The Cockermouth and District Snooker League’s Division Two entered its penultimate week and produced a remarkable set of results.

The performance of the night has to go to Brigham with a 5-1 home win against table toppers Workington Legion. 

That shock result means the title won’t be decided until the final week with any one of the top four teams still in with a chance of claiming the championship.

Even though the Workington side were 5-0 down the last frame of the night was still battled out with Legion captain Eric McMullen winning a potentially crucial title deciding point against Alan Rice 63-37.

As host side Maryport Social B and Station Road shared home wins in their two previous fixtures, so the tie advantage definitely lay with the Maryport outfit.

From a position of 2-0 down Maryport’s Ryan Ismay kick started a revival with breaks of 42 and 26 that was to be followed with further wins from Pete Donachy, Paul Lister and finally cemented by Legion captain Colin Sealby for a 4-2 match victory.

This ensures the Social side remain in second spot with just one fixture outstanding, an away clash at Flimby.

Fourth placed Derwent B still have a slim chance of claiming the title after a 4-2 home win at the hands of Trades Hall , while Flimby and Glasson scrapped out a 3-3 draw and neither now has any chance of reaching the top four playoffs.

In Division One top team John Street Club postponed their fixture against second placed Railway until next week. This gave third placed Maryport Social A the perfect chance to play catch up in their fixture against Senhouse B.

However, as home side Senhouse B started with a win from Andy Aitken in his frame against Ivor Messenger the opportunity never materialised and a 4-2 victory was sealed with a win from Neil Bower in his tie against Socials Sal Kacmack. 

This is a second loss for Messenger in as many weeks and a third team loss in as many matches. That now sees Messenger’s leading player crown and his team’s title aspirations in jeopardy.

Seaton and away side Derwent A produced a 3-3 draw. This is a result that keeps both teams in with a chance of making the top four playoffs with just three games remaining.

Another home defeat for Clifton, this time a 5-1 to Senhouse A see them in a very sorry position at the bottom of the table with just 26 points.

The final two semi-finals in the 7 a- Side and Doubles Handicaps were completed this week with John Street defeating Railway 4-1 in the 7’s and Steve Garroway (pictured above) and Paul Graham triumphing 3-0 over fellow Railway Club player Kevin Basnett and his partner Ivor Messenger.
The 7’s semi produced much drama as the second frame was turned on its head with just the last red remaining.

Railway ‘s David Little was duly called for seven misses in his frame against Simon Frazer and from a position of 17 in front was to find himself 20 behind.

Even though Little dug deep and managed to take the game all the way to the pink the defeat was almost inevitable as the aforementioned ruling was to ultimately decide the frame.

Totally deflated the Railwaymen hung on to the wrong side of a 3-1 scoreline and with Steve Garroway nearly 40 in front in his game against Stephen O’Hagan the tie was back in the balance.

However a gutsy comeback from the John Street player that included a break of 36 was to prove vital and even though Garroway had a difficult shot at the final black with the long rest it was O’Hagan who guaranteed his team’s place in the final against Maryport Social B.

The Doubles Handicap semi produced some excellent play from Garroway and Graham against four times doubles winners Basnett and Messenger.

Receiving 20 points start a frame Garroway and Graham potted fearlessly with breaks of 26, 27 and 27 and even though Basnett and Messenger managed breaks of 48, 28 and 32 the handicap proved to be a little too much to handle for the former champions. They now meet Peter and Stephen O’Hagan in the final later in the month.

Kevin Basnett and Dave Chapman will contest the first final of the season, the Individual Handicap. This will be played on Tuesday 13th May in the British Legion club, Workington at 7:30pm. The match will be played over five frames.

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