POOL: McNulty's close in on title

Adrian O'Kane's men performed very well on the night and thoroughly deserved their victory. The Forge A are now level with Sperrin in second place but it looks as if the title is now beyond both teams, in what has been one of the best title races in many years.

With the Montra having already wrapped up the Division 2 title, Railway Arms and Forge B are still locked in an intriguing battle for second place, both teams picking up impressive victories.

Division 1

McNulty's A 5, Sperrin A 2

McNulty's now have one hand on the league trophy after a strong performance at home to their closest challengers. Davy Tosh got them off to a typically solid start as he broke and finished in the opener. Opponent Paul O'Connor should have won the second but a bad miss on the black allowed Tosh in to put the home side one up.

The match was level as Lee Caulfield and Tommy Morrow controlled the first doubles match, opponents Tosh and Andy Park never got into this one at all. Morrow followed up with victory over Mark Hutchinson in his singles match. Both players traded good finishes before an unfortunate in off from Mark handed Tommy the deciding frame.

Jimmy Moore brought McNultys back to a level footing as he beat Raymond Stockman which included a super break and finish in the second. The doubles champions Hutchinson and Willie Boreland have been on fire recently and they continued this run as they registered another impressive victory over Morrow and Billy Moore to put McNultys back in front.

Lee Caulfield and Andy Park met in the next and with neither player at their best, it was not the best match of the night. However, Park managed to come through and register a vital win for his team.

It was left to captain Adrian O'Kane to try to wrap up the match and he did not let his team down. After taking a very tactical opening frame, O'Kane suffered some bad fortune in the next to allow Billy Moore to level. However, a slack shot by Moore in the decider allowed O'Kane to roll back the years and send his team mates wild.

Forge A 5, Mary Craig's 2

This victory was significant as it brought the Forge level with Sperrin in second place. However, it was also significant for World Ladies Specials Champion Valerie Taggart as she won her first match in the Coleraine League beating Neville Smyth.

Mary Craig's had started the better as John McIlreavy took advantage of some slack play by Ady Toner to take an early lead. Neville Smyth and Willie Eakin took the next for the home side comfortably. Paddy Lynch broke and finished to take the first against Lee Hull but Hull replied with one of his own. Lynch had a chance to do the same in the decider but one poor shot cost him, and Hull ripped out another super eight-ball finish.

Captain Willie Eakin opened up a two game gap for his team as he controlled matters against Lee McIlreavy. Raymond Baxter and Ady Toner showed no mercy in the next doubles match as they played great stuff to best John McIlreavy and Valerie Taggart.

Baxter sealed a victory after losing the first, he ripped out two great 8-ball finishes in quick succession. However, the last laugh went to Valerie Taggart as she beat Neville Smyth in a tough contest to add some respectability to the scoreline.

Division 2

Montra 2, Railway Arms 5

The Arms continue their good run by defeating the champions, and maintaining their momentum in a tough battle for second place. Gary McCafferty was at his best as he beat Barry McLaughlin in the first singles match, before teaming up with Wahib Ziani to beat him again in the doubles.

Arms captain Arthur McMullan found Ryan Tosh too good as the Montra man got his team on the scoreboard. However, brother Ronnie steadied the ship as he produced a man of the match performance to beat Johnny Goldie.

Arthur fared better in the doubles with Ziani alongside him to keep him right, the pairing produced a couple of good finishes to beat Tosh and Damein Hollinger. Ziani then lost his singles match to Paul Ramsey, the doubles match seemed to have taken it out of him. Arms were not to worry as they had the dependable Chris Baxter on next and he wasted no time in beating Damien Hollinger.

Roost B 2, Forge B 5

The visitors remain locked alongside Railway Arms in second place with a hard fought victory over Roost B. Steven McIlroy had to dig deep after sharing the first two frames with George Cameron, he found another gear in the decider. McIlroy teamed up with Corey Sweeney in the next and their potting prowess was too much for Tommy McDonal and John Cameron.

However, Cameron fared better in his singles match as he showed some good form beating the usually solid William Boyce. Andy Hutchinson restored the two game advantage as he comfortably beat Steven Morton. Hutchinson teamed up with James Boyd to guarantee a point as they beat John Cameron and Morton.

Roost captain Tommy McDonald kept his side in it as he battled back from a frame down to beat under-21 champion Corey Sweeney. However, James Boyd wrapped up an important victory as he registered a very good victory over Keith Hunter.

Sperrin B 5, Roost A 0

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