WHO'S HOT and WHO'S NOT?
Division 2 is a very exciting league this season. The leaders have swapped top spot on many occasions.
Trainors of Camlough proudly spent Christmas top of the tree with 15pts having lost 1 and drawing 1, the only points dropped so far in 9 games.
Charlie Doherty is in the form of his life and has been virtually unbeatable all season. Doherty has been on the circuit a long time and can play an open potting game but can mix it up with tactical pool when needed. The signing of ex  Corrinshego star Tommy Mooney has in no small part been a major reason in the transformation of Trainors from an average side to title contenders. Harvey Lavelle another Corrinshego legend taught Mooney well and now he is a fine cueist.
Declan Finnegan is another big player to step up to the plate this year. His snooker back - ground has helped him make the game look so easy at times.
Paddy McKeown has had a superb November and December and will be crucial for Trainors.
Collie Rafferty is having a good season and Luke Phelan has also come into a bit of form after a slow start. Mark Trainor has pitched in lately. Pete Lynch, Damien Bunting and Marty Pollock have drifted out of the reckoning after early wins.
Although Trainors are flying in the league they took a severe 8-1 hammering from Millvale in the Divisional Cup so they are far from the finished article.

ArmaghDown have moved into 2nd place in the league and going by their last 2 results before the Christmas break these boys are here to stay. An 8-0 and a 9-0 in the Divisional cup means they'll be itching for the restart.
ArmaghDown are unbeaten in the league with 5 wins and 4 draws from their 9 games leaving them on 14pts.
Willie Andrews is playing some amazing pool this year and he's in good company too. James Clarke, Caolan Marron, Oran Keenan and John Rogers have been brilliant so far.
Sean Donnan has hit form lately and at long last sharp-shooter Shane Durnin has found a bit of form. Gerard Harte and Vinceny Doherty will need to play consistently well to move this team to the top.

Cue Club sit 2pts further back on 12pts.
In Philip Murphy they have one of the outstanding players in Division 2. He has been exemplary for the newly formed Cue Club. Taking out finish after finish he has blitzed all before him.
Joe Magill and John Craven have been carrying the team along with Murphy. Calvin Li has had fleeting wins. Sean McArdle and Jamie McCann need to up the win rate or Derek Ruddy and the lads will be taking no prizes home come the end of the season.

Granvue Hotel are joined with Cue Club on 12pts.
Paul Bruen has been in stunning form for the Omeath side this season. He's been untouchable this past few months and has been vital for the Hotel.
Conor Dullaghan has been having another super season so far and Richie Magee has had a fantastic campaign to date along with Chris Smith who has been going well. Shane Feehan and Paddy Fisher have been decent but with very little help from the rest of the squad they will need to up the win ratio if Granvue are going to stay in contention.
Owen Smith and Shane Holland have dissappointed so far and their form won't bring any silverware to Omeath's Premier Hotel.

Millvale on 11pts are 5th 1pt behind Granvue Hotel.
Ryan Diamond has been sparkling for Millvale and along with Nathan Bradley have guided the crossroads pub into contention. Ling Aqua has been consistent but will need more wins to push Millvale up the table.
Killian O'Donnell, Paul Rowland and Willie Hughes have contributed but certainly it won't be enough for promotion. Collie McCann is an excellent player and he needs to find some form in the new year.

St Monnina are 6th on 10pts and are the last team with realistic chances of winning Division 2. It's was St. Monnina that dished out that stunning 8-1 thrashing to league leaders Trainors Bar in the Divisional cup so they cannot be ruled out despite being 6th and 5pts off the pace.
Barry Smith has been the Saints' player of the season so far. His team mates can thank him for giving them an outside chance of a league title. Conor McQuaid has bags of top level experience and has done quite well although in fairness he is underachieving for a good player.
Paddy Hughes has had a very good 1st half of the season and when he's on form is a match for anyone. Darren Mackin and Dominic Donnelly have chipped in fairly regularly. Andrew Mackin and the experienced Pete Donnelly have been key in Monnina's recent resurgence.
Tony McGuinness, John Mackin and Johnny McAnulty's contribution is relegation material.

