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Report for 29th March 2009:
With all title and relegation issues already
decided in Division 1, it was just a case of rounding off the season last
week. Champions Clinton SC A visited third-placed Bell's Court on Friday
and not only emerged with a 3-2 victory, but topped the 100 points mark
for the second successive season - a remarkable achievement under the 5
man team format. Highlight of the evening was a 54 clearance by Clinton's
Phil Lane to beat Bell's Court professional Andy Hicks. For Bell's Court
Bobby Southworth made a 46 break and Dave Fox defeated Gary Bray. Young
Aiden Johns played his first match in Division 1 for Clinton and impressed
all those present with his ability and dedication. Fourth-placed St Day
beat this season's runners-up Illogan HI A 3-2, with Alan Hurley and Nick
Mutter winning for Illogan A. Four Lanes (Ryan Curnow 42 break) beat close
rivals Godolphin Club 4-1 to finish in a respectable tenth place in their
first season back in the top flight. Redruth RBL, much weakened this
season, beat Illogan HI B 3-2 to finish just above Godolphin at the lower
end of the table. Redruth British Rail finished off their season with a
good 4-1 victory over Penponds, for whom Dave Trembath was the only
winner. Breage's 4-1 win over bottom team Lanner included two walkovers.
In Division 2 there were a number of matches carried over from the
cold snap in February, and the remaining relegation spot hung on the
results of these matches. In the event, Porthleven, despite beating Feock
3-2, finished next to bottom, as all the teams just above them, Bell's
Court, St Day and Park Bottom, also won. Last season's champions, St Day,
beat bottom team Redruth British Rail 4-1, and would have finished in
third place without their fifteen point handicap.
The promotion issues had already been decided in Division 3 and only
two postponed matches were played. In Illogan's 3-2 victory over Camborne
Conservative young Justin Webber played well to beat the experienced Dave
Harrington. Bell's Court's team also contains some promising young
players, including George Leakey and the Pledger brothers, and last week
they combined to beat Redruth Club 3-2.
Illogan's Chris Isaacs is to be congratulated on reaching the Finals
of both the Heathcoat Cup and the Andrew Lee Pairs (with partner Gareth
Ball) this season. Both Illogan A and Illogan B have reached the Final of
the Team Handicap, and Illogan will also be represented in the Finals of
two other competitions, making it a highly successful season for the
Illogan Club.
Report for 22nd March 2009:
With Clinton SC A having already clinched the
Mining Snooker League Division 1 title, Illogan HI A took the runners-up
spot on Friday with a 4-1 victory over the Godolphin Club. Chris Timmins
was the only winner for the Helston team. Illogan finished third last
season, and, with the addition of two quality players this season in Alan
Hurley and Rob Bennetts, were expected to figure prominently in the race
for honours. Clinton SC A beat Breage 3-2 and need only one point from
their last match to complete a century of points for the second successive
season under the 5 man team format. Third-placed Bell's Court lost 3-2 at
Four Lanes in a high quality match. For Four Lanes Ryan Curnow inflicted
professional Andy Hicks' only defeat of the season so far with some fine
play, Garth Dower beat Paul Williams on the final black despite a break of
39 by Paul, and Peter Dower won the last frame on the final black against
Dave Fox. Chris Mason made a break of 38 for Bell's Court. Elsewhere there
was a good break of 75 by St Day's John Dunn as they beat Redruth RBL 3-2,
and a 51 break by Jason Kempthorne in Redruth British Rail's 4-1 win over
Clinton B. With Lanner already sure to finish bottom, Illogan HI B will
now finish next to bottom after losing 4-1 at Playing Place.
Congratulations to Penponds on winning the Division 2 title and to
Camborne Conservative on finishing runners-up. Last week Penponds had a
good 4-1 victory at Playing Place, while Conservative won 3-2 at Bell's
Court. Penponds beat their rivals by four points, and the two teams
finished well clear of the remainder. Redruth British Rail are certain to
finish bottom of the table, but the remaining relegation place is still
not decided, despite last week being officially the last week of fixtures.
There are still some outstanding fixtures from the cold snap on 3rd
February to be played this week, and mathematically any one of five teams,
including Perranporth Golf Club, who have finished their programme, could
still finish next to bottom.
Congratulations are also due to Perranporth Golf Club, who have won
the Division 3 title, and to Radnor Golf A, who have finished as
runners-up. Perranporth clinched the title by beating Clinton SC 4-1 last
week, while their rivals lost by a similar score at Redruth British Rail.
Having won the title, Perranporth have conceded their postponed fixture to
Penponds, who are awarded a 5-0 result. Redruth RBL occupy third spot,
but, having completed their fixtures, could still theoretically be
overtaken by Camborne Conservative, who have a match still to play this
week. Last week Conservative (Dave Bennett 23 break) beat Park Bottom 5-0.
There was a 31 break by Chris Isaacs of Illogan in their 3-2 defeat at
home to Redruth Club. This Chris is not the Illogan first team player, but
his namesake.
Report for 15th March 2009:
It's congratulations once again to Clinton SC A,
who have clinched the Mining Snooker League Division 1 title with two
matches still to play. On Friday they won 3-2 at Penponds, where Steve
Downing made a 70 break and Phil Lane a 36 for Clinton A, with Keith
Hosking making a 40 for Penponds to beat Clinton A's Gary Bray and son
Simon also winning for Penponds. Illogan HI A have been Clinton A's
closest pursuers for most of the season, and have almost wrapped up the
runners-up spot after beating third-placed Bell's Court 3-2. It is
reported that Bell's Court professional Andy Hicks made a century in this
match, but details are not yet available. St Day are in fourth place after
a 3-2 win over the Godolphin Club. With Lanner now certain to finish
bottom of the Division after losing 3-2 to Clinton B (Darren Davey 30
break), Illogan HI B look favourites to fill the other relegation place,
despite a good 3-2 victory over fifth-placed Redruth British Rail. They
have the unenviable task of closing a seven point gap to Redruth RBL and
Four Lanes in the remaining two weeks. Both of the latter teams lost on
Friday, Four Lanes 4-1 at Breage (Peter Williams 30 break) and Redruth RBL
3-2 at home to Playing Place.
In Division 2 Penponds lead Camborne Conservative by three points
after beating Redruth RBL 4-1 last week. Camborne Conservative whitewashed
Porthleven 5-0. Penponds needed three points from their final fixture at
Playing Place this week to be sure of the title. Both teams, however, are
certain to finish in the promotion places. John Roberts made a 36 break
for Bell's Court in their 3-2 win at Illogan. Redruth British Rail look
certain to fill a relegation place after losing 3-2 at home to Feock, but
the remaining spot lies between five other teams, four of whom have two
matches to play, whereas Perranporth GC have only one. With several of
them playing each other, it could be a nail-biting finish.
With some results missing in Division 3, including Radnor Golf A's
home match with Penponds, Perranporth Golf Club, 4-1 winners at Park
Bottom, lead their rivals by four points. Perranporth GC are now certain
of promotion. Redruth RBL have closed up well recently into third-place,
but, as things stand, have only a mathematical chance of making the top
two, and none if Radnor A gained any points last week.
Division 2 and 3 teams are reminded that any fixtures postponed due
to wintry weather on 3rd February must be played on 24th March or before
if mutually agreed.
