Final Whistle staged a great fightback to keep their Section 2 championship title bid intact with a narrow 5-4 victory against Shelley Arms.

Trailing 4-2 going into the pairs, it looked as though Shelley would pull off a shock.

However, a 3-0 victory saw leaders Final Whistle complete the turnaround.

Victories from Steve Roberts and Mickey Juste had seen Shelley take a 2-0 lead.

Although Paul Cohen's success against Des Brackett saw Final Whistle claw one back, Simon Powell took Shelley into a 3-1 lead with a fine win over Joe Palmer.

The visitors narrowed the gap with Keith Beddings' win over Mick Walls (180), only for Ally Walls to beat Dave Buckingham an establish a 4-2 lead.

In the pairs, Final Whistle produced a great recovery winning all three matches to end Shelley's hopes of victory.

Masons Arms B moved into second place in the league after a stunning 8-1 win over the luckless Bullnose Morris A.

Section 6's George Inn Botley's league title hopes were hit as the visiting Blackbird Bar inflicted a 6-3 defeat on their hosts.

Shelley Arms B's Section 7 title chances were given a big boost when they defeated Fairview Inn 7-2 at home.

Section 8 leaders Follybridge Inn kept their unbeaten record after a comfortable 7-2 win over the visiting Golden Ball.

Section 9's Corner House moved seven points ahead of their nearest rivals after a narrow 5-4 win at A1 Pool Club.

In the ladies section, Shelley Arms closed the gap on Section 1 leaders Quarry Gate C to six points with a 6-3 success against Berinsfield Community Centre B.