Another tense night of action in the Maryport Pool League saw plenty of close contests, a couple of dominant victories and the title race take another significant twist.
Sun Inn Sharks 6–1 Butchers B
The league leaders continued their relentless march towards the title with another commanding performance.
The Sharks swept the singles 4-0 via Luke Kershaw, Steve Wheatcroft, Jobby Dunn and Mel Scott, before taking both doubles to establish an unassailable 6-0 lead.
Butchers B avoided the whitewash by claiming the final doubles, but it was another hugely impressive display from the table-toppers, who now hold a nine-point advantage at the summit.
Sun Inn Ballers 4–3 Maryport Social Club
One of the matches of the night saw the Ballers claim a vital victory to strengthen their grip on a Top 8 place.
Maryport Social pushed them all the way, but the Ballers held their nerve in the deciding stages to take a valuable 4-3 success.
The highlight came when Ben Scott beat Singles leader Ryan Ismay
Elbra Club B 7–0 GLRC
The performance of the week came from Elbra Club B, who produced a flawless display to record the only whitewash of Matchday 24.
Every frame went their way as they kept the pressure on the Sharks at the top of the standings.
Shawn Brags, Gregg Walling, Ian Frizzle and Roger Rivers were all on top form.
Grasslot Working Men’s Club 6–1 Maryport Rugby League Club B
GWMC bounced back in style with an emphatic 6-1 victory over MRLC B.
A strong all-round team performance saw them collect maximum league points and climb further clear of the bottom four. Barry Shearman, Keith Anderson and Trevor Bethwaite notched up their singles wins.
Elbra Club C 2–5 Sun Dearham
Sun Dearham picked up an excellent away win to keep themselves firmly inside the Top 8.
Elbra Club C battled throughout but were unable to stop Dearham taking a deserved 5-2 victory. Blake Miller, Danny Manchester and Danny Dryden were all on fire.
Butchers A 4–3 Maryport Rugby League Club A
One of the closest encounters of the evening went the way of Butchers A.
With little separating the sides all night, Butchers edged the deciding frame to remain level on points with both Elbra A and Bowling Club in the race for second place.
Lee Volkaerts, Steve Maclachan and Kevin Gartland won their singles for Butchers.
Swan Inn 4–3 Bowling Club
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night saw Swan Inn inflict a defeat on third-placed Bowling Club.
The narrow victory keeps Swan firmly in the hunt for a Top 8 finish while denting Bowling Club’s hopes of closing the gap on the leaders.
Gareth and Stephen Pattinsonwon for Swan while Jason Miller and Paul Kirkbride made it 2-2 after singles.
Sun Inn Cannons 2–5 Elbra A
Elbra A collected another important away victory to stay firmly in the chasing pack.
The Cannons showed plenty of fight but Elbra’s consistency proved the difference as they ran out 5-2 winners. Jason Thompson, Tony Lambert and Pat Walton won singles for Elbra A.
League picture
With six matches remaining before the league splits into the Top 8 and Bottom 8 knockout stages it looks like this:
- Sun Inn Sharks lead the way on 60 points, nine clear at the top.
- Elbra Club B remain second on 51 points.
- Bowling Club, Elbra A and Butchers A are all locked together on 48 points, making the race for the runners-up spot incredibly tight.
- The battle for the final Top 8 places is also heating up, with Sun Dearham and Swan Inn both picking up crucial wins.
Every point is becoming increasingly important as the regular season heads towards its conclusion.
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