Report for 8th March 2009:
Although Mining League Division leaders Clinton SC A have been favourites to take the title for a good number of weeks, they will have to wait at least until next week to be proclaimed champions for yet another season. With three matches left, they lead Illogan HI A by twelve points. Last week they beat their own B team 3-2, with breaks of 54 by Gary Bray and 46 by Phil Lane. Although faced with an almost impossible task, Illogan HI A have not given up, and on Friday beat Breage 5-0 with a 47 break from Chris Isaacs and a 69 clearance from Alan Hurley. Bell's Court in third place also won 5-0 at the Godolphin Club, and still have an outside chance of the runners-up spot. Andy Hicks made a 72 break for Bell's Court and Paul Williams made a 44 break, but was still pushed hard by Tim Johnson to win narrowly on the final black. Bell's Court would have to beat Illogan A convincingly when the two teams meet at Bell's this week, however, if second place is to become a real possibility. Lanner are now certain to finish in a relegation position after losing 4-1 to fellow strugglers Illogan HI B (Victor Wills 30 break). Four Lanes have performed creditably in their first season back in the top flight and now look certain to survive after losing narrowly 3-2 to Penponds (Matthew Williams 38 and 23 breaks). Elsewhere Playing Place had a good 3-2 win over St Day, with Terry Kempe and Carl Boundy taking the points for St Day. Redruth British Rail beat Redruth RBL 3-2 with John Winn contributing a 41 break. In Division 2 Penponds are now mathematically certain to be promoted after beating Feock 3-2, and Camborne Conservative, 4-1 winners at Park Bottom, need only four more points to join them. The title is still not settled, but Penponds have a four point lead over their rivals with two matches for both teams still to play. With Redruth British Rail losing 3-2 at Bell's Court, they look almost certain to finish bottom, but there is a real dog-fight just above them, with only two points covering the next five teams. Last season's champions St Day are amongst that group, under the burden of a 15 point handicap, but their 4-1 win against fellow strugglers Perranporth Golf Club gives them a fighting chance. Robert Stroud was Perranporth's only winner in that match. Park Bottom, Bell's Court and Porthleven are the other teams still in danger near the bottom. In Division 3 Perranporth Golf Club and Radnor Golf A are still strong favourites to gain promotion, but both teams lost 3-2 last week, to Camborne Conservative and Redruth RBL respectively. Dave Harrington made a 36 break in the match between Conservative and Perranporth. The latter are level on points with their rivals and have a match in hand. Third-placed Redruth RBL have won their last five matches to gain ground on the leaders, but with an eight point deficit, would need a major collapse from at least one of the top teams. The same comment applies to Camborne Conservative in fourth place, who still have a mathematical chance. John Pledger made a 33 break for Bell's Court at Redruth British Rail, and his young son Harry impressed in making breaks of 21 and 17. Rail won the match 3-2. There are some results missing in this Division, and teams are reminded that all cards must be sent in immediately after the match.
Report for 1st March 2009:
Clinton SC A continue to romp away with the Mining
Snooker League title and last week recorded their third consecutive 5-0
victory, this time at the expense of Illogan HI B. Phil Lane made a 39
break and Steve Downing a fine 81 in his attempt to recapture the highest
break which was taken from him last week. Clinton A now lead by 14 points
from Illogan A and the mathematical probability of the title will soon
become a reality. Illogan A are also strong favourites for the runners-up
spot after their fourth consecutive 4-1 win at Penponds. There was some
good play in this match, with Nick Mutter making a 43 for Illogan A, Alan
Hurley a 41 and Rob Bennetts a 44 to defeat Penponds' Dave Trembath, who
himself made a 36 in the same frame. Bell's Court are seven points back in
third place after a good 4-1 at St Day, with Andy Hicks compiling breaks
of 70 and 54. Mark Bray won St Day's only frame. Redruth British Rail had
a good 4-1 victory at Playing Place, with only Martyn Bawden winning for
the home team. Clinton B (Dan Spry 36 break, beat Four Lanes 4-1 with Ryan
Curnow (32 and 24 breaks) successful for Four Lanes, although he was
pushed hard by Darren Murrish. Lanner may be relegated as early as next
week after losing 3-2 to Redruth RBL, for whom young Carl Mitchell must
surely be the youngest player to win a frame in the top Division.
In Division 2 Penponds have a five
point lead over their nearest rivals Camborne Conservative. Both teams won
3-2 last week, Penponds against Bell's Court and Conservative against
Perranporth Golf Club, and both are clear favourites for promotion. Clive
Roberts made breaks of 40 and 21 for the Conservative team. Peter Simmons'
39 break was not enough to prevent St Day losing 3-2 to Playing Place, for
whom Mike Lawry made a 35 break. St Day are not yet out of relegation
danger, but having to play all of their struggling rivals before the end
of the season, have their fate in their own hands. Redruth British Rail
beat fellow strugglers Porthleven 3-2, but still have much to do to get
out of trouble.
In Division 3 Perranporth Golf Club
and Radnor Golf A are level on points at the top, but Perranporth have a
match in hand. Last week Perranporth beat Radnor Golf B 5-0, while Radnor
A lost ground by going down 3-2 at home to Camborne Conservative. Both
teams, however, are firm favourites to gain promotion at the end of the
season with an eleven point cushion over Redruth RBL in third place. For
the latter there was an excellent new highest break of 62 by young James
Freeman in their 4-1 win at Redruth Club. Clinton SC are in fourth place
after beating Redruth British Rail 4-1, with wins for Mike Johns, son
Aiden, Steven Veasey and Brian Davey.
Lovers of billiards will be pleased to learn of an Exhibition by
Indian legend Geet Sethi on Thursday 2nd April at the Redruth Club.
Tickets cost £8 including pasty supper and are available from Paul
Broad on 07756 958356. Please book early as numbers are limited.
Report for 22nd February 2009:
A new highest break and the second century of the
Mining Snooker League season was the highlight of last week's matches,
with young Bobby Southworth making a 108 clearance in the match between
Bell's Court and Breage. Bobby currently plays for both the County Youth
and Senior teams, and recently also had a century in one of the County
Competitions. The break supersedes the 101 made by Clinton A's Steve
Downing three weeks ago, and is believed to be only the third time that
two centuries have been made in one League season in recent years. There
were also breaks of 40 and 46 by Andy Hicks and one of 40 by Paul Williams
in the same match. Clinton SC A can put the champagne on ice for yet
another Division 1 title after beating Redruth RBL 5-0. They now lead
Illogan HI A by thirteen points with five matches left and do not look
like stopping. Scott Bray made a 48 break, Gary Bray a 47, Steve Downing a
32 and Phil Lane a 31 in another power display by the champions elect.
Second-placed Illogan HI A beat Clinton SC B 4-1, with Robert Bennetts
making a 66 break to add to his 60 in the previous week. Illogan A have a
seven point cushion over Bell's Court and St Day in joint third place.
David Annear made a 36 break in St Day's 4-1 victory at Redruth British
Rail. At the other end of the table Four Lanes (Ryan Curnow 41 and 24)
beat Illogan HI B 5-0 to virtually ensure their survival for another
season. Four of the frames went to the final pink or black, so the result
could have been very different.
In Division 2 last season's champions
St Day, playing under the burden of a 15 frame handicap, beat one of the
promotion favourites, Camborne Conservative, 5-0, a result which they
needed in view of their current position near the bottom of the table.
They are still not completely safe, however, and need more good results in
the remaining weeks. Penponds, 4-1 winners at Porthleven, now lead the
table by five points, and are virtually assured of promotion. With Feock
losing 4-1 at Playing Place, however, Camborne Conservative are still
strong favourites to be promoted with them, holding a nine point advantage
over the third team. Redruth British Rail lost 3-2 at home to Park Bottom
and are in trouble in bottom place, while Porthleven lost their fifth
consecutive match and are dropping fast into the danger zone.
The position at the top of Division 3
took another twist last week, when Radnor Golf A beat Redruth Club 5-0 and
Perranporth Golf Club lost 3-2 at Illogan HI. Radnor now lead by three
points over their rivals, who have a match in hand, so it is all to play
for in the remaining weeks. Both teams have a healthy advantage over their
pursuers. For Radnor Golf A Simon Jones narrowly failed to take the
highest break with a good effort of 39, and team-mates Jon Barber and Phil
Shaw weighed in with 26 and 25 respectively. Park Bottom won their first
match of the season with a 3-2 result at Redruth British Rail, while
Radnor Golf B won their second match in a row, 3-2 at Camborne
Conservative, aided by a walkover and another frame conceded when a
Conservative player was taken ill while playing.
Report for 15th February 2009:
With only six matches left in Division 1 of the
Mining Snooker League, Clinton SC A lead their nearest pursuers, Illogan
HI A, by twelve points. The latter in turn are eight points ahead of
Bell's Court and St Day in joint-third place. Clinton SC A are averaging a
remarkable four points out of every five in their matches so far. On
Friday they whitewashed the previously in-form Playing Place 5-0. Gary
Bray made a 47 break for the leaders, with Phil Lane contributing a 38
break and Steve Downing a 32. Illogan HI A beat their own B team 4-1, with
Rob Bennetts back to form with a fine 60 break and Chris Isaacs making a
30. The A team captain Victor Wills, standing in as reserve for the B
team, made a break of 51 to beat Alan Hurley. Bell's Court played at
Penponds on Thursday, beating them 3-2. There was another super display by
professional Andy Hicks, who made breaks of 70 and 56, and a break of 66
by Bobby Southworth. Stuart Lugg made a break of 41 in reply for Penponds.
