The Derwent Valley Asbestos Removals Snooker League returned to league action this week and Ryan Ismay maintained his lead in Division 1 with a narrow victory over Mark Tunstall.
Both players took their time to settle into the match in a low scoring first frame, but it was Tunstall who was able to grasp the telling chance on the final colours to open up a lead.
Ismay responded immediately and dominated the play in the second frame to level the match at 1-1.
Making full use of home advantage, Tunstall gradually built a lead in the third frame and proceeded to re-establish the match lead and move within a frame of victory.
An undaunted Ismay displayed his resilience to comfortably take the fourth frame and take the match to a deciding frame.
The topsy-turvy pattern of the match continued as both players strove to establish the advantage in the decider. Neither player was able to construct a telling visit, but building on his confident start to the campaign it Ismay who produced the more assured play to craft his way to a 3-2 victory and maintain a 100% record in the season.
Kevin Basnett overcame as scare to earn a narrow victory over Andrew Mitchelhill. The opening frame was relatively even as both players traded breaks in the twenties to push the frame towards a colours conclusion.
A superb positional shot on the brown set up frame ball blue to enable Mitchelhill to take an early match lead. Basnett made the better of the early chances in the second frame and looked poised to level the match with only a single red remaining.
However, a stunning opening red from Mitchelhill set up a 34 clearance, to steal the frame and extend the match lead to 2-0.
Facing an uphill battle Basnett displayed the determination that has seen him to multiple league titles, and a commanding performance in the third, aided by a break of 35, quickly reduced the deficit to 2-1.
Basnett maintained the momentum in the fourth and a further break of 41 brought the match to parity.
The first good chance fell to Mitchelhill, but a crucial miss left Basnett the chance he was looking for and with his most fluent visit of the evening he delivered a decisive 45 clearance to complete the comeback and leave Mitchelhill rueing a missed opportunity.
Basnett remains in second place in the league by virtue of a lower frame difference.
The final Division 1 match of the week was another that went the distance as Peter O’Hagan kept himself in touching distance of the league leaders through victory over Dave Chapman.
It was Chapman who started the match strongest with a mix of patience and steady potting to open up an early lead. O’Hagan bounced back with a clinical display limiting his opponents scoring opportunities and delivering a break of 38 to promptly level the match.
The next two frames were extremely competitive and were both decided on the final black. Chapman had first chance in the third, but an uncharacteristic miss presented O’Hagan with a straightforward pot to steal the frame to take a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth it was reversal of fortune as Chapman’s produced a bold long pot to bring the match level again at 2-2.
In the decider O’Hagan took full control of the frame from the outset, and with some steady visits comfortably secured the frame to round off a 3-2 and remain within 2 points of the leaders.
In Division 2 Chris Hunter delivered a 4-1 over Adam Sowden in a match that was closer than the scoreline suggests.
The opening two frames followed a similar pattern as both players traded chances in the early stages, but Hunter proved to be stronger at the close and opened up a 2-0 lead.
Sowden delivered his best form in the third, and an assured scoring performance was enough to reduce the deficit in decisive fashion.
The final two frames were once again close affairs, and hung in the balance until the colours stage, but once again it was Hunter who was able to secure the crucial chances to complete the victory and move level with Stephen Hackson at the top of the table.
