St Andrews B established themselves as firm title favourites this week with their fourth successive 5-1 win. Their opponents this time around were bottom dwellers, Princeville. Good wins from Dave Smith, John Bedford and Steve Clark set them on their way to 5 more points. Princeville's only winner was seasonal debutant, Peter Turner. So, although they sit next Thursday out, they will still top the league table, even if nearest rivals Pudsey Congs B are able to take all 6 points. 

At the Deaf Centre, Pudsey Congs B kept up what pressure they could, in their quest for the title, with a 4-2 win against the hit and miss home team. Captain, Mick Hirst led the way with a 43 point win, but their other 2 winners look to have had nail-biters with Trevor Smith winning by 4 and Sid Ash by just 3. Brian Robinson's 44 point win over Roy Denson was enough to ensure that Bradford Deaf held onto the bonus point from their previous encounter last month. 

St Andrews A's strong start to the season took a slight downturn last week and the week before with a defeat and a 3-3 the week before. They brought with them a slender 8 point advantage from their corresponding match last month. Littlemoor's John Allan and Graham Tudor got the home team off to a great start... John had a close encounter with Graham Pearson, which finished 190-168 to John. Graham spent most of his game with Neil Lee in deficit (at one stage by 50). However, a very good and determined late run carried him to a 200-195 win. Dave Howarth and Gary Rogers then fought out a very tight and nervy end-game with the home man coming out on top 181-179. On the other table, the visitors Nigel Brayshaw streaked ahead of opponent Ralph Allan and was close to finishing when Ralph was a long way adrift. However, a spirited fight back brought Ralph to 165 when Nigel crept to the 200. That 35 point win not only secured the aggregate point for St Andrews B, but claimed them the bonus point as well. Although I'm biased, I think Littlemoor can consider themselves a bit unlucky to not register an overall win.

This coming Thursday, Littlemoor will be visiting second placed Congs B, St Andrews A will host Bradford Deaf and Pudsey Congs A will be on the road to Princeville. I am advised that the one outstanding Individual Merit match is in hand as is the Pairs Preliminary match between the main St Andrews A foursome. Please also note that we will be drawing the next rounds of the Individuals and Pairs at the League Meeting on Friday the 19th December at St Andrews with a 7:30pm start. 

Also, for those who are interested, our pre-Christmas get-together will be at Wetherspoons in Pudsey from 4pm on Wednesday the 17th December. All welcome.

By Dave Howarth

League Secretary

All three matches this week were very eventful and all three finished 5-1. At St Andrews, in their second derby of the season, the A team brought forward a small 14 point lead after a narrow 3-2 win from the beginning of October. Last week's surprise 3-3 draw against Princeville was preceded by all wins this season... and this week their (slight) decline continued, with a defeat to their table topping stablemates. St Andrews B were at full strength and took full advantage with Dave Smith leading the way with a big 200-117 win over Graham Pearson, almost singly putting to bed the bonus point. Steve Boocock and Steve Clark for the B team had closer wins by 5 and 17 against Nigel Brayshaw and reserve, John Oyston. Neil Lee wasn't far away from rescuing the bonus point for the A team though with a massive 200-110 win against previous Players Table leader, John Bedford. It therefore ended up with the bonus point going narrowly to the B team by just 3 points! Neil Lee's big win also carried him to the top of the Players Table, so very well done to him.

At Pudsey Congs, the B team dominated, with their skipper Mick Hirst somehow negating Richard Bowes previous big break exploits this season to a 147-54 result. Richard's Facebook comment reads "We didn't travel well to the away venue. Canny tactical play from Mick kept me comprehensively shut out." There was also a big 200-123 win for the B team's Roy Denson. Sid Ash also had a good win over the A team's Phil Hirst by 27. John Hirst managed the sole point for Congs A with a good 200-156 win over reserve Colin Nelthorpe.

At Littlemoor the home team faced this season's equally inconsistent Bradford Deaf. There were wins for the Deaf Centre's Ihjaz Hussain, Brian Robinson and a big win for Ian Ford by 200-157 over an overwhelmed Dave Howarth! Littlemoor's only winner was a determined John Allan with a 30 point win over Jeremy Dixon.

So, after those three 5-1's it leaves St Andrews B in a very strong position, now 7 and a half points clear of Pudsey Congs B. This coming week, the leaders will face bottom of the table Princeville, who have shown they are quite able to spring a surprise here and there. Littlemoor will host St Andrews A and Pudsey Congs B will be at the Deaf Centre. Pudsey Congs A will take their turn to sit out.

