League Week 4 Report by Mark Kneen

As I reviewed the results from last week’s double set of fixtures in Isle of Man Bank Men’s Division One, I sat perplexed, scratching my head to try and find what I should focus on for my report as nothing significant had really happened, but when I looked harder something had happened, normality had returned.

After a yoyo start to their season Champions Onchan finally managed to get some momentum going stringing together back to back 9-1 wins over Port St Mary A & Nobles Mixed to move them within striking difference of leaders Marown, only 3 points adrift.

Marown in turn also managed two much needed wins as they turned up the heat on the chasing pack. They started their week with a 9-1 win over Nobles Mixed before going to Castletown and slugging their way to a hard fought 6-4 win. Marown have what looks like a formality tonight as they entertain North Ramsey A at the memorial playing fields and they will look to give themselves more breathing space at the top of the tree with another strong home win.

Town had begun the week well with an impressive 8-2 win away at Ballaugh A and this is the form they will hope to take with them tonight to Onchan Park to face the champions. Despite their midweek defeat they find themselves in a lofty third place four points ahead of Douglas A and will want to pick up some good away points to keep them there.

Douglas had only one game last week and they picked up an impressive 8-2 win away at Castletown B. They face this seasons surprise package Peel A at the Villa Marina tonight and will hope they can amass enough points to leapfrog Town A back into the top 3. South Ramsey A also kicked into top gear with two wins in a week to find themselves on equal points with Douglas. South still have a most of the main contenders to square off again but even so they have to be happy with their start to the season.

If any of the chasing pack want to seriously challenge for top spot this year they need to do two things they need to either beat or match the top two in head to head matches but more importantly they need to match or better their results against the other teams. This second point will be the key that could unlock the door to success it is not simply enough to win, they have to win big.

If normality has returned to division one then insanity reigns in the second tier as Casteltown D find themselves in pole position after five games. They picked up a great 9-1 win on Tuesday against Port St Mary C before suffering their first defeat of the campaign at the Villa the following evening going down 7-3 to Douglas B. Surely this is the first time a D team has ever topped the second division?

Port St Mary B & Port Erin A both picked up two wins each to close in on Town D and bring some sanity back to proceedings. Port St Mary B are the only undefeated team in the division and draw level with the leaders whilst Port Erin are only one point behind in a title race that could end in a photo finish come September.

Onchan C top division 3 and even this early in the season they are the only team in any division who can boast a 100% record. A brilliant 8-2 win away at South Ramsey B is enough to see them two points clear at the summit ahead of Port Erin B who picked up a good 7-3 win away at Douglas C.

Report by Mark Kneen

Castletown played home to the Cain Cup on Saturday and most of the games major players were out in force. Kevin Quirk was in imperious form all day and whilst others struggled to get to grips with the green he mastered it with ease to pick up his first singles win of the season, beating current Island champion Glynn Hargraves 21-8 in the final. Castletown is the venue for the Manx Championship in 2 weeks’ time and if Quirk picks up from where he left off you wouldn’t bet against him winning his third title.

The eventual winner was in control of the final from the off and never looked like falling at the final hurdle despite Hargraves’ best efforts to change things around. Quirk made it to the final thanks to a 21-14 win over home greener Andy Clark in the semi-finals. Hargraves played his best game in the semis just doing enough after surrendering a big lead to beat Colin Kelly 21-18.

Fallers at the quarter final stage were Ken WIllams, John Kennish, David Bradford & Stuart Garrett.

League Week 3 Report by Mark Kneen

I have been trying to write a fitting headline to sum up the breath taking performance put in by Peel A  last Monday as they defeated champions Onchan A in Isle of Man Bank league division one, and to me the score is the headline. It is remarkable in every way. On paper Peel were outclassed, outmatched and after losing 10-0 away at Marown last week looked set to face another mauling, but bowls isn’t played on paper and every member of the Govags first string ripped up the form book and stunned the champions.

