Town Stun Peel
After a week’s break of league action In Ellan Vannin Fuels Division one Castletown A pulled off the shock of the week to defeat Peel A 3-7 away from home. Whilst Peel were missing three regulars they would still have been favourites to win against the town men who have struggled this season. Winning for Peel were Andy Kennish, David Proctor and Tommy McMeiken. Responding for the visitors were David Quayle, Peter Oates, Juan Kermode, whilst Jordan Drewett was no doubt keen to get one over his pal Tom Kelly with a 21-12 win and captain Ian Watson holding his nerve to win 21-19 against Gary Smith.
Onchan A hosted South Ramsey A at the Park on a superb playing surface. The home team took a deserved 7-3 win with wins from Peter Slinger, Phil Kerruish, Matthew Quirk, Frank Watson with Jordan Cain working hard get over the line 21-19 against visiting captain Glynn Hargraves after recovering from a 9-15 deficit to go 19-15 ahead thanks to winning five ends with doubles with Hargraves killing two ends in between. Hargraves got back in to level up at 19-19 only for Cain to get back in and play two good bowls on the last end which weren’t beaten. Winning for the visitors were Alan Moore, James Teare whilst David Bradford had a tough game against Kevin Quirk with Bradford winning 21-18. The result lifts Onchan up to second place just one point ahead of their opponents on the night.
Marown A continued their march towards their first league title since 2013 with a 9-1 home win over Douglas A, however the visitors put up a good fight with Keith Rise beating Matthew Keggen 21-9, whilst Mervin Sayle lost out 17-21. Stuart Garrett & Ian Moore just lost out 19-21 to Neil Withers and Paul Kelly respectively. The Crosby men have a bit of breathing space with a 10 point lead, will be keen to keep their rivals at arm’s length.
South Ramsey B hosted Port St Mary A on a vastly improved green and came away happy with a 6-4 home win thanks to taking the two points aggregate for the chalks (132-130). Winning for the home team were captain Ben Dugdale who won 21-6 against Tim Williams with Dugdale getting back into form following time out with a back injury this season. Tony Dugdale, George Brew and Austin Hart also won, whilst Edward Carlyle just missed out 20-21 against Rob Cooil. Also winning for the visitors were Wayne Roberts, Trevor Quayle and Dave McCabe.
Noble’s A also took a 6-4 home win over Marown B with all but one game finishing 21-14 or above. Glenn Boland won 21-7 against James Kelly for the home team which helped secure the aggregate (147-143). Also winning for Noble’s were Reginald Temporaza & David Quayle who both won 21-19 against Brian Kelly and John Kelly respectively, with David Pease also winning. Responding for the visitors were the young duo of Harry Barton and Luke Hyland, backed up by the experienced Peter Kelly and Juan Killip.
North Ramsey A hosted Castletown B at Mooragh Park with the home team taking the spoils 8-2, however it could been a whitewash with Bob Clark just winning 21-19 against Bryan Corner, whilst Aaron Richardson held off Steve Walmsley 21-18.
In division two top of the table Ballaugh A continued their charge towards gaining promotion following their 8-2 win over near rivals Onchan B to extend their lead to 12 points.
Finch Hill A remain in second place on 64 points following their 7-3 home win over Peel C, with Onchan B just two points behind.
Peel B are six points behind Finch Hill and their cause wasn’t helped this week after sacrificing three players to their A team as they slipped to a 3-7 win over Marown C who are on course to stay in division two.
Port St Mary B disposed of Ballaugh B 9-1 with the Ballaugh men looking odds on for an immediate return to division three sitting 12 points adrift of the nearest team above them.
Port Erin A had a worthwhile trip to Mooragh Park taking a 3-7 win against North Ramsey B, whilst Douglas B secured a 7-3 home win over Port St Mary C.
In division three, South Ramsey C showed no mercy to their opponents with a 10-0 win over Douglas C to extend their lead to what looks an unassailable 21 points.
Noble’s B sit in second place following their 9-1 home win over Castletown C, whilst Finch Hill B are just one point behind Noble’s in third with a game in hand following their 3-7 away win to Onchan C.
Ballaugh C won convincingly 8-2 at home to South Ramsey D, with Peel D just losing out in the closest match in division three 4-6 against Noble’s C by just five chalks (141-146). Ryan Tate continues to impress with a superb 21-17 win over the experienced Roy Murphy.
As we reach the Rayner Shield quarter finals the top teams have not yet come up against each other, with Marown A winning 8-0 at home to Finch Hill A, Onchan A winning 5-3 away to Ballaugh A with young Patrick Grant impressing against Jordan Cain only to eventually lose out 15-21.
South Ramsey A won 7-1 at home to Castletown B with the lone winner Bob Clark playing his part in what was a superb game to watch for the spectators. Clark took a 14-3 lead against David Bradford with both players playing good length bowls and hitting strikes throughout the game. Bradford managed to get ahead at 18-17 with some excellent bowls in the corners only for Clark to get back in to level at 18-18. Bradford scored a single with Clark replying with a double to go 20-19 ahead. On the next end Bradford counted one to once again level the game at 20-20. On the last end the counting bowl changed four times with Bradford playing a good lead, Clark put his first bowl even closer. After considering his options Bradford played through with weight to take out Clark’s bowl cleanly to once again count one for game. Clark then played a perfect bowl to secure a 21-20 win in a game of the highest standard.
The shock of the Rayner Shield came on Thursday evening with South Ramsey B hosting Peel A with the visitors fancied to take a place in the semis. The match ended in a 4-4 draw on games meaning the result was decided on chalks with the home team taking this by just four chalks (144-140). The winners for the home team were Edward Carlyle, Christian Caley, Tony Dugdale & Ben Dugdale, whilst the players who lost all scored vital points to help secure the win. Winning for Peel were Stevie Kelly, Tommy McMeiken, Gary Smith & Tom Kelly.
In the Rayner Plate quarter finals Port St Mary A progressed to the semis with a 36 point win over Onchan B (170-134), Port Erin B scraped home by seven chalks against Finch Hill B (191-184), Onchan C were well beaten at home by Marown C (173-214) whilst Peel D had a comfortable win by 28 points over Ballaugh C (222-194).