Bullets shoot down the Aces

Brandon Bullets pulled off a convincing 8-2 victory over Sacriston Aces in a dramatic twist to the scramble for safety in Division One of the Sunderland League.

It was a clash between the two teams battling to avoid falling into the second relegation crater - and a tight affair was expected.

However, an early psychological blow was struck when Stephen Pattinson overcame Ian McAllister 11-8 in the fifth end.

Although McAllister and Duncan Fraser both notched sets against Simon Knopf, both fell to Jack Jacomb who matched team-mate Pattinson’s triple haul.

Although the Bullets’ win has not quite shot the Aces out of the top-flight skies, Sacriston are in a tailspin that puts Brandon’s destiny in their own hands.

While the basement dogfight was raging, Thompsons crossed the championship finish-line with a 10-0 win at Unionist Club A.

Chris Blake, Peter Smallcombe, and Andrew Wilkinson were the trio on duty as Thompsons efficiently rubber-stamped another league title triumph.

InDivisionTwo,relegationhaunted Silksworth IM B hosted second-placed East Boldon Amigos in an encounter vital to both teams’ destinations next season.

Although David Byers and Jordan Dove were pushed to five-enders, they both gained hat-tricks.

Captain Neil Wilkinson’s dominant treble sealed an emphatic win which secured them second place, and lift-off to the top tier.

Defeat leaves Silksworth staring at a likely relegation fate as it would take a spectacular swing in scores for them to overhaul St Gabriel’s C when both teams face West CA B in their final fixture.

Elsewhere, Redby CA travelled to Brandon Crusaders and, in an almost mirror-image of their previous encounter, Paul Dale and Ken Tweedy slugged out a marathon opening duel. On this occasion, Tweedy gained the upper hand, taking the decider 13-11.

Amanda Paxton’s double supplemented Tweedy’s maximum, and Redby emerged with a 7-3 win.

Already promoted from Division Three, East Boldon Bandits beat Lanchester Eagles A 7-3. Five sets went the distance, and the three Eagles’ points were gained when Reuben Emery beat Adam Allsopp 11-1, Alan Kent defeated Ryan Campbell 12-10, and John Rayner pipped Jeff Hope 16-14.

Ultimately, these proved to be minor setbacks for Bandits as Hope defeated Kent 116, while Allsopp and Campbell linked up to take the doubles 11-7.

Despite losing out ON the top prize, Backspin B finished runners-up.

The Eagles were nudged out of third position in the final stretch by East Boldon Cowboys following their 9-1 win over Eagles’ B team.

Elsewhere, Brandon Fire grabbed a narrow 6-4 win at Backspin C thanks to sets from Bill Maclennan (2), Stephen Maddison (2), and Paul Henderson.