MONDAY 29th JANUARY 2007

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ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

Another team who seem to be under achieving this season were the visitors to the Tulip last night, The Royal British Legion. Steve Waskett’s side are sitting in the bottom half of the table not far from the drop zone, but the Tulip ‘C’ side are riding high and have no wish to be going easy on their visitors.

But Waspy’s run of form seems to be disappearing as he suffered yet another loss even though he dominated most of his frame. Waspy looked to finish the frame quickly but ran out of position. His opponent then took the advantage and even got to the black first before missing the vital shot. Waspy had an excellent chance to win the frame but couldn’t get a decent position on the black and a miss gave his opponent the chance to finish the frame off, which he did. 0-1.

The scores were soon level with Glenn sweeping his adversary aside in a flurry of pots, the legion player never really getting any chances to make an impact on the frame. 1-1.

Tam put the home side in front but not convincingly against the pregnant Mel of the Legion. Tam was playing very well in the pre-match warm up frames but just seemed to stall a bit during his match frame. However despite several chances to wrap the points up, Mel couldn’t find the killer touch she used to have, and Tam took full advantage when a no lose opportunity presented itself. 2-1.

Ian played probably his best frame of pool this season to increase the home sides lead. A good start for Ian meant his opponent was always playing catch-up, but despite his attempts to leave Ian in snookers, the Tulip ‘C’ vice captain was always given a sight of his object balls. Ian’s positional play was good and his safety play even better as he never really left his opponent with easy chances to clear. When given his chance to finish Ian grabbed it with both hands. 3-1.

Gordon also seems to be on an improvement in form as he charged through his object balls before his opponent decided to make a go of the frame. However it was to be the Tulip mans frame as his positional play looked assured and accurate. 4-1.

Craig finally had his own cue after having it re-tipped by Trevor last week, and is probably the only player in this division who can play well with a graphite cue! Playing the Legions Captain Craig broke but failed to pot. Waskett then cleared the table superbly before missing a tough black. Craig (or shall we use his new nickname PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) refused to give in and a good display of pots and safety, combined with some kick-ass jammy git shots, left the Legion’s Captain with no clear-cut chances on the black. PMA made a great double on his last yellow to leave a simple drop on the black to win the frame and put the Tulip side on the verge of victory. 5-1.

Trevor however was given no chances to put the match to bed as both of his visits to the table were rewarded with no clear pots or safety options. His opponent was fortunate not to go in off, and made a lucky shot on his way to victory and left the Tulip player a little annoyed when he received no apologies for either of the incidents. 5-2.

The travelling side were short of one player who was on the way so it was agreed between the 2 captains that the final singles frame would be held over until after the first singles, a decision soon to be rued by Mike.

Trevor & Tam did put the match beyond victory for the away side in a frame that could have gone either way, both Tulip players unconvincing in their win. 6-2.

Mike played his singles next and was the better player of the 2. But the skipper got dragged into a Neanderthal style of playing, pushing his last ball around the table with no real style or thought going into the shots. His opponent pushed his balls around the table potting one each visit and never really giving Mike the chance to pot, but instead of setting the ball up, Mike just kept trying to pot it. Eventually the Legion player was given a no lose chance and took it leaving Captain Chrome Dome and the rest of the Tulip team, wondering how the frame got away from him. 6-3.

Ian & Craig had one visit each on their doubles before they could only watch as the Legion player swept past them in a very good clearance. 6-4.

Gordon & Craig won the last frame but never looked comfortable despite their opponents having 6 balls left on the table at the end.

FINAL SCORE

TULIP ‘C’ 7 – 4 ROYAL BRITISH LEGION