Malcolm Keenor Trophy Final
Caerphilly A 3 v 2 Mackintosh Sports
Breaks
Allan Morgan 49 (Caerphilly A)
Caerphilly A are the 2024-25 Malcolm Keenor Trophy winners after a pulsating 3-2 win over Mackintosh Snooker at Taff’s Well Ex-Serviceman’s Club.
Eassa Din led off for Caerphilly, but Steffan Davies started positively and looked to gain an early advantage. Din responded well and took control heading into the colours, but Davies stayed within touching distance before Din closed out the frame on the blue to give his side the lead and give his side the perfect start.
The next frame was a tremendous battle as Ben Griffiths faced Billy Connors, with both players missing chances early on but Connors maintained control heading into the second half of the frame. Some excellent safety play from both players dominated until the colours with both players unable to pull away until a brilliant, full-length safety on the pink from Griffiths created an opportunity which he took, to pot a long pink and black off its spot to level at 1-1.
However, the frame of the night came next as Allan Morgan and Carlos Schiazza played out a superb encounter, full of twists and turns and it turned out to be the pivotal contest of the match. Morgan erased the handicap deficit almost straight away and looked like he was gaining the upper hand, but Schiazza’s solid matchplay and excellent potting gave him a lead heading into the second half of the frame. Morgan responded with an excellent 49 break, which featured majestic cueball control and it looked to have won the frame, but Schiazza hit back and it went to the colours. Both players has opportunities to win it but the pink and black from Schiazza levelled the scoreboard, but Morgan edged it on a respotted black to give Caerphilly a crucial 2-1 lead. It’s been a superb season for Mackintosh with the Division One title and two cup finals, and they were determined to stay in the match as Nathan Dunne was up next against Allan Jones. Jones started well, but Dunne gradually edged ahead and dominated the second half of the frame to pull away before the colours and take this absorbing match to a deciding frame.
Nural Khan has been one of the players of the season and he was drawn against Mackintosh’s captain Mike Nessbert in another classic frame that could have gone either way and which was only finally decided on the blue. Khan started strongly and some tremendous potting early on gave him an advantage that he maintained for most of the frame. However, Nessbert showed true leadership spirit as superb safety play and solid potting got him back in the match as it headed towards the colours. A wonderful long green from Khan looked to have won it but he missed the brown and gave Nessbert the chance to lay the snooker he needed to get back into the frame. An in-off on the brown from Khan followed and despite potting the brown a few shots later, Nessbert managed to lay a brilliant snooker on the blue and from the resulting foul give himself the chance to win it, but the blue rattled and Khan won the frame and match for Caerphilly to seal the Malcolm Keenor Trophy.
