Pickwick halt Hotshots unbeaten run

It was a tight match with the first set swinging one way then the other, with the first four frames being shared sending the set into a deciding frame.  

Danny Kelliher won it with a break and dish to give Hotshots a, 3-2 lead.

That soon became, 5-2 with Ryan Francis and Gary Sweetenham taking the first two frames of the second set. 

Dave Pile and Paul Dawson won the next two frames for Pickwick to bring them back to within one and send the second set into a deciding frame.

Kelliher was again on hand to win it for Hotshots and take a, 6-4 lead into the final set. 

Pickwick had been scrapping away, keeping themselves in the game and some great clearances saw, Dawson, Jamie Davis, Pile and Martin Storey all win to steal the victory. 

Kelliher made it three out of three with the final frame to make it, 8-7. 

It was a wonderful comeback from Pickwick to inflict the first defeat on Hotshots this season and jump into fourth place in the table.

On the plus side, Hotshots became the first Premier Division team to break through 100 points, scoring 104 so far. 

Sharks do close the gap on Hotshots at the top, but only by one point, as they earned a hard fought, 8-7 victory against the team below them, The Cocked Hats. 

Cocked Hats remain in third, seven points behind their opponents and six ahead of Pickwick in fourth. 

A massive victory for Bull Tavern over Rugrats, coupled with Bellegrove not having a game has lifted Bull from seventh to fifth in the table.

Bull Tavern should be challenging at the top of the table and were in scintillating form, whitewashing the first set, 5-0. 

Ian Cruwys was the first to put a frame on the board for Rugrats with frame six however, Bull continued their dominance and Tony Gear, Jack Noble, Naf Ayieko and Jamie White all won for a, 9-1 lead. 

The match was won before the third set started, but Bull wasn’t letting up, winning the first four frames of the set, making it eight on the bounce.

 Steve Gibson took the final frame giving Rugrats another consolation frame in the, 13-2 defeat. 

You can’t afford to miss against a team like Bull Tavern because they will punish you and that’s exactly what happened. 

No one was more clinical than Tony Gear, winning all three of his frames and he was backed up by, Shane O’Reilly, Noble and Ayieko all with two out of two and Jamie White who won his only frame. 

Bull are now only three points behind Pickwick with a game in hand, whereas Rugrats have dropped into the relegation zone however, they are only eight points behind their opponents, three places above them. 

The bottom two played each other and Eltham Terrace Nuthouse lifted themselves one place after a tough victory against Bears. 

Gary Heath got Bears off to a great start with the opening frame, but Craig Jones equalised, and Louis Wilbourne put Nuthouse ahead. 

Jeff Bailey tied the match again, sending the set into a deciding frame, before Trevor Biggs took the set for Nuthouse, 3-2.  

Wilbourne won the first frame of the second set to give Nuthouse a two-frame advantage however, Paul Cobbold, Heath and Bailey won the next three frames to put Bears one ahead. 

Nuthouse’s Jon Syta took frame ten making the score five all going into the last set. 

Biggs and Dave Sparey made it three in a row for Nuthouse to put them on the hill at, 7-5. 

Bailey recorded his hat-trick to bring Bears back to within one frame, but Syta and Craig Jones won the last two frames giving Nuthouse the, 9-6 triumph. 

Bears are now fourteen points behind their opponents, two places above them. 

Bottom played top, as New Eltham New Boys hosted Falconwood Club with 42 points between the teams, but you would never have guessed it on the night. 

Falconwood struggled to win a topsy-turvy game, 8-7 and maintain their position at the top of the division. 

The table proved difficult for both teams to play on, but Falconwood took a, 3-2 lead after the first set. 

New Boys took control of set two, winning it, 4-1 to open up a 6-4 lead overall. 

However, Falconwood responded well, winning the last set, 4-1 themselves for an overall 8-7 win, with Brett Crawley winning the final frame for Falconwood, to secure the victory. 

There were no unbeaten players on the night, although Falconwood did use seven players, all of whom won at least one frame, with Ian Stringer being the only Falconwood player to win two frames.

New Boys sister side, New Eltham New Stars couldn’t close the gap on Falconwood, matching their, 8-7 win with their own against Eltham Terrace Rack Pack. 

New Stars have passed 100 points but are still twelve points behind the division leaders. 

Despite the loss, Rack Pack have risen to fourth, after Bellegrove A beat Fox & Hounds, 9-6. 

Rack Pack and Fox are both on 79 points, six points ahead of New Boys, but Rack Pack are ahead by one more win. 

Bellegrove A are sitting in third, fourteen points ahead of Rack Pack and Fox and only nine behind New Stars. 

The top two in Division Two, Duke of Northumberland and Bellegrove Flyers went head-to-head this week. 

The home side, Flyers got off to a flyer with a brilliant double from Jason Brunton that won him the first frame, we wouldn’t expect anything less from him.   

However, after that the Duke took control, winning the next four frames to take a, 4-1 lead. 

The next two sets were closer, with the Duke edging them both, 3-2 to ultimately end the match with a, 10-5 triumph. 

Paul Clements and Sam Kinsville both finished on three out of three for the Duke.

This result extends Duke’s lead at the top of the table to 29 points and with just three league games left it looks like they’ll be heading for the title. 

Academicals got the job done against bottom of the table Bexleyheath Working Men’s Club, winning, 13-2 to hit 100 points and cut the gap between them and Flyers to nine points. 

Happy Hustlers picked up their fourth win of the season, 8-7 over Farmhouse to reduce the gap between them to eleven points and increase their buffer over Bexleyheath to 31 points. 

Six teams were lucky enough to play two games in a week, as the Silver Salver competition was playing catch up. 

The all Division Two clash between Academicals and Happy Hustlers ended with Academicals gaining their second win of the week by 8 frames to 6. 

Division One’s Bellegrove A heaped more misery on Bexleyheath with an, 8-1 mauling, whereas Bellegrove A’s sister side, Flyers were unlucky to be drawn against Premier Division Pickwick, who ended up, 8-3 winners. 

Academicals, Bellegrove A and Pickwick join the other five teams in the quarter-final draw. 

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.

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