St Day beat Breage 4-1, with Ryan Gilbert taking Breage's only frame to
overcome a break of 32 from his opponent Terry Kempe. Four Lanes (Ryan
Curnow 37 break) beat a much weakened Redruth RBL team 4-1 to give
themselves some breathing space near the bottom. Clinton SC B's 4-1
victory over Godolphin Club contained a 38 break from Darren Davey, while
Lanner's dismal season continued when they were beaten 5-0 by Redruth
British Rail.
Penponds and Camborne Conservative look to have the Division 2 title
and runners-up spots to themselves, with Penponds leading their rivals by
one point and a gap of ten points back to Feock in third place, although
the latter do have a match in hand. Last week Penponds beat Park Bottom
5-0, but also lost a rearranged match 3-2 to a resurgent Perranporth Golf
Club. There was some good play in this match, with breaks of 32 and 27
from Clive Thomas, 31 and 20 from his son Craig and a 25 from Simon Pearce
in that same frame. Viv Hill also made a 27 for Perranporth. Camborne
Conservative kept in touch with a good 3-2 win at Playing Place.
Perranporth also won 4-1 at Redruth British Rail on Tuesday, and with St
Day losing 4-1 at Illogan, last season's champions, conceding a 15 point
handicap, now have some work to do to avoid possible relegation.
Perranporth Golf Club are now favourites to take the Division 3
title. Although level on points with Radnor Golf A, they have a match in
hand of their rivals. Last week Perranporth beat Redruth British Rail 4-1,
with Brian James the only winner for the Railmen. Radnor A, who had lost
their previous match, dropped a further point to their rivals when winning
3-2 at Bell's Court. However, the two leaders have a nine point cushion
over the two teams in third place, Clinton SC and Redruth RBL. Kevin Gill
was again in form for Penponds, with a 38 break in their 3-2 win at Park
Bottom. Radnor Golf B gained only their second win of the campaign when
beating Illogan HI 3-2.
Report for 8th February 2009:
With wintry weather causing the postponent of many
of the Division 2 and 3 fixtures last week, most of the action concerned
Division 1 matches. Illogan HI A gained a point on leaders Clinton SC A,
but still have an almost impossible task to close an eleven point gap.
They in turn are six points ahead.of third-placed Bell's Court. On Friday
Clinton A beat old sparring partners Redruth British Rail 3-2, thus
avenging their only defeat of the season so far. Phil Lane made a great 75
break for the leaders, missing a green ball with a century in his sights.
Illogan A had a 4-1 victory over Redruth RBL, who are in an unaccustomed
eleventh place in the table. Nick Mutter made a break of 44 for Illogan A,
with Dave Martin taking RBL's only frame. Bell's Court's 3-2 win over
Clinton SC B included a break of 62 from professional Andy Hicks to
recover from a big deficit against Darren Davey. Breage dented Penponds'
hopes of honours by beating them 3-2 with wins from Justin Watters, Roy
Good and Nathan Strick, with Simon Hosking replying with a 53 break for
Penponds. Playing Place have hit a purple patch in mid-season and on
Friday won 5-0 at Four Lanes, with Chris Bassett making breaks of 26 and a
36 clearance. Four Lanes' troubles were compounded by Illogan HI B's 3-2
victory at the Godolphin Club, the former narrowing the gap to two points
in the relegation battle. Lanner's woes also continued when they were
beaten 4-1 by St Day, with Graham Vercoe taking their only frame. They are
now ten points adrift at the bottom with only seven matches left.
Only one match was reported to have been played in Division 2, with
Camborne Conservative beating Illogan HI 4-1 to move into a three point
lead over Penponds, who now have a match in hand. Clive Roberts, Alistair
Gay, Mark Williams and Steve Lovelock won for Conservative, with John
Moore replying for Illogan.
In Division 3 Radnor Golf A slipped up by losing 3-2 to Clinton SC,
but still moved to the top by one point over rivals Perranporth Golf Club,
who now have a crucial match in hand. The only other match played in
difficult travelling conditions also involved Radnor, whose B team lost
3-2 at Redruth British Rail.
The League has decided that clubs may play these postponed matches
(from 3rd February only) in the week after the end of the season, i.e.
24th March, unless mutually agreed to play before that date.
The result of the Clinton SC v Park Bottom match postponed from 6th
January has been adjudicated by the League as a 4-0 win for Clinton SC,
since Park Bottom declined to rearrange the match by the stipulated date.
Report for 1st February 2009:
The highlight of last week in the Mining Snooker
League was a magnificent clearance of 101 by Steve Downing for Division 1
leaders Clinton SC A. The break came in Clinton SC A's match against
Lanner, played at St Day, which the leaders won 5-0. They now hold a
massive twelve point lead over Illogan HI A, who lost 3-2 at Playing
Place. Phil Davey made a 53 break for Playing Place, with Chris Isaacs
replying with a 37 for Illogan A. Thornton Crawford and Martyn Bawden also
played exceptionally well for Playing Place. With none of the other
leading teams in outstanding form, Bell's Court's 5-0 win at Illogan HI B
carried them into third place, and back into a challenging position for
honours. There were breaks a-plenty on Friday, with Darren Davey (60), Dan
Spry (50) and Graham Beard (31 & 24) contributing to Clinton B's 3-2
win against Breage, John Dunn (St Day) had a 42 break and Simon Hosking
(Penponds) a 37 in the match won 3-2 by Penponds. There was a good frame
in the Redruth British Rail versus Four Lanes match in which Andrew
Phillips for the away team opened with a 37 break, only to see Neil Rowe
come back to win with the aid of a 36 break in reply. British Rail won the
match 3-2, with Mike Jenkin also playing particularly well for the home
team.
In Division 2 Penponds lead Camborne
Conservative by one point after last week's matches, with a further seven
points between the second and third team, Feock. Penponds beat St Day 3-2,
while Conservative gained a point with a 4-1 win at struggling Redruth
British Rail. Peter Simmons made a 39 break for St Day, who, without their
fifteen point handicap, would have been in third place. Steve Lovelock
made a 37 break for Conservative at British Rail, for whom Paddy Farr was
the only winner. Third-placed Feock lost further ground on the leaders
when losing 3-2 at home to Park Bottom, whose winners were Jim Broomhead,
Louis Allen and Jeff Crouch. Playing Place also lost further ground by
losing 4-1 at home to Illogan.
In Division 3 the postponed encounter
between the top two teams, Radnor Golf A and Perranporth Golf Club
resulted in a 3-2 win for Perranporth. Simon Jones, who has lost only one
match this season, and Jon Barber were the winners for Radnor A. With both
teams winning 4-1 last week, Perranporth now lead their rivals by one
point. There is a further gap of seven points back to Redruth Club in
third place, with a top of the table remarkably similar to Division 2.
Early season leaders Camborne Conservative dropped further back in fourth
place by losing 4-1 at home to Bell's Court. The previous week's match
between Bell's Court and Clinton SC ended in a 3-2 win for the latter,
with only one frame being claimed by Bell's Court for late arrival.
Report for 25th January 2009:
Clinton SC A and Illogan HI A both won 4-1 last
week in Division 1 of the Mining Snooker League, so the gap between them
remains at nine points in favour of the reigning champions. On Friday they
beat third-placed St Day 4-1, and have a massive sixteen point gap over
them. Highlight of the evening was the frame between Phil Lane and Carl
Boundy, in which Carl made a 54 break, only to see Phil make a 48
clearance to pinch the frame. John Dunn beat Gary Bray for St Day's only
success. Second-placed Illogan HI A had a good 4-1 victory over Redruth
British Rail, with some good individual performances. Alan Hurley made
breaks of 38 and 43, Nick Mutter a 46, and, after making two breaks of 42
in the previous week against Lanner, Chris Isaacs was again on form with a
39 break. Bell's Court beat Redruth RBL 3-2 with Breaks of 40, 25 and 20
from Chris Mason and Penponds also closed in on St Day with a 4-1 win over
Clinton SC B. Four Lanes kept their heads just above water by beating
bottom team Lanner 3-2, and Illogan HI B did even better with a good 4-1
victory at Breage. Godolphin Club are still not out of danger despite
beating Playing Place 3-2. With Lanner already looking doomed, the second
relegation place is still far from settled.
