Stampers Bar

01/11/2024

13/04/2023

15/12/2022

🎱 Following a free week, Stampers resumed in the Challenge Cup, on a night when a number of teams failed to travel due to ⛄️adverse weather, the league newcomers travelled away to Reivers C. It was -10 ❄️ outside and actually -3 inside with both the temperature and the score! It wasn’t quite Rob Duffs night as Moffat played a superb pot to land on his last yellow and get the black. Rob Shiel broke and potted 8 balls, 6 reds but 2 yellows of his opponent Slorance, the home player on his turn potted easy, Jordan Shiel then got turned over by Paul Turner and Stampers were -3. Scott Bowers then showed his class to pull a game back and this was followed up with a top notch Colin Laidlaw performance as he beat Casson, as the halfway mark loomed Dougie Rae matched up against 2nd in the current ranking Gerard Sloan, Rae didn’t let Sloan command the table, Dougie played superbly to put the score at 3-3. Sloan immediately bounced back against Duff, however Colin Laidlaw game of ♟️ frustrated home player Moore, with the latter in a corner he stupidly potted the black 4-4. Moffat put Reivers C ahead again v G Robertson who competed exceptionally well before Bowers fought tooth n nail against Turner, Bowers played an amazing snooker off the ball to gain advantage 5-5. A lot of pool still to play as Rae racked up v Slorance, and Stampers went ahead for the first time in the match Dougie Rae hitting the balls magnificently, in the final bout, Jordan Shiel matched up v the formidable Kev Casson, Shiel was unfazed and confident in his play, in fact it was Casson struggling to outfox Young Gun Shiel! - Kev went in off under pressure as Sharpshooter 🔫 Shiel had hung the black over the baulk corner. Score Reivers C 5, Stampers 7, Note: Stampers have now qualified for finals day and are the first team out of all the groups in both divisions to do so 👏🏻.

29/11/2022

🎱 The 🫘 HUTTONS THE BUTCHERS of Hawick sponsored tie saw the Ship B arrive with 8 players @ Stampers. The Steak and Chicken Pies were certainly going to be cooked anyway as the opening 2 ties took over 30 minutes to complete as visiting Leon Evans fought hard versus Jordan Shiel, Shiel capitalised on nervy Evans to win the opener. Rob Shiel finally got the breakthrough v McCardle when he fouled in a snooker situ as the North Bridge Street went 2-0 ahead. Ron McBain in yer face pool caught Rae on the back foot, unfortunately Rae didn’t play his own game and was carved up by McBain as he potted his last colour and he landed plum the black 2-1. Frame 4: Scott Bowers got going early and potted all his colours v Wooley but snookered himself on 8 black, he amazingly doubled off a cushion, cannoned off his opponent’s colour to pot the black in the corner. A Flockhart played a consistent game and with Derrick (Degs) Laidlaw missing on the black, Alan played a fantastic positional shot to land on the black but after all the effort he made a pigs 🐷 ear of it and left it over the Bag for Degs to pot. G Robertson ended the first half disappointed as McMinn took advantage to draw the match level at 3-3. Game in the balance, however Stampers showed quality - a Fillet 🥩 of five wins reeled off to make mincemeat of the Ship B. Rae, Bowers, Flockhart, R Shiel and then J Shiel with a five star ⭐️ show beating top ship player Gary Wood. Only blip was Robertson losing to very handy Laidlaw as he was the only visitor to keep his 100%. Final score: Stampers 8 v Ship B 4.

