Princeville Patriots make the trip over to Leeds terriority to face league leaders St Andrews "Foxes", who are Pudsey Billiards League's answer to Leicester City Football Club.
First up was M.Barnes and K.Tomlinson. We join after a third of the way in (after circumnavigating through the Cycle Superhighway in Thornbury) to see Keith trailing by around 20pts, just in time to see Malcolm knock in a 15 break and from then on extend his lead past the 40pt mark. There was plenty of jaw rattling and a couple of outrageous flukes in the middle stages. With 10 minutes to go, Malcolm missed a whole length table in-off for Keith to score 18 on the counter attack with a double baulk finish to half his deficit, only for Malcolm to get out of it with a cannon followed by a fluke red. This did not deter Keith who spearheaded a comeback and was 1pt ahead with 40 seconds to go. All three balls were in the baulk end at this stage and Keith ensured victory by potting the opposite cue ball, using long aparatus.
Next up was N.Proctor and D.Hardcastle in a tightly fought battle. Norman didn't appear to be at his fluent best, whilst Don kept within parity for the most part. However Norman made his move with a well timed 15 break to take him within a score to win and eventually did so with a 22pt margin.
Next up was top board men S.Boocock and J.Butcher in what was a match definer. James got off to a bright start, negotiating some cannon shots by playing square off the side cushions. However finding another gear proved to be tricky due to not mastering a misbehaving table, with the cloth throwing balls wider than usual and the balls travelling a varying pace causing a high number of unforced errors. Steve got into a rhythm and led by 20pts leading up to the halfway stage and then extended it to 40pts. Things got bad to worse for James as his tip came off whilst trying to generate power on a long range shot (which was mistaken for a moth flying over the table!). However this did not deter Steve who clinched the game with a 22 break unfinished and won by 58pts.
Finally it was S.Clark and I.Tomlinson, the latter facing an audacious task of winning by 80pts if the Patriots were to clinch their 1st win of 2016. Ian played reasonably well and kept in contention throughout, even sometimes leading. However Steve was at his rampant best and upped the ante when it mattered the most as he won by 20pts to give St Andrews Foxes a 4-1 victory on the night and firmly remain in the title hunt.
The Patriots are left wondering when will their season pick up, if at all? Winless in 2016 and rooted to the bottom 1.5pts adrift with 3 games remaining.
First up was M.Barnes and K.Tomlinson. We join after a third of the way in (after circumnavigating through the Cycle Superhighway in Thornbury) to see Keith trailing by around 20pts, just in time to see Malcolm knock in a 15 break and from then on extend his lead past the 40pt mark. There was plenty of jaw rattling and a couple of outrageous flukes in the middle stages. With 10 minutes to go, Malcolm missed a whole length table in-off for Keith to score 18 on the counter attack with a double baulk finish to half his deficit, only for Malcolm to get out of it with a cannon followed by a fluke red. This did not deter Keith who spearheaded a comeback and was 1pt ahead with 40 seconds to go. All three balls were in the baulk end at this stage and Keith ensured victory by potting the opposite cue ball, using long aparatus.
Next up was N.Proctor and D.Hardcastle in a tightly fought battle. Norman didn't appear to be at his fluent best, whilst Don kept within parity for the most part. However Norman made his move with a well timed 15 break to take him within a score to win and eventually did so with a 22pt margin.
Next up was top board men S.Boocock and J.Butcher in what was a match definer. James got off to a bright start, negotiating some cannon shots by playing square off the side cushions. However finding another gear proved to be tricky due to not mastering a misbehaving table, with the cloth throwing balls wider than usual and the balls travelling a varying pace causing a high number of unforced errors. Steve got into a rhythm and led by 20pts leading up to the halfway stage and then extended it to 40pts. Things got bad to worse for James as his tip came off whilst trying to generate power on a long range shot (which was mistaken for a moth flying over the table!). However this did not deter Steve who clinched the game with a 22 break unfinished and won by 58pts.
Finally it was S.Clark and I.Tomlinson, the latter facing an audacious task of winning by 80pts if the Patriots were to clinch their 1st win of 2016. Ian played reasonably well and kept in contention throughout, even sometimes leading. However Steve was at his rampant best and upped the ante when it mattered the most as he won by 20pts to give St Andrews Foxes a 4-1 victory on the night and firmly remain in the title hunt.
The Patriots are left wondering when will their season pick up, if at all? Winless in 2016 and rooted to the bottom 1.5pts adrift with 3 games remaining.
New brand of tip - 10mm Moth Diamond
S.Clark of St Andrews Foxes deals with Moth