Maddens Bar are 7th only by frame difference over Boyds Bar. Maddens have improved considerably from last season but with a lot of their squad ex-Indo players they could be doing a lot better.
Brendan 'Tots' Curran has found a bit of confidence lately while Sean Curran has chipped in with some useful wins along with Nicky Connell. Gareth Carroll and Cormac Duffy have some recent success which gives hope for the rest of the season.  
Martin Reavey is a shadow of his former self and struggling for wins. Tom Ingle had a good run last year but is struggling along with Josh McKeown to rack up any sort of win tally. Jimmy Doran was decent with Indo so it is hoped he can improve Maddens fortunes.
Boyds Bar in 8th place are the perennial underachievers. Year after year they seem to get worse when it didn't seem possible.

Patrick Philips is one of the shining lights for Boyds so far but there haven't been too many that's stepped up to the mark. The usual Kris Fletcher has put in a good shift so far. Billy Hunt and Ray McMahon have had good runs and Richard Fletcher has chipped in a few wins.
Ross Martin, Jeromy O'Brien and Jim Boyd have been dissappointing and need to ask themselves are they happy moping about mid-table! They're out of the Vegas Cup and Cunningham Cup so a decent run in the league would be most welcome.

Forresters hold 9th spot with 7pts from their 9 games.
Hugh McGrath is having a sensa carrying the team almost single handedly. Kieran Loughran has been consistent and has found a bit of form in December.
Gerard Morgan, Paul Campbell and Ollie White have had decent runs but long spells of defeats to go with it.
Andrew Chan and Mickey Lennon have won well recently and that might give Foresters hope for the future. With Foresters still in the Vegas Cup and the Divisional cup there is still plenty to play for.

Cavern Bar in 10th have a paltry 6pts from 9 games.
Without Shane Copeland the Cavern would be on the canvas a long time ago. Joe Byrne has helped out on rare occasions and Ciaran Gilbraith started well but faded like the this summer's heatwave.
Gary McDonald has been a disaster along with Jordan Copeland, Mark Byrne and Ronan McGrath. Do these guys throw darts or play pool when the frequent a bar?

McSwiggans Bar are only off the bottom of Division 2 on frame difference. 11th in the league table and the only team in all 3 divisions without a win. They've been dumped out of the both the Vegas and Cunningham cups.
Stephen Wylie has been 1 of best players in the Division and how he gets motivated is only a credit to the lad. Apart from Paul Morgan and Joe McAteer who both have contributed in small portions of hope to an otherwise abysmal start to McSwiggans season.
Gary Clarke, Johnny Irwin and Tiarnan O'Hare have been atrocious and need a big improvement to avoid the 'wooden spoon'.
Moore's B occupy the dreaded bottom spot in Division 2. Out of all the cups and bottom of the league is as bad as it gets in the Newry Pool League.
Niall McElligott has been inconsistent but he and James Cunanne are the only hope Moore's have of escaping from the 'worst team' tag.
Kevin O'Hare and Daryl Poucher have pitched in but just not often enough. Christopher Cunningham hit a decent run but needs to pick it up again in the new year. The rest of the squad need to hang their heads in shame. But cheer up because 2016 is almost here and there's a long way to go in the league yet.
Check out all the league tables online now.

Look out for the Division 1 blog coming soon and of course the Premier Division.

The Divisional cups threw up its usual big shocks and exciting matches In the Premier divisional Cup last years beaten finalists and this years surprise package Whitecross got dumped out at home to bottom team Windmill. CWC hammered McGuigan's A and Carrickcruppen demolished Killeavy.

Nan's Rams needed a late rally to see off Ballyholland by the minimum in an incredible match in the Division 1 cup. Bear's were in cruise control as they brushed aside an improving Bosco team. Johnny Murphys squeezed past Indo in a tight match.
In Division 2 St. Monnina annihilated Trainors of Camlough and were joined by Forresters who had a cracking win in Millvale. ArmaghDown whitewashed Moore's B in a rather one sided game it was a very disappointing display
by  the Moores B team