The top of the table clash in Division 2
between Camborne Conservative and Penponds resulted in a decisive 4-1
victory for Penponds, who moved above their rivals into a two point lead.
Alistair Gay had a good win over Clive Thomas for Conservative's only
point. Conservative still hold a five point lead over Feock in third
place, however, but the latter have not given up the chase, and last week
completed a 5-0 whitewash of struggling Perranporth Golf Club, who have
now lost their last eight matches. Playing Place moved back into the top
four with a good 5-0 win at Porthleven. Bottom team Redruth British Rail
had a welcome 3-2 win at Illogan HI, helped by a rare appearance from Mark
Eva, who had a narrow black ball win over Illogan's Keith Barker. St Day
continued their climb with their fourth consecutive win, 3-2 over Redruth
RBL.
In Division 3 there should also have
been an exciting encounter between the top two teams, Radnor Golf A and
Perranporth Golf Club, but the match was postponed due to illness. There
is still a four point gap to the two teams in third place, Camborne
Conservative and Redruth Club. Last week Conservative, struggling to field
a full team in recent weeks, lost 3-2 at Redruth British Rail, for whom
Rex Jenkin made a 25 clearance and Brian James a 20 break. Redruth Club's
form has been variable in recent weeks, but last week they showed better
form in beating Park Bottom 4-1. Kevin Gill showed glimpses of former days
when making breaks of 23 and 28 in Penponds' 3-2 victory over Illogan HI.
There was apparently a dispute over the late arrival of two players in the
Bell's Court v Clinton SC match, but no definite result has yet been
reported.
Report for 18th January 2009:
Last week Clinton SC A again increased their lead
in Division 1 of the Mining Snooker League to nine points and already look
nailed on for the title once again with ten weeks left of the season. On
Friday they took maximum points from Four Lanes with the aid of breaks of
60 from Gary Bray, 50 from Phil Lane and 32 from Steve Downing. Scott Bray
also played well with a couple of 20 plus breaks. Second-placed Illogan HI
A beat bottom team Lanner 4-1 with Dave Thomas taking Lanner's only frame
with a good win over Alan Hurley, and Chris Isaacs winning his frame for
Illogan A by 90-0. Third-placed St Day dropped further behind by losing
4-1 to Clinton SC B, with Dave Annear winning their only frame by one
point. Jeff Goldsworthy's win over Mark Bray was apparently the highlight
of the evening. Playing Place's winning run of five matches came to an end
when they lost 3-2 to Bell's Court, for whom professional Andy Hicks made
a fine clearance of 82, Paul Williams a break of 33 and Bobby Southworth
breaks of 44 and 31. Next to bottom team Illogan HI B lost 3-2 to
Penponds, but gained two points on Four Lanes with wins from Maurice Hicks
and Darren Jenkin. Godolphin Club gained some breathing space near the
bottom with a good 3-2 victory at Redruth British Rail, with wins from
Simon Morrish, Chris Timmins and Dave Liddicoat.
Camborne Conservative and Penponds hold a healthy lead over their
nearest pursuers in Division 2. Both teams
won 4-1 last week, with Conservative beating joint third-placed Redruth
RBL and Penponds beating Illogan. With Feock also losing 3-2 at home to St
Day, the position is looking increasingly rosy for the top two teams.
Redruth RBL's young Carl Mitchell had a good win over Conservative's
experienced Clive Roberts to complete his tenth win of the campaign. Park
Bottom had a good 4-1 win at Porthleven, for whom Dean Williams was the
only winner. Bottom team Redruth British Rail gave a walkover when losing
3-2 at Playing Place. St Day, conceding fifteen frames start, are already
out of the relegation zone, albeit with one result missing.
Division 3 looks to be turning into a
straight fight for the title between the two Golf Clubs, with Perranporth
and Radnor A locked on 45 points. They hold a six point lead over
third-placed Camborne Conservative, with Redruth Club a further two points
behind in fourth place. Last week Radnor A beat their own B team 4-1,
while Perranporth had an important 4-1 win against Redruth Club. Phil
Condy was Redruth Club's only winner. Penponds won 3-2 at Redruth British
Rail, with a 23 break from Kevin Gill.
Report for
11th January 2009:
In the clash of the top two teams in Division 1 of
the Mining Snooker league, Clinton SC A increased their lead over pursuers
Illogan HI A to eight points by beating them 4-1 on Friday. With
third-placed St Day also losing, Clinton A will prove very hard to
overhaul in the rest of the season. Robert Bennetts was the only winner
for Illogan HI A at home to leaders Clinton SC A on Friday, bringing to an
end a run of seven consecutive victories by the Illogan team. For Clinton
A, who have now won nine in a row, Scott Bray made a 43 break, Phil Lane a
42 and Steve Downing a 30. Third-placed St Day were surprisingly beaten
3-2 at home by Four Lanes, with Ryan Curnow, Colin Mills and Peter Dower
successful for Four Lanes. Penpoonds beat Redruth RBL 4-1 with Simon
Hosking compiling a 43 break and Stuart Lugg a 39, and Dave Martin
replying with a 32 for RBL. Playing Place (Chris Bassett 48 break)
recorded their fifth consecutive victory with a 3-2 win at Breage. Lanner
look to be in desperate trouble at the bottom after losing 5-0 to
Godolphin Club. Illogan HI B are also struggling after losing 4-1 to
Clinton SC B (Dan Spry 40 break).
Camborne Conservative head Division 2
by one point from Penponds, with a five point gap to the next team,
Redruth RBL. Last week Conservative (Steve Lovelock 26 break) beat early
season leaders Feock 4-1, while Penponds gained ground with a 5-0
whitewash of bottom team Redruth British Rail. Last season's champions St
Day beat Bell's Court 4-1. With their fifteen point handicap now deducted,
they will be looking to move to the safety of mid-table in the coming
weeks.
Radnor Golf A, 3-2 winners at Illogan, lead Division
3 by four points from Perranporth Golf Club, but with no result
reported by Bell's Court, the latter have a match in hand. Jon Barber
finished his winning frame with breaks of 18 and 27 for Radnor A. Camborne
Conservative and Redruth Club are in joint third place, five points behind
the leaders. Conservative gave a walkover at Penponds to lose the match
3-2, while Redruth Club got back on track after a couple of defeats by
beating Radnor Golf B 4-1. Redruth Club's Ian Pollock recorded a 73-2
victory in this match. The match between Clinton SC and Park Bottom was
postponed due to a bout of flu amongst the home team.
Report for 4th January 2009:
There were no matches for Divisions 2 and 3 of the
Mining Snooker League in the first week of the New Year, so attention
focuses this week on Division 1. Clinton SC A maintained their five point
lead over pursuers Illogan HI A as both teams won 4-1 on Friday, while
third-placed St Day gained a point on them both to keep themselves in
contention, two points behind. Clinton A beat Godolphin Club 4-1, with
Simon Pollard beating Steve Downing for Godolphin's only success. Illogan
HI A also won 4-1 at Four Lanes, where there was some good play from
several players. Chris Isaacs made a good break of 53, and looked like
challenging the highest break until missing a pink in an attempt to get on
the yellow ball. Team-mate Rob Bennetts made a 35 break and Nick Mutter a
32, with Ryan Curnow taking Four Lanes' only frame with the aid of a 32
break. St Day beat Illogan HI B 5-0 to keep in the hunt for honours.
Breage had a good 4-1 victory at Redruth British Rail, with a 34 break
from Ryan Gilbert. For the Railmen Neil Rowe came back from a big deficit
to beat Breage's John Pawlyn. Clinton SC B seem to be back on track,
beating Redruth RBL 4-1, the latter finding themselves in an unfamiliar
position in the bottom half of the table. Playing Place achieved their
fourth successive win when they beat a strong Penponds team 3-2. Bottom
team Lanner continue to struggle, with only Dave Thomas (31 break)
successful in their 4-1 defeat by Bell's Court.
