PHOTOS:
Winners the Manchester Club 'B'
Silver foxes - Malcolm King and Ian Ashworth
Runners up - Balfour 'B'
DT Pearce Snooker Final:
The Manchester Club ‘B’ team started as underdogs as they took on the Division Two champions in Balfour ‘B’ but played really well to win the DT Pearce Cup as they punished the opposition for too many mistakes.
Even with home advantage, The Balfour looked a little uneasy in their quest for the double and a first success in the DT Pearce Cup for 21 years, playing in a format where the six players from each team are drawn out of a hat for a singles, doubles, singles and doubles format, with aggregate points to count.
Andy edges home but the two dais struggle
The first singles saw Andy Roach drawn to play Dai Grey and it was the latter who made the better start with a break of 12 before Roach rallied to pouch 13 points, although he overcooked the green and conceded three points.
As the tension increased Grey potted the blue but went in off and with Roach sinking the last three colours he edged the Balfour into a 53-47 lead.
Dai Codd and Dai Morgan are a canny pair for the Balfour but missed pots at key times and allowed Jason Hackett and Kenny Jones to take the initiative, with Hackett in particular looking sharp early on.
Although the two Dais played a few good safety shots they were behind for much of the frame and with the Manch potters sharing the later colours they outscore the Balfour boys by 58-26 to sail into a 26-point lead.
Silver foxes do battle
The second singles pairings threw up an interesting clash between Ian Ashworth, who is the county snooker league chairman, and Mackie King, who is the league secretary and has been on the county committee for 49 years.
In this battle of the silver foxes Mackie had an early break of 25 as he potted four reds and thre
e blacks but Ian played some good safety shots and gradually forced his way into a 19-point lead – but conceded several penalties and some loose safety play allowed Mackie to knock home the blue, pink and black to win 69-68 and add a single point to the Manchester Club’s lead.The Whisby’s win it for the Manch
The final doubles saw the little and large pairing of Richard Williams and Denzil ‘Tarw’ (Balfour) Davies take on the father and son duo of Phil and Paul Whisby, who kept plugging away and were good value for victory as they pinned back the home pair and potted sensibly when the chance arose.
It meant that the Manchester Club ‘B’ were worthy winners of the second division cup and the Balfour ‘B’ had to settle for the league title and runners-up here, in a game that was played in the best of spirits and was a credit to both clubs.