Kenny English's Spartans came flying out of the blocks racing into a 6-0 lead before Alpha took the last rack of the first session. It was soon 8-1 but a spirited fight back by the visitors reduced the arrears to 8-3 with three to play. Spartans went on to take two of those remaining frames but the biggest cheer of the night was in Frame 13 for Jonny Blair defeating Trevor Whiteside with a great finish in a 9 Ball re-rack, winning team mate Mark Kitson a Rangers cue towel, as a side bet in the process.
It was great craic with the Alpha guys and great to see them back in the league which they last played in, in the 2019 / 2020 season. Also great to see new talented younger players being blooded into the team which bodes well for the future under the guidance of Angie Carson, Davy Flanagan, Mark Kitson and Jonny Blair.
SCORERS ON THE NIGHT: Spartans - Mark Millar 2/2, James Gourley 2/2, Robert Hawkins 2/2, Alan Johnston 1/2, Trevor Whiteside 1/2, Kenny English 1/2, Billy Pawson 1/2. Alpha - Michael Atcheson 2/3, Don McAteer 1/2, Jonny Blair 1/2
Bowlers played at home to Pink Ladies, starting the first set with David Craig against Pink Ladies' Marion King. After a back-and-forth frame, David came out on top, which led to Bowlers taking the next two frames. Pink Ladies were able to stop the Bowlers' run, with Kerry Brown taking to the table to win the 4th frame. Bowlers were able to continue to add to their lead, picking up the next three frames and finishing the first set 6-1 to Bowlers.
Set 2 commenced with Pink Ladies starting strong, with Angela Willis and Marion King taking two of the first three frames, still holding onto the chance to push for a draw and bringing the score line to 7-3. Bowlers were able to extend the lead to a final score of 11-3.
Players of the night were Kerry Brown, who took a win in the first set and was unfortunate not to win her second match with a in-off on the black ball, and William Millar from Bowlers. Great effort from Kora Mawhinney, who only started in the league this season and is showing great potential.
Final score 11-3 to Bowlers.
The Times Bar Tigers welcomed the current champions, Titans, who got off to a great start taking the first 5 games with some clinical finishes. However it wouldn't go all there way with Stephen Simpson and John Fulton winning the last 2 games of the first half to make it 5 2 going into break. Titans took the first 2 games with some lovely finishes. John Fulton got another one on the board for the Tigers, but that was it as the Titian's win the remaining games to win the match 11 3.
Railway Blues took on high flying Granges in the local derby.
The Blues started brightly with Ryan Stewart taking a tough, cagey opener. He had to be patient and wait for his chance but finished it well. That was quickly cancelled out as Curly was desperately unlucky - going in-off on his second last yellow to lose his first frame.
Josh McIlroy then put the Blues back ahead, getting a win with a bit of luck on his side, but Wes Smith was then on the wrong end of one - an outstanding clearance from Jonny McKay that there was just nothing he could do about.
Curly bounced back in style though, grinding out a long frame to get a great win for his second game, but Granges took the session with Bubble and Skinny both losing out, Skinny to a great finish against him. 3-4 at the halfway point.
The second half started with Andrew Carmichael losing out 0-1 to
Johnny Mackay, but the Blues middle order then put together a real run.
Ryan made it two wins on the night beating Uel Wallace 1-0, Josh McIlroy also made it two from two with a 1-0 win over Ryan Scott, and Curly completed his own double with a 1-0 win over Wayne Lewis - making it 3 wins on the bounce for the Blues.
Matthew Hagan kept the momentum going, beating Stephen Herron 1-0 to put the Blues 4-1 up in the session and 7-5 up on the night.
Granges weren't done though and showed why it's a derby - Richard Kitson beat Wes Smith and Johnny Mackay playing his second frame of the night beat Robin Kerr to pull the session back to 4-3.Railway Blues 7-7 Granges
A fair result in the end. Curly, Ryan and Josh all ending the night with two wins each which was the backbone of the performance, with Matthew adding the other. Plenty of unlucky frames and some top finishing from both sides - exactly what you'd expect from a Railway vs Granges derby.
Q Club came away with a 10–4 victory over Colts, although the score line doesn’t quite reflect a match with plenty of competitive pool along the way. Q Club put together a strong team performance, with wins coming throughout the line-up. Mark Abram, Rorie McAllister, Keston Withers, Ian McCalmont, Kyzler Todd, Ciaran Otoole and Jay Young all played their part as Q Club steadily built towards the 8 frames needed. Colts certainly had their moments and kept battling throughout. Andy Mackey had an excellent night with three wins, while John McClean added their other frame. They continued to compete right to the end and made Q Club earn the result.
Overall, it was a solid team performance from Q Club, with contributions across the board helping secure the 10–4 win. A good competitive match played in the right spirit. Thanks to Colts for the game and all the best to them for the rest of the season.
Topguns vs Kilroot True Blues
Great night of pool as Topguns ease to 7 up at half time.
Killroot's Wayne Crozier came out in the first game of the second half with a nice clearance. The Top Guns pushed on later in the match to finish the night of with a 12-2 win. This result sends True Blues to the foot of the league table.
Topguns- Phoenixx Martin 3/3 Reuben Laverty 2/2 Dee Irwin 1/2 James Robertson snr 2/2 William McCullough 3/3 Jim Watterson 1/1
In other matches:
Last week's league leaders, Times Bar Scorpions drop an astonishing 7 league positions due to it being their week for no match.
Sharpshooters move top of the table with 4 emphatic wins from 4 by pumping of Q Queens 12-2.
Galacticos remain unbeaten as they cruised to a 9-5 win over Trojans, which can be viewed here.
Whiteabbey Legion move up the table with another solid 10-4 victory against Enthusiastic Amateurs.
