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SleM writes
We were hoping to bounce back from our disappointing draw against Berkshire in April and knew that a good result in Chatham would put ourselves in the hunt to reclaim the Region title from Kent for the first time in a few years. This was always going to be our toughest match so far and it proved a bridge too far - this time!

We matched them in the early stages of the match as Steve Rains, Brian Petty, James East and Liam Pearson won their opening frames to give us a 4-3 lead. This was, however, the last time we led, as following a combination of missed chances, bad luck and good play from Kent, they took the next four to lead 7-4 at the end of the first session.

We then lost the opening frame of the second set and although Brian and James won the next two, Kent then rattled off seven of the next eight, with only the captain, Simon Le Marchant, winning his frame to give Kent a 15-7 halfway lead.

The next session was closer as Bluey Noel, Steve, Chris Pidgeon, Simon and Liam all won their frames, however, Kent were now just two away from the winning post at 21-12 up.

Kent went on to dominate the final session too as only Steve, Darren Porter (who came in and duly broke and dished!), Darren Dods and Simon won their frames.

We were in the end comprehensively beaten 28-16 by a team who believed in themselves and showed why they have been top of the Region for a few years now. It showed that we have a long way to go, however, we can learn from this. We have quality in our squad and it may be that the collapse against Berkshire in April had affected our confidence and belief in our own ability. I am sure that we will be collectively looking to put this right in early June against London, which will be another test for us, however, if we all play our own game and really believe in ourselves, then I am sure we will bounce back strongly.

It will come as no surprise that nobody won all four of their frames, however, Simon and Steve, the Player of the Match, both got three.

We must now look forward to the visit of London and not back on the last two matches and get back to the confident and positive way that we started against Hampshire and Sussex!

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