Ray Fights Back to Land Living Flames Handicap
By Graham Clark

Ray Lavelle from Legion C has become the first winner of the ‘Living Flames’ Handicap in a tight encounter with his team mate Peter Bennett at the Gild Hall.

In the Semi-Finals Ray had trailed Luke Palethorpe 64-29 despite having received a 28 point handicap start from the former Champion. Ray rallied but still required a snooker on the Brown, a snooker he got and when Luke saw his cue ball slip agonisingly past the Brown Ray rattled in four excellent pots to seal the frame. In the other Semi Peter had overcome Ritchie Bell from the Con Club 69-50.

Peter gained the upper hand in the best of 3 Final, taking the first frame59-21. However Ray once again showed his battling qualities to come back and level matters with a 50-26 success. Ray then took the decider 62-49 on the Black and landed this prestigious prize.

The Final League matches resulted in Les Dodd’s C being crowned Champions for the first time and their B team taking the ‘Joe Rigby’ Handicap League. However, the card has as yet not been received for which the B team have been fined 1 point. If the card isn’t received by 22nd April a further point shall be raised thus handing the handicap league to Con Club A.

Con Club B finished runners-up in the League after finally hitting some whitewash form. They defeated Legion B by 6-0 with breaks from Mark Bellas (48), Graham Clark (33) and Adam Maylor (27). Gary Rimmer also hit a 27 break for the Legion but it wasn’t enough to save him from a 54-43 defeat against ‘Living Flames’ semi-finalist Ritchie Bell.

Our Lady’s A and Holy Trinity shared a 3-3 draw at the Gild Hall. The frame of the match saw Jimmy Tristram hit a 35 break against Luke Palethorpe. However Luke won the day in a thrilling encounter by 74-65, notching up a 25 break himself. Mike McNamara also made the most of his final opportunity to secure a win this season, beating Steve Power 35-13.

Legion C destroyed any lingering hopes of ‘Joe Rigby’ success for their D team by beating them 5-1. ‘Living Flames’ Champion Ray Lavelle continued his excellent recent form, securing a narrow victory over Alan Swift 56-49.

Les Dodd’s A ended the season with a 4-2 away win at the Brook. The highlight for the Princes Street outfit was once again supplied by Andy Rae who chalked up another fine break, his latest being a 66. At 4-0 down the Brook rallied impressively, Ali McCallum beating Graeme Booth 42-37 and Karl Wall overcoming Jamie Campbell 47-41.

The final match of the week saw Ince secure a 4-2 home win over Our Lady’s B. Mark Pope impressed for Ince, notching up a 25 break en route to a 58-17 defeat of Andy Hesketh. Mark has finished the season in some style, winning his last 8 matches.