Ladies night league bowls took another twist following South Ramsey’s first defeat of the season losing by 11 chalks away to Marown.

The home side won five of the nine games as Ceila Joughin beat Kim Hargraves 21-18, Margaret Scarffe beat Gill Morgan 21-12, Joyce Ogden and Lil Smith both won 21-7 against Sue Collier and Ann Gale respectively. Marown’s final win came from Philippa Taylor who ended Jenny Moores 100 percent start to the season with a 21-19 victory. South Ramsey’s score was boosted with Fiona Kennish beating Mary Alderson 21-4 with wins also coming from Lyn Bolton 21-11 against Helen Withers, Moira Anderson 21-18 against Shirley Whelan. Elaine Moore maintained her 100 percent record pipping Rosie Winckle 21-20. Final score 158-147 (5-4).

Champions Port St Mary performed well to beat Peel Sunset by 60 chalks 168-108 (6-3). Single figure wins from Mavis Franks, Kellie Maddrell-Reeve, Trish Bull and Chris Price put Port St Mary in control. Ann Maddrell and Jayne Kneen added Port’s other two wins, with Jayne maintaining her 100 percent league record.

Mooragh Park picked up their first win of the season with a 31 chalk victory against Port Erin. Janet Monk and Caroline Parker won for the home side who also won three games to single figures coming from the experienced Helen Martin 21-2 and two great wins from young bowlers Shannon McMullan and Aalish Haworth who both won 21-4. Carol Kaye, Lynda Cadamy, Jacqui Elliott and Jean Thackrah won for Port Erin with Jean winning 21-5. Final score 159-128 (5-4).

In the remaining games on Friday night Nobles defeated Castletown B 184-103 (8-1), Castletown A dropped just 11 chalks in their 178-84 (8-1) victory over Port St Mary B and Onchan beat Douglas 180-94 (8-1).

After five games the league is now starting to take shape with Nobles, Castletown A and South Ramsey holding the top three positions. Defending champions, Port St Mary A, sit sixth but have played a game less than their rivals.

Following the first double week of fixtures, Castletown A lead the way at the top of the Ladies Night league following their wins over Champions Port St Mary A and Port Erin.

Castletown are always tough on their own green but despite winning six of the nine games they only managed to win the tie by six chalks underlining how close the sides are.  Anne Oates, Kim Foy and Tracy Moore all came through close games to win 21-19, 21-18 and 21-17 respectively.  Kath Kinley, Sue Peach and Hannah Drewett also won for the home side.  Port St Mary’s three winners were Val Macfarlane, Margaret Tasker and Jayne Kneen who was the only player to win to single figures on the night.  The final score was 163-157 (6-3).

Port St Mary B were visited by South Ramsey with the home side performing well winning four games to restrict the title challengers final score.  Linda Dawson, Rita Callister, Wyn Collister and Lesley Coker won for the home side.  Away wins for Sue Collier plus single figure wins for Elaine Moore, Jill Quayle, Jenny Moore and Fiona Kennish gave South Ramsey the advantage winning 120-151 (4-5).

Onchan managed to win six games but ended up narrowly winning the match by a single chalk against Mooragh Park.  Janet Monk and Helen Martin both won to single figures for Mooragh and with their other players pushing Onchan all the way just fell short losing 157-156 (6-3).

In the remaining matches on Wednesday Nobles won comfortably by 40 chalks away to Peel Sunset 137-177 (2-7), Port Erin defeated Ballaugh at Breagle Glen 151-132 (6-3) and Douglas won 164-125 (6-3) against Castletown B.

On Friday South Ramsey faced Nobles with these teams occupying 3^rd and 4^th places in the league last season.  Elaine Moore, Lyn Bolton and Sue Collier won to single figures backed up with wins from Ann Gale, Kim Hargraves and Jenny Moore.  Nobles managed three wins from Paula Firth, Clare Cooper and Sylvia Kennuagh.  South Ramsey won the tie by 24 chalks 158-134 (6-3).

