RELEGATION fears heightened for Bradford No 2 after a disappointing 5-1 home loss to Huddersfield in Division One of the Yorkshire Inter-District League.

This heavy defeat leaves the second-bottom Bradford snooker side nine points from safety with only three matches remaining.

Gareth Green got them off to a good start, defeating Martyn Beck 54-9, but that was as good as it got as Beck hit a break of 32 on the way to an 81-13 success in the next frame.

Conrad Norcliffe was in excellent form for Huddersfield, making breaks of 45 and 65 to beat Anthony Green 74-41 and 72-1.

The final match saw the two captains square off, with Michael Whaley of Huddersfield taking the honours over Hanif Rafiq.

Whaley, who earlier in the day had knocked out defending Yorkshire champion Kuldesh Johal in the qualifiers of this season's event, made breaks of 75 and 65 to win 75-17 and 73-34.

In addition to Whaley qualifying for the latter stages of the Yorkshire Snooker Championships, Bradford potter Wayne Cooper – a three-time former champion – also qualified, along with Anthony Green after he defeated brother Gareth in the first round.

The other five qualifiers for the next stage at the Northern Snooker Centre in Leeds on March 22 are Chris Hall, Mikey Tomlinson, Gyles Behbood, Tommy Doherty and Owais Ali.

The semi-finals of the Bradford Snooker Pairs take place at Undercliffe Cricket Club on Saturday (7.30pm), with both matches being played together.

Damian Bentley and Peter Hamilton take on Josh Walker and Adam Tipper, while the Green brothers play current Bradford singles champion John Wellham and his dad Chris.

The Bradford Billiards Championship semi-finals have now been confirmed, with defending champion Mark Hirst taking on Paul Devitt and Steve Wilman up against Stephen Kershaw.

Both matches will be played at Chapel Green on Wednesday, March 25 (7.45pm).