The last league week of the South London & Kent Pool Alliance summer season and it was a straight battle between Rose Inn and Woolwich Wolfpack to see who would be playing North Heath Social Club in the Tier Two promotion play-off.

After occupying second place in Tier Two West for most of the season, Rose Inn were overtaken by Wolfpack last week by two points and they held onto that lead this week, with a,2-1 & 9-6 triumph over Fox & Hounds.

Glen Ward helped Fox to upset the apple cart by winning the deciding fifth frame to give his side a, 3-2 lead and the first set.

This must have stunned Wolfpack, fearing they were going to lose their grip on the play-off place, and they went on to win the first three frames of the second set, to take it and tie the match at one all in sets.

Despite finishing in the relegation play-off spot, Fox were not going to lie down and let the Wolfpack have it, and they won the last two frames of the set to tie the match at five frames all.

However, Wolfpack’s determination was stronger, winning the first four frames of the final set, with Fox’s Alan Dolan preventing the whitewash.

There were only two unbeaten players, Neil Shelton who won both of his frames for Fox but Wolfpack’s Alex Biggs went one better with a hat-trick.

With Wolfpack scoring three points it meant it was impossible for Rose Inn to catch them, but they didn’t know that when they took the first three frames against champions Sharks.

However, Sharks had their integrity to uphold and they fought back, taking the next seven frames to not only win the second set but also take a, 7-3 lead into the final set, meaning they only needed one more frame for the bonus point.

They achieved this in the twelfth frame but Rose were not going down without a fight and were looking for the win in sets when they took the next frame for a,2-1 lead in the final set.

It just was not their day though, as Vu Son and Eno Idiong won the last two frames for Sharks, giving them the, 2-1 & 10-5 victory.

Idiong and Rahat Munim both scored an unbeaten brace but team mate Chris Mackenzie went one better with a maximum three out of three.

This result meant that Sharks finished top of Tier Two West, eight points clear of Wolfpack and ten ahead of Rose Inn in third.

Finishing twelve points behind Rose Inn were Crayford Social Club Rugrats, after they beat bottom team Bellegrove Superstars, 3-0 & 11-4.

This may have been a dead rubber but Rugrats had too much pride to be beaten by the bottom team, winning the first and third set, 4-1.

The second set was a little closer, with Superstars forcing a decider but Daffyd Ruffell was too strong for Jason Brunton giving Rugrats the second set, 3-2.

Keith Smith was a superstar for Superstars, winning three of his team’s four frames, and Scott Shephard also scored a hat-trick for Rugrats, with Ruffell and Pat Firth supporting him, each with two out of two.

There were only two matches in Tier Two East, as the top two, New Eltham and North Heath had already played and their positions were secured.

We also knew that Bellegrove A would be finishing bottom and the exclamation point was put on that when they lost, 2-1 & 9-6 to CSC Mr’s & Miss Q’s.

Three man Eltham Terrace Rack Pack stunned third place Royal Oak when they won the first three frames to take the set, but obviously had to give away the next two to bring Royal Oak back into it.

This sparked them back into life and they won nine of the next ten frames to finish up, 2-1 & 11-4 victors.

Ernie Wellhausen made a rare appearance for Rack Pack this season and is was just as well he did, as he won two of his three frames with two excellent clearances.

Despite the margin of victory and the amount of players Rack Pack had, Royal Oak had only one unbeaten player, Steve Clarke, winning all three frames, with only one of them coming from a bye.

Next week we have the play-offs to see who else will be promoted or relegated from Tier Two, with North Heath facing Woolwich Wolfpack for a place in the Elite League and Rack Pack battling Fox & Hounds to stay in Tier Two.

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.