous week in the doubles. Those 2 matches took the same length of time as it took Mark The Doc Welton to grind out a good win over Sean Doolan. Sean was first in in frame 1 but failed to clear up allowing The Doc to stitch and grind his way back for an unlikely frame win. Frame 2 was more free-flowing with a good long black giving The Doc the 2-0 win. In the final qualifier, Andy was first in in frame 1 but failed to finish the frame, allowing The Doc to snooker him on the 8. However, escaping from the snooker, Andy potted the 8 for 1-0 and it was quickly 2-0 as Andy dominated a tactical frame where control of the black pocket was key.
The Joker:
Rd 2 (32)
P Loughhead 2 Lynn Bromley 0
Tony Douthwaite Bye
Rd 3 (16)
Tony Douthwaite 2 P Loughhead 1
Qualifier: Tony Douthwaite
Only 3 players turned up to The Joker qualifier, but it was favourite Tony Douthwaite, a former Singles Merits winner in the inaugural league season, who progressed to the last 8, beating Lamb player and former InterLeague team-mate Paul Loughhead to progress.
Longton Snooker:
Rd 1 (64)
Dave Roberts 2 Neil Rowley 0
Paul Knight Bye
Lee Walker Bye
Rich Lewis Bye
Rd 2 (32)
Paul Knight 2 Dave Roberts 0
Lee Walker 2 Rich Lewis 0
Rd 3 (16)
Lee Lee Walker 2 Paul Knight 0
Qualifier: Lee Walker
The ‘group of death’ threw up a fascinating night of top quality pool at the potting tables of Longton Snooker. With 3 InterLeague players in action, they fortunately managed to avoided each-other in round 1 where Dave Roberts defeated in-form Neil Rowley to progress. There then followed 2 matches that would have graced the final, Lee Walker overcame Rich Lewis before facing former ‘most wins in a season’ player Paul Knighty Knight in the last 16.Lee’s assured potting won over as he progressed, and he must surely be amongst the favourites for this years title.
Little Stoke:
Rd 2 (32)
Gavin Davies 2 Mark Bradshaw 0
Rob Hughes 2 Richard Chandler 0
Rd 3 (16)
Gavin Davies 2 Rob Hughes 0
Qualifier: Gavin Davies (8 Ball)
Stafford Hot-Shot Gav The Dish Davies is flying high this season. Having been ‘nearly’ great for a few years, he’s really shining this year and setting the pace. He continued his outstanding form coming through a tough qualifier at the unfamiliar Little Stoke venue. With a ‘grassy’ baize, and playing much slower than his home Lamb table, he overcame League Chairman Mark The Law Bradshaw in a high quality match in the last 32. Fellow committee member Rob Hughes enjoyed the room around the table to beat Stone CC’s former Captain Richard Tommy Chandler but Rob was unable to handle The Dish who included another 8 ball clearance in his 2-0 win to qualify.
The Eagle:
Rd 2 (32)
Darryl Norman 2 Phil Ratheram 0
John Grobnik 2 Jack Walker 0
Rd 3 (16)
John Grobnik 2 Darryl Norman 1
Qualifier: John Grobnik
2015 Singles Merits champion Melvin Archer decided not to defend his title at the Eccleshall qualifier, to the relief of those drawn at this venue! League Treasurer Darryl Norman knocked out the 2014 Singles Merits champion Phil Ratherham in his last 32 match, an excellent scalp, to set up a meeting with Lamb team mate John Grobnik. In a close match, the player defeated his captain to progress and qualify.
Moddershall
Rd 1 (64)
R.Britton 2 N.Dale 0
Rd 2 (32)
N.Griffin 2 S.Brian 1
R.Britton 2 A.Brown 0
Rd 3 (16)
R.Britton 2 N.Griffin 0
Qualifier : R.Britton
Result of the night probably goes to Russ Britton in his defeat of fancied Neil Dale in the last 64. Snooker player Neil has been in the top 20 players in the league for the last few years, and is a very steady player and potter. In his first season in the league, such a scalp for Russ will serve to boost his confidence. He immediately built on this success to beat another seasoned player, the Leagues oldest player Alan AB Brown (exact age unknown!) to face his Little Stoke Captain Nick Griffin in the final qualifier. Another player not to lose a frame all night, Russ progressed to join his Little Stoke Team mate in the quarters.
Labour In Vain
Rd 2 (32)
Gaz Cummings 2 Tom Sharman 1
Ben Smith Bye
Rd 3 (16)
Gaz Cummings 2 Ben Smith 1
Qualifier: Gaz Cummings
Despite being a big favourite, Gaz The Stitch Cummings struggled to overcome Tom Sharman in Rd 2. Tom had surprisingly beaten Gaz in their league fixture of a few weeks previous. He found his form though to meet Ben The Force Smith in the last 16, another match-up that would have graced the final. The Force was losing finalist last year, but will not go one step better in 2016 as The Stitch ground him down, and with The Force squandering a good chance, Gaz progressed to provide another high-quality quarter-finalist.
Longton CC:
Rd 1 (64)
David Clift 2 J Eccles 0
Chris Banks Bye
Russ Johnson Bye
Ian Grieve Bye
Rd 2 (32)
Dave Clift 2 Chris Banks 0
Ian Grieves 2 Russ Johnson 0
Rd 3 (16)
Ian Grieve 2 Dave Clift 0
Qualifier: Ian Grieve
Ian Greebo Grieve qualified from a tough group at Longton Cricket Club, meaning the possibility of a repeat of the very first singles merits final is still a prospect, that being between Tony Douthwaite and himself. Dave Dopper Clift beat the losing finalist in the singles merits of 2014, Chris Banks with Greebo defeating Longton Cricket Club Captain Russ Johnson on his home table. Greebo then beat Lamb A’s Dopper for a good win.
Nick Brookes Photography Singles Merits Quarter-Finalists (playing down to the finalists on 10 November, final at the presentation night)
Lee Walker – Little Stoke
Andy Conner – Lamb A
Gavin Davies – The Lamb
John Grobnik – The Lamb
Gaz Cummings – The Joker
Ian Grieve – Lamb Hot Pots
Nick Britton – Little Stoke
Tony Douthwaite – The Joker
