THE Stourbridge Snooker League's cup quarter-final ties produced two substantial victories and two extremely close finishes.

Premier Division leaders Hotshots SC B made light work of giving 234 points start at home to Amblecote RBL; Luke Garland, Callum Downing, Luke Higginbotham and Richard Haney, who had a break of 68, all won by 100 points or more, although Paul Goldrick gave the visitors, who had eliminated Hotshots’ C team in the previous round, some consolation.

Brandhall Labour were equally impressive in disposing of the giant-killing Kingswinford Cons D team, with Jason Hickman, Alan Hooper, Chris Southall, Geoff Williams and Bal Sembi averaging over 100 points each, to successfully concede 328 points to their Second Division opponents, who can at least reflect on two fine performances in earlier rounds.

Brandhall face Hotshots in one of the semi-finals.

Netherton Sports and Social entertained Kinver Constitutional B, giving 50 points start. Although Andy Barnett won by 40 points for Netherton, Kinver still had a lead of 55 points going into the final frame, after Dean Banks had tied with Steve Howell, and Graham Tranter and Rob Jeffries had battled to win their frames. Paul Bowen saved the day for Netherton, recovering the deficit, and he took the final black to see his team through to the semi-final.

Last season’s cup winners, Kinver Constitutional C received 208 points start away to West Midlands Police, and had held on to 48 of that start going into the final frame, but Karl Ashmore, the current individual champion, clawed back that advantage and took the match on the pink against Andrew Sloan, the father of one of the Police’s players, Gavin. Netherton await in the semi-final.

Meanwhile, in the Plate, home advantage proved to be of major importance. The trend continued when Pockets SC A hosted Moor Pool and Snooker C, who had defeated them at the same stage two years before. Receiving 98 points start, Moor P & S restricted Pockets’ talented teenagers, Tom Pepperall and Taylor Fish to a combined win of 25 points, and Ben Wakeman potted well to edge past John Betton; Gareth Ward’s 41 point win for Pockets left Andy Smith with 35 to recover in the final frame, and, in a tight scrap with Rob Sidaway, he took a fine long black to steer his team home.

The in-form Anthony Davies who has lost just once all season, gave Kingswinford RBL A a crucial 53 point win in the opening frame away to Plate holders Wombourne, who received 32 points start. Wombourne chipped away at the lead, but were still five points adrift going into the final frame, where the Legion’s Steve Small just did enough to thwart the challenge of Bob Mason. The Pockets v Legion semi-final will be a re-enactment of the 2011 cup final, won on the black by the Legion.

Receiving 106 points start, Baggeridge Social, the 2012 cup winners, did well to win their home tie against Moor Pool & Snooker A. Matt Whale restricted Chris Price to a 22 point win, while Luke Whale, Frankie Bennett & Ryan Allmark all managed to win against their Premier opponents.

Stourbridge Institute B had to concede 100 points start plus home advantage to Kingswinford RBL B, but they gradually whittled away their deficit, before Simon Tyler, with a 23 start, held the final challenge of Dave Woodall. The Institute, who reached the final last year will play Baggeridge.

In the Second Division, Stourbridge Institute B returned to the top of the table with a 3-2 win away to Kingswinford Cons C. Nick Aston and Harry Jones, who did well to beat Leigh Bennett, gave them a fine start, but Neil Thompson & Lee Wragg made it 2-2. Sam Porter built a 40 point lead in the last before Simon Tyler fought back to take the frame and lift his team above Wombourne once more; their lead is two points, with one match each to play before the teams clash at Wombourne in a fitting finale.

Individual Semi-Finals: Four matches have been played to date, with Hotshots’ Neil Beckley, giving 14 points start, defeating West Midlands Police’s Darren Legge in the over 45’s 2-0. His club colleague Russ Edwards, giving 47 points, lost the first frame to Wombourne’s John Cumiskey, before winning 2-1 to reach the over 65’s final. Both games were at Amblecote Institute.

Kinver’s Chris Randle reached the final of the Singles’ handicap for the second year in succession playing well and making the most of a 44 point start from Amblecote Institute’s Andy Round. Also, on an adjacent table at Stourbridge Institute, Baggeridge Social’s Luke Whale potted the last two balls to beat Amblecote Institute’s Mark Colbourne 2-1, after Mark had potted pink to “win” before going in-off. This was the first of the First Division individual semi-finals.