News: Reports
Castletown Hold On At Top Of Night League
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.
Peel Sunset Continue To Chase Leaders
Port St Mary continue to lead the way at the top of the Trend Sponsored Ladies Over 60s Bowling League following another two fine performances. On Tuesday they defeated Onchan at home with a full house 126-55 (6-0). On Thursday Port St Mary won away to Nobles 71-117 (1-5). In a repeat of the Jean Kelly Final, Sylvia Kennuagh played Trish Bull with Sylvia winning this time on home turf to prevent a whitewash. Nobles nearly picked up another win however Rita Callister held on to beat Paula Firth 21-20.
Peel Sunset also picked up two victories beating Mooragh Park at home 115-66 (4-2). Mary Moffatt, Lynda Wilson and Pat Robertson all won for Peel. Janet Monk defeated Joyce Kelly 21-18 with Vicky Lloyd-West also winning for the away team. On Thursday Peel travelled to Ballaugh and returned with a fine 69-118 (1-5) victory. Mary Moffatt and Joyce Kelly top scored for Peel with Maureen Trustham winning for Ballaugh to secure them game on the day. Peel now trail Port St Mary by 133 chalks and with Port St Mary sitting out next Tuesday will look to close the gap as much as possible.
Marown stay third picking up two wins this week. Tuesday away to South Ramsey they collected a 10 point victory 88-98 (2-4). Both teams picked up big victories keeping the overall match score down with Elaine Moore top scoring for the home side 21-6. Thursday saw Marown take on Douglas at Crosby. The home team managed a 115-85 (4-2) victory with Mary Alderson and Philippa Taylor winning to single figures.
In a local derby on Tuesday Douglas took on Villa. Earlier in the season Villa managed to beat their fellow home-greeners but on this occasion they proved too strong. Douglas won five games taking an overall 118-75 (5-1) victory. Patsy Rush and Brenda Williams top scored for Douglas whilst Muriel Cain prevent a whitewash winning 21-13 in her game.
Port Erin were another team that collected two wins this week. Tuesday saw them beat Ballaugh at home 105-82 (3-3), with Ballaugh only able to field five players. Sylvia Shelbourne won 21-8 against Maureen Trustham to top score for the home team. Port Erin then travelled to Villa on Thursday and recorded their fourth win on the bounce with the final score 100-112 (2-4). Home player Muriel Cain top scored in the match winning 21-9 against Jean Thackrah. Voirrey Curphey, Jacqui Elliott, Carole Kaye and Sylvia Shelbourne all won for the away side.
Castletown have finished in the top three for the last two seasons but are struggling down in seventh this year. Tuesday saw them have a tight game with Port St Mary B in which they edged the game by six chalks winning 116-110 (4-2). On Thursday they had an even tighter match away to Mooragh Park A winning by three chalks with both teams winning three games on the day. Mooragh had to concede a game and despite this pushed Castletown all the way with Janet Monk top scoring to win 21-6. The match finished 93-96 (3-3)
Breagle travelled north to face Mooragh Park B and both teams played short resulting in only five games on the day. Breagle won 49-87 (1-4). Steph Swift, Kay Primrose-Smith, Susan Inch and Joyce Henry won for Breagle with Maureen Hamilton the sole winner for the home team. Breagle suffered defeat on Thursday at home to South Ramsey 70-106 (2-4). Finally Mooragh Park B also lost their Thursday match away to Onchan 126-28 (6-0).
All eyes will be on Peel Sunset next week to see how much they can close the gap on Tuesday when Port St Mary sit out before their tricky away game at Marown. Following their sit out Port St Mary A will face Mooragh Park B.
Marown B Edge Closer to Safety
Marown B travelled south to take on Port St Mary A and came away with a draw that will help their fight to remain in the top flight. Marown took five games off the home team with Brian Kelly, Juan Killip, Arnie Withers and Peter Kelly all taking good wins against Robbie Cooil, Steve Franks and Wayne Roberts and Steve Hall respectively. John Kelly just managed to get over the line 21-20 against Dan McCabe. All the home team wins were to single figures which helped secure the two points for the aggregate with Thomas Keggen, Paul Skelly and Trevor Quayle doing the business for Port St Mary. Quayle is now the outright leader in the division one merit with 15 wins from 15 games.
