Top five in SLKPA Division Two all pass 100 points

Although there was only one place between Goodfellows and Sundridge Park Working Men’s Club, there was also 18 points and Goodfellows had won six more matches, so it was surprising this match was so close, with each set being won by the odd frame, 3-2. 

Nirman Bogati and Gurpal Cheema got Goodfellows off to a good start, winning the first two frames, before Dave Sparey pulled one back. 

Shahed Syed won the set for the home team, but Peter Davies made it, 3-2 at the end of the first set. 

The second set swung one way then the other, before Cheema won the deciding frame, his second of the night, to give Goodfellows a, 6-4 advantage going into the final set. 

Davies scored an unbeaten hat-trick to bring Sundridge Park back to within a frame however, Bogati put Goodfellows on the hill and Lionel White recorded an unbeaten brace to give Goodfellows the victory. 

The last two frames went to Sundridge Park, making the score a respectable, 8-7. 

These two teams stay in fifth and sixth, with Goodfellows hitting 102 points, extending their lead by one point to 19. 

With White Hart not playing this week, Plough & Harrow were looking to pull away from them at the bottom however, they hosted Farmhouse, who were four places and 34 points above them. 

The first two frames were shared, but Nick Brown, Steve Carpenter, and Barrie Blake won the last three frames of the set, giving Farmhouse a, 4-1 first set lead. 

Graeme Leigh and William Tippett won the first two frames of the second set, bringing Plough back to, 4-3. 

However, John Denahy and Carpenter won the next two frames to level the set and restore Farmhouse’s three frame advantage. 

The set went to a deciding frame, which went to Plough’s Liam Penny, making the overall score, 6-4 in Farmhouse’s favour. 

Carpenter won his third frame of the night to put Farmhouse on the hill and Lacey Denahy gave them the victory. 

The next two frames were shared, before John Denahy also recorded a hat-trick, making the final score, 10-5. 

This result was enough to keep Farmhouse in fourth on 106 points however, Plough only managed to pull away from White Hart by five points, and with both teams having four games left, the battle to avoid being bottom of the pile will be fierce. 

Top of the table Eltham Terrace Tigers travelled to third placed The Con Men with 21 points between them, but it was the home team that had the better start with Derek Purvis, Kai Taylor, and Rob Osborn winning the first three frames for the set. 

Lee Gladdish prevented the set whitewash, before Louis Rankin made it, 4-1. 

James Pope and Gladdish won the first two frames of the second set to pull that back to, 4-3. 

Osborn gave The Con Men another two-frame advantage, before James Cooke won the set for Tigers.

Rankin faced Danny Campbell for the second time and was successful again to give The Con Men a, 6-4 lead going into the last set. 

Osborn won his third frame of the night to put The Con Men on the hill however, Tigers weren’t top for nothing, and Steve Unwin, Pope, and Cooke won the next three frames to send the match into a final frame decider. 

Rankin faced Campbell for the third time, to decide the match, with Rankin having won the first two, and he made it a hat-trick to give his side the unexpected, 8-7 triumph. 

Sandwiched between Tigers and Con Men were Hurricanes Reborn, and they had the ideal opportunity to cut the gap between them and Tigers as they travelled to Bexleyheath Raiders, five places and 31 points below them. 

Charles French got Hurricanes off to a good start winning the opening frame however, Raiders won the next three on the bounce to take the set. 

Kevin England played a captain’s role to win the fifth frame and reduce the deficit to, 3-2. 

Phoebe French and Michelle Brown kicked off the second set in style to edge Hurricanes back into the lead, 4-3 however, Raiders won three on the spin again to win the set and take a, 6-4 lead into the final set. 

Phoebe French recorded an unbeaten brace and Ben Walsh levelled the match at six all, but Raiders won the next two frames to secure the win, before Arif Salih took the last frame, making the final score, 8-7. 

Hurricanes failed to close the gap on Tigers at the top however, the teams behind them are catching up, with Con Men one point behind, Farmhouse three points and Goodfellows seven points behind with a game in hand. 

Raiders stay in seventh, but they are fourteen points ahead of Plough and four points behind Sundridge Park. 

Unbeaten Premier Division leaders, Hotshots hosted New Eltham New Stars, six places and 53 points below them, but the home side didn’t have it all their own way. 

Hotshots won the opening frame however, Sam Baker, James Martin, and Paul Rivers took the next three frames, giving New Stars a, 3-1 lead. 

Danny Kelliher won frame five to bring Hotshots back to within a frame. 

New Stars took the initiative in the second set with Luke Terry and Rivers taking the first two frames to put them, 5-2 ahead. 

The next two frames were shared, giving New Stars the set, before Kelliher won frame ten to bring the score back to, 6-4. 

Martin won the first frame of the third set, putting New Stars on the hill however, Joe Kelly, Ryan Francis, and George Taylor won the next three frames to tie the match and send it into a final frame decider. 

Kelliher won his third frame of the night, giving Hotshots the, 8-7 triumph, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. 

New Stars are sandwiched between Falconwood Club below them and Eltham Terrace Nuthouse above them, and they played each other this week. 

