TWO of Southampton’s greatest snooker players fought out a one-off behind-closed-doors money match in the 1960s.

The result remained a secret - until now.

Up-and-coming youngster Chris Holland took on - and beat - the legendary Frank Freemantle at Shirley Snooker Hall.

Holland, later to be 13-time Town Champion, said: “Frank was king-pin in Shirley Snooker Hall when I first started playing. He was one of the best players in Southampton.

“It was for peanuts; it wasn’t a big money match. He was giving me a start.”

Frank laughed. “Nobody knows about that,” he said.

“It was very, very close. It was a good match.

“I was over the top. My game was not what it was seven or eight years before and I was giving him a decent start.

“It may have been for ten bob (50p).”

So, who was the better player?

“We were different eras,” said Freemantle.