Snooker: McManus on a roll: Irresistible Scot sweeps past Gilbert

(First Edition)

ALAN McMANUS kept his bandwagon rolling with a 5-1 first-round victory over Bedford's Nigel Gilbert in the Skoda Grand Prix at Derby yesterday.

The Scot, fresh from his triumph in last week's Dubai Classic, will now play the former UK champion Doug Mountjoy in the last 32.

'When I arrived in Dubai I did not feel as if I was playing all that well but that's certainly not the case now,' McManus said.

McManus encountered little resistance from the world No 49 Gilbert - suffering from a bad back - in the early stages and was able to build a 4-0 lead without making a 50 break.

Gilbert managed to avert a whitewash with a 108-0 success in the fifth and led 47-1 in the sixth, but he missed a red and McManus pounced with a 68 clearance.

McManus, who had many major title near-misses before he finally won a world ranking event, said: 'Nigel did not put up much of a fight early on but I know that if I'm put under pressure I can respond.'