Malcolm Keenor Trophy Match 3 Report
Group A
Canton Libs 2 v 3 Rumney British Legion
Mackintosh Snooker 3 v 2 The Cons
Caerphilly Cons v Bye
Group B
RBL Warriors 3 v 2 Fairwater Cons Mack
Roath Cons 3 v 2 Fairwater Cons
Taff’s Well v Bye
Breaks
Jason Hewett 42 (Fairwater Cons Mack)
Twm Sion Jones 40 (Fairwater Cons)
Rumney British Legion have one foot in the semi-finals of the Malcolm Keenor Trophy, after an excellent 3-2 away win at Canton Libs maintained their 100% record in Group A. Graeme Prance beat Ed Topham in the opening frame, before James Facey levelled the match with victory over Justin Behnan. Andy Magill won a close frame against James Wigmore to restore Rumney’s lead and Paul Chichester made sure of the win after he defeated Rory Wigmore, but Luke Haines won the final frame for Canton after he beat Glyn Hayes.
The handicap system used in the competition makes for close matches and it was no different in the other fixture in the group where Mackintosh Snooker moved into second place after a 3-2 win against The Cons. Carlos Schiazza put them 1-0 up after he won against Mike Rathkey, before Craig Bolton doubled their lead with victory over Martyn Evans. Nathan Dunne’s defeat of Dave Standage won the match for Mackintosh, but wins for Darren Gill and Dan Wardle versus Mike Nessbert and Eassa Din respectively secured potentially important consolation frames for The Cons.
Group B is looking a lot closer as only four points separate the sides, but RBL Warriors’ 3-2 win against Fairwater Cons Mack leaves the reigning champions facing an uphill struggle to qualify for the semi-finals. Ronnie Allen had got his side off to the perfect start after he beat Dave Richards, and when Jason Hewett’s 42 break helped to secure the win over Chris Johnson it was looking like the victory was close, but Nural Khan’s crucial win against Alan Hurley in the third frame turned the tide and Jason Veal made it 2-2 after comfortably beating Khurram Khan. The decider was a closely-fought affair but Simon Takata completed a fantastic comeback with a win against Jacob Boyle on the colours to keep his side in the hunt for the last four.
There was a shock in the other match in the group, as Roath Cons registered their first win with a 3-2 victory against Fairwater Cons. Andrew Champion for them off to a great start after winning on the black against Shaun O’Connell, before Steffan Davies restored parity after defeating Rob Reid. Steve Flanagan edged Fairwater ahead after beating Kerri Whiting, but a 40 break from Twm Sion Jones against Clive Marsh took the match to a decider, with Lee Cornock winning on the black against Terry Garland.
