It’s week twelve and the Barnet League is going well. This week we had five mats in use with ten of our eleven teams competing at Hatfield. Will we get many movers in the table? Read on to find out.
Mat one had St Margaret’s Mercury’s Terri, Rebecca and Stephen playing Potters Bar Kestrels Denise, Steven and Mike. Mercury got this game started with a triple and followed on with a double. Kestrels got started on end three with a double. Mercury then took a single which Kestrels matched on end five and it was a short lead for Mercury at 6 – 3. The heaters at Hatfield came on and as the Mercury rose they took a single followed by a devastating five, continuing their run they took a further double and single to be 15 – 3 up after nine ends. Kestrels then fought back taking a doble and a single but Mercury rose again and took their second five in this game. Following this with a triple, a single and finishing with a double they had a good win at 26 – 6.
Mat two had our undefeated table leaders Greenwood Peckers Audrey, Sue and Brian take on Shillington Black’s Tony, Paul and Julia. Blacks started well with a triple and followed this with a single. Peckers then got into gear, they took a double then levelled the score with a second double. They continued their run by taking a single, a third double and a resounding four to go 11 – 4 up at the halfway stage. Blacks then sorted themselves out and one and two swapped position. This had some effect, as end eight saw them reduce the deficit by taking a double. They followed this with two singles and another double and had reduced Peckers lead to one shot. Peckers got their heads down and took a single for a 12 – 10 lead with three ends to go. Blacks got their heads down and took two singles and it was all square at 12 all with one end to play. The last end took some time as both skips visited the head before each shot. The final bowl rolled down the mat and Blacks were holding two shots. Black had won 14 – 12 and Peckers unbeaten run had ended.
Mat three and Shillington’s other team, the Reds Trevor, Michelle and Neil were playing Letchworth Lions Lisa, Andrew and Alan H. Red started well with a double and followed this with a single. They continued their winning run taking another single, two doubles and a four to be 12 – 0 up after six ends. The Lions then went on the prowl. They started with a triple and continued with a double and a single. They then roared and took a four and crept into the lead with a triple. Following this with another double they had completely turned the game around to be 15 – 12 up after twelve ends. The Reds pushed hard and pulled back with a single. They followed this on the penultimate end, with another single to be one shot behind. Reds continued and rescued the game by taking a third single in a row for the draw at 15 all.
Mat four had Greenwood Hawks Barry, Val and Darren playing Harpenden Eagles Sue, Denise and Brian. Eagles got some wind under their wings and started with a double, they followed this with four more singles and two doubles to be 10 – 0 up after seven ends. Hawks took advantage of a new breeze and got some points on the scoreboard. They started with two singles and followed this with a triple. Continuing their flight they took two more singles, a double and a triple putting them in the lead at 12 – 10 with one end to play. Eagles circled, gained height and went in for the kill. In a hard-fought last end Eagles succeeded and held the end, but only for a single giving Hawks a narrow win at 12 – 11.
Our last mat of the evening, mat five had AFC Falcons Gordon, Niel and Bev playing St Margaret’s Mars Tony, Derek and Jim. Falcons started well with a triple. Mars came back for a single but Falcons held a double to go 5 – 1 up. Mars then matched the double only to see Falcons take a second double. Mars came straight back again, taking two successive doubles it was all square at 7 – 7 after seven ends. Mars crept into the lead with a single. Falcons regained the lead with a double and followed this with a triple and a single to be 13 – 8 up after eleven ends. Mars pushed again and held a single on end twelve. Falcons pushed again, holding the last three ends for two singles and a final double they had the win at 17 – 9.
Well at the end of the evening we had another five exciting games with some surprising results. Greenwood Peckers still top the table but their unbeaten run has been halted. Greenwood Hawks were on the backfoot although they did pull it back at the end. Shillington Red started well but Letchworth Lions showed why they are in that second spot by managing to recover for the draw. Our league table hasn’t seen much movement this week. The top five places remain unchanged. Fairfield Falcons and St Margaret’s Mercury have both climbed one place. With another five games next week we will be at the half-way stage in our competition. See you all next week..