23/11/2022

🎱Newcastle Arms 5 v 7 Stampers: The 2nd fixture of challenge cup saw Stampers Rob Duff win the final frame to secure victory. However plaudits must go to Scott Bowers who has now won 17 out of 18 matches this season. Away at Coldstream the speed cloth table was a challenge in itself as Rob Shiel potted black in the middle for point 1, Jordan Shiel was beat by the rated Steve Lefier, before Rob Duff - after two attempts on the black finally potted the winner in the third tie. This started a run of 3 wins before a trio of losses, Scott Bowers put Hawick 3-1 ahead followed by Flockhart disposing of home player Lewis Hall. Playing steady pool Colin Laidlaw fell short to Wright before Wright who was on back to back had back to back victories as he beat Jordan Shiel next. Frame 8 saw the roll of the table mess up Rob Shiel free ball when his opponent was on the black, Newcastle Arms made it 4-4, the ninth game can be pivotal and with Laidlaw playing Leifer it was like pulling teeth 🦷 neither player willing to give an inch. However Laidlaw worked his way onto the Black and potted the final ball, only to shake his opponent’s hand then turn around and watch the white roll off two inches to stop short of the middle, counting his chickens came to mind 🐔vital point. Flockhart was so so close next rattling the pocket with the black as the score went to 5-5. The home team Lewis Hall gave everything and had first shot on the black against Bowers but potted his last colour, Bowers made no mistake with two on the black. Final frame saw Duff v McLean: Coldstreams lookalike Jack Grealish! It was Duff who gave Grealish the rough though and after two misses, Stampers took the points home as Duff made it 100% on the night with the black. MONDAY 28 November: Stampers v Ship B, sponsor HUTTON THE BUTCHER, Howegate, Hawick.

15/11/2022

BORDER POOL LEAGUE CHALLENGE CUP: 🎱 ICE COOL AT POOL - YOUNG SHIEL MELTS REIVERS C. With the vastly skilled and experienced Scott Bowers winning both his games it was a big age gap but a big Team contribution. Two frames down, Stampers won five on the trot to take a great advantage into the final handful of games. Rob Shiel churned out a disappointing opening frame to let Moffat win, Dougie Rae knowledge of the rules caught him out in the final shots versus Kev Casson when a ball never hit a cushion after the colour was tight on the cushion. Up steps Bowers in frame 3 and despite a huge effort from Robson, Bowers manoeuvred his way to pot his colours and the black. Jordan Shiel stayed strong all way through frame 4 to beat Slorance, before Alan Flockhart who had struggled early on in his game, however he had the perfect pace of the table and he is probably the eldest player in the league Flockhart finished the frame superbly against Moore. Laidlaw then beat Sloan. Rae was first on in the 2nd set of six games, he didn’t panic as Moffat potted and potted, Rae over the next few shots potted his 7 colours and stayed calm to win frame 7. Laidlaw dropped frame 8 before Scott Bowers met Robson again and bowers spun his web 🕸️to beat Robson again and put Hawick on the brink at 6-3. Graham Robertson was on the backfoot in his match but he never quite nailed a couple of shots as Reivers C pulled one back. But a return match of J Shiel v D Slorance saw the visitor unable to get the upper hand over the leagues youngest player, Slorance self destructed to be beat 2-0 for the first time in 2 years as Jordan Shiel 🥇grabbed the winning frame just as well as another lacklustre performance from Rob Shiel saw Stampers finish the match with a 7-5 victory.

09/11/2022

The halfway point in the Border pool league saw the visit of Gala Waverley bowling club to Stampers, an excellent start saw the home side rack up 5 of the opening 6 frames. Dougie Rae and Scott Bowers maintained their 100% win rate from the previous week as they won both their games again. At first Rob & Jordan Shiel won the opening two points, Rae then made it 3 - 0 with some great control and side on the cue ball to finish perfect on his remaining colours and the black in the middle. Bowers then beat one of the Gala ranked players Paterson, Rob Duff was caught out against the wiley James Brown - but Colin Laidlaws return to form continued as he grasped the black versus Chisholm. Graham Robertson was on first in the back six and it was a difficult match for Robertson as Gala picked up their second frame of the evening, Martin Wallace then got revenge on Rob Shiel as the latter left the black hanging after he missed a double to the corner, the relentless Scott Bowers oozed class to beat Brown and put the score at 6-3, Dougie Rae exchanged shots with Paterson all the way through game 10 only to get caught in two minds with a free ball!! Paterson then potted the black and was most unfortunate to watch the white bounce off around 4 cushions to run into middle pocket for Rae to grab winning frame. Flockhart fell Chisholm but Rob Duff polished off the final game as Stampers won the match 8-4. The north bridge street pool team are now top of Division ‘B’ as the league resumes in January, focus now turns to the Challenge Cup at home on Monday 14 November.

