Wheatley Hill catch up as leaders Moors lose

The first frame produced a great encounter, which was won by Andrew Aisbitt with a 34 break to beat Paul Atkinson in a preview of the Durham Branch C.I.U. Singles Championship Final.. Michael Pratt levelled the match for the Moors but then the Hill had wins from Kevin Mordica and Lee Taylor, who beat Eddie Rhodes despite the 40 break from the Moors player.

Paul Biddle won the final frame for Spennymoor.

Wheatley Hill A were able to close the gap at the top when they only dropped one point to the visiting Brandon, who had Owen Howarth as their only winner. The home side had wins from Dave Walker, Bob Reay, Alan Hall and Ronnie Peacock.

Witton Gilbert moved up to third but are 14 points behind Wheatley Hill, following their win in the decider at Wingate. John Bourne and Geoff Howe put Wingate ahead but Ian Renwick and John Rooney senior levelled the match. In the decider Witton's Paul Nord beat Dean Jones on the final black.

Old Shildon helped their drive towards avoiding relegation when they only dropped one point to the visiting Sherburn Village. The visitors took the first point through Alan Greener but from there the home side took over with wins from Peter Coates, Martin Taylor, Paul Armstrong, who put in a 42 break, and Malcolm Parsley.

Bearpark A won the decider in a vital relegation battle at home to Newton Aycliffe.

John Jackson and Shaun Easter put the home side ahead but John Briddick and Mark Howe levelled. In the decider Bearpark's Alan Smith beat Bill Barrigan.

Fishburn A clinched their victory at Shotton Palms in the decider. John Armstrong had put the Palms ahead but Fishburn then had wins from John Carter and Charlie Hirst. Dave Swindle squared the match and Fishburn went to victory when John Griffin beat Dave Hall.

Crowtrees A stretched their lead at the top of the Second Division to ten points after they only dropped one point to the visiting Coundon, who took the first frame through Frank Nicholson. From that point the home side took over with wins from Steve Armstrong, Sean Johnston, Sony Hann and Keith McLauchlan.

Meadowfield slipped further behind Crowtrees in the Second Division when they went down by the odd point at Sacriston. The home side went ahead through Willy Nixon but Stephen Hughes with a 31 break and Craig Hughes put Meadowfield ahead. Kevin Laing levelled the match and Sacriston edged to victory when Ronnie Bradley beat Martin Halliday in the decider.

Newhouse slipped up badly in the promotion race when they only took one point out of the visiting Belmont. Paul Wright scored the lone point for the home side whilst Tom Robinson senior, Billy McGrath, Michael Short and Tom Robinson junior won the points for Belmont.

Spennymoor B went down badly in the promotion battle at Willington after Wayne Parry put them ahead in the first frame the home side took over. Stan Bennett, Tommy Parkin, Jeremy Martin and Gordon Parkin took Willington to the victory, which sees them sharing third place in the Second Division with Newhouse and Spennymoor B.

Wheatley Hill B gave themselves a possible life-line from relegation when they only dropped one point at Ferryhill A, who had Ian Fawcett as their only winner with a 32 break. The visiting points came from Steve Cave, Ken Johnson, Jock Frost and Tony Ellison.

Langley Park won a key relegation battle in the decider when they beat the visiting Stanley Central. The Park had wins from Lenny Thompson, Lawrence Jones and Stephen Coates with Harry Grimes and Bob Oxley replying.

New Durham continued their relentless drive towards the Third Division title when they only dropped one point to the visiting Bearpark B. Thomas Cairns, Kevin Scullion, Neil Phillips and Tony Thompson took the first four frames for the home side with Ian Chamberlain preventing the whitewash in the final frame.

Hunwick A missed a good chance of strengthening their second place when they went down by the odd point to the visiting Crowtrees B. Ian Richardson and Peter Mernor scored for Hunwick but Martin Wolf, Terry Gibson and Paul Moralee took the visitors to victory.

Leeholme A made an odd point win at Fishburn B to move up to share second in the Third Division with Hunwick A. Alan Wilson and George Whitelock took points for the home side with Ray Gill, Alan Roe and Karl Thompson taking the visitors to victory.

Hunwick B moved up to join Crowtrees B after they only dropped one point at Leeholme B, who had Tony Clish as their only winner in his first game of the season. Barry Fleming, Tom Ward, Trevor Lomax and Arnold Fleming scored for Hunwick B.

* The Referees Course made a successful beginning but anyone who wishes to join in can do so at this stage. The next session will be held at Crowtrees Club on Monday, 19 April with any person interested in joining asked to telephone 01388 730444 for further information.

Results: Hunwick A 2 Crowtrees B 3; Sacriston 3 Meadowfield 2; Bearpark A 3 Newton Aycliffe 2; New Durham 4 Bearpark B 1; Langley Park 3 Stanley Central 2; Old Shildon 4 Sherburn Village 1; Durham City 3 Tow Law A 2; Newhouse 1 Belmont 4; Shotton Palms 2 Fishburn A 3; Fishburn B 2 Leeholme A 3; Ferryhill A 1 Wheatley Hill B 4; Wingate 2 Witton Gilbert 3; Tow Law B 2 Ferryhill B 3; Willington 4 Spennymoor B 1; Wheatley Hill A 4 Brandon 1; Leeholme B 1 Hunwick B 4; Crowtrees A 4 Coundon 1; Spennymoor A 2 Cockton Hill 3.

