Nine weeks into the South London & Kent Pool Alliance summer season and the league tables are taking shape, especially in Tier Two West where Rugrats have opened up an eight-point gap at the top of the table.
This week they played a local derby against Crayford A, who were in second place and Rugrats got off to a great start, winning the first three frames to take the first set.
Gary Mason prevented the whitewash, but Josh Page won the fifth frame to give Rugrats a, 4-1 lead.
They extended that lead to, 6-1 with the first two frames of the second set, but Crayford fought back and tied the set, before Page won the deciding frame and put Rugrats two sets up.
Rugrats secured the bonus point with the first frame of the third set, which they went on to win, 3-2 for an overall, 3-0 & 10-5 triumph.
The only unbeaten player on the night was Dafydd Ruffell, scoring three out of three for Rugrats.
As Rugrats cement their place at the top of the table, Crayford drop to fourth, as Bellegrove A got their first win in four games.
It was third against fourth, as Bellegrove went to Eltham Terrace Rack Pack Rovers, with both teams on 19 points so, it was bound to be a close game.
Rack Pack Rovers had the better start, winning the opening two frames, but Bellegrove recovered to take the next three and clinch the set, 3-2.
The second set had a similar start to the first, but this time Rack Pack Rovers made it three in a row to take the second set and go, 5-3 in the lead.
However, Bellegrove came back again and won the next two frames to level the score at one set and five frames a piece.
Again, Rack Pack Rovers opened the scoring, taking the first frame of the final set, but Bellegrove won the last four frames to seal the victory, 2-1 & 9-6.
It was a good all-round team performance from Bellegrove, headed by Captain John Skuza, winning all three of his frames and he was supported by Terry Mitchell, Steve Hughes and Stacy Redman, who all won two of their three frames.
As a result, Bellegrove leapfrog their opponents into second, two points ahead of them and Crayford.
With the top four playing each other there was a basement battle, as Sea the Angles played Academicals, with just two points between them.
Sea the Angles were looking to build on their first victory last week and they started well, taking a, 2-1 lead but Academicals won the last two frames of the set to take it, 3-2.
It was a disappointing second set for Sea the Angles, as after Donna Mullins tied the set in frame seven, Academicals went on to take the remaining three frames in the set, to lead, 2-0 in sets and 7-3 in frames.
Academicals secured the bonus point with frame eleven, but Sea the Angles were still fighting hard and Jade Holmes tied the set.
The next two frames were also shared, as the in-form Jo Williams kept up her record of winning a frame in every match she has played this season, to send the set into a deciding frame.
Unfortunately for Sea the Angles it didn’t go their way and Academicals scored maximum points with a, 3-0 & 10-5 triumph.
The score didn’t really reflect how close the game actually was, but the game can be cruel at times and Academicals have gone six points ahead of their opponents.
Over in Tier Two East, the top three played the bottom three and had relatively easy times, opening up an eleven-point gap over them.
Second from bottom, Fox & Hounds played hosts to the league leaders, New Eltham New Stars and they started well, with Neil Shelton winning the opening frame, but New Stars won the next eight frames in a row to take the first two sets and the match, before the start of the final set.
Fox Captain, Kerry Wyatt prevented the second set whitewash and it turned out that Alan Dolan did the same when he won frame twelve, as New Stars took the other four frames in the set to make the final score, 3-0 & 12-3.
Dave Jandu top scored for New Stars with an unbeaten hat-trick and he was supported by Steve Knight and Jeff Schofield, who were also unbeaten with two frame wins each.
Rose Inn stay in second, four points behind New Stars, after they matched New Stars, 3-0 & 12-3 victory against fourth placed Just Bellegrove.
One point behind Rose Inn are Duke of Northumberland, who this week beat bottom team, Rugrats Guardians.
Guardians only had four players, which proved costly in the first set, as after Guardians took a, 2-1 lead Paul Clements equalised for Duke and then they were handed the fifth frame to take the set, 3-2.
Duke whitewashed the second set, for an overall, 8-2 lead giving them the bonus point before the third set.
