BallPoint edge closer to title after tight win

Both BallPoint and their nearest rivals Chelmarsh B won 3-2 in their latest outings, with BallPoint having just one more match left to play while Chelmarsh have two.

But having established a nine-point lead at the top of the table, BallPoint need to collect a maximum of two frames from their final match, against Chelmarsh B, to claim the title.

And it could be less than two frames if Chelmarsh B fail to collect maximum points from their penultimate match against Woodfield.

Woodfield were the team that BallPoint beat 3-2 and, as the result suggests, it was not a straightforward success.

James Brennan appeared fairly comfortable when beating Graham Cole, while Neil Pearson and Dan Morris found their opponents, Richard Castle and Roger Lees a little more challenging.

Meanwhile, Woodfield’s Jason Morris managed to stifle Steve Powell, but the performance of the evening was provided by Chris Jones, rolled in a fine break of 80 on his way to beating BallPoint’s Paul Harper.

And that defeat may well have scuppered Harper's chances of collecting the ‘Most League Wins’ trophy.

He currently shares the lead with Chelmarsh B’s Simon Thomas. However, Thomas has the advantage of his team’s one game in hand.

Chelmarsh B’s 3-2 win came against St John’s B, where they had a real fight on their hands.

It started off straightforward with Thomas comfortably beating Jason Brown and knocking in a 40-break in the process.

That win was followed by an equally impressive success for Gary Smith.

However, a high-scoring third-frame went to Mike Crawley (St John’s) who played one of his best frames of the season to beat Chris Lewis 73-52.

Kevin Smith came close to drawing the match level but missed out on the final black, which was sunk by Paul Manning to confirm Chelmarsh’s win.

And it might have been 4-1 had Mike Rogers achieved the same objective. However, he was undone by the final black playing against Pete Williams.

The two points they claimed moved St John’s B back into second position in the Second Division.

Elsewhere, there were excellent 5-0 wins for St John’s A and Broseley B, who comfortably despatched Chelmarsh A and Alveley C respectively.

St John’s win just about confirms that Chelmarsh A will now collect the wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, Broseley A’s excellent 4-1 win over Alveley B means that they need to win just two more frames from their two remaining matches to be crowned Second Division champions.

Alveley’s Martin Coffey Jnr and Broseley’s Neil Caswell, both winners on the night, continue to share the lead for ‘Most Second Division Wins’ of the season.

Match Results

Alveley C 0, Broseley B 5: K. Gill 21, M. Brezwyn 81; S. Coldecott 30, N. Carson 73; B. Arnold

37, O. Hughes 71; J. Curtis 20, A. Carson 66; N. Jones 21, E. Mullard 67. Broseley A 4, Alveley

B 1: C. Barden 52, K. Foster 19; M. Smout 54, A. Ziemkiewicz 26; G. Watson 45, J. Beddoes 32;

A. Garbett 29, M. Coffey Jnr 43; N. Caswell 52, D. Jones 29. Chelmarsh A 0, St. John’s A 5: D.

Colebatch 10, S. Manning 59; P. Skidmore 27, A. Ward 59; R. Lewis 40, T. Steele 50; W.

Fensome 33, M. Lippitt 75; R. Price 33, K. Goodall 43. St. John’s B 2, Chelmarsh B 3: J. Brown

7, S. Thomas 66; B. Michael 16, G. Smith 50; M. Crawley 73, C. Lewis 52; K. Smith 47, P.

Manning 51; P. Williams 43, M. Rogers 40. Woodfield 2, BallPoint 3: G. Cole 16, J. Brennan 69;

Chris Jones 80, P. Harper 14; J. Morris 45, S. Powell 32; R. Castle 29, N. Pearson 53; R. Lees

27, D. Morris 58.