The next League Meeting is this Thursday, 8th January at the Redruth
British Rail Club (7.30), when club representatives are warmly invited to
attend.
Please note that the new contact for Redruth Club is Mr Peter Flack:
Tel No: (Work) 01209 213171 (Home) 01029 218405. Redruth Club No: 01209
215033 after 8 p.m.
Report for 21st December 2008 (halfway)
Clinton SC A extended their lead to five points in
Division 1 of the Mining League on Friday, after last week's second-placed
team, St Day, crashed to a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Illogan HI A, who
leap-frogged them into second place. Clinton A beat Bell's Court 4-1, with
Phil Lane beating Paul Williams and Bobby Southworth taking Bell's Court's
only frame. Alan Hurley made a 31 clearance to beat Carl Boundy in Illogan
HI A's shock 5-0 win over rivals St Day. Redruth British Rail had a good
4-1 victory over Penponds with Neil Rowe making a 43 break and Jason
Kempthorne scoring most of the points for both players in his win over
Cornie Piredda. Playing Place moved into a safe position in mid-table
after beating Clinton B 3-2 for their third consecutive win. Despite
conceding a walkover, Godolphin Club clawed back a point on Four Lanes
just above them by beating them 3-2, with Simon Pollard playing well to
beat Ryan Curnow. Redruth RBL salvaged some pride by beating Illogan HI B
4-1 to keep them in the danger zone at the halfway stage of the season.
Camborne Conservative lead Division 2 by
two points after beating Bell's Court 4-1. New recruit Ian Grant was the
only winner for Bell's Court. Penponds also beat Playing Place 4-1 to
remain in second place, with Feock lying in third after achieving the same
result at Illogan HI. Redruth RBL's 4-1 victory at Redruth British Rail
contained some fine play by young Troy Lynes, who made breaks of 48 and a
27 clearance in his frame. St Day completed a nap hand of 4-1 victories
with a good 4-1 win over Porthleven, for whom Dean Williams was the only
winner. St Day are apparently lying in a good position, but will see their
tally shrink by 15 points in the second half, when their handicap is
deducted.
Radnor Golf A moved ahead of rivals Perranporth Golf Club at the top
of Division 3 by virtue of a 4-1 win over
Redruth British Rail, while Perranporth (Dave Mugford 29 break) could only
win 3-2 at Clinton SC. Camborne Conservative are currently in third place
after beating Park Bottom 4-1. Phil Press made a 21 break for Redruth
Club, but saw his team lose 4-1 to Illogan HI and slip to fifth place
after holding an early season lead in the Division. v Please note that the
new contact for Redruth Club is Mr Peter Flack: Tel No: (Work) 01209
213171 (Home) 01029 218405. Redruth Club No: 01209 215033 after 8 p.m.
Report for 14th December 2008:
Mining Snooker League Division 1 leaders Clinton SC
A saw their lead reduced to four points by St Day on Friday. Illogan HI A
are in third place, a further two points behind. While Clinton A won 3-2
at Breage, St Day took maximum points from Redruth RBL, who are no longer
the force of old and are languishing in the lower half of the table.
Breage's Justin Watters made a 38 break in beating Clinton A's Andrew
Martin and Robin Cripps had a good win over Gary Bray. For Clinton A Phil
Lane made a great 53 clearance to overcome a 47 point deficit against Ryan
Gilbert and Steve Downing made a break of 50. Penponds stalwart Keith
Hosking rolled back the years with a fine new highest break of 70 in his
team's 4-1 victory over struggling Lanner. He was backed up by a 34 break
from team-mate Cornie Piredda. Paul Williams made a 50 break for Bell's
Court in their 4-1 win over Four Lanes, who also conceded a walkover.
Playing a friendly frame against Graham Allen, Chris Mason had two visits
of 24 and 72, but unfortunately for Chris the break did not count for
League purposes. Clinton SC B had their first win for five weeks when
beating Redruth British Rail 3-2. Playing Place moved clear of danger by
beating Illogan HI B 5-0, but Godolphin Club continue to struggle, losing
4-1 to Illogan HI A, with J.P.Williams their only winner.
Camborne Conservative hold a two point lead in Division
2 despite losing 3-2 at Porthleven. Dean Williams made a 39 break
for Porthleven, with Clive Roberts and Mark Williams successful for the
leaders. Penponds are in second place after their fourth successive
victory, 3-2 at Redruth RBL, for whom Sean Wills made a 30 break. Feock
showed better form by beating Redruth British Rail 3-2, and are in
joint-third place with Porthleven. There were also wins for Park Bottom,
3-2 over last season's champions St Day, and for Playing Place by a
similar score over Perranporth Golf Club.
It's the battle of the golf clubs in Division
3, with Perranporth and Radnor A now sharing the lead. Both teams
won 5-0 last week, Perranporth's victory coming against Park Bottom with a
30 break from Dave Mugford. Simon Jones made a 27 break as Radnor A also
won 5-0 at Penponds. Redruth Club are now in third place despite losing
3-2 at Redruth British Rail, but there was a worse result for Camborne
Conservative, who were beaten 4-1 by Redruth RBL. As he himself had
predicted, Conservative's Brian Lawry was obviously jinxed by your
correspondent last week, losing his unbeaten record to RBL's highest break
holder, Simon Cheung!
Report for 7th December 2008:
Mining Snooker League Division 1 leaders Clinton SC
A beat Penponds 3-2 on Friday and continue to lead Division 1 of the
Mining Snooker League by six points. St Day, who won 3-2 at the Godolphin
Club, are in second place. Simon Pollard and Simon Morrish were the
winners for Godolphin. Illogan HI A had a good 4-1 win over rivals Bell's
Court and now lie in third place, just a point behind St Day. Rob Bennetts
made breaks of 52 and 31 for Illogan A, with Dave Fox making a 32 to take
Bell's Court's only frame. It was a good week for the teams near the
bottom of the Division, with four of the bottom five winning their
matches. Bottom team Lanner celebrated their first win of the season in
beating Clinton SC B 3-2, a result which meant that Clinton SC B had taken
only four points from their last four matches. Unfortunately for Lanner,
Illogan HI B, Four Lanes and Playing Place also won, so they failed to
make any real progress. The most notable result was Illogan HI B's 3-2
victory at Redruth British Rail, achieved without some of their regular
players. Winners for Illogan B were Darren Jenkin, Victor Wills and the
evergreen Peter Chegwidden. Four Lanes beat Breage 3-2, while Playing
Place also won 3-2 at home to Redruth RBL. The Legion's Robert Charman set
a new highest break in this match with a fine effort of 68. Dave Martin
also made a 32 for the visitors. The final frame was very close, with
Place's Martyn Bawden, trailing by 37 points, coming back with a 36 break,
then making a 22 clearance to beat Jake Stewart on the final black.
Camborne Conservative now lead Division 2
by three points after a 4-1 win against Park Bottom last week. Clarence
Richards was Park Bottom's only winner. Penponds now lie in clear second
place after achieving the result of the week, a 5-0 whitewash of previous
leaders Feock, for whom this was only the second defeat of the season. The
third placed position just behind Penponds is also very closely contested
by a number of teams. There were 3-2 wins for Porthleven, St Day and
Playing Place.
The top of Division 3 is once more a
grandstand battle as a result of Camborne Conservative's 4-1 away victory
over last week's leaders Perranporth Golf Club. These two teams, together
with Radnor Golf A and Redruth Club, now share the lead with Clinton SC
just two points behind in fifth place. Radnor Golf A beat Redruth RBL 3-2
last week and Redruth Club won their fifth consecutive match with a 3-2
defeat of Penponds. Clinton SC's 4-1 win over Illogan HI took them a step
closer to the leaders.