North Ramsey A continue their run of home games recording a 6-4 win over Castletown A. Winning for the home team were Steve Parker who was pushed hard by Dean Kinley before winning 21-18, Gary Merrill who beat Mike Hargraves 21-11, with Allan Callow and Tony Smart both winning to single figures. Responding for the visitors were Peter Oates, Ian Watson, George Peach and David Quayle.
Douglas B are running out of games to catch the teams above them, losing 1-9 at home to Marown A on a heavy Villa green following the recent rainfall. Douglas captain Andy Cannell had a good 21-12 win over Dean Kipling. Geoff Mayles performed well against Paul Dunn after trailing 1-13, he went on to lead 15-13, before Dunn got back in and managed to see the game out winning 21-19. In another close game Grahem Moore led 20-17 against Paul Kelly, with Kelly just managing to stumble over the line to win 21-20. Winning to single figures for Marown were Neil Withers and Colin Kelly.
Second from bottom Port Erin A were beaten 10-0 away from home against Onchan A with the score not reflecting the games. Peter Slinger beat Bernie Durcan 21-20, Kevin Quirk and Mark Kelly both won 21-19 against Steve Durcan and Peter Addison respectively, whilst Jordan Cain was pushed hard by Dave McCabe with Cain 20-18 up, McCabe had two six inch bowls with Cain bowling in to get over the line 21-18.
South Ramsey B faced their A Team on a blustery night in the north of the Island with the A Team recording a strong 9-1 win on a tricky green. Sparing the blushes for the B Team James Teare performed well to beat Tony Dugdale 21-6. The A Team recorded four big wins from Glynn Hargraves, Dido Kelly, David Bradford and Peter Collister.
Peel A had a tough looking home fixture against Douglas A, however they brushed the visiting team aside with relative ease winning 9-1 with three single figures from Gary Smith, Dave Kelly and Frank Watson. Jerome Surridge was pushed hard by Mervin Sayle before winning 21-19. The lone winner for Douglas was Ian Moore who beat David Proctor 21-13.
In division two Ballaugh A damaged Castletown B in their chase to close the gap on Noble’s with a 5-5 home draw. Despite winning just three games Castletown picked up the aggregate two points by just four chalks to secure the draw with Ron Williams winning 21-4, Dave Faragher recording a strong 21-11 win against John Keenan and Derek Lewney also doing well to beat Peter Graham 21-12. Just losing out were Ross Moore 19-21 to Richard Fisher and Peter Curtis 20-21 to Bob Unsworth. Winners for the home team were Barry McDonald, Edgar Cowin and John Maddrell.
Noble’s A kept up their pursuit of top flight bowls next season with a 9-1 home win over strugglers Port Erin B with Harry Minor winning 21-20 for the visitors. Captain Kevin Firth and David Pease both showed no mercy recording 21-3 wins. Paul Leece was tested by Ken Horsley with Leece winning 21-18.
Finch Hill A hosted Noble’s B with the home team running out 8-2 winners. For the visitors Terry Bates beat Arthur Halsall 21-10 with Juan Qualtrough beating Gerald Woodsworth to the same score, whilst Les Brookes lost out 19-21 to Paul Dougherty. For Finch Hill Billy Long and Tony Epifani both won to single figures.
Port St Mary C travelled to Peel on Tuesday evening coming away with a hard fought 8-2 win. Newcomer Derek Cain won his second league game since taking the game up, beating Ian Pendlebury 21-17, whilst Tom Wilson just got over the line 21-20 against Jimmy Corlett. The other four wins for Port St Mary were fairly comfortable. For Peel Ray Shooter playing against his former club beat Ashley Qualtrough 21-15, with Philip Clarke beating Louis Callister 21-6.
Peel B travelled north to take on North Ramsey B at Mooragh Park, whilst they lost 6-2 Dougie Allan won 21-2 against Paul Cannon and Mike Ashmole beat Rheuben Thomas 21-12. For the home team Bryan Corner recorded the biggest win beating Paul Quirk 21-8, with Barry Teare doing well to hold off Harry Kelly to win 21-19.
Onchan B hosted Port St Mary B at Onchan Park with the home team taking the spoils with an 8-2 win. For Onchan Colin Spence won 21-8 against Dave Saxon, with Bernie McPhee not far behind winning 21-10 against Tom Collins with Neil Dunwell beating Peter Collins 21-17. The winners for Port St Mary were Ray Watterson who beat Roger Payne 21-8 and Mike Ware who beat Mike Alexander 21-12.
