Shropshire made the short trip to Newcastle Under Lyme this weekend in an attempt to topple the mighty Staffordshire in match 4 of the 2010 campaign.  Staffordshire boasting the current England captian, Lee Kendall and world champion Gareth Potts plus a handful of other professional names meant this was going to be one tough day for the Shropshire lads.

Shropshire A got off to a terrible start losing the first session 10-1, followed by 9-2 in the second session so at the half way stage it was all about making the score respectable and this they attempted as the third session yeilded 4 frames and finally 5 frames in the last session to make the overall score 32-12 to Staffordshire.  Highlights for Shropshire came when Phil Dix defeated Gareth Potts (world champion), Darren Pountney defeated Lee Kendall (England captain) and Danny Evans defeated Liam White (under 21 England captain) on the day.  Man of the match for Shropshire was Phil Dix with 3 wins on the day, other winners were Darren Pountney and Danny Evans with 2 wins, Aaron O’Donnell / Tom Anslow / Steve Camp / Mike Musgrave and Jeff Hoof with 1 win. 

The B team went down 35 frames to 9 frames with 2 wins from Chris Nolan and Dan Owen, 1 win from Louie Dudu, Matt Sullivan, Adam Sykes, Noel Hitch and Dan Summer being the highlight of the day.  Man of the match for Shropshire B going to Chris Nolan.

It was back to the county circuit this weekend where Shropshire entertained local rivals West Midlands in what had all the signs of a close encounter.  The A side needing to bounce back from the disappointment earlier in the month at Nottingham started well taking the first 3 sessions to build up a 20-13 lead, but West Midlands started to claw back in the final session taking 5 out of the first 7 frames and looked like a comeback could be on the cards.  Early wins in the last session from Darren Pountney and Phil Dix had ensured Shropshire at least a draw and when Steve Williams and Ian Duffy won at the back end of the session the win was complete.  Shropshire took the spoils overall 24–20.  Man of the match on the day for the A team was Steve Camp winning 3 from his 4 frames.  Other frame winners:  Ian Duffy, Darren Pountney, Phil Dix all winning 3 frames, James Price, Andy Elliott, Steve Williams, Jeff Hoof, Danny Evans winning 2 frames, Aaron O’Donnell and Laki Badhan winning 1 frame.

The B team continued their recent run of form narrowly going down in the 1^st session 6 frames to 5 but reversed this in 2^nd session to tie the match up at 11 wins with notable performances from Alan Childs and Matt Sullivan winning both of their 2 games early doors, and after the 3^rd session must have fancied their chances of repeating last matches heroic victory with another as they trailed by just 1 frame going into the last 11 games but West Midlands had other ideas as they rolled off 10 of the final 11 frames to claim the match 27-17.  Man of the match for the B team was Alan Childs with 3 wins from 4 frames.  Other frame winners:  Matt Sullivan 3 frames, Danny Weaver, Jon Sykes, Adam Sykes winning 2 frames, Louie Dudu, Andreas Hadjilouca and Noel Hitch claiming a solitary frame for their efforts.

Shropshire Ladies, currently sitting in 2^nd place in the region table, entertained the current league leaders and came out of the blocks flying, taking the three sessions 6-5 to build up a 18-15 lead and edge towards a memorable victory to back the A teams result, but a role reversal in the last session, West Midlands taking this session 7-4 to claim a priceless draw.  Player of the match Jackie Elliott won 4 out of 4 on the day.  Other winners:  Tina Howells, Angela Murch on 3 wins, Michelle Murray, Kerry Webster, Lisa Yeats, Lindsey Lee on 2 wins, Donna Evans, Tammy Hancox, Tracey Williams, C Leath on 1 win.

Next match in the diary, 14^th March 2010 away to Staffordshire

Shropshire Pool returned to the helm yesterday away to Nottingham and nobody could have predicted what was about to unfold in front our our eyes. The B team were about to put the last 3 years behind them and celebrate a fantastic win against arguably one of the strongest 2^nd string sides in the country. Shropshire B lost the 1^st session 6-5 and followed this with a 2^nd session loss of 7-4 so were 4 frames behind at the halfway stage. And early in the 3^rd session, the match was showing signs of slipping away until an amazing turn round where Shropshire B won 14 out of the next 16 frames to claim their first scalp in 3 years. Stars on the day were man of the match Matt Sullivan, Danny Weaver & Alan Childs pictured above.

The A side match was a completely different story going down to a classy Nottingham side, 33 frames to 11 leaving some hard work ahead of them to turn their fortunes around and possibly bounce back for the visit from West Midlands later on in the month, they will be dependant on ever solid performances from Ian Duffy (man of the match), Darren Pountney, Danny Evans, Mike Musgrave and Andy Elliott to name but a few.

Congratulations To
IAN DUFFY
2010 SPA County Pre-Season KO
WINNER

29 people including some new faces made the trip to Minnesota's today in what was a great turnout and an enjoyable day of pool to kickstart the 2010 County season.

Congratulations to Ian Duffy who won the 2010 SPA Pre-Season County KO beating Tom Anslow (who played superb all day) 5-0 in the final.

Click 'Read More' for the full review!

Minnesota Fats - Oakengates - Telford
Sunday 3rd January
Tables on Free Play from 11am
Competition Starts @ Midday(ish)
£3 Entry
Open to those players intending on playing for Shropshire in 2010

For further information contact Danny Evans on 07943 110010

Well done to
Steve Osborne
on winning the inaugural
ShropshirePool.com
Singles event!!

He beat the hot favourite Jamie Fallows 7 - 6 in the final.  Jamie was 4 - 2 in front, before Steve levelled it at 4 all.  Steve then went 6 - 4 up.  But with his back against the wall, Jamie pulled out 2 great frames to set up the decider.  After a small tactical battle, Jamie cleared his last few balls up and potted a great last red, but snookered himself on the black.  Missing the black gave Steve 2 visits, which he duly used to finish the match!!

The full drawsheet can be found here.

With 29 entrants playing on the day, we had a bigger turn out than we were expecting.  So thanks to all who came along and played.

Thanks also to Michelle Murray and Noel Hitch for giving me a hand on the day with the draw.

It was a case of 'oh so near' for Shropshire 'A' as they returned from Stoke on the back of a 23-21 defeat at the hands of Staffordshire 'A'.

With Staffordshire producing some of the UK's top pool players including both the current World and European Champions, Shropshire got off to a good start,  holding their own for a share of the spoils at the halfway point with an 11-11 scoreline.

ShropshirePool.com & The Shropshire Pool Association
proudly present

THE 2009
SHROPSHIREPOOL.COM
SINGLES

Sunday 7th June 2009
10:30am Start

Men - £10 in Advance or £12.50 On The Day
Ladies - £5 in Advance or £7.50 On The Day
(Men playing Ladies will start on a -2 Frame Handicap)
Limited to first 64 Entries

£750 PRIZE FUND
(Subject to 64 Men Entering)

Minnesota Fats
Canongate, Oakengates, Telford

Open to all players currently registered with a Shropshire
based league team

To enter or for more information:
t: Danny Evans – 07943 110010 e: info@shropshirepool.com
t: Steve Camp – 07803 294051 w: www.shropshirepool.com

Woolpack come up trumps

Woolpack Shawbirch travelled to WWFClub E where P Dix gave them a 1-0 boost.
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