Crook League

Crook Travellers Rest B shot to the top of the First Division after they only dropped two points on their visit to Crook Coach and Horses A. The home side's points came from Paul Fiddis and Brian Lee whilst the visitors had wins from Neil Campbell, Jim Ainsley, Doug Bowey and Aaron Cowan with Michael Burke joining Neil Campbell to add the doubles.

This victory moved the Travellers B five points clear of Crook Olde Horse Shoe A, who were without a match. The Shoe are nine points clear of Crook Royal Sun and Crook Belle Vue Club, who share third place.

Results: Crook Mill House 4 Crook Spitfire Club 3; Willington Market 4 Crook Belle Vue 3; Crook Coach and Horses A 2 Crook Travellers Rest B 5; Crook Royal Sun 6 Crook Surtees 1; Crook Travellers Rest A 3 Crook Golden Fleece 4; Stanley Earl Derby 1 Crook Coach and Horses B 6; Crook Olde Horse Shoe B 2 Crook White Swan B 5; Crook White Swan A 5 Willington Brewer's Droop 2; Crook Jelly's Bar A 3 Crook Jelly's Bar B 4; Crook Queen's Head A 4 Howden Australian 3.

Curry Cup Final

The final will be held at the Durham City Club in Crossgate, Durham on Wednesday, March 24 at 7.30 pm. The best of five frames match will be between Paul Atkinson of Spennymoor and Jimmy Evans of Shotton Plams. The referee will be Alan Greener of Sherburn Village.

Worthington CIU

Winter Singles

Fourth round results: Sean Johnston (Crowtrees A) lost to Graham Golbourn (Coundon); Mark Appleby (Sacriston) bye; Paul Nord (Witton Gilbert) beat Dean Jones (Wingate); Kevin Sample (Brandon) beat Paul Atkinson (Spennymoor A); Steve Armstrong (Crowtrees A) beat Frank Nicholson (Coundon); John Bower (Sherburn Village) beat Charlie Donaghy (Tow Law B); Winston Hodgson (Fishburn B) lost to John Hall (Brandon); Stuart Neil (Coundon) lost to Dave Walker (Wheatley Hill A).

Worthington CIU Winter Pairs Championship

Quarter final results: Sean Johnston & Steve Armstrong (Crowtrees A) lost to Dave Walker & Alan Hall (Wheatley Hill A); David Harris & Alan Craig (Stanley Central) beat Ian Dinsdale & John Maddox (Newhouse); Bob Reay & Ronnie Peacock (Wheatley Hill A) beat John Bower & Alan Greener (Sherburn Village); George Chapman & Andrew Aisbitt (Cockton Hill) beat Charlie Blake & Billy Goggins (Coundon).

Worthington CIU Handicap Singles

Fourth round results: Colin Goodrick 21 (Brandon) lost to Willis Joynes 12 (Witton Gilbert); Stuart Neil 6 (Coundon) beat Gary Easen 20 (Spennymoor B); Peter Laverick 30 (Crowtrees A) lost to John Bower 18 (Sherburn Village); Stephen Hughes 20 (Meadowfield) beat Steve Armstrong 7 (Crowtrees A); Paul Atkinson -9 (Spennymoor A) lost to Anthony Forster 40 (Leeholme B); Graham Golbourn 24 (Coundon) lost to Sean Johnston 24 (Crowtrees A); Dean Jones 8 (Wingate) beat Sonny Hann 14 (Crowtrees A); Paul Nord 14 (Witton Gilbert) lost to Stephen Coates 24 (Langley Park).

Worthington CIU Team Knockout Cup

Quarter final draw: Sacriston v Newton Aycliffe; Ferryhill B v Durham City; Crowtrees A v Coundon; Witton Gilbert v Brandon. Matches to be played on Tuesday, March 23.

Harry Little Memorial Handicap Pairs

Alan Buist and Peter Davison of Fishburn won their way to the final when they beat teammates, Brian Quest and Charlie Hirst in the semi-final played at Fishburn under the jurisdiction of referee, Alan Greener of Sherburn Village. The entire match was dominated by tight safety play, where none of the players able to settle into producing any flowing snooker. There was never any gap between the players in the first frame as the safety kept scoring down to red and colour. Hirst managed to fluke the penultimate red and score thirteen. However the colours were then potted singly with Buist and Davison winning 56-42.

The second frame followed a similar pattern until Buist and Davison pulled ahead to win 61-31. Again in the third frame both sides struggled to capitalise on each other's mistakes, but with the run of the balls favouring Buist and Davison they were able to complete a 3-0 win with a 66-41 third frame.

The final will be staged at Belmont Club on Monday, March 15 at 7.30pm when Colin Goodrick and Graham Jackson of Brandon will play Buist and Davison. The match referee will be seven times World Ladies Snooker Champions and EASB referees tutor and examiner, Vera Selby of Newcastle. Refreshments will be provided after the match but Belmont Club would like to know roughly the number of visitors so any Club or individuals going should inform Michael Short at Belmont Club on 0191 38614787 before Friday, March 12.

Worthington CIU

Team Plate

Quarter final draw: Spennymoor A v Spennymoor B; Shotton Palms v Bearpark B; Sherburn Village v Belmont; Willington v Old Shildon. Matches to be played on Tuesday, March 23.

Worthington CIU Summer League

Eforms for the Summer League, which will start on May 6 are now available. There are vacancies for any team from C.I.U. Affiliated premises in the league, which has three divisions and organises singles, doubles and Handicap singles championships, billiards championship and a Team Knockout with a linked Plate competition. Matches are played on Tuesday evenings with each match being made up of five players playing one frame each.

* Any club interested in joining or requiring further information should telephone 01388 730444 and talk to the secretary.