Round six of the Eric McMullen Memorial TKO Handicap Trophy saw teams battling for crucial points in their bid for a semi-final spot and with just a few qualifying rounds left, the pressure was high as teams fought for every frame.
Opening up, Workington’s United Club A replaced opponents Station Road A at the top of the qualifying table with a 4-3 home win this week.
With L & L Property Contractors Snooker League action stepping aside Dave Chapman (24) opened up the cup fixture with a narrow 55-40 win over Tom Thompson (22) to give United A an early 1-0 lead.
Clive Lister (18) fell short against John Teasdale (20) in frame two as Teasdale secured a 52-32 win to level the match at 1-1.
In the first of the doubles frames United A edged ahead as Peter O’Hagan & Tony Hindmoor (28) claimed a 52-26 win over Darren Lawson & John Teasdale (21).
Station Road responded immediately as Tom Thompson & Kevin Kirkham (22) produced a superb performance, winning on the black for a 52-48 victory against Andrew Mitchelhill & Dave Chapman (18), making it 2-2.
United A’s Peter O’Hagan (6) then turned the match back in his teams’ favour with a dominant 92-24 win over Chris Hunter (30), that featured an excellent break of 60 from O’Hagan.
United A ensured they claimed the match win as Tony Hindmoor (50) overcame Darren Lawson (22) in a 56-79 battle, for a 4-2 lead.
In the last frame Kevin Kirkham (Scr) reduced the deficit for Station Road making a break of 48 to defeat United A captain Andrew Mitchelhill (13) 91-20, to end the match just one frame adrift at 4-3.
United Club A strengthen their semi-final hopes in topping the table on five wins out of six games played (+4 frames), Station Road still remain strong contenders on four wins out of five (+11 frames) sitting in second place.
Workington’s Veterans Club A continued their push for qualification and with a 4-3 victory over Workington’s United Club B they moved into the qualifying places.
Paul Mostyn (+23) set the tone for Vets A with a hard fought 51-34 win over Adam Sowden (+46) and an early match advantage.
In frame two United B’s Stephen Harrison (+38) was on the verge of defeat as Mark Tunstall (+25) faced a thin cut on the black for what looked like a superb last red clearance, however as this went awry Harrison mopped up for a 64-50 victory and a 1-1 scoreline.
United B’s lead in the first doubles frame, gave Stephen Harrison & Shane Tallentire (+42) hope but as Mark Tatton & Mark Tunstall (+26) got stronger the Vets A pairing eventually won 72-62.
Vets A extended their match lead in the second of the doubles frames with Kevin Basnett & Stephen O’Hagan (+9) dominating Stephen Jackson & Andrew Carter (+40) 83-46, to go 3-1 up.
United Club B’s Andrew Carter (+45) dragged his side back into the match in frame five as defeated Mark Tatton (+26) 84-59 with a fine finish to pull it back to 3-2.
In the next Vets A’s Stephen O’Hagan (+18) put his side into an unassailable position as he won a tight game 51-40 against United B captain, Stephen Jackson (+35) to make it 4-2.
In the last frame an early 20 plus contribution put Shane Tallentire (+45) nearly 70 points in front, and even though Kevin Basnett (Scr) battled hard to try to overcome this he eventually went down 79-84, for a final 4-3 Vets A winning margin.
The Veterans Club A rise to fourth on three wins out of five (+1 frames) and even though United B were defeated they remain in third on four wins out of six (+4 frames) keeping their qualification hopes alive.
In the next match, Workington Golf Club strengthened their position with an impressive 5-2 away win over Whitehaven’s Rack Shack.
The Rack Shack’s Phil Denvir (+37) lost out in a close battle to Ryan Ismay (+10) 65-64 in the first as the Golf Club went 1-0 up.
In frame two Chris McKelvey (+42) got the Rack Shack on the match scoreboard defeating Bryan Walker (+20) 77-63.
The Golf Club dominated the doubles, as Bryan Walker & Mark Cowan (+19) beat Lee Dougherty & Neil Dougherty (+42) 69-56. Then, Simon Fraser & Ryan Ismay (+19) cruised past Phil Denvir & Chris McKelvey (+40) 80-52, making it 3-1 to the away side.
Back to the singles, and Lee Dougherty (+40) attempted to keep Rack Shack in the game, but with a confident performance it was Mark Cowan (+18) who took the frame 70-28 to put the Golf Club 4-1 up.
The sixth frame saw Neil Dougherty (+43) produce a commanding performance as he thrashed Simon Fraser (+28) 73-15, to improve the Rack Shack’s frame difference.
In the final frame of the match however, Workington Golf Club maximised their winning margin as Lewis Tilley (+40) edged out Adam Morilla (+39) 64-51, completing the 5-2 victory.
Workington Golf Club move up to sixth in the qualifying table on two wins out of five (-1 frames) while the Rack Shack remain on one win out of five (-5 frames) in eighth place.
Maryport Social delivered the first win of their cup qualifying campaign in style with a dominant 6-1 win over Vets Club B.
Ben Scott (+35) opened up with a strong display for Maryport, defeating Adam Hodgson (+45) 70-44 for 1-0.
The Vets Club B struck back in frame two nevertheless as Wayne Sinclair (+42) edged out Andrew Sharp (+32) on the black in a 64-53 victory.
Maryport regained control in the doubles nonetheless, as Greg Todd & Andrew Scott (+40) won 55-36 against Wayne Sinclair & Adam Hodgson (+42), and Ben Scott & Andrew Sharp (+35) defeated Simon Tootle & Jordan Ferguson (+48) 70-61 to go 3-1 up.
Andrew Scott (+35) then stretched Maryport’s lead even further with a 46-43 win over Dan Hallam (+50) to move to 4-1.
In frame six it was Greg Todd (+48) who controlled the game to beat Simon Tootle (+45) 34-30 and extend the match lead to 5-1.
Gary Miller (+35) sealed the resounding match victory with a 58-34 win over Jordan Ferguson (+50), to give Maryport some qualifying hope.
Despite their win Maryport Social still sit at the foot of the table on one win out of six (-12 frames) and Vets B drop to seventh on two wins out of five (-3 frames).
Eric McMullen Memorial TKO Handicap Trophy Qualifying Table
P +/- Pts
1. United A. 6 +4 5
2. Stat Rd. 5 +11 4
3. United B. 6 +4 4
4. Vets A. 5 +1 3
5. W’ton Cons 5 – 1 2
6. W’ton GC. 5 – 1 2
7. Vets B. 5 – 3 2
8. Rack Shack 5 – 5 1
9. M’port Soc. 6 – 12 1