Report for 30th November 2008:
Clinton SC A
continue to lead Division 1 of the Mining Snooker League by six points
after last week's matches. On Friday they beat their own B team 4-1, with
Steve Downing making a 57 break for the A team, and Darren Davey winning
the B team's only frame with the aid of a 30 break. St Day still hold
second place on their own, closely pursued by Redruth British Rail. Rail's
result last week was in fact sent on time, but failed to arrive. It was a
3-2 win for Rail against Playing Place, in which the highlight was a 48
break by Playing Place's Thornton Crawford. Place's Phil Davey went in off
the final black to lose his frame to Neil Rowe and Chris Bassett pipped
Mike Jenkin, also on the black. Rail's latest result was a good 4-1 win
away to neighbours Redruth RBL. St Day had beaten rivals Bell's Court 4-1
in the previous week, but Bell's bounced back on Friday by beating
Godolphin Club 5-0. Club professional Andy Hicks made a 70 break in this
match, which will not count as the highest break, however. While Four
Lanes were beaten 4-1 at Penponds, Illogan HI B gained ground at the lower
end of the table by beating Lanner 4-1 and increasing the latter's
isolation at the bottom. Illogan HI A maintained their recent run of form
by winning 4-1 at Breage, with Chris Isaacs making a 41 break and Justin
Watters winning Breage's only frame despite a 31 break from Rob Bennetts.
Camborne Conservative, relegated from Division 1 last season, are
the new leaders of Division 2 after winning
5-0 at Perranporth Golf Club. Mike Smith, recently returned from overseas,
made a 31 break for the leaders. Previous leaders Feock beat rivals
Redruth RBL 3-2 to lie just above them in second place. Penponds,
Porthleven and St Day are close behind the top three, but St Day will have
their points adjusted at the halfway stage. Last week Penponds won 3-2 at
Bell's Court with wins from Clive Thomas, son Craig and Matthew Williams.
Redruth British Rail are still bottom, but won their second successive
match, 3-2 at Porthleven, to haul themselves closer to the teams above
them. Park Bottom are competing well after promotion last season, and last
week beat Illogan HI 3-2, including a win by 86-0 from new signing Mitch
Featherbe.
The top of Division 3 is still closely
contested this week, but Perranporth Golf Club broke last week's deadlock
by winning 5-0 away to bottom team Radnor Golf B. They have now opened a
two point gap over Radnor Golf A and Redruth Club in joint second place.
Last week Radnor A beat close rivals Camborne Conservative 3-2, although
Brian Lawry maintained his unbeaten record for the Conservative team.
There is apparently no truth in the rumour that he has picked all the
rabbits! Redruth Club won 3-2 at Redruth RBL despite another good break of
31 from RBL's Simon Cheung. Clinton SC had a good 4-1 win at Redruth
British Rail, where young Aiden Johns made a 21 break but still lost his
frame to Rail's Bernard Williams. Bell's Court, struggling near the bottom
in their first season, had a tonic 3-2 victory at Penponds.
Report for 23rd November 2008:
Clinton SC A maintained a six point lead over their
nearest pursuers in Division 1 of the Mining Snooker league by beating
Illogan HI B 4-1 on Friday. Victor Wills took Illogan B's only frame by
beating Clinton ace Steve Downing on the final black. With two results
missing involving three of the top teams, second place is currently held
by St Day, who beat Playing Place 4-1 in a match played in advance for
28th November. Carl Boundy made a 32 break in this match, with Phil Davey
taking Playing Place's only frame. Illogan HI A are now in third place
after beating Penponds 4-1. Alan Hurley made a 30 break for Illogan A, and
there was an interesting frame between Illogan's Gareth Ball and Penponds'
Simon Hosking. Simon, who is enjoying his best ever season so far, led by
over 50 points before Gareth came back with a 30 break, only to lose on
the final black. Lanner are getting further adrift at the bottom and last
week were beaten 5-0 by Redruth RBL, for whom Jake Stewart continued to
impress with breaks of 39 and 32. Four Lanes, by contrast, are showing
improved form after a tough start, and on Friday beat Clinton SC B 4-1 to
move out of the bottom three. Godolphin Club dropped below them, losing
4-1 to Breage. Justin Watters made a 33 break for Breage, with Chris
Timmins making a 31 break to take Godolphin's only frame.
Feock are back on top of Division 2 by one point from Camborne
Conservative and Redruth RBL in joint second place. Feock had suffered
their first defeat of the season in the previous week when Bell's Court
beat them 3-2, but returned to winning ways with a 3-2 victory over
Playing Place last week. Camborne Conservative beat last season's
champions St Day 3-2 with breaks of 32 from Clive Roberts and 30 from
Alistair Gay. Redruth RBL beat Bell's Court 5-0 to share second place with
them. Porthleven are still well in contention despite losing 3-2 to
Penponds and conceding a walkover. Redruth British Rail are still in
bottom place, despite achieving their first victory since the first week
of the season by beating Park Bottom 3-2.
Division 3 is becoming a fascinating tussle, with four teams now
sharing top spot after last week's matches. Redruth Club beat last week's
leaders Radnor Golf A 3-2 for their second successive victory over one of
their rivals. Redruth Club's Ian Pollock trailed Marcus Tresidder by 40
points before coming back to win the frame, while Radnor's Simon Jones
potted extremely well to win 54-1. Camborne Conservative maintained their
challenge with a 4-1 win at Radnor Golf B, although Andrew Oliver played
well for the home team with breaks of 23 and 20. Perranporth Golf Club
beat Illogan HI 5-0 to share top spot. Redruth RBL have had a mixed
season, but last week won 4-1 at Bell's Court, where RBL's Simon Cheung
made a new highest break of 40.
Report for 16th November 2008:
Mining
Snooker League Division 1 leaders Clinton SC A now hold a six point lead
over three teams in joint-second place after Friday's matches. Clinton A
beat perennial rivals and neighbours Redruth RBL 3-2, with young Jake
Stewart for Redruth RBL beating Gary Bray and Anthony Curnow taking a
tight frame on a respotted black against Clinton's Phil Lane. Clinton SC
B, who had been enjoying a great start to the season, crashed 5-0 against
Illogan HI A, who have been showing inconsistent form so far. Alan Hurley
made a 41 break, with Gareth Ball and Rob Bennetts both winning black ball
games for Illogan A. Bell's Court moved into joint second place with a 5-0
whitewash of Breage, with Paul Williams making a 56 break for Bell's. St
Day and Redruth British Rail, who are also in joint-second, clashed with
each other, with St Day (Mark Bray 43 break) emerging 3-2 winners.
Penponds were the third team to win 5-0 on the night, at the expense of
Godolphin Club, and Simon Hosking, who has been putting in some great
performances this season, took over as front-runner for the highest break
prize with a fine effort of 67. Playing Place (Roger Golley 38 break) beat
Lanner 4-1 to keep them anchored at the bottom, while Four Lanes (Ryan
Curnow 33 and 24 breaks), just pipped Illogan HI B 3-2 to edge above them.
With no result to hand from Bell's Court v Feock in Division 2,
Camborne Conservative and Porthleven jointly head the table on 18 points
from Feock and St Day, Feock having a match in hand of the other three.
Last week Camborne Conservative had a shock 5-0 win over near rivals
Playing Place. There were several close frames in this match, including a
black ball win for Richard Mitchell over Alan Williams. St Day continued
their better recent run by beating Illogan HI 4-1, for whom Stuart Mannell
was the only winner. St Day, of course, are handicapped 15 frames, and
these points will be deducted later in the season. Park Bottom are
gradually adjusting to life in the higher Division and last week had a
good 3-2 win over a strong Penponds team. Redruth British Rail continue to
struggle, and last week lost 3-2 to Perranporth Golf Club.
Radnor Golf A had a 5-0 victory over Bell's Court in Division 3, and
now proudly head the table. Close rivals Redruth Club and Camborne
Conservative played each other last week, with Redruth Club taking
Conservative's unbeaten record with a 3-2 win. Darren Condy (23 break),
Justin Thomas (22) and Phil Condy were Redruth Club's winners, with John
Buddle and Brian Lawry replying for Conservatives. There was a 28 break
from Paul Riddle of Radnor Golf B, but his team lost 3-2 to Illogan HI and
have yet to win a match in the Division, sharing bottom place with Bell's
Court. Only four points separate the top six teams, with Illogan HI and
Penponds in joint-fifth place. v A reminder that Cornwall take on Devon
next Sunday, 23rd November with matches at the Redruth Club (billiards),
Redruth RBL (Youth Snooker) and Clinton SC (Senior Snooker). Matches start
at 12.30 with Redruth Club opening its doors at 12 noon (Bar available).
