30 March 2022
Tel: 07791 208415
email: withernseacommunitynews@hotmail.com
Seasiders beaten Snooker chat with Maverick Mike in title decider WITHERNSEA AFC visited Allotment Road in Driffield on Saturday, February 26 to take on Langtoft AFC in what was billed as the potential title decider in East Riding County League Division 2. The home team who were unable to play at their usual home location of Rudston had arranged for the game to be moved to Driffield. Withernsea were supported by a good following hoping for a big performance. The game started in end-to-end fashion with both sides having a healthy share of chances. In a goalless first half It was clear that the seasiders felt they were not getting the decisions from the referee, this spilled over with Luke Smith taking a 10-minute sin bin for dissent before half time. The other major decision from the first half for the referee to deal with was a strong challenge from Withernsea captain Iley. Clearly taking the ball but in a fashion that was deemed by the referee to be out of control, the Withernsea player was a little lucky to escape with a yellow card, on a different day it could have been a straight red. After a goalless first half the game came to life in the second half. Langtoft scored after a defensive mistake let in the striker to put them in front. Smith quickly equalised with a composed finish to bring things back to level. Following this there was a period where two big decisions would settle the game and set the temperature for the rest of the match. Langtoft broke forward with a long ball passed through the midfield and coming in from the left-hand side the striker seemed to be at least five yards offside. The referee who was caught up in back play called play on and Langtoft went 2-1 up despite the complaints from the away team. Shortly after this Withernsea thought they had equalised when Randle broke away to score what looked like a good team goal, but this was given offside by the referee from a challenging vantage point.
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Langtoft started to come into the game a little bit more from this point and went 3-1 up with what looked to be a decisive goal, again from a defensive mistake which was becoming a bit of a theme for the lads. Hope was then briefly restored as Smith, who looked sharp throughout, scored with a great finish to bring Withernsea back into contention. Just when the game was coming to a crescendo it was again the man in the middle who took centre stage. A spate of bookings / sin bins saw Withernsea go 4-2 down shortly followed by being reduced to 10 men, then nine men as dissent and indiscipline saw Iley and Burdon leave the field. Several other Withernsea players were booked in a short period of time. The nine men held their own in the final period of the match, but it wasn’t to be for Withernsea on a tough day against a well drilled side. Results on the day mean it looks likely that both sides will be promoted to League Division 1 (see table) 1. FRUSTRATING: Withernsea Corner in the 1st half 2. STRIKE FORCE: Wilkinson (near) and Smith leading the line
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19th January I will return to the snooker green baize on the 29th of January, my opponent Paul Cartlidge this time, with the best of 19 frames. There’s a treat, this time, a gold and silver snooker medal up for grabs ordered by a great friend and paid for by a customer on my bin round. A nice Christmas treat, received with thanks and appreciation. Time for Paul to get his head down, get practicing with his new cue. But it doesn’t matter what cue he uses, how good, what assets are brought to the green baize, because Maverick Mike will be there to do the business. Love the snooker banter! 24th January I'm looking forward to my snooker exhibition match on the 5th of February against the magician Shaun Murphy. I filled out the form as follows – Name? Mike Haigh, Nickname? Maverick Mike. Highest break? 63. Team? Olympic Outlaws. Favourite snooker player? Jimmy White. Job title? Refuse collector at ERYC. Where do you live? Withernsea. Interesting facts? In an exhibition match I got the whirlwind Jimmy White down to the blue ball. In an exhibition match I got the John Higgins down to a black ball game. I am dedicating my match against Shaun Murphy to my dad, who passed on three years ago this month. I’ll be playing with determination. 27th January My exhibition match against The Magician, Shaun Murphy, is now on the 8th of April. I have also got the opportunity to play against The Pistol, Mark Allen, on the 18th of February. These special snooker events arranged by the Tradewell Snooker Club are amazing! I'm privileged to be involved.