In division three Douglas D halted high flying Ballaugh B in their chase for promotion with their best result of the season taking four games off the visitors to record a 4-6 loss. For the Villa men Michael Knowles had a fantastic 21-6 win over David Hewitt, Greg Brew and Peter Wilcox both recorded their second win of the season, with Gavin Brew winning his first league game of the season. For Ballaugh three of their wins were to single figures with John Looney, John Bolton and Mike Buckeridge. John Kneen was their other winner beating Brenton Hanson 21-13.
Castletown C recorded a 6-4 home win over South Ramsey D despite giving another game away due to being a player short. For the visitors merit leader Ian Moore was the lucky man to benefit from the walkover, which was just as well as he had forgotten to bring his bowls! Matthew Corkill recorded the result of the week beating James Drinkwater 21-19 who was himself up at the top of the merit table prior to this fixture. Also winning for South Ramsey were Richard Davies who beat John Matheson 21-17 and Jay Moore winning 21-16 against Clifford Clague. For Castletown Juan Drinkwater won 21-13, Philip Smith beat Ryan Surridge, whilst John Kinley and Sam Clague both won to single figures.
Marown C now sit just one point behind Castletown C thanks to an 8-2 home win over Ballaugh C, helped by Walter McCarthy and Kevin Kelly both winning 21-20. Jamie Joughin made light work of his game winning 21-8 against Bert Quayle. For the visitors Brian Lace held on to beat Darren Kerruish 21-18, whilst Paul Bradford beat Carey Dewhirst 21-15.
South Ramsey C aren’t out of the chase for promotion just yet sitting just six points behind second placed Castletown. They recorded a 7-3 home win over Douglas C with no close games for either team. Paul Routledge beat Davey Stewart 21-8, whilst Tony Hart beat Keith Fearnley 21-6. For Douglas Mike Cain inflicted just a third league defeat of the season on Toby Hart with Cain winning 21-6.
Finch Hill B made the most of home advantage winning 8-2 at home to Peel D with three single figures wins from captain Pat Maher, Kevin Anderson and Kevin Stannard. For Peel John Lightfoot beat Brian Murphy 21-18, with Brian Lindsey winning 21-15 against Frank Christian.
Stuart Garrett wins 2018 Over 60’s Championship.
The Men’s 2018 Over 60’s Championships Finals Day took place on Wednesday 18th July on North Ramsey Green at the Mooragh Park with six of the sixteen competitors taking part belonging to the North Ramsey Club.
At the Quarter Final stage we saw some close games with Geoff Porter beating Norman Racliffe 21-19 and Stuart Garrett taking a 21-16 win from Bernie Mc Phee. Ray Skelly pipped Roger Thomas 21-19 in another close match and Steve Parker had a 21-17 win against the consistent Peter Oates.
So as we came to the Semi Finals we still had three North Ramsey Players looking for a chance to play in the Final but Stuey Garrett returning to the Town of his childhood had other ideas as he edged past Geoff Porter to take a 21-19 win.
In the second Semi-Final Ray Skelly took on Clubmate Steve Parker and it was Steve who eventually ran out the 21-18 winner.
The Final then saw the home Green knowledge of Steve Parker matched against the experience and big game temperament of Stuart Garrett and it was the latter man who took the win 21-10.
So after a good afternoons bowling the 2018 Men’s Over 60’s Champion is Stuart Garrett with Steve Parker the Runner up.
Marown Keep Up The Chase
In division one second placed Marown A kept the pressure on the league leaders with an 8-2 home win over Port St Mary A, who just missed out on snatching an extra point with Paul Skelly losing out 20-21 to Paul Kelly. The winners for the visitors were Rob Cooil who beat John Gelling 21-18 and Trevor Quayle maintaining his 100% record beating Matthew Keggen 21-14. Winning to single figures for Marown were Paul Dunn and Neil Withers, also winning comfortably were Dean Kipling, Phil Kelly and Colin Kelly.
Peel A recorded a maximum at home against Marown B, with a 10-0 victory, although it could just as easily have been 8-2 with Tom Kelly beating Brian Kelly 21-20, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly also winning to the same score against Peter Kelly. Winning to single figures for Peel were captain Stevie Kelly and Tommy McMeiken.