Report for 9th November 2008:
Mining Snooker League Division 1 leaders Clinton SC
A came back to form with a bang after suffering their first defeat in the
previous, winning 5-0 against Playing Place. There were some good breaks
for the leaders, with Gary Bray equalling the previous highest with a 62,
Steve Downing making a 61 and Scott Bray with two breaks of 57 and 39.
Clinton A now lead by five points from their own B team and Redruth
British Rail in joint second place. Clinton SC B (Darren Murrish 31
clearance) won 3-2 at the Godolphin Club while the Railmen went one better
with a 4-1 result against Lanner. Fourth placed St Day lost 3-2 at Breage
despite winning the first two frames through John Dunn and Carl Boundy.
Breage hit back with wins from Nathan Strick, Roy Good and Peter Williams,
the last two being black ball deciders. Illogan HI B scored their second
successive victory when beating their own highly rated A team 3-2, with
wins from Darren Jenkin, Keith Philp and Richard May. Redruth RBL won 3-2
at Four Lanes, helped by a break of 39 from young Jake Stewart in a superb
potting display and a 35 from Anthony Curnow. There was a 54 break from
Bell's Court professional Andy Hicks, making a rare appearance this season
in a 3-2 victory over Penponds. Lanner now occupy bottom place in the
Division, but are just one point adrift of Four Lanes and Illogan HI B.
In the clash of last week's two top teams in Division 2, Feock beat
Porthleven 4-1, and, in their first season in the higher Division, proudly
head the table on their own ahead of Playing Place and Redruth RBL. Wayne
Tucker was the only winner for Porthleven, with Ben Trewern gaining a good
win over Porthleven's Dean Williams. Playing Place gained their third 4-1
victory of the campaign at the expense of Bell's Court, while Redruth RBL
beat Park Bottom 3-2, with another win from 10 year old Carl Mitchell. St
Day finally came good with a 5-0 win at Redruth British Rail, who are
languishing at the bottom with only one win in their first match this
season. There are only five points between Feock at the top and
Perranporth Golf Club in ninth place.
With Camborne Conservative having to postpone their match due to an
epidemic of flu, Redruth Club have taken over at the top of Division 3.
Last week they won 5-0 at Bell's Court, while nearest rivals Radnor Golf A
won 3-2 at Clinton SC. Third placed Perranporth Golf Club lost their first
match of the season, going down 3-2 at home to Penponds, despite a good
win by Dave Mugford over Penponds' Kevin Gill. There was a 30 break by
Andrew Roskrow for Park Bottom, but his team lost 3-2 at home to Redruth
RBL. Redruth British Rail came out of a bad spell of three successive
defeats by winning 5-0 at Radnor Golf B.
Cornwall take on Devon on Sunday 23rd November, with matches at the
Redruth Club (Billiards), Redruth RBL (Youth Snooker) and Clinton SC
(Senior Snooker). Matches start at 12.30, with Redruth Club opening its
doos at 12 noon (bar available).
Report for 2nd November 2008:
Mining Snooker League Division 1 leaders Clinton SC
A suffered their first defeat of the season on Friday when going down 3-2
at fourth-placed Redruth British Rail. However, they still lead Clinton SC
B and St Day by three points at the top of the table. Winners for Redruth
British Rail were Neil Rowe, Robert Mason and John Winn (39 break), with
Steve Downing (40 break) and Gary Bray replying for Clinton A. St Day
moved into joint-second place after beating Lanner 4-1, for whom Dave
Thomas was the only winner. Clinton B beat Bell's Court 3-2 to maintain
their challenge at the top, despite losing the first two frames to Paul
Williams and Bobby Southworth. Redruth RBL had a good 3-2 win over Illogan
HI A, with Robert Charman making breaks of 40 and 24 and wins for Anthony
Curnow and young Jake Stewart. Robert Bennetts and Chris Isaacs played
well in reply for Illogan A. New entrants Four Lanes continue to struggle,
losing 4-1 at Playing Place, but Andrew Phillips won his first frame for
them, and two other frames were very close. For Playing Place Chris
Bassett came back from needing snookers to beat Colin Mills on the final
black. There was better news for Illogan HI B, who won their first match
3-2 against Goldolphin Club, but they are still just bottom. Penponds beat
Breage 3-2, and there was some more fine play from Simon Hosking with
breaks of 44 and 50, and a 55 break from Breage's Justin Watters,
Two unbeaten teams, Feock and Porthleven, share the lead in Division
2, but there are a further four teams just one point behind them, so it
promises to be a well-contested Division. Feock maintained their good
start in the higher league by winning 3-2 at Park Bottom, who were
promoted with them last season. Porthleven also had a narrow 3-2 victory
over Bell's Court, for whom Nathan Bastin, making his debut, made a fine
52 break. Camborne Conservative beat Redruth British Rail 4-1 to maintain
their challenge near the top, while Penponds increased St Day's woes by
beating them 4-1. St Day's fifteen point handicap as set by the League
looks a very stiff task on current form.
Camborne Conservative have edged ahead in Division 3 after their
fourth successive win, 4-1 at Bell's Court. Perranporth Golf Club and
Radnor Golf A are just one point behind, and the top half of the table is
very close. Radnor Golf A are enjoying their best start yet, and last week
beat Park Bottom 4-1 for their third victory out of four. Perranporth Golf
Club are still unbeaten, winning 3-2 at Redruth RBL. Illogan HI have lost
only one match, beating Redruth British Rail 4-1 last week, and in one
frame Rail's Mike Downing made a 20 break, only to be pipped by a 22
clearance from Illogan's Chris McAvoy. One unusual occurrence last week
was a new high break of 32 by Dean Hoskins of Radnor Golf B in a frame
which he actually lost to Tim Fox of Penponds. The match was won 3-2 by
Penponds.
Report for 26th October 2008:
Reigning champions Clinton SC A have opened up a
four point lead over their own B team in Division 1 of the Mining Snooker
League. On Friday they beat Lanner 5-0, aided by breaks of 40 and 38 from
Steve Downing and two walkovers conceded by their opponents. Clinton B won
3-2 at Breage after losing the first two frames to Justin Watters and Roy
Good. Penponds dropped from third place last week down to joint seventh
place after losing 5-0 at home to St Day, while the latter moved back up
to joint third place. After some disappointing results, Illogan HI A came
back to form to beat Playing Place 5-0, with a 48 break from Alan Hurley.
Redruth British Rail won 4-1 at Four Lanes, although there were several
close frames. Ryan Curnow took the opening frame for Four Lanes, then Rail
moved into a 2-1 lead. Rail's Jason Kempthorne then led Robert Buckingham
by 30 points, but Robert came back strongly, losing only on the colours.
Peter Dower also played well to lead John Winn by 30 points, but John then
made a 32 break, and finished by potting green to pink to win. After
gaining only one point from their first four matches, bottom team Illogan
HI B took two points at Bell's Court through Darren Jenkin and Keith
Philp. Godolphin Club beat Redruth RBL 3-2 despite losing the first two
frames to Robert Charman and Anthony Curnow.
Three teams now share the lead in Division 2 after Porthleven beat
rivals Playing Place 3-2 last week and promoted Feock maintained their
unbeaten record in the higher league by beating Perranporth Golf Club 4-1.
Playing Place went 2-0 up on Porthleven through Jonathan Crowle and Dave
Hewitt, but Porthleven came back to win the match through Justin Uren,
Wayne Tucker and Dean Williams. Vivian Hill was Perranporth Golf Club's
only winner at Feock. Redruth RBL are one point behind the joint leaders,
despite losing 3-2 to St Day, who were winning their first match this
season. Promoted Park Bottom also got off the mark by winning 3-2 at
Bell's Court.
There are also three joint leaders in Division 3, with still
unbeaten Camborne Conservative and Perranporth Golf Club sharing the lead
with Redruth Club. Last week Perranporth Golf Club beat previously
unbeaten Radnor Golf A 3-2, while Redruth Club won 4-1 at Park Bottom.