Please note that the next league meeting will be on the 19th December and the outstanding Individual Merit and Pairs matches still need to be played prior to that. Before that, the pre-Christmas get-together at Wetherspoons in Pudsey is fast approaching and is scheduled for Wednesday the 17th December with a 4pm start. It will be great to see everyone who can make it.

By Dave Howarth

League Secretary

Footnote - in a nip and tuck affair that lasted only about 45 minutes, Phil Hirst beat Peter Allan on Friday at Littlemoor 200-197 in the Individual Merit. It could have gone either way... but well done to Phil who held his nerve slightly better at the end.

**** Further update. The missing scoresheet has now been reposted and so I have updated the Players Table. The scoresheets from this week are now on the appropriate page.****

St Andrews A's unbeaten run was brought to an end this week, after a surprise 3-3 home draw against Princeville. The only detail I am able to supply, at present, is that Neil Lee effectively scored all 3 points for the home team. The scorecard was on the Facebook page on Thursday night and Friday morning, but since then it has disappeared! James Butcher's message to me last night was "Neil Lee effectively won 3 points for St Andrews A in the first game"... so he must have had a big win, as I'm fairly sure he was their only winner on the night.

At Bradford Deaf Centre, St Andrews B's winning run continued and, as a result, their place at the top was consolidated even further... They're now 4 points clear. There were wins from Steve Boocock, John Bedford and Steve Clark. Steve B had a 24 break in his 200-159 win over Brian Robinson. Jeremy Dixon scored the only point for the Deaf Centre with a 32 break in his win over Dave Smith, who also had a 23 break. St Andrews B won the bonus point by just 10 in reversing a 76 point deficit from their Week 2 encounter.

At Pudsey Congs, their A team have now fully woken up from a poor start to the season. They had a second successive 5-1 win this week. Their opponents this time around were last season's champions Littlemoor, who have also, at best, been inconsistent this term. John Hirst started the ball rolling with a good performance against Peter Allan. John's son Phil followed up with a 7 point win over myself. Richard Bowes then delivered another masterclass for Congs A, reaching 200 (from a -100 starting point!) with about 90 seconds to spare. Breaks of 40, 35, 55, topped off with a 72 were the highlights. Ralph Allan then stepped up for the visitors with a 188-172 win over Dave Hirst.

This coming week, there's derbies at Pudsey Congs and a top of the table clash at St Andrews. Littlemoor will host Bradford Deaf. I will update the Players Table when the scorecard turns up from the St Andrews A v Princeville match.

By Dave Howarth

League Secretary

There were three convincing wins to begin the second quarter of matches this week. The most decisive win was the first 6-0 of the season and was inflicted by Pudsey Congs B over their hosts, Princeville. Mick Hirst's Rochdale contingent (this week) were, the ever present Sid Ash, Roy Denson and making just his second appearance, Paul Holt. Mick had a 15 point win, Roy won by 13 and Sid won by just 4. However, in what was probably the game of the evening, Paul Holt made four breaks of 33, 29, 23 and 31 to give him an excellent 27 point win over Graham Bentley who also knocked in a 20  in response. The 33 by Paul gets him onto the highest breaks page in category two. Gareth Kershaw's latest Facebook comment, concerning Princeville's exploits, reads "The march is off!" 

At Pudsey Congs, which is undoubtedly Richard Bowes's favourite venue/table, Pudsey Congs A showed they have no intention of finishing bottom, with a 5-1 hammering of the Deaf Centre. The reason I mention Richard is that he was "at it" again, with three breaks of 50, 70 and a massive 125. The 70 would have beaten his previous best this season which was a 62 last week; but that pales into insignificance after this week's efforts, Receiving congratulatory comments on the Facebook page, Richard's response was quite simply... "Finally found some form and focus, all done in 35 minutes". His long suffering opponent. Jeremy Dixon, at a guess, maybe only had five or six visits to score his 32 (including his 5 handicap). Congs A's other winners were Phil Hirst and John Hirst. Ian Ford saved Bradford Deaf's blushes, getting them a much needed point. The 5-1 win did indeed lift Congs A up to sixth. 

At St Andrews, their B team inflicted the other convincing win of the night with a 5-1 win over Littlemoor. Dave Smith was always able to maintain his handicap advantage over John Allan. Some good fortune close to the end ensured a 186-146 win. Graham Tudor was last week's Players Table topper, but he was knocked off that particular perch by St Andrews B's John Bedford, who beat him 171-159. I then managed to pull one back for Littlemoor, with a hard fought win over Steve Clark 196-186 after Steve was leading by over 40 at one stage. Skipper, Steve Boocock then sealed the win for the home team, beating Ralph Allan 196-179. That 5-1 win for St Andrews B puts them top by 2 points. 