29th January The day of the match against Paul Cartlidge. After eight frames, despite my highest break being only 31, I was winning 6-2. The margin was cut to 7-4, when I had a 35 break to make it 8-4. With a 36 clearance I pulled it to 9-4, eventually winning the match by ten frames to five. It was a good match, we played for nearly six hours. It took some doing but was worth it! And I was proud to win the Gold medal! 5th February I was stopped in the street and asked to do a survey on Withernsea. Great, I can express myself! How do you find Withernsea in general? 10 out of 10 Have you helped anybody recently? Yes, I carried a double mattress upstairs for a good friend. I helped a little old lady in a supermarket. How do you rate Withernsea people? 10 out of 10 Your health and fitness? 10 out of 10 Exercise? Walking, I'm a refuse collector so plenty of walking Any physical activity? No just snooker Are you an active and confident type of person? I’m very active and confident at some things Are you happy? 9 out of 10 Are you happy in Withernsea? 10 out of 10 Do you know a lot of people in Withernsea? They’re very nice people, I have quite a few very trusting friends. So with the survey finished, I said “I was waiting for you to ask me about my ego! My snooker ego is so big, now you can’t see the lighthouse!” He nearly dropped his tablet laughing! 9th February Really looked forward to my snooker match tonight, the first match back this year for the Olympic Outlaws team. Great to be with the lads again. Playing against the Deaf Centre in Hull at the William Gemmel Snooker Club. I
gave a 50 point start in my match - trying my best as I always do, to do well for the team. A determined Maverick Mike as ever! But with the 50 point handicap, I ended up losing by 76 points to 75 points. 1 point! I needed two snookers, I managed to get one. A bit of a sickener, but I feel I played quite well. To be fair, it's hard pulling all them points back! It was a great Team win for the Outlaws though, winning 10-6. Everyone played their best - Kyle Fellows, Lee “Cazzy” Caswell, Gareth Fellows, Alex Fellows, and Steve Horsfall. Another super win - well done fellas, let's keep it going in the future! Thanks to Captain Phil Greenhill and Josh for coming along to support us, it made it a great evening.
1. MEDALS: The medals up for grabs 2. HULL BOUND: On the way to Hull 3. WINNER: Gold Medal winner 4. GREAT GUY: Maverick Mike with Matt Sneed 5. A GOOD NIGHT: Maverick Mike with Mark Allen 6. TIGHT MATCH: Maverick Mike with Danny West
12th February Was looking forward to my snooker match at the Tradewell Club against the great guy Matt Sneed, in a first to 8 frames. It was a long haul match, which really suits me. I remembered our battle on the green baize a week before Christmas for the glass trophies, a memorable day. Matt is so good for the game, a really good temperament and a great sport. We had a good tight match, with four black-ball games. I won them all! Admittedly I had a lot of luck with some of the games, but that’s how it goes – sometimes it’s good luck, other times bad. Today was good! Came out winning 8-2 in the end
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15th February Another superb win for the Olympic Outlaws tonight, against the Walton Club tram, at home at the Olympic Snooker club, with once again all big handicaps to give away. Alex Fellows, Gareth Fellows, Maverick Mike, Kyle Fellows and Steve Horsfall all played their part with a fantastic 13-2 victory. Very impressive lightning potting by Alex Fellows, it was incredible and really great to watch. Gareth Fellows played some cracking snookers, and I was very happy with my frame, my 32 break, and my potting was on fire! We definitely deserved the win!
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18th February So tonight, I had a superb snooker match against “The Pistol”, Mark Allen. He won with the score 50 points to 34 points, but I really enjoyed it. Life is a learning curve, and you will never advance if you don’t push yourself against good opposition. I gave it my all, and was pleased with my long-potting. It’s always great to give a professional snooker player a run for his money. I had a good chat with him afterwards, he’s a really nice bloke as well. A good night, with a fantastic audience. 20th February A wet and windy Sunday saw me playing an eleven-frame match against Danny West in the afternoon. At the start of the three hours of play, I pulled into a 2-0 lead, both of us playing well, and potting some good shots. I made it 3-1, then 4-1, with a black-ball game bringing the score to 4-2. Pulling out all the stops, I won the next two frames to win the match 6-2. A cracking game of snooker, with both of us playing some really good shots. Those games ending up on the black ball show how tight it was! Another win for Maverick Mike, then time for some food!
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