Marown, who sat out from the matches earlier in the week, travelled to face Douglas.  Shirley Whelan, Rosemary Winckle, Pat Withers and Mary Alderson all won to single figures with Helen Withers and Joyce Ogden the other winners for the away side.  Paula Garrett, Muriel Cain and Maureen Wilcox won for the home side but the final score was 124-157 (3-6) in favour of Marown.

Castletown A continued their dominant start to the season picking up a strong 186-123 (8-1) victory against Port Erin.  Castletown were denied a full house by Voirrey Curphey who won 21-18 for the away side.

Peel Sunset bounced back from their defeat earlier in the week defeating Onchan 178-133 (7-2).  Gill Clark, Shirley Corrin and Mary Moffatt performed well winning 21-5, 21-8 and 21-8 respectively.  Dee Lewis and Joanne Kelly were the only winners for Onchan with Marylin Ellison just losing 21-20.

In the final matches from Wednesday Port St Mary B and Ballaugh collected their first wins of the season.  Port St Mary B beat Castletown B 166-106 (7-2) and Ballaugh won 166-139 (6-3) against Mooragh Park.

Port St Mary A sat out from Fridays matches so drop from the top places in the league which are currently held by Castletown A, South Ramsey and Nobles.

Friday 14^th September saw the penultimate games take place in the Ladies Bowling Night League.

Port St Mary remain on course for their fifth title in succession, and eight overall, following their full house win over Douglas.  Douglas unfortunately were a player short and were unable to push close in any of the games with Chris Price and Margaret Tasker winning to single figures.  The match ended 189-84 (9-0).

Castletown A nearly matched their rivals but dropped one game in their 184-86 (8-1) win over Ballaugh.  Hilary Kermode, Kim Foy, Heike Perry, Anne Oates and Sue Peach turned in fine home performances to win to single figures.  Ballaugh avoided a whitewash with Gill Dixon defeating Hannah Drewett 21-16.

The battle for third position continues into the final week of the season with South Ramsey heading Nobles for the position.  South Ramsey defeated Port Erin with Elaine Moore and Jenny Moore both playing well winning 21-0 and 21-4 respectively.  Port Erin did pick up two wins from Caroline Whitehead and Lynda Cadamy but South won the match 182-122 (8-2).

Nobles kept up with South by winning their match against Mooragh Park 179-98 (7-2).  Debbie Leece, Alison Keggen, Paula Firth and Clare Cooper all won to single figures.  Mooragh’s wins came from Helen Martin and Caroline Parker.

Peel Sunset suffered a home defeat to Purt Le Moirrey despite winning more games on the night.  Shirley Corrin, Heather Horsburgh, Louise Horsfall, Joyce Kelly and Mary Moffatt won for the home side.  Purt Le Moirrey pulled off a six chalk win with wins from Sandra Lowe, Dot Mylchreest, Wyn Collister and Linda Dawson.  Final score 154-162 (5-4).

In the final match from Friday, Onchan defeated Castletown B 176-74 (8-1) with the visiting team managing to avoid a full house defeat with Barbara Young winning 21-8.

Heading into the final game of the season Port St Mary hold a strong 81 chalk advantage over Castletown A.  On paper Castletown A’s final game against their B team could result in another maximum 189 score.  That would mean Port St Mary would have to score a minimum of 108 chalks to retain the league, but face a strong Nobles side who are themselves chasing South Ramsey for third position.

South Ramsey will only play their final match against Douglas on Thursday 27^th and will look to turn over whatever advantage Nobles have built.

In the race for the individual merit Chris Price leads on 482 chalks followed by Amanda Lawler 478, Jayne Kneen 476 and Jenny Moore 469.  All four ladies are in contention for the top spots with the last game of the season the crucial deciding game.