The biggest result was definitely windmills defeat of Whitecross. Windmill have only one league win and a draw from their first 8 games and were travelling out to Whitecross very much the underdog. Whitecross are clear 2nd in the league and only TJ's have beaten the South Armagh lads in the league so far this season .
Windmill raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to wins from Ruari Devlin, Conor McKeown and Aaron O'Callaghan who fired in a stunning break finish. Cathal Phelan, Joseph McTaggart and Michael Feenan was on the receiving end.
Shane Phelan got Whitecross off the mark when he defeated Conor Cunningham but that was not the start of a big comeback  Instead it was Windmill that found another gear
Tommy Broughton beat Brian O'Neill to put Windmill on the hill and it was Stevie Gray who sent the visiting Windmill into the next round when he beat Barry Shields.
Captain Gavin Malone put a bit of respectability on the scoreline when he beat Niall McGeough to make in 5-2 bit still Windmill hit back and Chris Marley made it 6-2 when he humbled Paddy O'Callaghan who himself is going through a win drought.
Mickey O'Hanlon continued his good form to beat Conor Heaney for a final scoreline of 6-3.

McGuigan's A are having a fairly decent season but they were well and truly stuffed by CWC. Kieran McMahon and Seamus (Grubber) McKeown got CWC off to a flier. (Paul Skippy) Morgan wasted playing first again, then John Magee got educated from one of our stalwards former league winner and one of newrys greats the mighty Grubber McKeown.
Brendan Healy gave McGuigan's false hope when his win over Gerry Cregan made it 2-1 CWC. That just kicked started CWC who blazed to the tape unopposed. Pat Hughes beat Kieran Hanna after Hanna allegedly started showing off potting the last red  then missed a sitter of a black. Hughes took advantage and made it 3-1 CWC. And that put the shouting out of McGuigans who we hear reckons thats all they had too do was turn up so they thought but how wrong they were.
Tommy Rooney beat Brian Campbell for 4-1 then the excellent PJ Gilmore melted the Mighty McGuigan's when he ousted Paul McAreavey to make it 5-1
John McClorey out potted young Daniel McGuigan for 6-1 and who ever decided to play the legendary Paul Bunty O'Callaghan 8th needs there P45. He got beat in his dead rubber game by Kieran Cunningham to leave the score 7-1.
Damien Flanaghan took a small edge off the defeat when he beat Cailim McParland for 7-2 in a very embarrassing night for McGuigans A.

The game of the night was undoubtedly Division 1 cup match Nan's Rams versus Ballyholland. Barney Preece got the hosts Nan's off to his usual 1-0 routine when he beat Gerard McAvoy.
The next 3 went the way of the visitors. Giby Vettiankal, Colm Shields and Jim McMahon put Balllyholland in a great position with wins over Mickey Nugent, Mark Maguire and Jimmy O'Hare.
Malachy Maguire and the reliable Leigh McAlinden squared up the match at 3-3 with good wins over Kevin McGovern and Marty O'Hare. O'Hare needs to get practicing a bit more on this table of his over the Chrismas break.
Brendan Keenan put the visiting Ballyholland 1 frame from a famous victory when he got the better of Ryan Evans to make it 4-3. It was all square when Mark Pentony held his nerve to bring it to the wire after a hard fought win over Davy McAvoy.
It was Pat McClennaghan who was the Rams hero after a nail biting final frame win over Robbie White.
What a game and all that is good about local pool was epitomised in this match.

All the results are online now along with the result cards. The next pool fixture will be 7th of January 2016 so enjoy your Christmas break, keep practising and stay safe and we look forward to more blogging in the new year.
Happy Christmas and have a very Happy New Year.

There will be a blog over the festive season and we will be analysing each and every pool team and revealing who is HOT and who is NOT! Cheers lads.. Mr Blogger.

The Pairs always throws up some fantastic games and some of the fancied partners always bite the dust and this year is no different. The most fascinating tie of the round was arguably Jack Courtney and Laurence McAlinden v Declan McMahon and Declan McConville all of quadruple winners TJ's A. Here on the blog we tipped the McMahon and McConville and indeed they produced the goods in great style to win 2-0. McMahon was lethal on the night and these two will have a big say in were the title goes.There team mates and very highly rated Manny and Tristan Byrne eased into the next round 2-0 also.

Mark Pentony and  Barney Preece (Nan's Rams) v Harvey Lavelle and Pat Brady (Sheepbridge) was a cracking match as was expected. Preece missed a chance to put him and Pentony into the next round but Lavelle and Brady didn't pass up the opportunity to progress 2-1.

