Looks like title dream over for New Oak A as we lose out in a closely fought match at the Stag
Stag C 3 - 2 New Oak A 2
Stu Mepham 11,730* - 2,660 Bob Osborne
Jim Millward 2,410 - 9,620* Phil Osborne
Kev Hall 7,780 - 6,950* Ian Lelliott
Grant Tully 6,090* - 8,230 Nigel Senior
Bob Hall 8,440 - 4,970* Marc Chipman
In leg 1, Stu on with the break to play Bob. Lots of 10 splits from Stu but went in with enough giving Bob no chance. 1-0
Leg 2, I surprised the Stag captain, Bob, by putting down the mighty Phil to play Jim. Phil then surprised me by missing the red on his first break shot. Phil battled to get them back which took a few nervy shots. A bit later Jim looked to the heavens as Phil hung on to a dodgy straight 50. Phil ended up on over 9k when he touched and scores were level 1-1
Leg 3 Ian v Chunky, big game, Ian a decent 4k opener but one up behind, Kev left a tricky leave pegs them, Ian makes another 2k but puts the one up behind again. Kev balls back sets about the chase and gets level...only to put the one up behind. 2 mins to go, Ian gets the balls back and looks certain to win only to miss both balls on a split. Kev balls back and does the necessary to put the Stag in control. Glad you tuned up Kev! .... 2-1
Leg 4 Grant to try and seal it so had to go me. Grant off on 5k after looking settled. Balls back at 2nd attempt for me, a few 100s and a few 10s got me to 7.5k, but then left the one up short. I was somewhat relived to look at my watch to see only a minute to go. The decider was setup.2-2
Leg 5 so our league hopes now rested on Chippers. He had the break against captain Bob. No complaints from me regarding Chipper's performance. The only complaint was that because he fell asleep after his dinner we only got to the pub about 8.20pm which meant we missed all the pre-match drama. Back to the game and Marcus made all his 100 and 10 splits closing in on 5k but unfortunately went too fat on the fat break missing the red and couldnt recover, but a great first break to put the pressure on Bob. Bob got the balls back and handled the pressure very well to make an 8k game and match winning break. 3-2
Great match with the Stag as always, it came down to a couple of shots in the end. All games bar game 3 killed with one break from one of the players. The result from the New Oak, has almost sealed the title for the Blue Anchor - well done to them especially given that the members of that team have not won the Brighton League before. We can concentrate on the Cup now.......