Last week in the Ladies League we start with the hotly anticipated top of the table clash between Port St Mary and South Ramsey.  The re-arranged fixture took place on Thursday and Castletown A would have been keeping a close eye on events to see how their lead over the two teams would be effected.  Earlier in the season South Ramsey defeated Port St Mary 154-130 (5-4) and on paper this was to be another close affair.

Katy Williams got Port St Mary off and running with a 21-8 win over Bethany Kennish.  The other four matches from the first half were shared with both sides winning two.  Ann Maddrell suffered a rare home defeat as Lyn Bolton just had the edge in their game to win 21-20 and South Ramsey’s second win came from a 21-18 win over Kellie Maddrell-Reeve.  Port St Mary responded with Val Macfarlane beating Jill Quayle 21-19 and Wendy Kennuagh who had an excellent result beating Jenny Moore 21-15.  Port St Mary took a lead of 17 chalks into the second half.

The second half Port St Mary dominated winning all four games.  Trish Bull defeated Fiona Kennish 21-14, Margaret Tasker beat Sue Collier 21-13, Chris Price beat Kim Hargraves 21-5 before Jayne Kneen became only the second person to beat Elaine Moore in the league this year with a fine 21-12 win.

The final score was 185-123 (7-2) with the home team winning by an impressive 57 chalks and extend their winning run to 13 matches.  Thursdays result also took them 83 points clear of Castletown A and with only five games remaining, Port St Mary look to have taken control of the league.

On Friday the bad weather returned postponing four of the six fixtures.

Castletown A vs Purt Le Moirrey was one of the fixtures which was able to be played and allowed Castletown to temporarily return to the top of the league following their third full house of the season.  The match ended 189-79 (9-0).  Five players won to single figures with Kim Foy beating Roma Ware 21-4, Kath Kinley beat Debra Cooper, Heike Perry beat Linda Dawson 21-4, Tracy Moore beat Pauline Worrall 21-7 and Marie Ashurst won 21-3 against Chris Holland.  In the remaining matches Ann Hollingworth beat Dot Mylchreest 21-11, Hanna Drewett won 21-12 against Brenda Hawkard, Anne Oates beat Mavis Franks 21-19 and merit leader Amanda Lawler won 21-19 against Edwina Reid.

The only other match to take place was Peel Sunset against Port Erin with the home side winning the match by 26 chalks.  Peel won six games with Heather Horsburgh beating Jean Thackrah 21-10, Sue Jones won 21-17 against Jenny Cain, Joyce Kelly won 21-11 against Lynda Cadamy, Mary Moffatt won 21-4 against Voirrey Curphey, Cath Parker beat Susan Inch 21-17 and Lynda Wilson won 21-5 against Phil Dobson.  Port Erin’s three winners were Caroline Whitehead winning 21-7 against Shirley Corrin, Jacqui Elliott beat Pat Robertson 21-8 and Carol Kaye beat Gill Clarke 21-8.  The final score was 153-127 (6-3).

After this weeks matches Castletown A may sit top of the league but are only 106 points ahead of Port St Mary who have a game in hand and average over 172 points per game this year.  South have played the same amount of games as Castletown and trail them by 54 points.

As we enter MGP fortnight there are a number of rearranged matches before a full set of fixtures at the end of race week.

The week started with two re-arranged matches as Douglas took on Ballaugh and Nobles facing Purt Le Moirrey.

Douglas beat Ballaugh 166-122 (7-2) with Harley Garrett, Maureen Wilcox and Shantelle Thorpe all performing well winning to single figures.  Ballaughs winners came from Gill Dixon and Elaine Fenton.

Nobles put in a strong home performance to beat Purt Le Moirrey 181-137 (8-1).  Joyce Ogden top scored on the night beating Linda Dawson 21-9.  Purt Le Moirrey pushed Nobles in a couple of games with Rita Callister just losing 21-19 to Alison Keggen and Mavis Franks losing 21-19 to Jan West.  Purt Le Moirrey did avoid a whitewash with Roma Ware beating Rebecca Teare 21-13.

