Reform heroics in vain as North pocket title

SNOOKER: NORTH Chadd ‘A’ clinched the Oldham Amateur Snooker League title in a thrilling end to the season.

A battling 3-3 draw against their Blue Club counterparts was just enough to seal top honours, at the expense of Chadd Reform. Reform couldn’t have done any more themselves in whitewashing Three Cs ‘A’ 6-0. This meant North Chadd had to pick up at least three points in a tough away fixture.

When the visitors went 1-0 down — Whitworth beat Smith — they must have been wondering if lightning was going to strike twice after being pipped to the summit last season via a play-off.

McLoughlin levelled things up by a comfortable margin, but frame three went the way of the hosts with Ashforth overcoming S Palmer.

When Blue Club named the lowest handicapped player in the league — Kershaw off minus 56 — for the fourth frame, there must have been a few anxious faces in the North Chadd corner. Despite a break of 63, Kershaw was unable to pull back the points against T Palmer.

With the score standing at 2-2, North Chadd were on the brink, but they were forced to wait a little longer as White beat Jump.

As the aggregate was added up, they could finally celebrate as McLoughlin’s 69-point winning margin in frame two proving crucial.

North Chadd ‘B’ finished third after a 4-2 victory over Stanley Road ‘A’. Kennedy, for the former, was the star of the show with a break of 45.

The cards section also proved a nail-biter.

North Chadd ‘B’ denied Royton Band by a point after both sides ended the campaign with 3-1 wins.