RELENTLESS PONTE MAKE IT EIGHT IN A ROW
Pontefract remained in top gear even without the services of their full-time pros as they overcame bottom side Abbeydale to make it eight wins out of eight in the Yorkshire Premier League.
With England’s Patrick Rooney and Scotland’s Rory Stewart training ahead of the World Team Championships in Hong Kong and former British Junior Open champion Sam Todd away on Tour, Ponte were depleted for Wednesday night’s trip to Sheffield, but any nagging doubts about losing their 100% record were eventually dispelled.
Connor Sheen made his first appearance of the season for the first team and took care of Abbeydale’s Hayden Tetley in three games, while youngster Chester Dockray made similarly quick work of his win over Kieran Heaphy.
It got a bit trickier thereafter as third string Adam Taylor leapt to a two-game lead but then ran out of steam, Abbeydale’s Josh Payne clawing his way back to win in five. But a similarly gruelling match soon clinched the tie for Ponte as captain Matt Godson dug deep to win a lengthy five-setter. Top string Tom Bamford’s match with Jordan Hardwick also went the distance, with the Abbeydale No.1 taking it to restrict Ponte’s winning margin to 18- 8.
That stretched Pontefract’s lead at the top to an ominous 24 points as Hallamshire went down to a 18-6 defeat at Cleethorpes. With usual No.1 Nick Wall in action at the Worker Bee Manchester Open and Nick Matthew on a working holiday in the British Virgin Islands, the Sheffield side found themselves all at sea on the cold Lincolnshire coast.
The hosts’ Dave Ball won a cracker at fifth string against young Indian player Jain Tanishka and although Jack Cornell did get a win on the board for Hallamshire at no.4, it all went the home side’s way thereafter. Harry Falconer beat Welsh junior Oliver Jones in four, then Toby Ponting and Malaysian Sanjay Jeeva won in three at the top of the order.
Leapfrogging Hallamshire into second place are Harrogate who beat Ferriby Hall 19-6 to claim a sixth victory of the season.
The Straysiders’ two youngsters in the lower order, Alec Fuller and Tommy Simpson, both won early on (Simpson coming from two games down to overcome Dan Lawrence), but then Ferriby Hall’s Yusef Forster won a see-saw battle with Richard Hinds 15-13 in the fifth to reduce the arrears.
Harrogate’s top order sealed the victory though as former world no.20 Chris Simpson beat former England no.1 junior Ben Sockett and Stuart MacGregor defeated England-born Guyanese international Samuel Ince-Carvalhal.
Fourth-placed Dunnington netted a 15-8 win over Doncaster after the defending champions again fielded four full-time pros and were deducted the points gained at No.4 and 5 as a result. Asia Harris came from a game down to beat Ed Shannon at fifth string, but her three points and the result of Rob Thirst at no.4 (who lost 3-0 in any case) are expunged due to the rule infringement.
David Turner won at no.3 for Doncaster but Dunnington’s Amaad Fareed beat Donny captain Joel Arscott in five. The top string match ended prematurely when Dunnington’s Owain Taylor had to quit in the third game due to injury against Simon Herbert at a game apiece, so the world no.49 took a four-game win.
Fifth-placed Queens Sports Club claimed a 16-7 home win against Woodfield thanks to middle order wins from stalwarts Danny Bray, Lewis Harding and James Earles. Woodfield got a win on the board at no.5 via Alec Tomlinson’s win over former world no.15 Sarah Campion. Lastly, the Halifax crowd were treated to a cracker at top string as Finnlay Withington made his first appearance of the season but went down to firebrand George Parker in four highly entertaining games, two of which went to lengthy tiebreaks.