On Friday 10^th August Port St Mary took on league leaders Castletown, with Castletown looking to extend their 115 chalk advantage.  Port St Mary have a game in hand and would look to close the gap before their catch up game next week.

The game was finely balanced with both sides evenly matched and with a stand out performance from Ann Maddrell who won 21-1 against Sue Peach made sure that the home side won the match, ending Castletown’s impressive 14-win streak, and clawed vital points back on their rivals.  Port St Mary’s other wins came from Val Macfarlane 21-15 against Kim Foy, Katy Williams 21-14 against Heike Perry, Trish Bull 21-19 against Anne Oates and Chris Price who beat Hannah Drewett 21-16.  Castletown’s winners were merit leader Amanda Lawler who beat Wendy Kennuagh 21-12, Ann Hollingworth 21-12 against Kellie Maddrell-Reeve, Kath Kinley 21-18 against Jayne Kneen and Tracy Moore who beat Margaret Tasker 21-15.

With the match ending with a 13 chalk with for Port St Mary, 162-149 (5-4), they close the gap to 102 points and will look ahead to their fixtures next week when they have another crunch tie against South Ramsey.  With the game against South Ramsey their catch up game Port St Mary will then look to pick up vital points against Onchan on Friday.

South Ramsey go back to the top of the summit following their 79-186 (1-8) victory over Castletown B.  Jenny Moore, Fiona Kennish, Lauren Groen, Elaine Moore and Lyn Bolton all won comfortably to single figures.  Castletown avoided a whitewash with Joy Stephens holding off Sue Collier to win 21-18.  The result places South Ramsey 109 points ahead of Port St Mary with their match to come on Thursday 16^th August.

Port Erin collected their first full house of the season defeating Ballaugh 189-96 (9-0).  Di Benson, Caroline Whitehead, Voirrey Curphey and Lynda Cadamy all won to single figures in the match.

Douglas nearly pulled off a great win at home to Marown but fell four chalks short losing 155-159 (4-5).  Paula Garrett won 21-8 against Ceila Joughin backed up by Muriel Cain, Maureen Wilcox and Sue Caley.  Marown managed to get over the line 21-20 in two of their games with Rosie Winckle defeating Helen Murphy and Philippa Taylor beating Wendy Cowin.  Marown players Mary Alderson, Lil Smith and Margaret Scarffe were the other winners giving Marown the edge on the night.

Mooragh Park travelled to Onchan and returned North with a five chalk victory with the away side also winning five of the nine games.  Janet Monk, Vicky Lloyd-West, Julie Reilly, Madison McMullan and Helen Martin, who won 21-4, won for Mooragh Park.  Onchan players Dee Lewis, Libby Andrade, Marylin Ellison and Sue Gawne won but were unable to prevent the team from losing 152-157 (4-5).

Looking ahead to next week Port St Mary vs South Ramsey could be a pivotal point in the season for one of the sides.  South then sit out on Friday, their match against Douglas re-arranged to a later date due to players representing the island in a competition on the mainland.

Only two matches were able to take place on Wednesday 1^st August as heavy downpours waterlogged many of the bowling greens across the island.

Castletown who have been the form team over the last two months made it 14 wins on the bounce mastering the wet conditions to beat Mooragh Park 162-130 (5-4).  Amanda Lawler retained her position at the top of the individual merit with a 21-3 win with Heike Perry and Hannah Drewett winning 21-1 and 21-8 respectively.  Janet Monk top scored for the away team beating Kim Foy 21-9 and Shannon McMullan, Caroline Parker and Helen Martin also won to restrict the home side to under 170.

Onchan faced Marown but the conditions played their part as they lost 98-163 (3-6).  Shirley Whelan, Celia Joughin, Rosie Winckle, Philippa Taylor and Lil Smith won comfortably to single figures with Mary Alderson also winning 21-13.  Onchan picked up their three wins from Sue Gawne, Joanne Kelly and Libby Andrade.

The league returned on Friday with a full set of fixtures and two maximum scores.