With just two places and seven points between these teams this match was always going to be close however, after Jon Syta won the first frame for Nuthouse, Ian Stringer, Akar Necati, Ross Webster, and Luke Matthews won the remaining four frames of the set to give Falconwood a, 4-1 lead. 

The second set was much closer, with the first four frames being shared, before Leighton Aston won the set for Nuthouse, making the overall score, 6-4 in Falconwood’s favour.

The third set was a reverse of the first, with Naftali Ayieko, Jamie White, Matthews, and Necati winning the first four frames, before Trevor Biggs prevented the set whitewash for Nuthouse, making the final score, 10-5. 

Not as close as we thought then, and although the teams’ positions have not changed, Falconwood do close the gap on their opponents to two points. 

These results have pulled these three teams further away from Bellegrove A at the bottom, as they didn’t have a game, so Falconwood are now 15 points ahead of Bellegrove A and only two points behind New Stars and Nuthouse with a game in hand. 

Pickwick were on the same points as Nuthouse and this week they hosted Rugrats in second place. 

This was an extremely close game between two teams separated by 27 points, with each set being won by the odd frame, 3-2. 

The first set swung one way then the other, before the two captains, Paul Slater and Steve Gibson met in the set deciding frame, with Gibson taking it to give Rugrats the first set, 3-2. 

Louis Wilbourne levelled the match, but Shane O’Reilly, Pat Firth, and Dylan Suggars won the next three frames to put Rugrats, 6-3 up. 

Martin Storey won frame ten to keep Pickwick within touching distance at, 6-4. 

Ashley Hewson put Rugrats on the hill with a fantastic break and dish, then Wilbourne scored an unbeaten brace to keep Pickwick in with a shout. 

Enis Dogangun performed a dish from a dry break to bring Pickwick back to within a frame at, 7-6. 

However, Firth won his third frame of the night to give Rugrats the victory, before Storey also scored a hat-trick with the last frame, making the final score, 8-7. 

Rugrats are still 24 points behind Hotshots at the top, and between Rugrats and Pickwick are Sharks and Bellegrove, who met this week. 

This was another close game with Bellegrove getting a narrow away win, 8-7 which put both teams through 100 points. 

Sharks are now six points behind Rugrats and four ahead of Bellegrove, who are 18 points ahead of Pickwick. 

Eighth placed Academicals hosted top of the first division Duke of Northumberland with 32 points between them, but it was Academicals who had the better start, with Captain Gary Mason winning the opening frame. 

The next two frames were shared, before Duke Captain, Paul Clements tied the match sending the set to a deciding frame, which Phil Tworek won giving Duke a, 3-2 lead. 

The first four frames of the second set also went to Duke, making it six on the spi to put them on the hill at, 7-2 before Louis Minerve won frame ten preventing the set whitewash. 

Dave Pearce won the match for Duke and Sam Kinsville made it, 9-3. 

Percy Minerve pulled a frame back for Academicals, before Tworek and Clements both recorded hat-tricks, making the final score, 11-4. 

This cemented Duke’s place at the top of the table, as Bears in second only managed to beat bottom team, Bell Ya Later, 9-6 so, Duke extend their lead at the top to nine points. 

At the bottom, Bell Ya Later were eight points behind Blackheath Sports Club, after they lost to them last week, so Blackheath were looking to build on their first victory of the season and this week travelled to New Eltham New Boys, three places and nine points above them. 

New Boys had an almost perfect start, as Mike Peka, Anthony Su, Andy Durack, and Michael Barnes all won, with Barnes’ match a family affair against Mel Barnes. 

Kerry Wyatt prevented the set whitewash, taking the fifth frame for a, 4-1 first set defeat.

Glen Ward hadn’t played in the first set, but Blackheath might wish he had, as he won the first frame of the set bringing the score back to, 4-2. 

Frame seven was another family affair with the Barnes’ playing each other again and Michael kept the bragging rights to restore his team’s three frame advantage. 

Alan Dolan and Joe Kane won the next two frames, giving Blackheath the set to bring them back to within a frame. 

Blackheath Captain, Wyatt played the anchor role again successfully to tie the match at one set and five frames all. 

New Boys took the initiative in the last set with Anthony Lee and Durack winning the first two frames to put them on the hill at, 7-5. 

Ward scored an unbeaten brace to pull one frame back and Alan Dolan levelled the match sending it to a final frame decider. 

The two captains, Michael Barnes and Kerry Wyatt faced each other, both looking to score a hat-trick to win the match and it was Barnes who held his nerve to win the match for New Boys, 8-7. 

This result edged Blackheath further away from Bell Ya Later at the bottom, with nine points now separating the teams and it brings them to within three points of Academicals. 

New Boys are now thirteen points behind Bellegrove Flyers, after they lost, 9-6 to Downham Tavern Terrors, who extend their lead over Flyers to five points. 

Cue-Ologists stay four points ahead of Terrors in third after they beat Eltham Terrace Rack Pack, 9-6 to remain one point behind Bears. 

Rack Pack are dicing with relegation, as they are only five points above the drop zone and New Boys aren’t entirely safe, two points ahead of Rack Pack with four games left. 

For more information on the SLKPA including league tables visit the website at www.slkpa.com or contact the 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.