I am struggling to quantify just how impressive this score line is. In sport sometimes the opposition can play the game of their lives, their cup final and cause a massive upset but in bowls it isn’t like that. It is a team sport, but a match is made up of eight individual games so in essence to take four games off the champions and win on aggregate took eight cup finals. Captain Frank Watson led the way for his men with, quite frankly, a superb 21-13 win over two times Island Champion Kevin Quirk.

I could try and run down the performance of Onchan and say they were under par or complacent after last week’s big victory over Douglas but this wouldn’t be fair on the boys from the Sunset City. On Monday night champions Onchan A were weighed, they were measured and they were found wanting. This and other recent results are building towards the most exciting season for over a decade and I am literally salivating to see how things unfold. All that is left to say to Peel is well done lads brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

Marown A capitalised with another ruthless 10-0 win, this time away at Port St Mary A. The boys from the port are not as strong this term but even still for a team to leave there with maximum points is amazing. Whilst other teams are making all the headlines the men from the memorial playing fields are mercilessly going about the business of racking up points, and if the other title challengers are not careful they could find themselves with too big a bridge to build.

Douglas A bounced back from last week’s defeat as they picked up and impressive 8-2 home victory over the much fancied South Ramsey. South are a much tougher proposition than last season, but so are the mercenaries from the Villa who were more than a match for the opposition on this occasion. This is the first time I have seen the new look South outfit and once they get their players firing on all cylinders though I am sure they are more than capable of causing a few upsets, and whilst I feel they are a little short of challenging for top honours this time around it may only be a matter of time.

Castletown A kept momentum going, and the pressure on Marown, with a solid 9-1 home victory over North Ramsey A at the crofts. If I am honest I would expect a score line like this in favour of Town at home, but like all teams wanting to challenge Onchan & Marown it will be how they travel that makes all the difference. In the divisions final fixture Nobles Mixed picked up a much needed 6-4 home win over Ballaugh A. Both these teams could find themselves down the bottom of the table and who knows how vital these points will be at the end of the season?

Both Castletown teams kept the pressure on at the top of division 2. This week the D performed better with a really good 6-4 victory away at Finch Hill B who are always tricky to beat on their own patch. The C had a battle on their hand at home to Port St Mary B and whilst they won 5-3 on games they lost on aggregate sharing the spoils 5-5.

I fancy Port Erin to be near the top of the tree at the end of the season and a 7-3 win away at Ballaugh B will do their chances no harm at all. They are a quality outfit and if they continue to pick up points away and win their matches at home we be real contenders for silverware.

Onchan B bounced back from last week’s defeat with 6-4 home victory over Peel B whilst Peel C won by the same score line as they entertained Douglas B. Port St Mary C produced some goo home form against Finch Hill to win 7-3 on the night.

Report By Mark Kneen

John Kennish made it two men’s singles open wins in as many weeks and he picked up the Henry Kissack trophy at Marown on Saturday beating Jordan Cain 21-15 in the final. The green was a joy to behold, although it was still tricky to find your length consistently, Arnie Withers and his helpers have done a fine job over the winter.

If I am totally honest Kennish was not at his fine best but had just enough to grind out the victory on the day, and that is the sign of a great champion when they win despite struggling to find their form. Respective hard fought 21-17 victories over Gary Conwell & Michael Collister in the semi & quarter finals were enough to see him progress to the final and keep his 100% record in singles competitions this season alive.

Cain was slightly below par in the final and fell at the last hurdle after some breathtaking performances in the previous rounds. In the semi finals he put out Onchan team mate David Bradford 21-15 after an exceptional start whilst in the quarters he kept his nerve after surrendering a 20-9 lead against home greener Phil Kelly to see the game out 21-20. If Cain keeps knocking on the door it will not be long before it opens.

The other quarter finalists were Derek Clarke who put up a fine showing just losing out 21-20 to Bradford and Neil Withers who fell at the hands of Conwell. At the conclusion of the competition Phil Kelly from Marown presented the prizes.