Points gap shrinks
The average points gap between the top and fifth placed teams was shrunk from 13.5 to just 5.7 on Saturday afternoon in the Manx Petroleum sponsored Outdoor Winter Bowls League in a session where the sides involved played the same opponents twice.
First on the list were leaders Guns for Hire and a resurgent Bits n Bobs outfit who were clearly looking to build on their good start to this campaign.
Looking back to last season, this session had two maximum wins for G4H already on the cards, but even though they lost both outings Bits were far from whitewashed.
They took four games from their opponents over the two fixtures, totalling 193 points along the way, which was not good news for the top of the table team who saw their average drop from 122 to 119.2.
Fifth placed Seven-Up were also in action, along with Parkers who were down in ninth and yet to find their form.
It turned out to be a tough afternoon for the lower placed team; they only managed to win one game and a total of 179 points, which saw them slip down another position as a consequence.
Seven-Up on the other hand dropped just five chalks over the afternoon and in turn closed that margin between themselves and the leaders.
Results for Saturday, October 26: Bits n Bobs 89 (2), Guns for Hire 108 (4); Parkers 90 (0), Seven-Up 126 (6); Guns for Hire 119 (4), Bits n Bobs 104 (2); Seven-Up 121 (5), Parkers 89 (1).
Sunday’s participants included last season’s top two teams and they went head to head in the afternoon’s opener, which ended with the closest result over both days.
I think it is fair to say that neither team played at their best, however Outsiders came out on top by just three points in a fairly low scoring battle with Mooragh Lakers.
Another side struggling with their form are Erin Porters and they suffered two heavy defeats; firstly, at the hands of western rivals Govags who were making only their second appearance of the campaign.
Then things didn’t get any easier for Porters as they could only manage 68 points when they came up against Outsiders and slipped two places down the table.
The final contest between Mooragh Lakers and Govags ended all-square on games, however Lakers dropped nine chalks and a position down to fourth in the standings; whilst the westerners moved up to eighth.
Results for Sunday, October 27: Outsiders 108 (3), Mooragh Lakers 105 (3); Govags 113 (4), Erin Porters 88 (2); Erin Porters 68 (0), Outsiders 126 (6); Mooragh Lakers 117 (3), Govags 95 (3).
The midweek round robin group had another glorious afternoon weather-wise and the 45 entrants were once again separated into three sections of triples.
Shining through at the top of each gang were – Derek Allen, Pat Lenton and Trevor Barker; Steve Parker, Ken Karran and Doug Allan; also, Marg Tasker, Kevin Firth and Carol Kaye.
Taking second in their respective groups were Dave Faragher, Gill Morgan and Peter Curtis; Alec Taylor, Sue Gawne and Mark Kelly; Bernie McPhee, Alan Moore and Caroline Corlett.
With all league fixtures up to date, this Saturday’s free day will be used as a round robin session.