North Ramsey A hosted near neighbours South Ramsey A and will have been pleased to take three games off the champions with the 7-3 win for the visitors being a fair reflection of the games. Winning to single figures for the home team were John Cannan who beat Chas Grills and Tony Smart who beat Alan Moore. Ray Skelly performed well to beat Stefan Kelly 21-17 to pick up his third win of the season. Hitting back for South Ramsey Dido Kelly beat Geoff Porter 21-3, David Bradford beat Gary Merrill 21-7, with Peter Collister winning 21-8 against Steve Walmsley, with John Kennish beating Steve Parker 21-11 and Glynn Hargraves beating Allan Callow 21-14.
Douglas A travelled south to take on Castletown and whilst being pleased to win five games away from home after their recent struggles of three successive defeats, they will have been disappointed to lose the aggregate with the match ending a draw 5-5. Winning for the home team were Ian Watson, Mike Hargraves and Peter Oates. The visitors had one comfortable winner, with Stuart Garrett winning 21-11, whilst the other four winners were close with Andy Kennish and Jimmy Sansom beating Juan Kermode & Dean Kinley 21-17, Ian Moore beat George Peach 21-19 and Shaun Seal edged his game 21-20 against Jordan Drewett.
Douglas B look certain to go down following a 4-6 home loss against their nearest rivals. Whilst the home team drew 4-4 on games, they suffered a 0-21 loss, along with two more heavy defeats 4-21 and 9-21. Winning for the home team were Pat O’ Donohue who beat Derek Allen 21-20, Andy Cannell who beat Bernie Durcan 21-18, Gordon Wynne-Smythe who won another close game 21-17 against Dave McCabe and Mark Corrin who won comfortably 21-11 against Mark Corrin. Winners for Port Erin were Stuart Gale, Steve Durcan, Derek Cadamy and David Cain.
South Ramsey B did well at home against Onchan A taking three games off the visitors with a 3-7 home defeat. Winners for South Ramsey were the trio of Tony Dugdale, Steven Waters and Christian Kelly beating Steve Crampton, Kevin Quirk and Mark Kelly respectively. Winning for Onchan were Jordan Cain, Robert Monk and Phil Kerruish who all won to single figures, along with Matthew Quirk and Peter Slinger with Slinger pushed hard by Martin Caley before winning 21-17.
Looking at the relegation battle Douglas B are a long way off safety on 12 points away from Port Erin A, whilst South Ramsey B sit one point ahead of Port Erin A the fixtures would appear to favour the northern team. Marown B have a bit of breathing space however they will need to continue to pick up points to ensure their place in the top flight next year.
In division two Noble’s A had a tough trip south to take on Port St Mary B and came away with a hard earned 6-4 win. Recording big wins to help secure the aggregate were David Pease and Reginald Temporaza, whilst Tommy Collister beat Brian Corrin 21-12. Mark Quinn had to battle hard to beat Paul Russell 21-18. For the home team Ray Watterson, Brian Lowe, Derek Kneen and Dave Saxon were the winners.
Castletown B also had a tough away fixture against Castletown B, still managed to record a 7-3 away win. Winners for Castletown were Derek Lewney, Aaron Richardson, Peter Curtis, Dave Faragher and Ron Williams. Picking up three points for the home team were Arthur Halsall, John Harris and Peter Hughes.
Peel B enjoyed their visit to Douglas to take on Noble’s B coming away with a 10-0 away win. Paul Quirk and Michael Kavanagh both won to single figures, with Harry Kelly winning 21-18 against Stewart Cubbon and Mike Ashmole winning his game 21-19 against Les Brookes.
Port St Mary C hosted Onchan B with Louis Callister showing he has still got it, with a fine 21-5 win over Bernie McPhee. Rob Cowley stepped in to win 21-5 against Andy Sykes, whilst Mike Thomas beat Ashley Qualtrough 21-7. For Port St Mary Colin Leece and Ken Karran came closest to picking up extra points before losing out 18-21 and 17-21 to Roger Payne and Edward Carlyle respectively.
Peel C topped off a good week for the Peel A, B and C Teams with an 8-2 away win against North Ramsey B. Jimmy Corlett and Robert Middleton won to single figures, whilst Peter Kelly beat Lee Christian 21-19. Winning for the home team were Stephen Gill who beat Bob Berry 21-6 and Barry Teare won 21-14 against Ian Pendlebury.
