HEYWOOD Reform's bubble finally burst when, after fifteen consecutive victories, they went up into the hills above Bury and came down again with a 3-5 beating from a very good Walmersley Cons A team.

Leaders of the B&G Engineering C section Central B , almost fared the same in the derby match against their A team but salvaged the match points for a 5-3 win by potting the black in the last frame to win the aggregate by a mere two points.

The leaders, who were the "home", team started off well enough by taking the first two frames but Steve Coldridge shocked them in the fifth when he won it with a handsome 96-59 score.

The last frame now became very important but after quite a tussle John Shepherd potted the black to win 89-82. Had the black gone to the other side, Central B would no longer be top of the table.

Stanley B visited Huntley B and, after losing the first two frames, recovered to record a 7-2 victory, which places them just three points behind Central B. The best of those opening frames was Paul Gill's 66-21 in the first but, after the second, the visitor's got their act together with solid performances in the remaining frames and narrowly secured the match points.

East Lancs's B had a very useful result when they took on Whitefield Snooker at home and comfortably beat them 7-2 to open up some distance between the two in third and fourth places respectively. The 105 aggregate difference was the result of fine efforts by Jim Garvey (71-26) Frank Casey (77-39) and Richard Savage (76-21).

Four black balls were shared between the two sides when Bury Snooker D visited Stanley A but it was the other two that mattered for they were won by the home team resulting in a 6-2 victory. Craig Seymour did well to win the fourth 72-32 but Steve Ince did even better when taking the last 80-36.

The result of the Fishpool B v Whitefield Bowling match is not to hand so the last to be reported in this section is the 8-0 whitewashing of Hollins B when they made the long journey to Seedfield. The best result came from Steve Chant when he won the fifth with a score of 65-24.

An interesting night was in store when Walmersley Cons A and C teams entertained A section leaders Heywood Reform and Elton Lib B respectively. On table one Tony Sudhurst played a captain's innings when he won the second frame 91-41 against the Reform which put the A team in the right mood for the evening. Add to this winning frames of 102-57 by Andy Kirkman and 71-37 by Phil Jones and you have the recipe for the visitor's first defeat of the season which turned out to be 3-5.

On table two, the Libs took full advantage of Heywood's demise and trounced the C team 9-0 to close to just one point behind the leaders but having played one game more. To be fair to the home team three of the frames were settled on the black ball which, had they gone the other way, would have produced a much different result. Phil Hamer's 81-43 win was best whilst brother John had a 28 break in his black ball win.

Whilst Heywood are still favourites for the A section title, their home match against the LIb's B on March 6 could have a strong bearing on it's destiny, but in any event it is looking like East Bury Snooker B continued their run of good results when they beat visitors St Mary's 7-1 and sent them nearer to the relegation zone. Paul Condon and Gary Sandiford had powerful results with a 83-51 and 80-45 respectively whilst Daz Harrison included a 31 break in his third fame win. The visitor's only success came from Jim Coleman in the second with 75-52.

East Lancs moved back into third place after beating Elton Lib C 7-2 in a match that was closer than the scoreline suggests. Apart from George Critchley's 74-45 win in the second, all the frames were closely fought and could have gone either way.

Andy Roberts had a 34 break when Tottington A went down the road to arch rivals Walshaw B and returned with a 7-2 victory under their belt. Steve Brooks was simply awesome when he scored 80 points to win the fifth frame for the home side and Billy Whizz snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when he inexplicably lost the second from a position absolute safety.

Yet another heavy defeat, this time 1-8, was suffered by Hollins A when Bury Snooker C made the journey to their club and did them no favours in their battle for survival. M. Burns (94-53) and Chris Beck (81-38) were the main tormentors in a match that finished with the huge points difference of 144.

