Title Race Takes Twist
An unexpected defeat for Marown A on Monday evening in Canada Life International League Division One away to Douglas A, saw the momentum shift in the title race, as the Villa men recovered from their 0-10 away defeat to South Ramsey A to turn over the Crosby men 8-2 on a tricky green. The result only tells half the story, as while I am sure a match has finished with four 21-20 scores previously, I have never seen all four go in favour of the one team. Despite losing heavily just four chalks separated the sides (154-150). Peter Jones got the night off to a solid start for Marown with a 21-10 win over Mark Kneen, with Keith Rise responding with a 21-13 win over Tom Kelly. Andy Cannell beat Phil Kelly 21-20, with Dave McCabe edging over the line 21-20 against Paul Dunn.
In the second half of the match Merv Sayle beat Neil Withers 21-15, with Glenn Boland picking up win number two 21-18 against Shaun Seal. Another two 21-20 scores went in favour of the home team, as Ian Moore bounced back from a heavy defeat the previous week to beat Colin Kelly, while Gordy Wynne-Smythe scraped home against Paul Kelly.
South Ramsey A fully capitalised on the defeat for Marown A, by taking a 0-10 away win over Marown B winning to the same score as last week. Single figure wins arrived from Jordan Cain and David Bradford, were followed up with four wins to comfortable scores. Having to dig deep for the wins for the visitors, Dido Kelly was pushed by Matthew Keggen, getting over the line with a great bowl to secure a 21-18 win. John Kennish was up against Karl Parker, with the Crosby man staring defeat in the face with the Ramsey man playing a front toucher with a 20-17 lead, Parker then went into the back of Kennish’s bowl, then a second bowl from John a foot away left no target. Parker proceeded to play one of the best bowls you will ever see to tip the jack and count for one. A single for Parker on the next end, was followed up by a great lead from Karl, with Kennish just going into the back of the lead bowl. The South Ramsey man changed his peg with his last bowl and delicately chipped out the counting bowl to take a 21-19 win, in what was a great finish to the match. In the space of a week a six-point deficit for South, has turned into a three-point lead, with just three matches to play.
Castletown A had a good battle at home to Onchan A, with the visitors earning a 4-6 win winning the aggregate by 19 chalks, thanks to single figure wins from Peter Slinger 21-3 over Aaron Richardson, and Kevin Quirk’s 21-6 win over Jordan Drewett. Winning for the home team George Foy beat Steve Parker 21-17, a result matched by Ian Watson against Neil Dunwell. Dean Kinley was Town’s best winner 21-10 against Jamie Clague, while captain Nathan Hamilton won 21-15 against Peter Johnstone.
North Ramsey A eased their relegation worries with an 8-2 home win over Peel A. Steve Walmsley impressed with a 21-15 win over Barney Kelly, while Allan Callow held his nerve to beat Tommy McMeiken 21-19. Mooragh captain Rob Monk beat Gary Smith 21-16, with John Cannan the only home single figure winner 21-9 against David Proctor. The two winners for Peel were Stevie Kelly 21-11 against Tom Collins, while George Gadsby looks to be approaching his best as he beat John Corteen 21-5.
The bottom two clashed, with South Ramsey B hoping to get a win to give themselves some breathing space as they hosted Breagle Glen A. Winning the for the home team Tony Dugdale led the way with a 21-13 win over Steve Durcan, Ben Dugdale won 21-16 against Mark Moorley, Alan Moore recovered from a 12-19 deficit to beat Tim Williams 21-19, with Stefan Kelly beating Chris Lever 21-17. For the visitors all four wins were comfortable as Ewan Cooil continued his return to bowls with a 21-13 win over Eddie Carlyle, Dan McCabe beat Lee Dawson 21-12, Douglas Town Cup Winner Trevor Quayle won 21-10 against Toby Hart, while Wayne Roberts was the only single figure winner 21-9 against Austin Hart, as the visitors went two points ahead of their opponents in the table to earn a 4-6 win taking the aggregate by 21 chalks (128-149).
Division Two is starting to get interesting as the two-point lead held by Marown C over Ballaugh A disappeared this week, despite the Crosby men earning a 3-7 away win over Noble’s A, with the home team earning two 21-17 victories from Alex Yates and Mark Bradshaw over Brian Kelly and Peter Kelly respectively.
Ballaugh A won 9-1 at home to Douglas B, with Stuart Garrett preventing the whitewash with a 21-9 win over Nogel Tebay. Single figure wins for the home team arrived from Mark Dimsdale and Phil Quayle.
Bottom side Breagle Glen B made up two points to Douglas B, despite losing 3-7 at home to Noble’s B. Seamus Whelan won 21-19 against Steve Brennan, while Mike Caley strolled home 21-4 against Dylan Marsh, Steve Cain might well be off the Christmas Card list as he beat his Uncle Derek Cain 21-8.
Finch Hill A are 20 points off the top two, with just three games left to play, this is too far to mount a challenge, despite their 2-8 win over Peel B. Winning big for the visitors Pat Maher beat Jimmy Corlett 21-2, Paul Dougherty battled to a 21-20 win over Phil Clarke, while Shay Waterworth made it six out of eight wins despite only taking the game up in 2024.
Castletown B are fairly secure in Division Two despite losing 7-3 away to Onchan B. Winners for the Town men were Junior bowler Sam Quayle, Dad David Quayle, and Juan Drinkwater, with the latter getting over the line 21-20 against Derek Allen.
North Ramsey B lead the way on 91 points in Division Three following their 7-3 home win over Noble’s D, with the home team losing three games to close scores. Ray Skelly lost 17-21 to Stephen Hampson, while Ray Beattie and Paul Cannan fell short 18-21 against John Andrew and Ciaran Broad respectively.
Peel C are now just nine points behind the leaders with a game in hand, and crucially the Mooragh men have to visit Peel in what could prove to be a pivotal fixture in the race for promotion to Division Two. This week’s fixture saw the Western men win 9-1 at home to Ballaugh C, as they hunt down the leaders.
Elsewhere Ballaugh B won 8-2 at home to South Ramsey C, with Paul Routledge and Dave Corkill the two winners for the visitors, while Marown D kept Breagle Glen C 11 points adrift of safety, following their 6-4 home win. The Breagle men will struggle to close the gap, having played a game more than the teams immediately above them.
In Division Four Douglas C stunned runaway leaders Onchan 6-4 at home on a tricky Villa green, as Douglas edged the aggregate by just three chalks (143-140).
Finch Hill B romped to a 10-0 home win over Noble’s E with two of the Noble’s men – Chris Kirkman and Ross Pulman losing out 19-21.
Castletown C managed to field a full team, as they gave valuable experience to the newer bowlers. Junior bowler Jacob Robert won 21-6 against Steve Tayloe, while another Junior Freddie Palmer lost out 18-21 to Craig Sims.
South Ramsey D won 6-4 at home to Peel D, with Matt Rees winning his second game of the season, in only his ninth game as he beat Nick Bradley 21-3. For the visitors Rob Lucas-Kneen – brother of Mark Kneen picked up his first league win in his third outing as he impressed with a 21-11 win over Junior Kian Bradford.