Billiards Season 2024

Away Team Report:
Re-arranged match between Woking SC A and New Haw A – Sunday 31st May. I said on my last match report there were still some potential “Banana Skins” to navigate – we have one next week – I said way back on 12th March that West Byfleet could trouble some good teams on their home table. Well both have happened. West Byfleet’s magnificent 7-7 draw with Woking B together with our excellent result tonight has made it the tightest finish imaginable. Any of the top 3 could win it or it could be a 2 or 3 team play-off. Fantastic. Tonights match started with the draw I would have chosen. But then Jim and I played one of the most turgid, error-strewn matches I’ve ever been involved in. Instantly forgettable! Jim led all the way to about 130 but from somewhere I found a semblance of cue action to pull off 3 uncharacteristic long pot reds which, with one outrageous in-off red fluke, got me the result. In frame 2 Lol very quickly built a 50 point lead and cueing far more fluently than in recent weeks scored steadily and potted almost back to his best to run out a convincing (apart from the 15 mins to score the last 10 points) winner. Then the main course was once again served by Steve Dale. Following a similar pattern to last week again cueing extremely well Steve built an early 40 lead over an out of sorts Paul Angus. However Paul then found his range and caught Steve up at around 90 and then passed him with an excellent break of 28. But once again this seemed to stir Steve back into life and he produced a well crafted high teens break and a couple of other double-figure runs out of nothing leaves to record another excellent come-back win. I have to admit the nerves got to me a bit tonight, I could easily have chewed my nails up to the wrist watching Steve’s match unfold. It probably shortened my life-span by about 5 years!! But hey, this is what we all play for, to enjoy our matches and to hopefully be involved at the sharp end of the season when all the prizes are won and lost. Magic. Good luck to us all next Thursday. It’ll be far more exciting than any “Survival Sunday”