2007-2008 NEWPORT & DISTRICT POOL LEAGUE
For immediate release
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
KING’S HEAD RIDE THEIR LUCK TO KEEP THE HEAT ON AUDCO
Coors set to support annual Newport League title trophy
NEWPORT (Shropshire): The King’s Head rode their luck against a determined Lilleshall Sports Centre side to come away with a priceless 4-2 victory, which also marked LSC’s first home defeat of the season.
The Boat entertained table-topping arch-rivals Audco in a rearranged match, but the league leaders came away with three points for a convincing 5-1 win and the King’s Head remain five points behind their rivals with two games in hand.
It was honours even on the last two occasions that the King’s Head and LSC met this season, with a win apiece, but skipper Dave Price got the home side off to a superb start with a shock frame win over the in-form Ian Perry. Irene Whittington hit back immediately by getting herself in a frame-winning position to beat Greg Heathcote, although the match was only decided after seven safety shots on the final black.
The tension was obvious and the real fireworks started in the next four frames. Mick Collins held the upper hand throughout his frame with Ben Longstaff, but the LSC player maintained his composure and was left with a treacherous long black into the corner, with the white resting on the cushion. He pulled off the sensational pot, but top spin powered the white down the table and it followed the black into the pocket – 2-1 to the King’s Head.
Matt Collins and Neil Perkins became emerged in a marathon fourth frame, with neither making an error throughout a fascinating contest. The game again went to the final black but, after five solid safety shots, Perkins went for a fine kiss to take the white down the table to safety, only to see the cue ball agonizingly fall into the middle pocket. Collins duly clinched the frame and, at 3-1, it looked as though the King’s Head were heading for the three points.
But Longstaff and Heathcote hit back in frame five and managed to edge past Whittington and Neil Hallett to set up a classic final frame showdown. Price and Perkins had the edge over the Collins brothers throughout the early stages, but the game went down to a final yellow and the black.
There was some excellent safety play all round until Price was left with no option but to play a double on the final yellow, knowing that the match would be lost if he missed. The pot sensationally went in, but he was left with an impossible angle on the final black and could only watch as Matt Collins went on to clinch the frame and the match for a jubilant King’s Head side.
The Audco’s win over the Boat was more straightforward: Paul Trevor, Anthony Heathcote and Andy Lycett put the away side 3-0 to the good with wins over Dave Lakin, Nigel Sandbrook and Mick Hall, but the Boat asked a spectating Brian Hall to fill the void of being a player short and play the fourth singles match. The rookie somehow managed to beat Tom Sayce and wreck the Audco’s chances of a bonus point, although the away side made no mistake in the doubles to clinch a 5-1 win.
The Wheatsheaf and the Boat also met in a league fixture last week and the Gnosall side came away from Chetwynd Aston with a point for a 3-3 draw. “It was another draw for us, but there were six cracking games,” admitted the Wheatsheaf’s Chris Cooper.
In the final two games of the night, the Sutherland Muxton beat the bottom side New Inn 4-2 at Stafford Street and the Junction A beat their rivals Junction B by the same score at Norbury.
Meanwhile, Molson Coors, the world’s fifth largest brewing company, has agreed to supply a new annual Coors Trophy to the Newport & District Pool League and this will be presented, along with a trophy to the league player of the year, after the final league game of the season between the Audco and the New Inn at the Audco Sports & Social Club on Wednesday, June 11th.
“We are delighted to support the local pool league with this new annual Coors Trophy,” said Tanya Allin, account manager at Coors Brewers Ltd. “Pool is extremely well supported in the Newport area and this year’s Newport Pool Open, which will be announced at the start of next month, looks like being even more popular than last year.”
Would teams ensure that all match forms are returned to the Railway Tavern after games to ensure that league tables and player statistics are as accurate as possible. Please also text the result to 07831 123153. .
Results – week 20
New Inn v Sutherland Muxton 2-4
Junction A v Junction B 4-2
Lilleshall SC v King’s Head 2-4
Wheatsheaf v Boat Gnosall 3-3
Boat Gnosall v Audco 1-5
2007-2008 Newport & District Pool latest league table @ 03/04/08
Team P W D L F A Pts
Audco+ 14 10 4 0 59 25 35*
King’s Head+ 12 9 2 1 50 22 30*
Shakespeare 13 7 2 4 43 35 24*
Lilleshall SC 13 6 3 4 44 34 22*
Junction A 12 7 1 4 38 32 22
Sutherland Muxton 13 6 3 4 42 36 21
Boat Gnosall 13 4 4 5 34 44 16
Wheatsheaf+ 14 3 6 5 38 46 15
Navy Club+ 10 2 0 8 19 41 6
Junction B+ 12 1 1 10 26 46 4
New Inn 12 0 2 10 19 53 2
* denotes bonus point awarded for 6-0 wins
+ denotes annual fees paid
League matches still to be played to date.
Boat Gnosall v Junction A
Junction B v Navy Club
Junction A v King’s Head
New Inn v Navy Club
Lilleshall SC v Navy Club
Lilleshall SC v New Inn
King’s Head v Navy Club
Ends
For further information:
Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Tel: 07831 123153
www.ndp-publicity.com