As the Pudsey Billiards League 2014/2015 season reaches to an end, Princeville Patriots had one more engagement in form of the Pudsey Billiards League Cup Final against league winners St Andrews "A".
En-route to the final, St Andrews "A" beat Princeville "B" and Bradford Deaf Centre. "Patriots" received a bye and beat Pudsey Congs in what was an overall team effort. Interim captain at the time I.Tomlinson restricting a more prolific player in D.Hirst to a 1pt victory. D.Raw might have got the better of S.Gatenby with a 28pt win, but Steve was not necessarily outplayed and held his ground . Anchorman D.Hardcastle held more than his own against another prolific player in J.Hirst, losing by just 14pts and was in front for much of the game.
Come the final match between M.Hirst and J.Butcher, Pudsey Congs had to overcome a 102pt deficit. A difficult feat to overcome, but something Mick is very capable of as he holds the leagues highest break of 51 unfinished and produced two other 30 odd breaks in the same fixture against A.Instrell of St Andrews "A". However it was a case of save the best until last as James powered his way to a 45pt victory with an array of attacking strokes and in a few cases where the cue ball was on the cushion, playing a shot down on one knee in order to overcome compact circuit and seating area.
In team news leading to the final, St Andrews "A" were unchanged whilst the "Patriots" made one change. Regular captain K.Tomlinson, returning from an extended stay in Australia, replaced S.Gatenby. On handicaps, the "Patriots" received a 45pt advantage.
Starting proceedings was D.Hardcastle v G.Rogers and I.Tomlinson v N.Lee. Gary looked in fine touch as he led from the off, scoring at regular visits and gave very little opportunity for Don to get a foothold in the game. Meanwhile Ian and Neil were involved in a high tempoed encounter, scoring over 240pts between them. Neil initially got off to a 20pt lead, but Ian fought back and led by 20pts himself before Neil reduced those arrears to virtually level things up. Both players tried to take the iniative, but got beaten by the buzzer and Ian won by 1pt. On the other table, Gary secured a 38pt lead. At the halfway stage, St Andrews "A" led by 2pts with handicaps taken into account.
Next up by J.Butcher v A.Instrell and K.Tomlinson v G.Pearson. James got off to a bright start against Andy and recorded a 17pt break early doors to be 20pts in front, then consolidated that lead with regular scoring visits, aided by some good fortune. Andy was by means not out of contention, as the game was open for the most part. with both players making unforced errors and leaving scoring shots. A fantastic opportunity for anyone at their fluent best to post a potential tournament winning break. Meanwhile on the other table, Keith and Graham kept toe to toe with each other as small leads kept exchanging hands.
It did not become clear who would win the League Cup until the last few minutes. Keith took the iniative to post a 20pt break to place himself in pole position, whilst James still preserved a lead of 20pts+ throughout. As the final buzzer went, James won by 42pts and Keith by 26pt for Princeville "Patriots" to win the 2014/2015 Pudsey Billiards League Cup. A fitting tribute for a team who dominated the league campaign with a 10 match unbeaten run, only to fall apart with a seven week break and numerous absentees during the 2nd half of the season.
Tuesday, 28 April 2015
Patriots v St Andrews "B" season finale
Princeville Patriots played their final Pudsey Billiards League fixture of the 2014/2015 season, entertaining St Andrews "B". A match where the Patriots were still in contention for defending their title, although they had to reduce a 2.5pt deficit over St Andrews "A" (who played against Princeville "B"). Not the easiest of tasks when a maximum of 5pts can be won in any one game.
The implications stood as follows - any team win for St Andrews "A" would crown them as league champions, whilst the "Patriots" needed to better St Andrews "A" result by 3pts.
Realistically a 5-0 win for Princeville Patriots would give them every chance, question was how to go about it? Not an easy objective to achieve when the team is generally out of form, registering just 3 wins in 9 games. Whilst brainstorming for ideas in a pre-match team meeting, top board player J.Butcher suggested to play the two in-form players in an attempt to create momentum. An idea which received full backing from the acting captain I.Tomlinson and fellow team-mates, D.Bowers and D.Hardcastle.
Starting the 1st half of matches was J.Butcher versus an in-form S.Clark, reported "not to have missed a thing" in the last league fixture against St Andrews "A". D.Hardcastle was up against occasional player W.Robinson, deputising for regular top man S.Boocock.
S.Clark continued where he started, getting off to a flying start and making most of a 30pt handicap start by increasing his lead to 45pts. This left James wondering what to do and how to overcome such a deficit, especially when losing was not an option. Playing the percentages became a feature as James launched a comeback, scoring points in instalments and playing safe when no obvious scoring shot was on. Steve continued the all out attack philosphy in an attempt to race to 200 before the 50 minute time limit was up.
By the halfway stage James reduced much of the deficit and kicked on from there, producing a valuable 19pt break to go within single points of victory. The game eventually finished with James clinching a potted red into the middle pocket, after placing Steve in double baulk region to win by 25pts with 6 minutes remaining.
