League reaches its halfway point

The top game in Division One saw leaders Minnesota A entertain second placed Fountain Aces.

Minnesota began the night two points clear at the top but by the end of the evening their lead was down to only frame difference as the Fountain side maintained their unbeaten record with a fine 3-1 victory.

Host captain David McClintock defeated his Fountain counterpart Liam Kelly.

That was as good as it got, however, for the Ballymena side as Aiden Bradley and Anthony Watson won final frame deciders before Leonard Clewer prevailed in on the black ball in the deciding frame of his game against Rodney McFall, leaving the destination of the Division One title still very much up for grabs going into the latter half of the season.

Also in the Minnesota club, Minnesota Strikers recorded their second win of the league campaign with a hard fought victory over Dunloy United.

Rodney Dunlop gave the Strikers the early advantage but this was cancelled out by Paul Kelly’s win over Colin Perry. Trevor Alexander then defeated United captain Michael Crilly to leave the result of the match resting on the game between Dean Greer and Cathoir Cunning.

The first two frames were shared and the third went down to the black ball. Cathoir, making a rare appearance for United as a replacement for the unavailable Martin Crawley, attempted a fine cut on the black to a corner pocket. Unfortunately for the Dunloy man the white travelled up the table and dropped into the yellow pocket to give Strikers a fortunate 3-1 win.

Rafters Runners defeated Dunloy Galaxy in a match switched from Dunloy to the Ballymoney clubrooms.

Runners have had a largely disappointing run of results at the start of the league considering the talented players at their disposal and they were made to work hard for the win against the Dunloy youngsters.

Richard Clyde and Lee Corr won in straight frames for the Ballymoney men but the consistant Miceal Murphy kept Dunloy in the contest with a good win over Chris Cunningham.

In the end Dylan Murray won a 3rd frame decider on the black against Bobby Darragh to give Runners their second consecutive win.

In Division Two Fountain Jokers strengthened their position at the top with a 4-0 win over visiting Rafters Aces.

Nathan Curtis and Calvin Brammeld got the leaders off to a flyer with wins over Ryan Murphy and Uel Wylie. Joe Bingham edged 2 tight frames against Richard Gregg before Darrell Brammeld secured the Jokers’ first four point haul this season with a win over Kevin Clark.

In Ballymoney Parochial Hawks secured their first league win in some style with a 4-0 success against host Rafters Hotshots. Niall McElroy returning to the green baize after several weeks inactivity and Pat McNally triumphed in 3rd frame deciders for the Hawks with Danny McGarry and Paul Casey requiring only two frames each to secure the win which lifts the Ballymena side up to third place in the league table.

In the Parochial club the Lions hosted Rafters Potters. The Lions got off to a bad start as Rodney McAleese had a rare off night and suffered his first league defeat of the season beaten in straight frames by Lee Gibson. Paddy McCook put the visitors two in front with a good win over Richard Russell before Billy Goodall got the Ballymena side on the scoresheet with a win over Kieran McGrath.

League chairman Ronnie McCart used his years of snooker experience to stay in touch in his match with Ryan O’Doherty before the Rafters man triumphed in the all important third frame.

The three points gained helped Potters into second place in the table. The game between Dunloy Cowboys and 147 Rockets was postponed.

DIVISION ONE

Dunloy Galaxy 1, Rafters Runners 3: [55] P McQuillan 0, [20] R Clyde 2 (62-89, 55-75); [45] M Murphy 2, [15] C Cunningham 1 (84-55, 54-78, 87-61); [65] CP Brogan 0, [30] L Corr 2 (64-66, 40-57); [60] B Darragh 1, [15] D Murray 2 (59-89, 86-76, 79-86).

Minnesota Strikers 3, Dunloy United 1: [60] R Dunlop 2, [45] B McTaggart 0 (68-43, 62-37); [65] C Perry 0, [65] P Kelly 2 (33-44, 29-54); [40] T Alexander 2, [45] M Crilly 0 (64-37, 76-28); [50] D Greer 2, [55] C Cunning 1 (81-29, 36-68, 51-41). Breaks - Dean Greer 36, Trevor Alexander 24, 28 Brendan McTaggart 39.

Minnesota A 1, Fountain Aces 3: [15] B Hannaway 1, [60] A Watson 2 (64-84, 90-58, 30-79); [15] D McClintock 2, [20] L Kelly 0 (63-21, 54-15); [25] M Thompson 1, [55] A Bradley 2 (68-43, 23-77, 20-51); [15] R McFall 1, [50] L Clewer 2 (27-75, 90-43, 72-75). Breaks - Brian Hannaway 76, Rodney McFall 47, 37.

DIVISION TWO

Parochial Lions 1, Rafters Potters 3: [40] R McAleese 0, [40] L Gibson 2 (10-64, 8-57); [25] R Russell 0, [60] P McCook 2 (60-83, 16-70); [75] B Goodall 2, [50] K McGrath 0 (58-53, 80-48); [80] R McCart 1, [40] R O’ Doherty 2 (61-70, 80-59, 53-71).

Rafters Hotshots 0, Parochial Hawks 4: [60] S Shirley 1, [65] P McNally 2 (10-53, 54-28, 50-69); [55] J Robinson 0, [45] P Casey 2 (53-69, 54-65); [50] R Maxwell 0, [65] D McGarry 2 (34-65, 40-77); [60] C Hargin 1, [55] N McElroy 2 (34-67, 64-25, 52-69).

Fountain Jokers 4, Rafters Aces 0: [65] N Curtis 2, [45] R Murphy 0 (64-16, 47-21); [55] C Brammeld 2, [65] U Wylie 0 (51-26, 60-50); [55] J Bingham 2, [70] R Gregg 0 (50-49, 57-40); [60] D Brammeld 2, [50] K Clarke 0 (70-42, 56-44).

DIVISION ONE

TEAM P W D L Pts

Minnesota A 6 4 0 2 16

Fountain Aces 6 4 2 0 16

Minnesota B 6 3 1 2 13

Rafters Runners 6 3 0 3 12

M’sota Strikers 6 2 2 2 12

Dunloy Galaxy 6 0 4 2 9

Dunloy United 6 0 1 5 6

DIVISION TWO

TEAM P W D L PTS

Fountain Jokers 7 4 3 0 19

Rafters Potters 7 2 5 0 16

Parochial Hawks 7 1 5 1 15

Dunloy Cowboys 6 3 2 1 14

Rafters Hotshots 7 1 4 2 12

147 Rockets 6 0 5 1 11

Rafters Aces 7 2 1 4 11

Parochial Lions 7 0 3 4 10