This week the Hive was busy with all six mats in use. We had five Barnet League mats and the rollup mat was also in use. Shillington Red had two games and this means that all outstanding games have now been played.
Mat one had Greenwood Peckers Audrey, Sue and Brian playing St Margaret’s Mars Jim, Tony and Brian. Mars got this game rolling with a single only to see our table leaders Peckers reply by taking a four and following this with a double. Mars held end four for a single but Peckers took control again taking two doubles and a triple to be 13 – 2 up after seven ends. Mars went on the attack, taking a single and two doubles they had pulled it back to 7 – 13 after ten ends. With the following two ends going for a single apiece Peckers were maintaining their six-shot lead. Peckers then went in for the kill by taking a four. Mars retaliated and took their own four on the penultimate end. Peckers finished the game by taking a double for a 20 – 12 win.
Mat two and Greenwood Hawks Barry, Val and Darren were playing Shillington Red’s Michelle, Derek and Trevor. Reds started with a single but Hawks swooped in, taking two doubles for a 4 – 1 lead. Reds held a single but Hawks matched this on end five to maintain their three-shot lead. Reds then pulled closed with two singles then took the lead with a double on end eight. Hawks came back and levelled the game at 6 all with a single on end nine. They followed this with two more singles and a double for a 10 – 6 lead after twelve ends. Reds held end thirteen for a single but Hawks replied by taking the last two ends for singles and the win at 12 – 7.
Mat three had Northiam East’s Mike, Martin and Jeff playing St Margaret’s Mercury’s Lynn, Rebecca and Steve. This game started with the first end being declared a tied end. Mercury then edged into the lead with a single on the second end. East replied by taking a four followed by a single for a 5 – 1 lead after four ends. Mercury came back on end six and took a single. East then took control, they started with a single and followed this with two doubles two triples and a four for a 20 – 2 lead after eleven ends. Mercury held a single on end twelve but East attacked again, taking a five and a four. Mercury hung onto the last end for a single but East had a substantial win at 29 – 4.
Mat four had our second placed team Letchworth Lions Lisa, Alan S and Margaret playing Potters Bar Kestrels Jill, Steve and Barry who have been steadfastly holding that last place all season. Lions started well with two doubles and a triple to go 7 – 0 up. Kestrels held a single. Lions matched this but Kestrels held another single only to see Lions match this as well. End eight saw Kestrels hold another single however this time they followed it with another single then a four and a triple and had taken the lead at 11 – 9 after eleven ends. Lions managed to get a result with a single on end twelve Kestrels pulled back with another single and followed this with a triple for a five shot lead going into the last end at 15 – 10. In a difficult last end Kestrels lost most of their bowls leaving Lions managing to draw in the last bowl for a hotshot six and the win at 16 – 15.
Mat five had Shillington Red’s Tom, Carol and Neil playing Fairfield Falcons Gill, Neil and Bev. This was the catchup game and a repeat of last weeks match where Reds got the upper hand. Could they do it again? Well, read on and see. Falcons started well with a single followed by a double. Reds then took a run of ends, they started with a single followed by a double then three more singles and a triple for a 9 – 3 lead after eight ends. Falcons started to pull back they took a double and two singles to reduce Reds lead to 9 – 7 after eleven ends. Reds went in for the big one and held a four. Falcons followed this with two singles but Reds finished on a second four for a 17 – 9 win.
Well another week of games has now been completed, but these wins made little difference to our table. Reds moved up two places with Mercury and Falcons both dropping a place each. Lions had a big scare but managed to pull it off on the last end with a hotshot. Next week we are back to four games. Let’s hope that many come for a roll up to use those two spare mats. See you all next week when Greenwood Peckers take on the bottom of the table Potters Bar Kestrels. Can Kestrels cause more upset and become the second team to beat our table leaders? Watch this space.