Cathal and Shane Phelan (Whitecross) v Paddy Tavey and Seamus McGeoghegan turned into a titanic battle with both frames going the full distance and thus re-spotted blacks. The two Whitecross lads held their nerve to win a place in the next round.

We said Premier Division Pair Brendan Devlin and  Mervyn Kernaghan (Orchard Bar) would be in for a tough game against Div 1 Pair Adrian Annett and Davy Hanna (TJ's D) and so it turned out. The Orchard Bar team mates exited 2-1 after a high quality match.

Struggling Div 2 Pair Seany and Brendan Markey (Sheepbridge B) defeated  Barry Murphy and Shane McAllister (Hustlers) 2-0. The Sheepbridge partnership were always far too strong for  McAllister and Murphy.

Premier Division Pair Micky Cunningham and Cathal McCoy of Hustlers had a surprisingly easy win over table toppers Div 1 Pair Adrian Holman and Gary Powell. The Hustlers pair knew they could thwart the Bears couples' attacking instincts and won 2-0.

Kieran Hanna (Snr) and Ciaran Hanna (Jnr) (McGuigan's A) had a walk over thursday night . The two Hanna's could be dark horses for the Pairs title.

Gerard Cregan and Kieran McMahon (CWC) Who again we hear on the blog that Mcmahon played out of turn for the second time in as many years, squeezed through 2-1 against a very good Karl McGuinness and Tony McGovern (Orchard Bar). We said on the blog the Orchard Pair would give them a good game and  the CWC Pair will be delighted to have nicked this one.

The biggest shock of the round was probably Paul Taylor and Johnny McMurray (TJ's C) bowed out to Millvale Pairing Killian McDonnell and Adrian Murphy. Murphy was a fantastic player in his prime but he's well past his best so Taylor's potting and McMurray's tactics should have seen them through but the Millvale Pair booked themselves in the next round with some great pool,

Another shock was John Little and Anthony Morgan (Hustlers) getting dumped at the hands of Div 2 hotshots Matty Cartmill and Nicky Irwin (TJ's D) 2-1. We did pick this game out as a bit of a banana skin for the Premier Division lads and with both TJ's players excellent potting the shock result was possibly not the shock it looks on paper. These two  TJ's cueiests will be a Pair worth avoiding in the next round.

Mickey O'Hanlon and Paddy O'Callaghan (Whitecross) will be disappointed to bow out at the hands of CWC Pair Paul Kelland and Martin McClelland. The Whitecross Pair had been having a fairly good season so far but it wasn't their night as they lost 2-1.

Mark Trainor and Martin Pollock (Trainor's Camlough) had a very good 2-1 win over Millvale Pair Ryan Diamond and Nathan Bradley (Millvale). Trainor's sit 4 positions above Millvale in the 2nd Division and table toppers Trainors Pair showed their class to make the next round.

Check out the website for the rest of the results. Looking forward to the draw for the next round of the Pairs. We are sure to have more fantastic ties & more shocks!

