Hats are Cocked at top of SLKPA Premier Division

 

They followed up their close-run, 8-7 victory over Pickwick last week with an impressive taming of the Bears this week. 

 

Jeff Bailey and Shane Burnett got Bears off to a great start, winning the opening two frames, but Cocked Hats clawed their way back, with Nikki Steadman, Elliot Giles and Chris Hobbis taking the next three frames to go, 3-2 up. 

 

Dean James equalised for Bears, but that would be their last frame, as Cocked Hats won the next nine frames for a, 12-3 triumph. 

 

Steadman, Giles and Hobbis not only clawed The Cocked Hats back into the match in the first set but also went onto to win all three of their frames and teammate Steve Dixon was also unbeaten with two frame wins. 

 

After their fantastic, 11-4 win last week, Rugrats were brought back to earth by Hotshots. 

 

Ashley Hewson got Rugrats off to a great start, winning the first frame however, Hotshots went on to take the next four frames for a, 4-1 first set lead. 

 

Hewson made it two out of two with frame six to reduce the deficit to, 4-2 but Richard Chapman and Tony Wilson extended Hotshots lead to, 6-2.

 

Scott Foley halved the gap between the two sides, but Danny Kelliher took Hotshots to the hill, at, 7-3. 

 

Rugrats put up a stern defence, with Hewson recording his hat-trick and Foley winning frame twelve to bring their team to within two frames at, 7-5. 

 

However, Ryan Francis won frame thirteen to give Hotshots the victory and that was followed by Chapman and Kelliher completing their hat-tricks to give Hotshots a, 10-5 triumph. 

 

This result has put Hotshots one point behind Cocked Hats and three points ahead of their opponents, who are in third. 

 

Cocked Hats and Hotshots are not the only unbeaten sides in the top division, as Sharks, who didn’t have a game last week, won their first match this week against Bellegrove. 

 

Sharks swam out of the blocks this week, with Alex Biggs, Vu Son and Rahat Munim all winning to put their team, 3-0 ahead. 

 

However, Dan Foley and Dec Kelly won the last two frames of the set for Bellegrove to bring it back to, 3-2. 

 

Sharks were ruthless in the second set, whitewashing it, 5-0 to take an, 8-2 lead and have the match won before the third set. 

 

Biggs increased the lead to, 9-2 before Dan Heinink and James Couch cut that down to, 9-4. 

 

Dean Passer tied the set at, 2-2, then Tony Halpin gave Bellegrove something to cheer about, taking the final frame to give them the set and reduce the score to, 10-5. 

 

Despite the, 10-5 score line there was only one unbeaten player, Alex Biggs, who won all three of his frames.

 

Bellerove are now in fourth, one point behind Rugrats, with Sharks in seventh, but have a game in hand. 

 

Sandwiched between Bellegrove and Sharks are Pickwick and Eltham Terrace Nuthouse and they played each other this week.  

 

Last week Nuthouse were beaten, 11-4 whereas Pickwick were narrowly beaten, 8-7 by the league leaders, so we could expect a thriller. 

 

It was an incredibly close match between two evenly matched teams, with each set being won by the odd frame. 

 

The first set swung one way then the other, with the opening four frames being shared, which included a break and dish from Nuthouse’s Lee Suggars.

 

This sent the set into a deciding frame, which Louis Wilbourne won to give Nuthouse an early, 3-2 lead. 

 

This sparked Pickwick into action as, Dave Pile, Paul Gafa and Paul Slater won the first three frames of the second set to put them, 5-3 ahead.

 

However, Nuthouse fought back, with Suggars and Jon Syta taking the last two frames of the set to tie the match at, five all. 

 

The fight back continued into the last set, with Syta and Wilbourne winning frames eleven and twelve to string four frames in a row for Nuthouse and bring them from, 5-3 down to, 7-5 up. 

 

Pickwick were not lying down though, as Pile and Martin Storey won the next two frames to level the match, sending it to a final frame decider.