The first maximum was at Marown who eased past Castletown B 189-87 (9-0).  Nobles also produced a full house winning away at Ballaugh 76-189 (0-9).

With Castletown A sitting out on Friday Port St Mary should have had their chance to catch up however, with their match postponed on Wednesday they remain a game behind.  Port St Mary did make some ground back with their away win against Mooragh Park.  Jayne Kneen, Val Macfarlane, Wendy Kennuagh and Ann Maddrell all won to single figures with Kellie Maddrell-Reeve and Chris Price both winning 21-13.  Katy Williams battled from being down to beat Island Champion Janet Monk 21-19 with Mooragh picking up their two wins from Helen Martin & Caroline Parker.  The match finished 114-169 (2-7).

South Ramsey defeated Onchan with wins for Lauren Groen 21-7, Elaine Moore 21-5, Jenny Moore 21-9, Sue Collier 21-15, Kim Hargraves 21-18 and Bethany Kennish who just got over the line 21-20 against Marilyn Ellison.  For Onchan Dee Lewis beat Fiona Kennish 21-15 and Caroline Corlett won 21-13 against Gill Morgan with the match score ending 175-124 (7-2).

Peel welcomed Douglas to Sunset City with the home side using their home advantage to win by a comfortable 35 chalks.  Peel had wins from Sue Jones 21-9, Joyce Kelly 21-5, Shirley Corrin 21-11, Heather Horsburgh 21-12, Pat Robertson 21-14 and Mary Moffatt who beat Paula Garrett 21-18.  Douglas picked up two wins from Brenda Williams, Wendy Cowin and Shantelle Thorpe.  Final score 167-132 (6-3).

In the final match on Friday Purt Le Moirrey suffered a home defeat to Port Erin despite winning five games.  The home side had wins from Roma Ware 21-20 against Phil Dobson, Pauline Worrall beat Steph Swift 21-18, Edwina Reid won 21-17 against Voirrey Curphey, Debra Cooper defeated Joyce Henry 21-18 and Mavis Franks won 21-18 against Jean Thackrah.  Port Erin had two big wins to setup their victory with Carol Kay beating Dot Mylchreest 21-5 and Lynda Cadamy winning 21-7 against Linda Dawson.  Jacqui Elliott won 21-15 against Chris Holland and Slyvia Shelbourne just held on to win 21-20 over Brenda Hawkard.  The match finished 152-175 (5-4).

Looking ahead to next week the tie which could define the season takes place as Champions Port St Mary face a home tie against current league leaders Castletown A.  Port St Mary trail by 115 points with a game in hand and will hope to close that gap as they look to wrestle control back at the top of the league.  Castletown will be confident that they could cause an upset given their current form and run of 14 wins on the trot.  Should the tie produce a low score South Ramsey, who only sit 30 points behind Castletown, will look to leap back into contention for the top spots.

Castletown A increased their lead at the top of the Ladies League notching up their 13^th win on the trot beating Port Erin 177-112 (8-1).  Kath Kinley, Heike Perry, Marie Ashurst and Tracy Moore all performed well winning to single figures.  Port Erin’s sole winner was Jean Thackrah who beat Hilary Kermode 21-9.

South Ramsey slipped 20 points back despite an away win to Mooragh Park with the match ending 136-157 (5-4).  Mooragh got the better of the games on the night but South Ramsey won three games to single figures, including Elaine Moore 21-1 and Jenny Moore 21-4, giving them the superior points difference on the night.  Shannon McMullan was top scorer for Mooragh winning 21-6 with wins also for Janet Monk, Vicky Lloyd-West, Victoria Johnson and Ellie Cowell.

Marown, who due to unforeseen circumstances on the night were a player short, hosted Champions Port St Mary.  Port St Mary put in a fine away performance to take the match 117-165 (2-7) with top scorers Jayne Kneen winning 21-8 and Kellie-Maddrell Reeve winning 21-7.  Marown’s Philippa Taylor performed brilliantly to defeat Margaret Tasker 21-5 whilst Elaine Dewhurst also won against Trish Bull 21-13.