Port Erin B are ten points from safety at the bottom of division two following a 4-6 home loss. Winning for the home team were Christopher Dent, Ed Benson, Harry Minor and Ken Horsley. For Ballaugh John Keenan, Peter Graham, Edgar Cowin and Barry McDonald were the winners.
Ballaugh B continue to set the pace at the top of division three with a 7-3 away win against Onchan C, whilst Castletown B slipped nine points behind the league leaders following a 7-3 away loss to Marown C who now sit just three points behind Castletown in third. Sitting in fourth place are South Ramsey C who won 7-3 away to Peel D, whilst Ballaugh C sit in fifth place won 9-1 at home to strugglers Douglas D. With only eight points between second place and fifth place there is plenty to fight for in the seven games remaining of the season. South Ramsey D hosted Finch Hill B in the closest match of the night with the home team winning 6-4 taking the aggregate by just two chalks (136-134).
Marown Dent South Ramsey Title Chase
South Ramsey suffered their first defeat of the season away at Marown in last weeks matches. Marown picked up five wins in the match including Celia Joughin 21-7 over Gil Morgan and Lil Smith winning 21-8 against Elaine Moore who was herself undefeated going into the match. The final score was a 25 point victory 169-144 (5-4).
Castletown A put in another strong home performance beating rivals Nobles 182-120 (8-1). Amanda Lawler was the top scorer for the home side winning 21-7 with Clare Cooper saving Nobles blushes with a 21-14 win over Hilary Kermode. With South Ramsey dropping points Castletown now sit top of the league.
Port St Mary following their sit out last week had an excellent away performance at Ballaugh keeping the pressure on at the top. Port St Mary won 88-185 (1-8) with Jayne Kneen, Ann Maddrell, Wendy Kennuagh, Chris Price and Margaret Tasker winning to single figures. Ballaugh avoided a whitewash with Diane White beating Elaine Hawkings 21-17.
Purt Le Morriey produced a brilliant home performance against Onchan to win 185-123 (8-1). Chris Holland, Edwina Reid and Pauline Worrall all won to single figures. Dee Lewis was Onchan’s sole winner 21-17 against Mavis Franks.
Port Erin and Douglas finished 5-4 on games but the home side managed to win two matches to single figures thanks to Jean Thackrah and Phil Dobson allowing them to win the match by 21 chalks 159-138 (5-4)
Mooragh Park slipped to a 20 point defeat at home to Peel Sunset. Mary Moffatt, Shirley Corrin, Heather Horsburgh, Cath Parker and Val Alwood were all on target for Peel with Janet Monk, Caroline Parker, Ellie Cowell and Anne Kean winning for Mooragh. The final score 134-154 (4-5)
After game round 16 Castletown sit top of the pile holding a slender four chalk lead over South Ramsey. Nobles lie in third 115 chalks from the top. Port St Mary have played a game less than the three ahead of them and as a result sit fourth. With a deficit of only 142 chalks they will look to chip into that lead and leapfrog when they catch up on games.
There is a new leader at the top of the individual merit with Castletown’s Amanda Lawler leading the way ahead of Jenny Moore and Elaine Moore (both South Ramsey).
Port St Mary A Extend Lead
Port St Mary A hold their advantage at the top of the Trend Over 60s Ladies League after another double week of games.
On Tuesday Port St Mary A defeated rival and third placed Marown 108-97 (4-2). Extending their already incredible run of having not lost at home in the league since July 2013.
Peel Sunset defeated Castletown 113-72 (4-2) with Mary Moffatt, Heather Horsburgh and Joyce Kelly all winning to single figures.
Port Erin humbled local rivals Port St Mary B 117-99 (5-1) with Mavis Franks winning for the away team to prevent a whitewash.
Douglas and Mooragh Park produced a low scoring game with the away side winning 86-93 (3-3) despite giving a game away.
South Ramsey defeated Ballaugh by 10 chalks winning 111-101 (4-2) with Elaine Moore top scoring to win 21-7.
Mooragh Park B lost by only five chalks in their home tie against Villa with the scores finishing 89-94 (3-3).
In the final match from Tuesday Nobles picked up a full house victory 126-23 (6-0) with Breagle only able to field three players.
Onto Thursday and Marown whitewashed Mooragh Park B 126-48 (6-0) with Philippa Taylor and Shirley Whelan both winning 21-4. The result keeps Marown second but Peel hold a game in hand.