Thursday night see the 1st round proper of the Pairs and it promises to be another night of exciting pool. The holders Kieran McMahon and  Declan Brennan aren't a pairing this year so one thing we are sure of is a new Doubles winner.
Just a quick run down the fixture list I will pick out some top games to keep an eye on and maybe spot few 'fancied' pairings that might get a good run for their money.
TJ's TABLE 1
The 1st match-up out of the hat Brendan Devlin and Mervyn Kernaghan (Orchard Bar) v Adrian Annett and Davy Hanna (TJ's D) has shock written all over it. Annett and Hanna are playing superb pool and their TJ's side sit 1 point off top spot in Division 1. They like to play attacking pool ' Devlin and Kernaghan will get a tough contest if it turns into a potting match.
TJ's TABLE 2
Neill Heaney and Paddy Caldwell (Bears) v Liam Bradley and Noel Bradley (McGuigan's C) is a Division 1 title rivals clash here. Bears sit top with Heaney and Caldwell being very consistent contributors. The 2 Bradley's might be known more for their exploits on the dart board but are both accomplished pool players and this should be a good game.
Adrian Holman and Gary Powell ( Bears) v Micky Cunningham and Cathal McCoy (Hustlers) is another game with all 4 players extremely experienced in the local game. This could turn into a very tactical game with the knowledge of the Hustlers pairing maybe being key in this match.
TJ's TABLE 3
Richard Taylor and Niall McQuillan (TJ's C) v Pat Quinn and Stephen Murphy (Killeavy) should be a home banker. Although the Killeavy pair play out of the Premier Divsion the TJ's lads are fantastic potters and should win unless this turns into a tactical battle.
Matthew Cregan & Danny Cinnamond (McGuigan's C  Kieth galbraith and Kenny Gilbraith  (McGuigan's B) is a McGuigan's Derby game and both teams are challenging for Division 1 honours. Gilbraith's outrageous potting might just swing it for him ' but this should be a cracker.
SHEEPBRIDGE
Mike Nugent and Leigh McAlinden (Nan's Rams) v Tommy Rooney Cailim McParland (CWC) should be another cracking match. Nan's are having a great season with Nugent and McAlinden 2 tremendous potters. The Premier pair from CWC are definitely in for a tough night here.
Gerard Cregan and Kieran McMahon of (CWC) v Karl McGuinness and Tony McGovern (Orchard Bar) see's Cregan & McMahon re-United as a pairing. The two won the pairs competition in 2014 and will be  favourites for the title again. McGuinness and McGovern won't be fazed though and, both are well capable of pulling out a break finish McGuinness had a unique double win over McMahon last season beating him in both their league games so here on the blog we say come on Karl lets make it 3 in a row .
CWC
Mark Pentony and Barney Preece (Nan's Rams) v Harvey Lavelle and Pat Brady (Sheepbridge) is one of the ties of the round Certainly CWC is the place to be Thursday night with a host of cracking games. Preece is a potter all day long and with the pairs reverting back to the potter stays at the table then this could prove a banana skin for the Sheepbridge pair. Lavelle and Brady are the best doubles team on paper but it doesn't always work out like that and this could be tighter than it looks.
Cathal Phelan and Shane Phelan (Whitecross) v Paddy Tavey and Seamus McGeoghegan ( Sheepbridge) is another vote for tie of the round. All four  players can play a good tactical frame and with Cathal Phelan and Paddy Tavey two of the best potters in the league this could be another classic on the cards.
John Little and Anthony Morgan ( Hustlers) v Matty Cartmill and Nicky Irwin (TJ's D) is another game tough to call. The TJ's pair are out and out potters and having fantastic season in Division 1. The Hustlers pair haven't set the pool world alight this year but are both very good players. Should be a very good game.
TJ's TABLE 4
Mickey O'Hanlon and Paddy O' Callaghan (Whitecross) v Paul Kelland and Martin Macelland should be a great match. O'Hanlon is having a great season for Whitecross as they contend for Premier Division honours. O'Callaghan started the hotshots table on fire but has struggled lately while the two Kellands have been steady. The Whitecross lads might just shade this 1.

Jack Courtney and Laurence McAlinden (TJ's A) v Declan McConville and Declan McMahon (TJ's A) is a dream draw for the neutrals. The four lads could open a shop in the buttercrane with the amount of trophies they have won between them  and with TJ's A. McAlinden has won the pairs in both Newry & South Armagh pool leagues so he knows what it takes to take the title home. Can McConville hold his nerve which has let him down in the past. We're not going to sit of the fence on the blog. Declan McMahon has won multiple individual titles and he should be able to keep McAlinden at bay and scrape through 2-1.

BELLINIS
Sean McArdle and Frank McArdle (Cue Club) v John Magee and Brian Campbell (McGuigan's A) is another that has shock written all over it. Cue Club are riding high in Division 2 while Magee & Campbell (mostly Magee) have struggled to make an impact this season. The two McArdles are on a roll and might just upset the premier Giants.

Richard Fletcher and Kris Fletcher (Boyds) v Philip Murphy and Ciaran Magill is a Division 2 match-up but these four could easily mix it in the Premier Division. In fact the Boyds pair are two very accomplished players in the old Division 1. Murphy is one the the best players in Division 2 and his attacking style is a joy to watch. Richard Fletcher will certainly try to turn it tactical if they are losing the potting battle. Fascinating game this but the knowledge of the two Fletchers should see them into the next round.