Peel Sunset welcomed Onchan to Sunset City and whilst the games finished a close 5-4 the overall result saw Peel win by 51 chalks.  Strong home performances from Sue Jones, Joyce Kelly, Mary Moffatt and Pat Robertson who all won to single figures with Shirley Corrin also winning.  Onchan’s Wendy McDowell and Dee Lewis both hung on to win 21-20 with Jo Smith and Maureen Payne also winning.  The final score 169-118 (5-4)

Purt Le Moirrey defeated Douglas 155-128 (5-4) with the away team unfortunately having to concede a walkover.  Mavis Franks top scored for the home team winning 21-3 with wins also from Linda Dawson, Edwina Reid and Debra Cooper.  Douglas winners on the night were Paula Garrett who won 21-1, Brenda Williams, Jan Osborne and Muriel Cain.

Ballaugh defeated Castletown B 159-132 (6-3) despite having to concede a game with being a player short.  Pat Mason, Gill Dixon and Jayne Teare won their games to single figures with Shirley Watling, Voirrey Oates and Diane White also winning.  Barbara Young and Elaine McElroy won for the away team.

After round 18 Castletown lead the way on 2885 holding a 43 point lead over South Ramsey.  Port St Mary, who have a game in hand, sit 122 points behind Castletown but will look to close that gap further before their crucial catch up game.  Nobles drop to fourth following their sit out this week and remain on 2613.

Match of the week certainly didn’t disappoint in the Ladies Night League with South Ramsey facing Castletown in a clash of the teams occupying the top two spots.

South Ramsey defeated Castletown earlier in the season away to their rivals which sparked Castletown on their current run of 11 straight wins.  Castletown extended that run with a fine away performance beating South Ramsey 138-157 (3-6) – it was South Ramsey’s first defeat at home since June 2016 showing how much of a fortress it has been for them.  Elaine Moore and Jenny More won to single figures for the home side with Fiona Kennish also winning.  Castletown won six games with Hilary Kermode top scoring 21-3 with Heike Perry, Kim Foy, Hannah Drewitt, Amanda Lawler and Tracy Moore all winning.

Port St Mary are still a game behind but turned in their third full house of the season and clawed further chalks back with a 189-73 (9-0) win over Peel Sunset, who were a player short on the night.

Nobles also closed the gap on the top two beating Port Erin 177-81 (8-1).  Jayne Smith, Debbie Leece, Alison Keggen, Lin Ruscoe, Paula Firth and Clare Cooper all won to single figures with wins also for Sylvia Kennuagh and Rebecca Teare.  Port Erin did prevent a whitewash with Lynda Cadamy defeating Joyce Ogden 21-9.

In a result you don’t see very often a team lost 6-3 on games but managed to win on chalks.  In a very tight encounter Onchan pulled off a two point victory over Ballaugh 151-149 (3-6).  Despite Jayne Teare winning to single figures Onchan scored well in their other five losses and with Libby Andrade, Jo Smith and Dee Lewis all winning to single figures it gave Onchan the narrow advantage on the night.

Mooragh Park also managed a chalks victory despite losing 5-4 on games.  Helen Martin won 21-1 and Janet Monk 21-4 to give Mooragh a big enough cushion on the night to take the win.  Shannon McMullan and Vicky Lloyd-West were also winners for the home side.

In the final match on Friday Castletown B were beaten at home by Purt Le Moirrey 93-180 (1-8) with Rachel Palmer winning for the home side to prevent a full house.  Chris Holland, Brenda Hawkard, Mavis Franks, Roma Ware and Debrah Cooper all won to single figures for the away team.

After round 17 Champions Port St Mary, having played a game less, have closed the gap at the top to 110 points.  Castletown lead the way holding a 23 point advantage over South Ramsey and Nobles sit 72 points behind South Ramsey.