Richard Coles opened his League 2 campaign as Neil Foston closed his yesterday evening at the Golden Ball Inn, Boxworth.

The first match wooshed by in 45 minutes, aided by loose play on both sides and two dice-assisted 4-pointers for Foston. But the second match was a true grinder, 18 games in total (perhaps a record?), nearly all being one point gains as you might expect. Richard established a useful lead only to have Neil sneak his way back with multiple race double-drops, all the way to 9-9… when it all went wrong (or right, depending on your point of view).

Neil Foston  11   v   3   Richard Coles

Richard Coles  11   v   9   Neil Foston

Neil ends on 3 wins and 3 losses but a useful goal difference – he’s safe from relegation and in the (admittedly unlikely) event of all 4 players drawing, will have a good chance of finishing top. Richard moves on to his matches with Rob and Steve, with most outcomes still possible.