Malcolm Keenor Trophy Match 3 results
Group A
Cathays Cons 2 v 3 Mackintosh Snooker
Rumney British Legion 3 v 2 Beech Tree Hotel
Fairwater Cons Mack 3 v 2 Fairwater Cons
Group B
Savoy 3 v 2 Taff’s Well
RBL Warriors 2 v 3 Canton Libs
Roath Cons v Bye
Breaks
Mark Bennett 71 (Savoy)
Ben Griffiths 59 (Fairwater Cons)
Jerry Connors 47, 40 (Mackintosh Snooker)
Rhys Carpenter 46 (Taff’s Well)
The competitiveness of the Malcolm Keenor Trophy was illustrated this week as all five matches finished 3-2 to leave qualification for the semi-finals on a knife-edge.
Rumney British Legion remain in pole position in Group A after they defeated Beech Tree Hotel 3-2 although Paul Chichester lost the first frame against Ciaran Paul, before Tony Parkin restored parity with a win over Dad Rideout. Dai Birkenshaw then put Beech Tree 2-1 up after beating Albert Columbo, but Glyn Hayes took the match to a decider after his win over Mike Pardoe, and Andy Magill kept his nerve to beat Dan Bridle and take the win for Rumney.
The two Fairwater Cons sides are neck-and-neck after the Mack won a high-quality encounter to close the gap at the top of the table. Ronnie Allen beat Steve Flanagan on the black in the opening frame to put Mack 1-0 up before Khurram Khan doubled their lead with a close win over Twm Sion Jones. Terry Garland kept Fairwater in the match with a win on the pink against Brian Rees before an extraordinary frame between Steffan Davies and Jacob Boyle saw the latter win on the black after fluking the brown. However, Ben Griffiths won what could be an important consolation frame for his side with a 59 break to beat Alan Hurley.
Mackintosh Snooker are back in the frame for a possible semi-final spot after beating Cathays Cons, with Nathan Dunne winning a close frame against Dave Standage. Jason Summerhayes made it 1-1 after he beat Billy Connors, but Carlos Schiazza restored Mackintosh’s lead with a comfortable win over Darren Gill. Dave Earls then levelled the match for the second time after he defeated Michael Nessbert, but Jerry Connors sealed the win in style with breaks of 47 and 40 to beat Martin Evans in the final frame.
In Group B, Canton Libs and Savoy are favourites to qualify after they beat RBL Warriors and Taff’s Well respectively. Luke Haines put Canton 1-0 up with a win over Chris Johnson, but Nick Davis levelled things after beating Tony Chick. James Wigmore won a close frame against Dave Richards to restore Canton’s lead, before two breaks in the 30s was enough for Ed Topham to beat Clive Marsh and Mike Watts had a walkover to win a consolation in the fifth frame.
Mark Bennett produced one of the highest breaks of the season so far with an excellent 71 clearance against Glyn Jones to put Savoy ahead against Taff’s Well, but Rob Hayes levelled the match after he beat Jeff Lane. Rhys Carpenter then put Taff’s Well ahead after winning against Colin Lane but some good potting from Dave Hurn took the match to a decider following his win over Kevin Brown. The deciding frame was a scrappy affair as Lee Greening beat Jimmy Llewellyn on the colours to move Savoy into second place in the group.