On the other table, D.Hardcastle maintained a small lead against W.Robinson, although there was little between the players. Both players had a habit of producing scoring shots out of nowhere, then followed with an erratic miss. As the game reached it's final minutes, both players struggled to put points on the board despite the balls being left in good scoring positions. Eventually the 50 minute buzzer went off and Don by 6pts.
Meanwhile over in Pudsey, news filtered out that St Andrews "A" were also leading 2-0 at the halfway stage and one more point away from winning the 2014/2015 league title. The "Patriots" scenario was made simple, losing does not become an option.
Next up was I.Tomlinson v A.Ward and D.Bowers v M.Barnes.
Both Ian and Anthony was involved in a scrappy game, where both players struggled for momentum. However Ian was first to show the iniative with a graft rather than craft philosphy, scoring whatever points was available and playing safe when no. Anthony could not get any momentum going, exclaiming "I've never been frustrated in all my life". In the end it was a regulation win for Ian, albeit tension played a key factor with the title race reaching a climatic stage.
Over on the other table, lady luck shone on Dave against Malcolm, who had the feeling of dejavu from the previous fixture in early February. Although to Malcolm's credit, he persevered and found a lot of momentum with some fluent shot scoring and kept within sight. However Dave held on at the end and won, giving Princeville a 5-0 victory.
After waiting a good 10-15 minutes, news filtered through that St Andrews "A" got a 3rd win which was enough to win the 2014/2015 Pudsey Billiards League title. Later it was discovered that the final scoreline was 3-2 and St Andrews "A" won the league by half a point. An agnoisingly cruel way to miss out on defending the title, more so when unbeaten in the first ten games.
The implications stood as follows - any team win for St Andrews "A" would crown them as league champions, whilst the "Patriots" needed to better St Andrews "A" result by 3pts.
Realistically a 5-0 win for Princeville Patriots would give them every chance, question was how to go about it? Not an easy objective to achieve when the team is generally out of form, registering just 3 wins in 9 games. Whilst brainstorming for ideas in a pre-match team meeting, top board player J.Butcher suggested to play the two in-form players in an attempt to create momentum. An idea which received full backing from the acting captain I.Tomlinson and fellow team-mates, D.Bowers and D.Hardcastle.
Starting the 1st half of matches was J.Butcher versus an in-form S.Clark, reported "not to have missed a thing" in the last league fixture against St Andrews "A". D.Hardcastle was up against occasional player W.Robinson, deputising for regular top man S.Boocock.
S.Clark continued where he started, getting off to a flying start and making most of a 30pt handicap start by increasing his lead to 45pts. This left James wondering what to do and how to overcome such a deficit, especially when losing was not an option. Playing the percentages became a feature as James launched a comeback, scoring points in instalments and playing safe when no obvious scoring shot was on. Steve continued the all out attack philosphy in an attempt to race to 200 before the 50 minute time limit was up.
By the halfway stage James reduced much of the deficit and kicked on from there, producing a valuable 19pt break to go within single points of victory. The game eventually finished with James clinching a potted red into the middle pocket, after placing Steve in double baulk region to win by 25pts with 6 minutes remaining.
On the other table, D.Hardcastle maintained a small lead against W.Robinson, although there was little between the players. Both players had a habit of producing scoring shots out of nowhere, then followed with an erratic miss. As the game reached it's final minutes, both players struggled to put points on the board despite the balls being left in good scoring positions. Eventually the 50 minute buzzer went off and Don by 6pts.
Meanwhile over in Pudsey, news filtered out that St Andrews "A" were also leading 2-0 at the halfway stage and one more point away from winning the 2014/2015 league title. The "Patriots" scenario was made simple, losing does not become an option.
Next up was I.Tomlinson v A.Ward and D.Bowers v M.Barnes.
Both Ian and Anthony was involved in a scrappy game, where both players struggled for momentum. However Ian was first to show the iniative with a graft rather than craft philosphy, scoring whatever points was available and playing safe when no. Anthony could not get any momentum going, exclaiming "I've never been frustrated in all my life". In the end it was a regulation win for Ian, albeit tension played a key factor with the title race reaching a climatic stage.
Over on the other table, lady luck shone on Dave against Malcolm, who had the feeling of dejavu from the previous fixture in early February. Although to Malcolm's credit, he persevered and found a lot of momentum with some fluent shot scoring and kept within sight. However Dave held on at the end and won, giving Princeville a 5-0 victory.
After waiting a good 10-15 minutes, news filtered through that St Andrews "A" got a 3rd win which was enough to win the 2014/2015 Pudsey Billiards League title. Later it was discovered that the final scoreline was 3-2 and St Andrews "A" won the league by half a point. An agnoisingly cruel way to miss out on defending the title, more so when unbeaten in the first ten games.
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