It’s taken ten weeks but New Eltham Club of South London & Kent Pool Alliance Tier Three have finally been beaten, making them the last team to lose their unbeaten streak for the season. 

The team to put a mark on their unblemished record was second placed, Bexleyheath Working Mans Club, who are on their own great run of victories. 

It was the closest of matches, with Bexleyheath taking the first two sets by the odd frame, 3-2 and New Eltham Club won the last by the same score for an overall, 2-1 & 8-7 triumph. 

Despite the loss, New Eltham Club Captain, Jeff Bailey kept up his good form, winning all three of his frames and he was supported by Jamie Phillips, who scored two out of his three. 

New Eltham Club are now three points ahead of their rivals, who have been joined on 29 points by New Eltham Social Club, after they were victorious in the only match that didn’t finish, 2-1 & 8-7 in the division. 

New Eltham Social Club played Red Barn and had the perfect start, whitewashing the first set, 5-0 and they went on to take the next two sets, although they were much closer at, 3-2 to win the match, 3-0 & 11-4. 

Happy Hustlers are now just two points behind this week’s opponents, Academicians, after a narrow, 2-1 & 8-7 victory over them. 

The match looked like it was going to form when Academicals took the first set, 3-2 but Hustlers battled hard and won the next two sets by the same score to provide a bit of a shock.  

The bottom two teams faced each other, as Real Hustlers took on Lord Kitchener and the points were shared, as Hustlers won, 2-1 in sets but Lord Kitchener scored more frames, 8-7. 

Lord Kitchener looked to be extending their lead over their opponents when they took a, 4-1 lead in the first set but Real Hustlers harried and hustled and won the last two sets, 3-2 to grab a share of the points. 

The top two also played each other in SLKPA Tier Two West, with Sharks travelling to Rose Inn. 

The second placed team started the better and inflicted only the sixth set loss of Sharks’ season by 3 frames to 2. 

Sharks recovered and won the second set, 4-1 before taking the first two frames of the last set to secure the bonus point however, Rose won the next two frames to take the set and match to a final frame decider. 

Rose Inn’s Captain, Neil Mundy faced Arif Salih and it was Salih who sealed Sharks’ win, 2-1 & 9-6. 

Salih and Eno Idiong both scored two out of three for Sharks but Rahat Munim went one better with an unbeaten hat-trick, as did Jack Wilson for Rose. 

This puts Sharks four points ahead of Rose Inn, while Woolwich Wolfpack are three points behind them, in third, after this week’s victory against Fox & Hounds. 

Fox got out of the traps quicker, taking a, 2-0 lead in the first set but Wolfpack turned it around and won the next three frames to take the set, 3-2. 

They went on to win the second set by the same score before taking the first three frames of the final set to secure maximum points. 

Fox won the last two frames so, each set was won by the same, 3-2 score line, giving Wolfpack the, 3-0 & 9-6 triumph. 

Alan Dolan and Clive Forrest kept Fox in with a shout by winning two of their three frames, but Wolfpack had two unbeaten players, Scott Reeves with a brace and Paul Dawson on a hat-trick. 

Bellegrove Superstars won only their third point of the season but in the end, they didn’t have enough to beat Crayford Social Club Rugrats. 

The first two frames went to Rugrats, but Superstars took the next three to win their third set of the season. 

Rugrats were hurt and made sure that didn’t happen again by winning the fist four frames of the second set, eventually taking it, 4-1 and they went on to win the final set by the same score for a, 2-1 & 10-5 overall triumph. 

Jason Brunton and Martin Hession shared four of Superstars five frames, with Andy Grant the other frame winner. 

Rugrats Pat Firth scored a brilliant three out of three, while new team mate Dafydd Ruffell is still unbeaten in the SLKPA after his second hat-trick in a row. 

Something quite remarkable happened in SLKPA Tier Two East this week, not only did the away team win every match but they were all won by the same, 2-1 & 9-6 score line. 

It was yet another top two tie, with New Eltham visiting North Heath Social Club and it was the away side who got off to the better start, taking the first set, 4-1 after losing the first frame. 

The first four frames of the next set were shared but Barry Barham won the final frame decider to give New Eltham the set, 3-2 and he went on to take the eleventh frame for his unbeaten hat-trick, which secured the bonus point. 

That didn’t stop North Heath fighting and this set also went to a final frame decider, with both players having opportunities to bring it home but eventually the home side took it to gain a point in the, 2-1 & 9-6 final score. 

This result has given New Eltham a four point lead at the top. 

Royal Oak’s run of good form continues and they join North Heath on 24 points, after they beat Eltham Terrace Rack Pack this week. 

What was interesting about this game was each set being won by 4 frames to 1, with Royal Oak taking the first two and Rack Pack coming back with the last. 

The saviour for Rack Pack was Alex Dobbins who won a frame in each set to keep them in the match. 

On the other hand, Royal Oak had four unbeaten players, Aaron Duke who won his only frame for the second week in a row and Paul Clements, Phil Tworek and Lim Morina all finished with two frame wins. 

CSC Mr’s & Miss Q’s are six points behind Royal Oak after they beat bottom team Bellegrove A, 2-1 & 9-6, and are now four points behind Rack Pack. 

Hotshots and Eltham Terrace Club A take full advantage of Allstars week off to go above them into first and second of the SLKPA Elite League, respectively. 

The new league leaders took their chances, which broke Pickwick down, ending in a comprehensive, 3-0 & 11-4 victory for Hotshots. 

Toby Bolt wasn’t on top form but was effective in his three frame wins for Hotshots, while Billy Levingbird was the main reply for Pickwick, winning two of his three frames. 

Also scoring a comprehensive win was Eltham Terrace Club A, beating Hustlers Simply Lovleh, 3-0 & 12-3 to go one point ahead of Allstars and two behind Hotshots. 

The other game in the division was a derby match at the bottom of the table between Eltham Terrace Rovers and Eltham Terrace Nuthouse. 

The match was much closer than the, 3-0 & 9-6 score line suggests, as each set was won by the odd frame, 3-2. 

The first four frames were shared but Shane O’Reilly held his nerve to give Nuthouse the first set. 

Sets two and three followed a similar pattern, with Rovers taking a, 2-0 lead but allowed Nuthouse back in, to tie the set, before O’Reilly brought it home for Nuthouse, completing his hat-trick in the process. 

O’Reilly was supported by Craig Jones, Louis Wilbourne and Jon Syta who all won two of their three frames. 

This win gives Nuthouse a one point advantage over their opponents in the table and they are only two points behind Simply Lovleh above them. 

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.