Richard E Jones Trophy The competitors in the Under1800 knockout tournament are gradually being whittled down. This week it was turn of CN Senators to say goodbye after travelling to Llanelli to play White Knights C. Their situation was not helped when they turned up one player short putting pressure on their top two boards. As it happened draws on boards 1 and 3 combined with a win for the Knights on board 2 resulted in a 3-1 win for the Llanelli team who now go forward into the semi-finals.

League

White Knights A took another step closer to retaining the Dr Hanson Trophy that they won in convincing style last season. A trip to Briton Ferry to play Nidum resulted in them going home with the two points after winning 3-2. Nidum had to be content with good wins on boards 1 and 4 but lose out on any remote chance of catching Morriston A and finishing second. The Knights need just one point from their remaining two matches to hold on to the Trophy.

This was the only match in Division 1 but there were three important matches in Division 2. De la Beche A turned up at Morriston knowing that a win would see them become holders of the Stan Cole Trophy and gain promotion to Division 1. Although not at full strength they made light work of the task to secure a 4-1 win over Morriston D. Only an unlikely failure to turn up for their last remaining match at home would spoil the party.

At the other end of the table BF Brunel played host to White Knights D needing a win to keep alive their hopes of avoiding relegation. In a close fought match neither side emerged victorious and both teams had to be content with sharing the spoils. On the same night Briton Ferry’s other team the Giants travelled to Sketty to try and stop De la Beche University gaining ground on Brunel. It was not to be, however, and although it was close the De la Beche team did what they had to do. Their 3-2 win leapfrogged them above Brunel and with a match in hand they have probably ensured that Brunel bounce back down to Division 3.

The Division 3 title race is the only contest that is still up in the air. On Monday the two contenders met at Morriston where a win for De la Beche B would have given them the title and promotion into Division 2. Knowing this Morriston E fielded a strong side and kept alive their hopes of taking the Tom Hughes Trophy. The 3½-1½ win moved them to within one point of De la Beche B with a match in hand. De la Beche have one match remaining, against St Michael’s School, while still to come for Morriston E are tougher matches against De la Beche C and UK Harriers

The other matches in Division 3 were more routine with mid-table teams taking on the bottom pair. Morriston F had a 4-1 win over club mates Morriston G while De la Beche C overcame St Michael’s School by the same score.

31/03/19