Horse jump two places in table

The Bryan Street side had endured a miserable first half of the campaign, winning just one match - that on the opening night of the season.

But Horse and Jockey were out of the stalls with a flyer in 2010, with a 4-1 win over Hardly Potters.

That win saw Horse jump two places in the table, leap-frogging their opponents and also Rolling Stoners, who fell to an expected ninth defeat in 13 matches against title-challenging Michelin Masters.

There was no change at the top of the table as The Inn-Offs and Minnesota Eight-Ballers, the other two title contenders, also won.

The main interest now surrounds the middle of the table, ahead of the 'split' in the league.

This week saw the end of the first part of the campaign, with many teams having now played all the other 13 teams in the division.

However, there are still a number of outstanding matches to be played - The Coach, for example, have played three games less than many of the other teams - and those matches will have to be completed before it is known which teams will make the top six who will comprise the Premier League, while the bottom eight will play against each other in Division One.

Horse and Jockey 4, Hardly Potters 2: Some new year joy for Horse and Jockey and hopefully their rise from the bottom of the table will give them new heart for the second half of the season.

Things looked good for the home side as they surged into a 3-0 lead. Philip Houston came from a frame down to beat Ian Mulvenna and this was added to by straight frames wins for Mark Gillespie and Ricky McNeill against Martin Ward and Chris McLaughlin respectively.

Potters, staring defeat in the face, kept their hopes of a draw alive when Johnny Walker pulled one back, beating Gary Hillis by a 2-0 scoreline but the reprieve was short-lived as Jason Steele wrapped up both points by defeating Kevin McCrudden in straight frames.

Alan Smith pulled another one back for the Dunvale side by beating Jordan Morrison 2-0 but by that stage the destination of the points had long since been decided.

MOM - Ricky McNeill.

Fairhill Hustlers 1, The Inn-Offs 5: Another comfortable win for the Inn-Offs to keep them hot on the heels of leaders Minnesota.

Stephen Kyle, despite losing the first frame to George McCullough, battled back to open Inn-Offs’ account and Stewart Frew and Dessie Cooper tripled that lead with straight frames wins against Robert Graham and Chris Stockman respectively.

Bryan Logan stopped the rot for Hustlers by beating Joey McNally by a 2-1 scoreline to keep the Ahoghill men’s hopes alive.

But the ever-reliable Michael Wilson guided the William Street side to their 11th victory of the season when he beat Ritchie Irwin to open up an unassailable 4-1 lead.

Even with the result secured, Inn-Offs didn’t let up as Gary Neeson came from a frame down to beat Justin Kilpatrick, to make the winning margin even more emphatic.

MOM - Michael Wilson.

Michelin Masters 4, Rolling Stoners 2: Michelin are the only team to complete the first half of the campaign unbeaten after chalking up their ninth win, to go along with four draws.

Paul McAuley and Darren Gibson gave Michelin a solid platform when they beat Jason Peacock and Davy Rae respectively but Archie SImpson halved the deficit for Stoners when he beat Rick McMaster by a 2-1 scoreline.

David Armstrong restored the two game cushion for Michelin when he beat Joel Johnston in straight frames but again the Cullybackey side fought back as Rodney Holmes beat Donald Alexander in straight frames.

WIth the result in the balance, Alan Armstrong used all his experience to defeat Jimmy McKeown 2-0 to wrap up two points for a relieved Michelin.

MOM - Alan Armstrong.

Slemish Hotshots 2, Minnesota Eight-Ballers 4: The champions were given a stern examination before they left Broughshane with both points.

Michael Thompson hasn’t made too many appearances for the champions this season but he proved he is still a formidable opponent as he beat Connor Graham in straight frames.

But Slemish responded when Rodney Fleck inflicted a rare defeat on Gary Clarke but Eight-Ballers regained the lead when Ryan Foster overcame Chris Adams despite losing the first frame.

Again, Hotshots battled back when Dean Calderwood beat Brian Hannaway in straight frames to leave the game all square.

Alan Davidson put the Eight-Ballers into the lead for a third time when he beat Gregory Shaw and in the final game, Barry McLarnon sealed maximum points for the champions with a 2-0 win over Damian Keenan.

MOM - Rodney Fleck.

Moat Aces 2, Social Inbetweeners 4: Social gained two points which could yet prove very vital in their quest for a top six finish come the ‘split’.

Inbetweeners raced into a 3-0 lead, the first two by straight frames wins from Gary Ormandy and Fintan Long, at the expense of Darren Gilmore and Barry Weir.

That lead became 3-0 when Colin Penny came from one frame down to beat George Crothers.

Moat started a comeback through Alan Rainey who defeated Chris Penny in three frames and Simon Turner kept Aces’ hopes alive when he beat Barry Johnston 2-1 after losing the first frame.

But in the crucial final game, Robert Hargan defeated KD Crabbe by a 2-1 scoreline to complete what was in the end a hard-fought victory.

MOM - Fintan Long.

The Social Sports v The Coach and Knockeden Jokers v Social Cobwebs games were postponed and will be played this week.

TABLE

PWDLPts

M’sota Eight-Ballers13120124

The Inn-Offs13111123

Michelin Masters1394022

Social Cobwebs1053213

Fairhill Hustlers1260612

Social Inbetweeners1343611

Moat Aces1335511

The Coach103349

Knockeden Jokers113359

Social Sports123369

Slemish Hotshots131668

Horse and Jockey122377

Hardly Potters122286

Rolling Stoners132296