Probably the best snooker of the night was seen at Summerseat when the B section's Whippersnappers took on Bury Bridge B and ran up a massive point difference of 161 whilst whipping them 6-2. It was good to see Karl Boyes in action again after the accident to his hand, but Ricky Vadasz probably thought differently after he was thrashed 108-34 in a frame in which Karl ran in a superb 60 break. Other fine breaks in this match came from Gary Fearnley with 50 in his 85-32 last frame win and 44 by Mark Ryan when he won the fourth 87-46.

After Del Redmond had recorded a 46 break in Fishpool's first frame victory at Elton Lib A, it looked as if the section leaders were going to consolidate their position, especially when taking into account the veterans form of late. Danny King had other ideas though and, playing with much more confidence than usual, restored the situation with 70-37 result in the second, which set up the team for an excellent 6-2 win that just about keeps the Libs in touch with the leaders.

Tottington D entertained struggling Walshaw A and were shocked to find themselves 2-0 down and 71 behind, they woke up and corrected matters via a superb 109-31 performances by Tony Burke in the third. This was followed by Paul Taylor's 108-84 marathon, but when Matt Gilmore took the fifth with a score of 82-45, things did not look too good for the home side, particularly as Derek Bury would be giving 45 start in the last. The star however was up to the task and rolled in a 39 break in a win that produced a 5-3 victory for Woofie's lads which puts them in joint top spot with Fishpool.

Walmersley D, fresh from their victory over Fishpool last week, visited Bury Bridge A and secured a 7-2 victory which lifts them into third place. Darron Jones was outstanding with a first frame 90-29 result that almost settled the outcome there and then.

Salisbury A and B teams were both at home and both won their matches. The A team's 7-1 destruction of Elton Lib D by a margin of 136 points culminated in a last frame 64-4 win by Dave Kean which was preceded by an 82-41 by a revitalized Weaver and 60-34 by Mark Rumens This win is a continuation of the team's recent good form which has lifted them up the table and, if it continues, will pose a threat to some of the condenders for honours when they meet.

Errol Rose has been hitting some good form for the B team lately and Wednesday was no exception, for he won the fourth frame 69-25 in the match against Tottington C. Jason Horrocks took the last with a 60-33 result which sealed a 6-2 victory for the home side.

And finally, Salisbury C team went to Tottington where Dave Cahill (69-29) and D. Lower (64-29) won the first two frames against their B team, then sat back to watch in dismay as Peter Woroniak took the last 57-23 to win the aggregate by two points which gave the home side a 6-2 win.

BREAKS: K. Boyes 60; G. Fearnley 50; D. Redmond 46; M. Ryan 44; D. Bury 39; A. Rhodes 34; D. Harrison 31; M. Hamer 28; G. Critchley 27; S. Slymon 27; D. Ogden 25unf.

CENTURIES: T. Burke 109; K. Boyes 108; P. Taylor 108; D. Redmond 107; A. Kirkman 102.

NORTH WEST CLUTCH AND TRANSMISSIONS ROLLUP: No winner -- three teams with 11 points.

LATE CARDS: Fishpool B v Whitefield Bowling.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27

A SECTION

Bury Snoker B v Tottington Cons C; Hollins A v East Lancs A; Elton Lib B v Rad St Mary's; Walshaw Cons B v Huntley A; Walmersley Cons A v Bury Snooker C; Walmersley Cons C v Heywod Reform; Open date v Elton Lib C.

B SECTION

Tottington Cons B v Walshaw Cons A; Bury Bridge A v Elton Lib D; Fishpool Lib A v Salisbury Cons C; Tottington Cons D v Tottington Cons C; Summerseat Lib A v Walmersley Cons D; Salisbury Cons B v Salisbury Cons A; Elton Lib A v Bury Bridge B.

C SECTION

Huntley B v Rad Central A; Whitefield Snooker v Stanley Cons B; Rad Central B v Bury Snooker D; Seedfield A v Summerseat Lib B Stanley Cons A v Fishpool Lib B; East Lancs B v Hollins B; Open date v Whitefield Bowling.