Port St Mary B faced Peel Sunset with the home side slipping to a nine point defeat 100-109 (2-4). Peel remain third chasing the leaders whilst Port St Mary B hang onto fourth position.
Onchan made it five wins on the bounce with a 111-93 (4-2) win over Nobles. Lin Ruscoe (Nobles) 21-8 and Marilyn Ellison (Onchan) 21-5 top scored in the match.
Villa welcomed South Ramsey with the away side winning 72-104 (2-4) thanks to three big single figure wins.
Ballaugh claimed a narrow eight point victory over Douglas 104-96 (4-2). Brenda Bowyer (Ballaugh) and Brenda Williams (Douglas) both won 21-4 in the match.
Mooragh Park A drew on games with Port Erin but with having to concede a game to a walkover lost the match on chalks 77-90.
Breagle for the second time in the week were only able to field three players but avoided a whitewash defeat against Port St Mary A. Kay Primrose-Smith beat Win Collister 21-8 with the away side winning 30-113 (1-5).
After another hectic week of bowls Port St Mary A remain the team to beat opening up a 123 point lead over rivals Peel Sunset who are a game behind.
Can anyone catch Castletown A.
As we came to Tueday 3rd July the long term League Leaders Castletown A continued to shine as brightly as the sun as they defeated Port Erin 7-1 with Derek Allen being Port Erin’s only winner defeating Ron Williams to 12.
Second placed Peel Sunset A travelled to Crosby to play Marown who are proving difficult to beat on their home Green and this was again the story as Marown took a 5-3 home win denting the League Championship hopes of the Westerners.
Douglas A travelled to play Ballaugh B on a quick and tricky Green and after the first four games the Ballaugh men led 3-1 but the men from the Villa fought back to take the last four games and a 5-3 victory despite a very creditable performance from the Ballaugh Team.
Douglas B hosted Castletown B and this ended 7-1 to Castletown B with the only winner for Douglas B being Les Quayle who beat Kevan Osborne 21-8.
At Nobles Park the Nobles B side were beaten 6-2 by South Ramsey with Brian Cain and Terry Bates picking up the wins for the Nobles men.
In a sunny Mooragh Park and on a Green improving rapidly in condition every day the North Ramsey B side beat Finch Hill A 5-3 and back in the East at Onchan Park Onchan A had a great 6-2 win over Ballaugh A with only Barry McDonald and Peter Graham managing wins for the Ballaugh A Team.
Port St Mary A hosted Onchan B 7-1 with Moore Kelly taking the Onchan sides only win and finally Port St Mary B lost 5-3 to Peel Sunset B.
With Thursday being Tynwald Day the matches were carried forward to Friday and Castletown A hosted Nobles Park A who on their day are capable of beating anyone. It proved to be a close match but in the end Castletown A ran out 5-3 winners to maintain their lead over the chasing teams.
Castletown B travelled to play an ever improving Ballaugh B in a match that had some very close games before ending 4-4.
At the ‘Villa’ Douglas B proved themselves to be Team of the Day as despite being two players short they beat Port Erin 5-3 to lift themselves off the bottom of the League.
Port St Mary had a home game to Ballaugh A and in a match that saw three games end 21-20 it was the Southerners who eventually ran out 5-3 winners.
Port St Mary B travelled to Marown where they found the home team too strong on a tricky Green and it was the Marown men who took a 7-1 win.
At Onchan Park Onchan A were on good form as they beat Douglas A 6-2 while the Onchan B side were not so lucky in the Sunset City as they went down 5-3 to Peel Sunset B.
And finally Nobles B were unable to get enough players to field a team against North Ramsey A at the Mooragh Park and therefore this is awarded as an 8-0 win for North Ramsey who were willing to rearrange the fixture.
So after another week of the Tower Insurance Over 60’s League we have Castletown A still leading with 43 points from 23 games followed by Peel Sunset A with 38 points from 22 games and in third spot are Marown with 37 points from 23 games.
Kennish and Bradford Retain Title
Lancaster Cup Winners 2018
The Lancaster Cup was held at Peel on Saturday, with 22 pairs entered, this competition replacing the Kermeen Quayle Fours.
It was the South Ramsey duo of John Kennish and David Bradford who mastered the green, seeing off the Port Erin pair of Dave McCabe and Derek Cadamy with a convincing 21-7 win in the final to win the Peel men’s pairs two years running.
