IT WOULD have made a better finish to The Great Escape - although Steve McQueen wouldn't have got up much speed round the Cemetery snooker table on his motorbike.

At nine o'clock the Borough were well on their way to the Darwen Hotels League championship; 4-0 up on the Punch and the aggregate point in the bag, while title rivals Cemetery were 2-0 down at home to Top Con B and well adrift on points and confidence.

By ten o'clock the Cem were back in with a shout. The Borough had lost three straight frames and had fizzled out for a 5-3 while Cem had won three on the trot and led 3-2 with the aggregate virtually in the bag.

Anything could happen. If Cem lost the last two frames it was Borough's title; if they won one it was a play-off; if they managed to win them both they would pick up their fifth crown in six years by one point.

The Cem was packed for the thrilling finale to the league season and it was left to veterans Jim Barnes and captain Harold Heys to wrap it up. A patient JB dug in well to beat Steve Halliwell on the black; Heys raced clear and beat Baz O'Kane after surviving a string of superb snookers. Dave Stevens and Ian McClure lost the first two frames to Howard Clark and Neil Bromiley but then Heys hit the Con with a broadside of Andy Maudsley, Walt Jarvis and Gaz Hampson and they set it up for the super-cool finish from the two hardened campaigners.

Across town, Paul Slater, Paul Melia, Steve Aspinall and veteran Jack Ainsworth had got the Borough off to a flier. But then Ian Harle, Paul Wilkins and Pete Astley snatched those last three frames.

Most of the Borough squad went up to the Cem to watch the closing stages of a long campaign. And they were left to rue their bad start of three defeats in their first four games.

The knockout starts tonight: Section A - Top Con A v Uncle Jack's, Cemetery B v Top Con C, Anchor v Cemetery A.

Open date: Top Con B. Section B: Alexandra B v Alexandra A, Punch v Prince, Borough v Mill Gap.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.