After a disastrous 2015-16 Pudsey Billiards League campaign and being awarded the wooden spoon, Princeville Patriots begin their Pudsey League Cup defence with a repeat 2014-15 Final against St Andrews "A".
The Patriots have rang in some changes in personnel, W.Oates taking the place of captain K.Tomlinson who is Australia bound and scheduled to return to Blighty one day before the final. Ethiad Airways can confirm that none of their passengers have been strapped to the aircraft wings, despite a request from a well renowned television pundit. The Patriots can reveal other players were considered for selection during last weeks interval meeting, including G.Pearson so he could face against his St Andrews namesake.
Taking interim charge of Patriots was J.Butcher, who at last weeks pre-match meeting was unanimously voted in favour despite not being at said meeting. This was proposed by K.Tomlinson, seconded by I.Tomlinson, D.Hardcastle voted in favour with none against. Captaincy is something familiar to James having led Wibsey Liberals Billiards team for two years before folding and more recently the 2nd XI of Great Horton Methodists Cricket Club.
First up was W.Oates and G.Pearson along with D.Hardcastle and G.Rogers. Graham got off to a flying start by registering breaks of 23 and 26 in consecutive visits to put himself in front in the 70 point region, leaving Bill firmly on the back foot and a task to reduce as much of the deficit as possible. Unforced errors became a feature from both players in the middle overs, but heading towards the end Bill found some much needed momentum to reduce the deificit. With less than 3 minutes to go, Bill had all three balls nicely positioned towards the top end of the table for a chance to register a significant break, but only got as far as the mid-teens after missing a crucial red pot. Graham added a few more points before the bell to record a 41pt win.
Meanwhile on the other table, Don was unfazed by developments and stuck to his task gamely by being on the front foot for the most part to record a valuable 21pt victory for the Patriots, giving a much needed morale booster for his Patriot team-mates.
For the 2nd half, it was J.Butcher v A.Instrell and I.Tomlinson v N.Lee. Funky captaincy was displayed by the Patriots skipper and top board man by "demoting" himself to the "junior table", a move which surprised those due to play.
Neil showed his typical attacking prowess by powering into a lead of 40pts early doors. A more cautious approach was taken on the other table, both James and Andy were content in biding their time on the baize, but could not quite get the desired momentum. James made most of the scrappy match by accumulating points in instalments and played percentage shots whenever the situation arose. Andy struggled for momentum even with solid scoring opportunities being presented. Back on the other table, Ian reduced the deficit to the 20pt region and found some momentum late on to get within single figure points. Neil won by 8pts for St Andrews, but James managed to record a 61pt win in a match which was not as one sided as the result read. Nethertheless the captains knock propelled the Patriots into the final and will face their stablemates, Princeville "B" in early May who recorded a narrow 13pt overall victory against Pudsey Congs. A very good evening for the Princeville Billiards Institute, where the Pudsey League Cup is guaranteed to remain at Princeville HQ for another year. One Patriots player has said on record that "he doesn't care who wins" the final.
Transport will be provided for the Grand Final, courtesy of bus operator First Group. For one day only the 576 service will extend from Bradford Hall Ings to Valley Road, Pudsey (terminating outside Littlemoor Bowling Club) to ensure a large crowd from the Princeville faithful.
Friday, 25 March 2016
Sunday, 13 March 2016
Princeville Derby Match Report
On behalf of the Patriots, we would like to congratulate St Andrews "Foxes" on winning the 2015/16 Pudsey Billiards League, causing an earthquake in more ways than one. Leeds Beckett University can confirm their Human Geography & Planning Department installed a seismometer within the confines of St Andrews Methodist Church and recorded 0.83 on the richter scale at approximately 9.25pm, when skipper Tony Ward secured the title winning points in defeating Dave Howarth.
Back to the anti-climatic derby in hand, first up was I.Tomlinson and former Patriot D.Bowers. The game started off rather slowly, caused by a damp atmosphere but Ian started to get some momentum in scoring regularly in visits. A little while later Dave also got going and both players were within a few points at around 160 at the halfway mark. Ian advanced further from there, albeit with a couple of fortunate shots, including one where he got a double kiss and his cueball hit a side cushion to go in-off in the middle pocket. Credit to Dave who still got stuck in when things did not go his way, but Ian sealed a 18pt victory to put Patriots on the board.
On the other table it was skipper K.Tomlinson against A.Holdsworth. As often is the case this season, Keith found himself on the back foot and Alan built a handy lead of around forty points through accumulating points when given a chance. At one point, Keith did reduce the deficit but just couldn't find another gear. Spectators attending the World Snooker Grand Prix in Llandudno with ear pieces may have accidentally tuned in to Keith's in-play analysis, bemoaning his shot selection of "Rubbish" "What are you doing", "Don't go there", "Think Keith", "You're not suppose to go there" and even a Homer Simpson moment of "Woo-Hoo" when he self-claimed to have got an in-off red at the middle cushion for the first time this season. Eventually Alan secured a 38pt victory to level things up at the halfway stage.
"Visiting" player J.Butcher inadvertently found himself on tea duty and was keen in producing the strongest brew as possible, after last week an "all-milk" cup of tea was produced. During the tea interval, an itinerary of the Pudsey League Cup Semi-Final was discussed with the entire knockout stage being played under one roof of the Horton Bank Methodist Church. Spectators are strongly advised to get there early as seating/standing room is very limited. Plans of a second church bench installed directly behind the current seating area have been knocked back due to stringent Health and Safety measures, though ideas of broadcasting both semi-finals live on Youtube with "expert" commentary provided have been mooted so all Pudsey League players (and any Billiards fans) can watch.
Next up was S.Kershaw and J.Butcher along with B.Lawson and D.Hardcastle. On the main table, James made a start but missed out on building a substantial lead as he had the red and white ball favourably positioned for a string of in-off shots in the middle pockets, but played the cue ball rather sloppily. Since then, scoring opportunities became very limited as Stephen got into his stride and scored healthily during visits. Any attempts for James to stop the flow was to put the opposing cue ball and play double baulk, but even that limited success largely down to being away from the table. Stephen eventually recorded a well deserved 30pt win.
Over on the other table, Bernard got off on the front foot against Don and largely led throughout by 15-20pts. Though credit to Don he did reduce the deficit into singles, but simply ran out of time as Bernard secured a 3rd win which resulted in a 4-1 win to the "B" team.
This result leaves Princeville Patriots rock bottom of the Pudsey Billiards League, a very disappointing campaign when last season the Patriots were pipped to title success by half a point. As one player said "We got what we deserve", as the team did not perform as a unit and any success largely came from individual performances.
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| Last weeks Patriots tea maker |
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| Artists impression of the Pudsey League Cup Semi-Final venue |
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