Division 1 of the Newry & District Pool League so fascinating this season you dere'nt blink or you could drop 4 or 5 places. Any one of 7 teams are very much still in the running with only 4pts separating the top 7 teams!
Bears lead the way for a 2nd week after a superb win over former league leaders & fellow title rivals Ballyholland and are on 14 points.
Garry Powell is having a fantastic season for Bears & he gave the hosts a 1-0 lead when he beat another experienced campaigner Marty O'Hare.
Colm Shields & Giby Vettiankal. Giby is a keen tennis player & he served up some delightful pool to give Ballyholland a 2-1 advantage. Paddy Caldwell & the 'baby faced assassin' Neil Heaney who were on the receiving end for Bears.
Ralf Crummy levelled the match at the halfway point with a great win over Gerard McAvoy. 2-2
Bears started to roar and their neighbours up the hill crumbled as the hosts went on a 2nd half rampage.
Adrian 'Oz' Holman is a spectacular potter & he fired Bears into a 3-2 lead when he blitzed Jim McMahon.
Seamus Keenan, Paddy Rogers & Eddie Heaney must be the most experienced back 3 in Div1 & probably the slowest back 3 but they wrapped up 2  valuable points with some tactical wins over Brendan Keenan, Davy McAvoy & Manny Kelly.
3 teams sit joint 2nd 1 point behind Bears on 13 points. Nan's Rams, TJ's D & TJ's C  are the pack hunting down the Bears.
TJ's C are the only side in the top 5 with more than 1 defeat but they had a big win over title rivals McGuigans B. The win gives TJ's C a 3pt cushion over McGuigans B in the title race after a very comfortable 6-2 victory.
Richie Taylor got TJ's C off to the perfect start when he defeated Seamus Pearce.
Paul Taylor is a fine player but it wasn't to be a Taylor double as McGuigans equalised through the reliable Gary Fitzmaurice.
The hugely experienced TJ's C turned on the style and Johnny McMurray & Sean McDonald made it 3-1 with wins over Kevin Pearce & Michael Kinney.
There was no let up as the legendry Tony McGivern made it 4-1 & a classy Damien 'Diddles' McArdle wrapped up both points with comfy wins over a dissapointing Darren Carroll & Tony Hughes.
Niall McQuillan has the potential to be a top player & his win over a good Austin Gilbraith made it 5-1. Liam Downey took his foot off the gas & that let Keith Gilbraith in to put a bit more respectability on the scoreline with a 6-2 result.
TJ's D are firing on all cylinders at the minute and the battered a hapless Sheepbridge B. Sheepbridge are embarrassingly bad this season. It's hard to believe so many of that team were the heart of a very successful Sheepbridge that won promotions & were a team to fear.
TJ's D were 3-0 up before the timid lambs got comfortable in their seats. Gavin McNally & Niall O'Hare made it 2 before the flying Nicky Irwin made it 3-0. Irwin who fired in a brilliant break finish last week is playing incredible pool & is a major player in this amazing TJ's D team. Brendan Markey, Seanie Markey & Donal McSherry all former stars of Sheepbridge pool got severely humbled.
Sean O'Callaghan can be thanked for Sheepbridge avoiding a whitewash as he picked up a rare win against a very good Matty Cartmill.
Davy Hanna made it 4-1 & Adrian Annett sealed the win for 5-1. Kevin Quinn & Stephen Quinn are well used to losing & it was the same again Thursday night.
Sean Rice & Jason Lennon added the icing & thousand island to the cake for a very easy 7-1 win. Ramie Sands must be have been dreaming of the 'great' Glen Social Club teams of days gone by as he then Ryan Magee got sent packing.
Bosco now have 2 wins in a row now as they moved off the foot of the table. They play McGuigans B in the next league fixture in a game that McGuigans surely must win to avoid falling behind the leaders.
Leaders Bears travel to inform McGuigans C & Nan's Rams will visit the flying TJ's D in what promises to be one of the most fascinating rounds of Division 1 fixture list.
Unfortunately we will have to wait until the new year as we have the Pairs this Thursday coming & Divisional cup ties on the 17th December.
Check out the Divisional Cup fixtures online now.
The updated league tables & results are on the website now!