Losing out 9-21 in the semi-finals to the winners were the Douglas combination of Stuart Garrett and Ian Moore, whilst another South Ramsey pair Dido Kelly and Steven Waters never had sight of the jack losing 6-21.
Falling at the quarter final stage were Karl Parker (Marown) and Paul Quirk (Peel), Marown pair Walter McCarthy, along with South Ramsey men Glynn Hargraves and Stefan Kelly and father and son combination of Peter and Tom Collins (Port St Mary).
The presentation was made by Peel President Dougie Allan, who thanked the sponsor, Phil Parker for running the competition, all the club members who had helped throughout the day. Dougie then introduced the sponsor David Lancaster to present the prizes.
Marown Retain Rayner Shield
Rayner Shield Winners 2018
Marown A retained the Rayner Shield on Friday evening at Noble’s Park, winning it for the 16th time and in doing so sit one win ahead of their opponents on the night Onchan A.
News had filtered through during the week that as well as Marown missing their captain Paul Dunn due to pre-booked holidays that Onchan were in a similar predicament with Peter Slinger also away.
It was always my opinion (and many others) that if Onchan were to win they would need to win on games, with the win on chalks possibly being beyond Onchan and so it proved with the games ending 4-4 and Marown easing to the win courtesy of winning by 30 chalks (150-120).
First off for Marown was Paul Kelly with a win over Rob Monk, with Monk leading 8-6 Kelly then scored six two’s and three singles to see the game out 21-11. Next off was the ever reliable Colin Kelly, who played the long lengths well against Kevin Quirk, going 20-5 up with Quirk picking up a further five points before Kelly managed to finish the game off to take a 21-10 win. Hitting back for Onchan Matthew Quirk just got over the line 21-20 against Neil Withers, with Quirk going 11-5 then 13-7 up before Withers fought back to take the lead 19-16, with Quirk getting back in at a vital time with Withers lying two for game. From there Withers scored one more to Quirk’s five. Phil Kerruish took on Bob Clark who had stepped in for their captain, which is a luxury for Marown to be able to bring in a player of Clark’s quality any time throughout the season. There were no signs of rustiness from Clark who performed well and despite being 11-16 down Clark dug in to get back to 19-20, before Kerruish got the one point he needed to take Onchan’s second win of the night 21-19. At the halfway stage it was 2-2 with Marown leading by 18 chalks (81-63).
In the second half Phil Kelly started well first end lying two good bowls either side of the jack with his opponent Jordan Cain trailing the jack to make two. From there Cain performed brilliantly scoring nine two’s and three singles to put Onchan right back in it winning 21-7 to lead 3-2 on games and reduce the deficit on chalks to just four. Dean Kipling squandered the chance to win to single figures over Mark Kelly with his second bowl, only needing to stay on the green within 6 yards for game. Kipling sent his second bowl off, which gave Kelly the chance to take two more points before losing out 10-21. Stepping in for the Onchan captain was Phil Watterson who performed well despite losing 5-21, keeping John Gelling down to scoring singles with his first ten points and having several good bowls that didn’t count. This sealed the win for Marown as they were now 4-3 ahead on games and 31 chalks ahead with only one game left on the green. The final game on the green was between Onchan’s Mike Thomas and Matthew Keggen with the game being close throughout. In the latter stages of the game Keggen took a 20-18 lead and was lying one for game with Thomas responding by playing out the counting bowl. Thomas then played into the heavy corner playing two bowls just over two foot away which caught Keggen out as he played two short bowls, which sealed a second 21-20 win of the night for Onchan and salvaged some pride.
The presentation was made by Steve Moore, who thanked everyone who helped, John Ruscoe for refereeing, Noble’s for the use of the green, also for providing the measurers and refreshments to the players and spectators. The Rayner Shield was then presented to Marown captain for the night Neil Withers.
1. Matthew Quirk 21-20 Neil Withers
2. Phil Kerruish 21-19 Bob Clark
3. Kevin Quirk 10-21 Colin Kelly
4. Rob Monk 11-21 Paul Kelly
5. Mark Kelly 10-21 Dean Kipling
6. Jordan Cain 21-7 Phil Kelly
7. Mike Thomas 21-20 Matthew Keggen
8. Phil Watterson 5-21 John Gelling