Report 15th Feb 2003

 

Results:
Group A: Brickmakers A 0 Lion 6.
Market Inn A 3 P&H Tilmanstone 3. Chantry 4 Magnet A 2.

Group B: Alma A 4 Butchers Arms 2. Fitzwalter Arms 5 Brickmakers B 1. Magnet B 1 P&H Bridge 5.

Group standings:-
Group A: 1, Lion (P 3, Pts 23), 2, Chantry (3, 20), 3, Magnet A (3, 14), 4, Market Inn A (3, 13), 5, Brickmakers A (3, 6),

6, P&H Tilmanstone (3, 5), 7, Alma B (2, 4), 8, Royal Oak (2, 3).
Group B: 1,
P&H Bridge (P 2, Pts 14), 2, Fitzwalter Arms (2, 11), 3, Alma A (2, 10), 4, Market Inn B (2, 8),

5, Brickmakers B (2, 7), 6, Magnet B (3, 7), 7, Butchers Arms (3, 7).

Lion Roar To The Top
The Lion have made a storming start, their 6-0 win at the Brickmakers A means they have only dropped one leg in their first three matches.  There were singles wins for Paul Smart (2500) and Nev Potts (4360), but the win for Tim Hayes over Nick Corck by 3110-2620 seemed the closest.  The doubles were all more convincing for the Lion, as Wack Sampson played and won all three with the aforementioned Lion players. The off-the-spot rules restricted the Brickies team to just 430 points from the three frames.
The
Market Inn A were held at home by the Plough & Harrow from Tilmanstone in Group A.  Singles wins for Gareth Butcher, Dave Carliell and Alan Farra seemed to have put the Sandwich side in control, but the Plough team of Brian Carpenter, Karen Keen and Ann Keen fought back decisively in the doubles to earn the draw.  The Market Inn A have now won one, drawn one and lost one match, while the Plough & Harrow still seek their first victory in the Spring Cup.
An excellent match in
Canterbury saw the Chantry defeat the Magnet A from Deal 4-2.  A close first leg went to Roger Standen, and John Fullager added to the Chantry lead in the next singles.  Mike Callanan reduced the margin to 2-1 with a hard fought 5920-4930 victory over Mick Nichol.  The first two doubles went to the Chantry, including a 6110 score for Mick Nichol & John Fullager.  The final frame saw a deserved second point for the Magnet as Mike Callanan & Lin Callanan beat John Fullager & Roger Standen 5470-4620. 

In Group B, the Alma A were run close by the Butchers Arms as they finished 4-2 winners.  Chris Saville (8130) took the first leg, before an excellent win for Aaron Vickers against Ted Batchelor levelled the tie.  John Mitchell took the final singles game to restore the
Alma lead.  The first doubles saw another win for the home side as John Mitchell & Anthony Chambers notched up a 4390 score.  Doug Vickers & Paul Collins reduced the deficit to 3-2 as they took the fifth frame for the Butchers Arms as they threatened a shock draw, but the match was closed out by Chris Saville & Anthony Chambers in the final game for the
4-2 win.
The Fitzwalter Arms enjoyed a 5-1 win at home to the Brickmakers B.  Mark Graves took the first singles, before Simon Hart levelled the tie for the Brickies team.  Roger Oldfield took the final singles, and from there the Fitz never looked back as they wrapped up all three doubles, the first an extraordinary 760-580 win for
Mark Graves & Steve Lake .
The Plough & Harrow from Bridge travelled to Deal and completed a 5-1 win over the magnet B, a result that takes the Plough to the top of the group.  In a match in which a draw may have been a fairer result black pegs plagued the Magnet.  They did however make an excellent start via a win for Rob Robertson in the first singles, but from there the Plough took al the remaining points.  Ian Dennett and Baz Symes wrapped up the singles, and all the doubles went to the Bridge team, including a final leg 3720-2500 win for Keith Symes & Ian Dennett over Rob Robertson & Tanya Philpott.

Elsewhere, in the 7-a-side Challenge Cup the Alma deservedly ousted defending champions The Market Inn to book their place in the semi-finals.  Also, in the Open Singles, Keith Symes beat Roger Oldfield to reach the semi-finals, and Alan Farra eliminated Chris Saville to reach the same stage.