There were two Individual's matches at St Andrews this week. Graham Pearson is a big improver this season and is one of the reasons St Andrews A are doing so well. He sent a clear message to the rest of the league, when knocking out last season's winner, Dave Hirst, with a thumping 200-157 win. Dave's twin brother, John then had a much closer 200-199 nail biting victory over John Rider.

This coming week will see St Andrews A back in action at home to Princeville. Littlemoor will be visiting resurgent Congs A and leaders St Andrews B will visit Bradford Deaf. Congs B will be having a week off.

Please see the Individual Merit and Pairs page and make efforts to arrange play dates for your outstanding matches in those competitions.

By Dave Howarth

League Secretary

The first full round of matches are now complete and St Andrews A and B sit first and second (in that order). I just wonder how long ago it is since we could say that? 

St Andrews A's winning run is still intact after this week's latest win, which was a 3-2 at home against (currently bottom) Pudsey Congs A. The current Congs A team have been together for a good number of years and have seen plenty of success in that time, but clearly, they are now in a battle. I'm unaware of the order of play, but the scoresheet shows that although Neil Lee beat Congs Richard Bowes, Richard upped the season's highest break yet again this week to 62. Another break of 30 wasn't quite enough to prevent a 176-151 defeat. St Andrews's A's other winner was Graham Pearson (his 5th of 6 his season). Phil Hirst had his first win of the season, by just 2 points over Nigel Brayshaw. Phil's Dad, John Hirst had a 20 point win over Gary Rogers. Those hard fought 2 points for Congs A against the league leaders is a good effort and could prove to be crucial as the season progresses.

At Pudsey Congs, their new B team welcomed St Andrews B. The scoresheet shows the home team's only winner was Mick Hirst (166-147 over Dave Smith). John Bedford had a 22 point win over Roy Denson and Steve Clark sneaked past Sid Ash by just the one point. A special mention then goes to Congs B's John Oyston (with, I believe,  his first ever league win) 199-188 over Colin Nelthorpe, to complete a 4-1 win for the visitors. It just goes to show that John's perseverance and practice has finally paid off. Very well done John!  

At Littlemoor, the home team's Graham Tudor and Ralph Allan were up first against Graham Bentley and James Butcher respectively. James fought hard to make up the handicap difference and this eventually brought him a close 168-162 win with a nice 31 break along the way. Graham Tudor is currently at the top of his game (see the Players Table) and was always in front to get home comfortably by 44 points. Next up were John Allan against (seasonal league debutant) Stephen Kershaw and myself against (the now 94 years young!) Don Hardcastle. A close and (at times) jittery game on the other table ended with a very close 2 point win for John. In my game it seemed to take me an age to catch Don, who battled very hard early on. However, once in front, some good fortune and handy running helped me to a 200-174 win with about 4 minutes to spare. That 4-1 win got Littlemoor up to third equal.

So, after the first round of league matches, there are just ten and a half points separating top from bottom. I think this shows that our handicapping processes are generally good. At this stage, a quarter of the way through the season, it is still quite possible for any team to string a series of good wins together that could carry them to the top, even before we reach the half way point. 

This coming week, St Andrews A will be sitting out. St Andrews B are at home to Littlemoor, Congs A will host Bradford Deaf and Congs B are away at Princeville. Please remember that this coming week we begin playing for the additional bonus point. You should refer to the Fixtures and Results page, which show what the points differences were in the first round of corresponding matches. 

There were also two Individual Merit matches played this week. At St Andrews, Sid Ash beat John Oyston 200-183. John's Facebook report reads "A game of two halves. I scored steadily at first and reached 165 with out Sid making any impact on the handicap. After that, he slowly eroded my lead and won relatively comfortably". Thanks for that John, and well done to Sid. Ralph Allan persuaded me to play our Individual game following our match on Thursday. I think he was out to quickly put things right after him losing and me winning earlier, as he set off very well with some very good shots combined with good fortune. At one stage he was 50 in front and it felt like all I was battling for was a bit of self-pride! Having little to go for, at most visits, didn't help me either (confirmed by referee John Allan). Overall, a 200-165 win for Ralph was well deserved.

By Dave Howarth

League Secretary