 

Pickwick’s Jamie Davis met Danny Kent from Nuthouse and Kent didn’t give Davis a chance, performing a break and dish to win the match in style. 

 

For the second week running Pickwick were pipped at the post, losing the match, 8-7 but Pile did give them something to cheer about, with an unbeaten hat-trick. 

 

Despite losing both their games, Pickwick are still in fifth with Nuthouse just two points behind them. 

 

There’s a tie at the top of SLKPA Division One, after Falconwood Club and New Eltham New Stars followed up their, 9-6 victories last week, with, 11-4 triumphs this week. 

 

New Stars travelled to Eltham Terrace Rack Pack and had Dave Jandu and Paul Carroll as the inspiration behind the victory, unbeaten on three and two frame wins respectively. 

 

They were backed up by Steve Knight, who performed a break and dish as part of his two out of three frame wins. 

 

New Stars sister side, New Eltham New Boys couldn’t help them out against Falconwood, as Falconwood started off strongly winning the first couple of frames and the first set, 4-1. 

 

The second set was more evenly matched, with New Boys puling the match score back to, 6-4 in favour of Falconwood. 

 

Frame eleven was the pivotal frame between, Falconwood’s Akar Necati and Billy Russell from New Boys, which turned into a tight, tactical battle, with the eight-ball sandwiched in a pocket amongst other balls. 

 

After a period of deliberate fouls from both players, Necati won the frame to move Falconwood, 7-4 ahead. 

 

They used this momentum to run off the final four frames for an overall 11-4 away win.

 

Falconwood’s Captain, Paul Baker led from the front with an unbeaten hat-trick, and he was joined by Ross Webster on the same score. 

 

New Boys are now two points behind the top two, with Rack Pack winless after two matches at the bottom. 

 

Bellegrove A bounced back from their opening day, 14-1 defeat to beat Fox & Hounds, 10-5 to jump off the bottom and leapfrog their opponents into fourth. 

 

Both Fox & Hounds and Bellegrove A are one point ahead of Rack Pack, with Bellegrove ahead of Fox due to their win over them this week. 

 

Academicals are riding high at the top of SLKPA Division Two after two massive victories, with this week’s being an, 11-4 triumph over Bexleyheath Working Men’s Club. 

 

Farmhouse are also unbeaten after winning against Happy Hustlers this week. 

 

This game had the unusual statistic of both teams only having four players. 

 

Luckily, when the teams were chosen, the missing players were not selected to play each other. 

 

Farmhouse had the better start, with all four of their players, Steven Jeffcoate, Steve Carpenter, Nick Brown and John Denahy all winning in the first set. 

 

Then, without an opponent, Donna Mullins put Happy Hustlers first frame on the board. 

 

Mullins, then faced Carpenter in the first frame of the second set and it was the man from the Farmhouse who carved out a win to put his team, 5-1 up. 

 

Reece Stewart and Angie Hobbs won the next two frames to put Hustlers ahead in the set and reduce the arrears to, 5-3. 

 

Jeffcoate levelled the set and as Brown didn’t have an opponent, Farmhouse took the set, 3-2 giving them an overall, 7-3 lead. 

 

Hustlers sacrificed the match by giving Farmhouse the first frame of the final set and Brown made it, 9-3 with frame twelve. 

 

Even though the match was out of their grasp, that didn’t bother Mullins and Hobbs, both winning to tie the set and pull their team back to, 9-5.

 

Alfie Cambridge was handed a bye, giving Hustlers the set, and making the overall score a more respectable, 9-6. 

 

Nick Brown was the only unbeaten player, winning all three of his frames. 

 

Despite still being unbeaten, Farmhouse are only third in the table, as Duke of Northumberland had a big win last week, even though they lost this week. 

 

After narrowly losing, 8-7 last week, Bellegrove Flyers bounced back to beat Duke, 9-6. 

 

Academicals are four points clear at the top of the division, but only three points separate the next three teams, with Happy Hustlers and Bexleyheath languishing at the bottom. 

 

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 always looking at potential sponsors and any interested parties can also contact Paul Gafa.