25/10/2022

🎱 With Halloween approaching Stampers pool team must have spooked 👻the visiting Ship ‘B’ from Melrose. Rob Shiel opened up against the Ship’s Wooley and a good break saw a granny on, but a missed shot to the middle let Wooley in but he lost his way 👀 to leave an easy black. The next two games for the home teams Dougie Rae and Rob Duff were very similar to One another = cagey games, both got a foul with only two/three balls on the table and both could have done better with that free ball advantage, however Rae stunned the black in v Evans in frame 2 and Duff beat Bain as he hammered the black in baulk corner for frame 3. It wasn’t getting easier for the Ship, current division B POTY leader Scott Bowers waited for his chance against McMinn, clearing up to heap more misery on the visitors. The Ship 🚢 were all at sea as Jordan Shiel stepped up next - he’s got a dog called “Elvis” and Shiel potted a great black to seal McArdles fate and leave him “All Shook Up”. The weight on the experienced Gary Woods shoulder was heavier than ever but he beat Stampers newbie Graham Robertson to record the first point for the Ships team. The second half Duff bt McArdle, and then young Shiel disposed of McMinn to put the match result in no doubt, Rob Shiel made it 8-1 as Evans potted the black by mistake! Bowers kept the home team foot on the pedal with another master class of the game of pool v Bain. In frame 11 Gary Wood showed why he is the Melrose team best player to win against Stampers Laidlaw for the Ship B’s only two points of the evening. Alan Flockhart might like the Hearts FC but their was nothing jammy as he beat Wooley in the final frame to record a 10-2 win for Stampers.

19/10/2022

🎱 Stampers Pool team were dished up some fine-refreshments, music and giant Pizza away at the Trinity. That’s all they got! as the hosts secured a 7-5 win, on a table with a slope similar to Easter Road. R Shiel was down and out against P Smith but clung on in nearly a 20min opening frame to only eventually pot the white at same time as black 🤦🏻‍♂️ (much to the joy of Steven Bell). Dougie Rae was next on the blue baize v mine host Eddie Hall, the latter was in control, but Rae potted 6 yellows and after a handful of shots each Rae finally brought Stampers level, Stampers Bowers was “first class” and he - delivered the next point. However Colin Gallagher 👨🏻‍🦲(trinity) was sandwiched in between Trinity brothers Ally and Steven Bell and they amassed the next four home points between the 3 of them to make it 5-2. R Shiel, Bowers, and J Shiel picked up 3 second half wins - but for the Trinity: Smith and it was Eddie Hall that got the all important clinching black to consign Stampers to defeat.

11/10/2022

🎱 Week 3 of Border Pool league saw Stampers leap to the top of the division B table with a fine 9-3 victory. The big talking point of the match was home player Colin Laidlaw, methodical in his play but the white ball fairly bounced of the cushion as he potted the black in his game against Hall only to watch the white roll into the middle pocket . Ahead 5-1 after the first set of six v Newcastle Arms from Coldstream, Laidlaw 👨‍⚕️ a retired paramedic! Nearly required resuscitation himself after doing exactly the same in his next game potting the black and white on his final shot. However Rob Duff and one of the youngest players in the league Jordan Shiel were both on 🔥neither missing a shot. The latter moving up to 8th in the B division POTY standings. Bowers, Rae, Flockhart, Robertson and R Shiel all kept the scoreboard ticking over - until next week, a local derby away at the Trinity.

04/10/2022

An away Pool match at Clovenfords, as they pushed newcomers Stampers all the way on Monday night. Both father and son Shiel won the opening two games to give the visitors a great start. Cloven captain Myles managed to do a hit n run on Bowers before Koszteyn ambushed Hawick’s Flockhart to put the scores level at 2-2, Laidlaw got the next, as Graham Robertson contested league pool for the first time, missing the black but immediately winning the next to make it 4-4, Rob Shiel put Stampers up 5-4, but slick play from Koszteyn made 5-5 and no room for error! Bowers did make no mistake with frame 11. The deciding frame was Flockhart v Glover (the hotel Chef) but Glover would have been better cutting the onions, as Flockhart showed heart, he stayed in the frame and produced a top oven finish with 2 yellows and the black to leave Glover all washed up and a great 7-5 win to Stampers.