There was one shock in the preliminary round of the Spalding & District League Knockout Cup, with Division Three side Consti C romping to a 4-1 success against Pyramid E, from Division Two.
John Walker (r28) and Dave Banister (o7) put the hosts two to the good before Jeremy Radford (r7) raised hopes for the higher-level team with a 49-24 win. However, that proved to be a mere consolation as Mark Craig (r21) and Steve Crane (scr) confirmed the cup upset.
The two other inter-divisional clashes went to plan for the visiting sides with wins for Division One teams at Division Two hosts. Donington C saw off Consti B 4-1, a result matched by Services C at Consti F.
Wins from Michael Pearl (o28) and Shaun Pickering (r14) overturned John Pike’s (o7) success to put Donington ahead, with the final two frames going to the black ball. In both cases it was the visiting players who were successful, with wins for Neil Reynolds (o63) and Matt Turner (o21).
Geoff Hemsil (r21) got Services off to a winning start at Consti with a 22 break in his victory and the tie was quickly decided with wins for Jordan Philpott (r7) and Kev Fitter (o14). Bryan Turnell (r14) made it 3-1 but Nigel Cherry (scr) completed the scoring for the away side.
In the all-Division One encounter at Consti E, the hosts eased through 3-2 against Pyramid D. A nip and tuck encounter saw Sean Jeynes (o14) put Consti ahead with a 22 break, only for Ryan Burton (scr) to level. James Sharpe (o49) then hit a 22 break to make it 2-1 to Pyramid with a black ball success against Jack Chilvers (o21). James Kingston (o24) saw off Josh Agger (21) to set up a last-frame decider. That pitted Ben Peppercorn (o7) against Peter Sharpe-Grose (r7) and it went to the black ball before Peppercorn emerged 55-47 victor.
The Division Two tie at Services D saw the home team make progress with a 4-1 victory over Holbeach E thanks to wins from Joely Shears (r7), Ian Smith (scr), Kevin Robb (r7) and Russ Morse (scr). Smith chalked up a 23 break, while Morse’s win came on the black ball against Ethan Lawrence (r7). Josh Stretton (r14) was the sole away victor.
1st round draw: Consti D v Holbeach A, Consti E v Holbeach D, Consti G v Boundary B, Consti J v Donington B, Donington D v Consti I, Gosberton C v Whittlesey A, Gosberton D v Donington C, Holbeach C v Consti A, Pyramid A v Donington A, Pyramid C v Holbeach B, Services A v Holbeach F, Services B v Boundary A, Services C v Gosberton B, Services D v Gosberton A, Whittlesey B v Consti H, Whittlesey C v Consti C. Ties to be played by December 2.
Away from the cup, two re-arranged games were played in Division One.
Consti H moved clear at the top of the table thanks to a 4-2 success at Pyramid A. Oliver Turner (o14) put them ahead, only for Jim Benner (r7) to level things. Doug Garfoot (o21) reestablished the away lead and Jon Holdershaw (r14) confirmed victory before Dean Cole (o21) pulled one back.
Pyramid C shot up five places in the standings with a 4-2 victory at Holbeach B, after conceding the first frame to Barry Haynes (o7).
Dave Pearson (o7) won on the black ball to make it 1-1 but Neil Harvey (o21) put Holbeach 2-1 ahead, despite Jason Green’s (o56) 22 break. Spencer Dawkins (o56) levelled and then George Neary-Phillips (o21) made no mistake with a black ball win against Andy Spearman (scr) to decide things.
Results – Div 1: Holbeach B 2 Pyramid C 4, Pyramid A 2 Consti H 4.
KO Cup, preliminary round: Consti B 1 Donington C 4, Consti C 4 Pyramid E 1, Consti E 3 Pyramid D 2, Consti F 1 Services C 4, Services D 4 Holbeach E 1.
