Hertfordshire managed to pull off an exciting last minute win in their opening ICC(A) match away against London yesterday by 22 pts to 18. At the start of the final session, Herts were trailing 10 - 18 and needed to win on all four mats and take the bonus points and win the match! Which we did! Miracles do happen!
In the first session, the singles were shared with Bill Gearing winning his game comfortably by 17 shots to 7 and Michael West losing 10 - 16. After losing the opening end, Bill was dominant throughout his match, 5 shots up after 8 ends Bill increased his lead to 10 shots in the final 7 ends. Michael started well and was 4 shots up after 5 ends. However his opponent fought back hard and finally won by 16 shots to 10. Hertfordshire lost both of the first session pairs matches. Julia Bruce and and Dennis Mack made a poor start and were 7 - 0 down after 3 ends. They fought back well to go 14 - 11 up after 13 ends but unfortunately they dropped 6 shots on the final 2 ends to lose 14 -17. Sue Murray and Martin Nash were always behind in their game, finally losing 10 - 19.
Session 1 Score: London 6 Herts 2
The triples teams did very well in the second morning session winning both their matches comfortably but unfortunately the fours lost both their games. Jan Rogers, Jeff Branch and Alan Hare started badly in their triple giving away 6 shots on the first 2 ends. But they then dominated the rest of the game to win 22 -10. This was Jan's first County game - well done Jan! Similarly the other Herts triple of Adrienne West, Jill Quarterman and Brian McGivern outplayed their opponents to win convincingly by 19 shots to 9! The Herts four of Carol Still, Margaret Hare, Robin Quarterman and skip, Ken Murray started well by winning 3 of the first 4 ends in their game, but, unfortunately couldn't continue their winning way and finally went down by 6 shots to 10. The four of Bill Durham, Toni Gearing, Mary Chadd and Jen Waller, in her first County game as Skip, started badly and were 4 - 12 down after 8 ends. However they re-grouped and fought back hard, winning 6 shots on the last 3 ends to close the game only 2 shots behind at 10 - 12.
Session 2 Score: London 4 Herts 4
Hertfordshire could only manage 1 win and 1 draw in the third session. Michael West was 7 -1 down in his second singles match after only 3 ends but fought back to close 15 all and tie the game. At first, Bill Gearing couldn't produce the form of his first singles' game and was 15 -1 down after 8 ends. However, Bill then took control of the second half of the game winning 6 of the final 7 ends and closing the score to 12 -16. The honours were even in the pairs with Julia and Dennis winning their second game and Sue and Martin losing theirs. Julia and Dennis made a great start going 8 - 0 up in the first 4 ends. The rest of the game was shared with Julia and Dennis eventually winning 15 - 7. Sue and Martin were up against it from the beginning going 6 -1 down after only 3 ends; although they fought back to within 1 shot after 8 ends, their opponents extended their lead in the final 7 ends to win 19 -10.
Session 3 Score: London 8 Herts 4
Hertfordshire spirits had dropped going into the final session 18 -10 down when our new scorer and captain's assistant, Paul Bruce, proved his worth by pointing out that we only needed to win on all four mats and take the bonus points to win the match! All four teams responded to Paul's encouragement and all of them won handsomely! Brian McGivern's team dominated their game and won 19 - 9; Alan Hare's triple had a closer match but still won comfortably by 14 shots to 8. Ken Murray's four overwhelmed their opponents taking a 7 on end 6 and winning 22 -3, and Jen Wallers' team won easily by 12 shots to 5. The triples and the fours took all the bonus points and Herts won the match 22 - 18! Miracles do happen!
Session 4 Score: London Nil Herts 12
Overall Score: London 18 Herts 22