Radnor Golf A went 2-0 up on Perranporth Golf Club through Simon Jones and
Daniel Abraham, but Perranporth came back to win the match through Steve
Cox, Steve Ryder and Gary Marson. Camborne Conservative also won 4-1
against Redruth British Rail, with breaks of 25 by Brian Lawry, another 23
from team-mate Dave Harrington and a 22 from Rail's Brian James.
Report for 19th October 2008:
Reigning champions Clinton SC A head Division 1
after four weeks of the season. On Friday they beat St Day 4-1 and now
lead their own B team by two points with Penponds a further point behind
in third place. Carl Boundy beat Scott Bray for St Day's only frame
against the leaders. Clinton SC B tasted defeat for the first time, going
down 3-2 to Penponds (Simon Hosking 35 break). Illogan HI A, fancied by
many to be strong contenders this season, amazingly crashed to a 5-0
defeat at Redruth British Rail, and last year's runners-up, Redruth RBL
also lost 5-0 at home to Bell's Court. Breage, with one of their
newcomers, Robin Cripps, making a 27 clearance, were the third team to win
5-0 against struggling Illogan HI B, who have taken only one point from
their first four matches. Playing Place had a close match with the
Godolphin Club. Martyn Bawden made breaks of 30 and 25 in his frame for
Playing Place, and with the score at 2-2 Thornton Crawford fluked the
respotted black to give Playing Place a 3-2 victory. Four Lanes (Graham
Allen 45 break) finally got off the mark by beating Lanner 3-2, coming
back from a 2-0 deficit.
Playing Place, who beat Redruth British Rail 4-1, head Division 2
with eight points, with Porthleven and Redruth RBL one point behind in
joint second place. After winning their first match 5-0, Redruth RBL were
beaten 3-2 by Camborne Conservative last week. Feock have made a good
start in the higher Division and last week beat last season's Division 2
champions, St Day, 3-2. Porthleven recorded their second victory of the
campaign by winning 4-1 at Park Bottom.
Perranporth Golf Club and Radnor Golf A are joint leaders of
Division 3 on seven points. Last week Perranporth won 3-2 at Redruth Club,
while Radnor A beat their own B team 4-1. Camborne Conservative had a
closely fought 3-2 victory over Clinton SC, in which Conservative's Brian
Lawry made a 20 break, team-mate Dave Harrington a 23 and two breaks of
14, and Mike Johns a 27 clearance for Clinton SC. Bell's Court beat Park
Bottom 3-2, aided by two walkovers from the away team.
Report for 12th October 2008:
The third
week of the Mining League Snooker season saw Divisions 2 and 3 start their
campaigns. In Division 1 last week's 100% leaders St Day crashed to a 4-1
defeat at the hands of another high-flying team, Clinton SC B. Darren
Davey made a break of 35 for Clinton B and team-mate Jeff Goldsworthy a
37. David Annear beat Dan Spry for St Day's only point. Clinton B are now
joint-leaders of the Division along with their A team, who won 5-0 at Four
Lanes. St Day drop to joint-third place with Penponds, who also beat
bottom team Illogan HI B 5-0. Illogan HI A were the third side to win 5-0
last week, against Lanner, with Chris Isaacs making a 40 break to beat
Graham Vercoe from some way behind. Bobby Southworth made a good 41 break
in Bell's Court's 3-2 victory over Playing Place, and there were also 3-2
wins for Redruth British Rail at Godolphin Club and Redruth RBL at Breage.
The two new entrants to the Division, Illogan HI B and Four Lanes are
already finding life much tougher in the top flight.
Division 2 got under way last week with Redruth RBL making the best
start by beating Illogan HI 5-0, with young Carl Mitchell winning his
first frame in the higher Division. Playing Place beat newly-promoted Park
Bottom 4-1 with a 31 break from Mike Rees. Last season's Division 3
champions, Feock, also made a good start by beating Camborne Conservative
3-2, the latter having come down from Division 1 at the end of last
season. Redruth RBL had a good 3-2 result at Penponds and Porthleven won
by a similar score against Perranporth Golf Club, who were a player short.
St Day, who have to concede a 15 frame handicap as a result of winning the
Division last season, did not make a good start to their campaign when
losing 3-2 at Bell's Court.
There were no 5-0 results in the first week of Division 3, the most
successful teams being Perranporth Golf Club, Redruth Club and Redruth
British Rail, all of whom won 4-1. For the latter Brian James made a 25
clearance to post the highest reported break. Rodney Roskilly made a 22
break for the new entrants, Park Bottom. His team, however, lost 3-2 to
Clinton SC. There were also 3-2 wins for Radnor Golf A and Camborne
Conservatives.
Report for 5th October 2008:
The
second week of the Mining League Snooker season saw Division 1 complete
their second set of fixtures, with the other two Divisions due to start on
Tuesday this week. St Day proudly head the Division 1 table with a 100%
frames record after beating newly promoted Four Lanes 5-0 on Friday. They
are followed by Clinton SC B in second place on nine points, with reigning
champions Clinton SC A on eight points in third. The clash between two of
this season's potential top teams, Clinton SC A and Illogan HI A, ended in
a 3-2 victory for the Clinton A side. Steve Downing made two 40 breaks for
the home team to leave his opponent pointless, and Andrew Martin and Phil
Lane made it 3-0. However Robert Bennetts (39 break) and Alan Hurley (40
break) pulled Illogan A back to a respectable score. St Day made it ten
frames out of ten by beating Four Lanes 5-0. John Dunn made breaks of 38
and 35 for St Day in a fine display of break building. There was a close
frame between Four Lanes' Ryan Curnow and Terry Kempe, in which Terry led
by 30 points on the last red. Needing all the balls, Ryan took them up to
the blue, narrowly failing to gain position on the pink ball, and
eventually leaving his opponent an easy pot to win the frame. Clinton SC B
have made a fine start to the season, and beat new entrants Illogan HI B
4-1 on Friday to make it nine points out of ten. John Fisher made a 32
break for Illogan B to take their only frame. Last season's runners-up,
Redruth RBL, got off the mark this week with a good 3-2 victory over
Penponds. Elsewhere Redruth British Rail beat Bell's Court 3-2 with some
fine play by Jason Kempthorne, making three breaks over 20 in his frame.
There were also 3-2 wins for the Godolphin Club at Lanner and for Playing
Place against Breage.
From 10th October onwards, Lanner will play all their remaining home
matches at St Day, due to building and refurbishment work at the Lanner
club.
The closing date for team and individual competitions has now been
extended to next Monday, 13th October. Entries and fees must be received
by Keith Manley by that date to be included in the draw.
Report for 28th September 2008:
The start of
the Mining League Snooker season involved only Division 1 in the first
week, with the other two Divisions having to wait until 7th October for
their first matches. Last season's top two teams had contrasting fortunes,
with reigning champions Clinton SC A taking full points from their visit
to the Godolphin Club, while last season's runners-up, Redruth RBL, albeit
with a big change of personnel, went down to a 5-0 defeat at the hands of
Clinton SC B. Steve Downing made a 46 break for Clinton A, with team-mate
Scott Bray rowing in with a 40 break. For Clinton B Jeff Goldsworthy made
a nice 42 break and Darren Murrish a 36. So both Clinton teams share the
lead after the first week's matches, along with St Day, who also beat new
entrants Illogan HI B 5-0. With Illogan HI A now fielding an even stronger
team than when they finished third last season, it was a little surprising
that they could only beat newly-promoted Four Lanes 3-2. Gareth Ball and
Alan Hurley, with a fine 62 break, took the first two frames for Illogan
A, but Four Lanes replied with a good frame from Ryan Curnow to beat Chris
Isaacs (formerly Wills) and Colin Mills played very soundly to defeat the
dangerous Robert Bennetts. Nick Mutter took the deciding frame for Illogan
A. Penponds made a good start by beating Playing Place 4-1, with Simon
Hosking playing very well to make breaks of 36 and 32. Breage, fielding
some new young players, had a good 3-2 victory over Redruth British Rail,
while Bell's Court started with a 3-2 win over Lanner (Wayne Nicholls 32
break).
From 10th October onwards, Lanner will play all their remaining home
matches at St Day, due to building and refurbishment work at the Lanner
club.
Although the closing date for team and individual competitions has
officially passed, the deadline has now been extended to allow teams and
players more time to process their entries.