THE Castle Dark Lords still lead the Asprou Barbers Vale Pool League after hanging on for a narrow victory at home to The Good, The Bad and The Ship.

In a much closer rerun of the previous week, the Dark Lords squeaked a 7-5 win against a strong ensemble that included Mike Dunn, Sion Old, Matthew Nicholas and Captain Graham Aviaent.

The night however belonged to the Dark Lords' man of the match Wayne Hobson, who again won all four of his matches including a superb eight-ball clearance in his first doubles. It was a great team performance, with support from Matthew Tobin, Gareth Foxall and young Ralph Miners.

If the league handed out trophies for the best kept pub or club then this year's winners would probably be Millwood Bowls Club. After walking past the beautifully manicured lawns, you then enter the litter-free veranda where ten yards later you are greeted to a pristine pool table and a group of friendly faces at one of the league's best venues.

Captain Gary Williams would lead his team to a 7-5 victory against the King William IV pub of Cadoxton, with all twelve frames were hotly contested. Millwood found themselves 3-1 down, then 6-3 up, before finally winning 7-5 with Nick Parry, Steve Sewell and Alan Evans all playing superbly for the Millwood Pot Jacks.

Finnegan's are back to winning ways after recording a third win in the last four games for the Islanders. Finnegan's started strongly against away side The Borough Arms and won the first four singles, only for a Borough comeback to bring the game back to 6-6 and a black ball sudden death play-off. Joel Ball and Lewis Crole saved the home side's blushes to claim the win.

The Glenbrook Wanderers travelled to take on Billy United where they were well beaten by the hosts.

Despite the opening singles seeing the scores tied at two apiece, the Billy went on to grab a deserved 9-3 win as they look to continue their chase towards another title.

The Witchill Wildcats claimed an excellent 10-2 win over O'Brien's, opening up a 3-1 lead before dominating the doubles to stretch their advantage to 5-1. John Wolfenden and captain Martyn Croke grabbed O'Brien's only points on the night, while Wildcats' Watkins, Ian Hill, Ceri Morris and Everest all went unbeaten.

The league would like to wish James Hill and Barry's number one pool player Chris Bardsley all the best in next week in Porthcawl at the WPA closed singles tournament, an opportunity for league players to shine against some of the best players in Welsh Pool.

The league would also like to thank their sponsors Asprou Barbers, Eze Drive Driving School and R&M Mobile Valeting for their continued support.