Peel A Hit Top Spot Again – Mixed Week for Marown A

All three divisions held the first ‘double’ week of the season with a couple of shock results in division one, with a shock result going against Marown A on Monday night and the other that went in favour of the Crosby men on Wednesday evening. 

On Monday evening Marown A made the short trip West to take on Peel A, with the home team making the most of home green advantage to win 8-2 taking out Marown’s ‘big three’ in the process, with Tommy McMeiken beating fellow left hander Colin Kelly 21-20, Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly beating Paul Dunn 21-19 and George Gadsby defeating Neil Withers 21-17. Winning for the visitors were Juan Killip who performed well to beat Andy Kennish 21-17 and Phil Kelly who won 21-14 against Gary Smith. 

The Crosby men bounced back brilliantly on Wednesday evening with their second away fixture of the week against the teams above by them, with a 3-7 away win over South Ramsey A on a superb green with the visitors just edging the aggregate by a solitary chalk (148-149). Winning for the home team were Tony Dugdale who beat Paul Kelly 21-14, Chas Grills who recovered from a 1-11 deficit to run out with a 21-15 victory over Matthew Keggen, whilst Stefan Kelly beat Phil Kelly 21-15. The vastly experienced Crosby men won the big games with Paul Dunn playing a brilliant last bowl to win 21-19 against Peter Collister, Juan Killip did likewise against James Teare to win 21-19 with Teare counting two for game, whilst Neil Withers held off Glynn Hargraves to win 21-18. Colin Kelly ensured Dave ‘Dido’ Kelly couldn’t get the two chalks the home team needed for the aggregate running out from 13-16 behind to win 21-16 to seal a great result and performance for the current league champions. The result leaves Marown still very much in the mix having played most of their tough fixtures away from home in the first half of the season, they are well placed to go on a good run.

Peel A hit the top once again, however they will have been disappointed to win 4-6 on Wednesday evening against Douglas A at the Villa with the home team wins coming from Andy Cannell who beat Gary Smith 21-16, Gordon Wynne-Smythe who won 21-17 against George Gadsby, Keith Rise seen off Darren Young 21-19, whilst Merv Sayle inflicted a third league defeat of the season on Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-20.

Noble’s A had another tough week, but continue to battle on and conduct themselves in an exemplary manner despite losing 9-1 away to South Ramsey A on Monday, with Steve Cook losing 19-21 to Glynn Hargraves and Mark Kneen losing 20-21 to Peter Collister. The lone winner on the night was Sam Stannard-Duke who beat Alan Moore 21-19. On Wednesday evening Noble’s A visited Port St Mary A and managed to get two wins in their 8-2 defeat with Steve Cook and Mark Quinn beating Tim Williams and Paul Russell respectively.

Castletown A had a poor 7-3 away defeat on Monday evening against Douglas A, followed up by a 4-6 away win over Ballaugh A on Wednesday evening. Nathan Hamilton and Bob Clark continue to fly high in the league merit with six wins from seven games. Ballaugh A won’t be disheartened by their weeks work despite also losing 3-7 at home on Monday.

Port St Mary A currently sit in third place tied on points with Marown A, they seem to ticking over nicely despite the uncertainty over their future, they recorded a ruthless 10-0 win over Peel B on Monday evening, then followed this up with an 8-2 home win over bottom of the table Noble’s A.

In Division Two South Ramsey B dropped from top spot to sit in second this week following a somewhat disastrous 5-5 away draw against Finch Hill B who prior to this fixture had only taken six points all season. Whilst the visitors only won three games on the night, they took the aggregate by 14 chalks (124-138) to snatch a draw. 

Castletown B had a solid week hitting the top of the league after two 8-2 home victories over Port Erin A and Douglas B opening up a two-point lead at the top, whilst Marown C had a poor week losing 6-4 away to Peel C on Tuesday night and then 8-2 away to Onchan B the following evening, however Walter McCarthy kept his 100% record for the season with two comfortable wins.

In Division Three Ballaugh C are top of the league after a 7-3 home win over South Ramsey D, which was followed up with another 7-3 home victory over Castletown C.

Marown D had an up and down week, with Jay Waters leading the way in the individual merit with seven wins from his first seven games, helping his team to 6-4 home win over Port Erin B on Tuesday, which was followed up by a 2-8 defeat on Thursday evening against Ballaugh B with Waters just winning 21-20. The visitors are only four points off top spot having played a game less than their C Team.

Onchan C sit in second place, they hosted Ballaugh B on Tuesday evening with the home team winning five games, however the visitors had bigger wins from their three winners to take the aggregate by four chalks (139-143) to secure a 5-5 draw. Onchan C would have been hoping for a better result on Thursday, when they took on bottom of the table Douglas D at the Park, with the away team picking up three victories in their 7-3 defeat with Juan Readshaw, Nick Firth & John Ferguson all winning to boost their points total for the season and ensure there were some good after match talking points in the Woodbourne Pub, with a number of the team having took up the game having previously socialised together and deciding to take up the game.