John Cochrane and Phil Tworek gave Duke a, 2-0 lead in the third set, making it nine frames in a row.
Martin Hart and Aaron Shephard tied the set for Guardians, but they couldn’t steal a point, having run out of players again, giving Duke the last frame and a, 3-0 & 11-4 victory.
Sam Kinsville won both of his frames for Duke, but team mates, Clements and Tworek both went one better with unbeaten hat-tricks.
Even though there is a big split between the top three and bottom three in this division, there are still two big battles going on, with only two points separating the bottom three and five points the top three, the battles for promotion and relegation are really tight.
Second played third in the SLKPA Elite League, as Bull Tavern took on Foxy Meatballs, and Meatballs joined Bull on 21 points, with a, 2-1 & 9-6 triumph, but Meatballs leapfrog their opponents into second with two more victories.
This gave Hotshots the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table and they did just that, with a, 3-0 & 11-4 win over Sharks to go seven points clear at the top.
Hotshots got off to a wonderful start, winning the first four frames and it should have been five, but Sharks stole the fifth frame with a fluke against Ryan Francis.
The second set was closer, as Sharks took a, 2-1 lead, but Jamie O’Donnell and Neil Hall won the last two frames of the set to nick it, 3-2 and take a, 7-3 lead into the final set.
O’Donnell and Richard Chapman produced two lovely finishes to record hat-tricks and give their team a, 9-3 lead.
Sharks pulled a frame back, but Danny Kelliher secured the set and maximum points for Hotshots.
Chapman and O’Donnell were not the only unbeaten players, as they were joined by their skipper Hall, who scored a brace.
Second from bottom, Pickwick did their chances of survival the world of good by beating bottom side Falconwood Club.
Pickwick were six points ahead of their opponents, but it seemed like more as Pickwick whitewashed the first set, 5-0.
The next two sets weren’t much better for Falconwood, as they only troubled the scorers three times, with Pickwick running out, 3-0 & 12-3 winners.
Will Byrne cued beautifully for his hat-trick and he was supported by Pete Thomas and Paul Slater, going unbeaten with two frame wins each.
Results went Pickwick’s way, as they rose from seventh to fifth and are now ten points ahead of their opponents.
Falconwood remain cemented to the bottom of the table and are now eight points behind Sharks, who are seventh.
One point ahead of Sharks are Eltham Terrace Club A, who had a tough local derby match with Eltham Terrace Nuthouse this week.
The tussle at the Terrace started off really close, with the first set poised at two all, Dave Rawlinson won frame five to nudge Terrace into the lead.
Nuthouse went, 4-3 up by winning the first two frames of the second set, but Dan Heinink equalised with a break and dish.
However, Nuthouse won the last two frames of the set to take it, 4-1 and open up a, 6-4 lead.
The final set matched the second, with Nuthouse winning the first two frames, Heinink pulled a frame back with a dish from a dry break and Nuthouse took the last two frames to win the set, 4-1 and the match, 2-1 & 10-5.
Zoe Healy was the inspiration behind the victory, winning her frames in sets two and three to be the only unbeaten player on the night.
This result puts Nuthouse three points and two places above their neighbours.
Hotshots maybe seven points clear at the top and Falconwood eight points adrift at the bottom, but competition is fierce between the rest as only six points separate second from seventh.
After going five games unbeaten in SLKPA Tier Three, Greyhound have now lost two in a row, after being beaten, 2-1 & 8-7 by Bexleyheath Working Man’s Club this week.
Top played bottom in this division and the gulf between the two sides showed, as New Eltham New Boys annihilated Real Hustlers, 3-0 & 13-2.
New Boys are now five points ahead of Greyhound at the top, whereas Bexleyheath have increased their lead over Hustlers to eight points.
For more information on the SLKPA including league tables visit our website at www.slkpa.com or contact our Secretary, Paul Gafa on 07443 456662 or secretary@slkpa.com with any queries.
The league is looking at potential sponsors; any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.
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