Match Reports (A Team)

MATCH REPORTS (A TEAM)

26TH NOVEMBER - HOME TO AVON (27-13 WIN)

Hampshire Short Mat A team win their final match and do the double over Avon.

In their final match of the round robin league stage Hampshire hosted Avon and they started well in the first session. Andrew Shorney had a strong start to his game, being 13-2 up at halfway and he continued in dominant mood for the remainder of the rubber to win 19-6. Team colleague Brian Brown had a rather closer game however and indeed was 5-6 down at the halfway point. Picking up a three on the next end put him in front and he traded shots over the remainder of the game eventually winning 12-9. Anita Bucknall & Tony Wall found themselves slipping behind slowly and were 5-11 down at the completion of the 12th end but managed to pull back over the final three ends to only lose by 2 shots (9-11). On the next mat June & Roger Messenger dropped a three on the first end followed by a single (0-4) but then clawed themselves into the game to be 10-4 up at the completion of the 8th end. Unfortunately they seemed to lose concentration at that point and let their opposition back in and disastrously dropped 9 shots in the final three ends to ultimately lose 13-16.

John Bucknall, Gail Evans and Lorraine Shorney picked up a stunning five on the second end of their first game to lead 5-1 and kept their winning advantage by scoring consistently to run out 16-7 winners. By contrast Frank Morton, Trevor Holmes and Stan Mond just couldn’t get going until the final ends of their game by which time they were already 1-12 down. However, they managed to find some consistency and picked up 6 shots over three ends to only lose 7-13. Graham Browning, Angie Rowe, Mike England & Paul Wheatley always seemed to have the better of their opposition, two counts of five along the way being very welcome hauls, and they ran out 16-7 winners. Ray Wheatley, Faye Ray, team manager Glo Fowler and Dave Jelley also had a strong performance only dropping 5 shots over four ends in a 16-5 victory. They had had a storming middle section of the game picking up a 6 on end 5 which had been immediately followed
by a 3 and a 2.

At halfway through the match, the home team were 10 points to 6 up. They mustn’t let it slip now.

In the reverse singles Shorney found his opponent up for the challenge and the game included three tied ends. At the completion of the 7th end he was 2-6 down, having dropped a full house of four on that end. However, then he dug in and battled to a 10-8 ascendancy and completed his second win of the day. No such dramas for Brown though, who was 9-0 up after four ends and continued in that assertive mood winning 27-5, including two full house scores. Another double completed and the singles bonus points firmly in the bag with forty shots the difference. Bucknall & Wall were also not in the mood to give much away and, having a very strong middle part of the game, strode to a 17-9 victory. Unfortunately the Messengers didn’t fare so well, and were already 0-10 down by the completion of end 4. However from there they seemed to get back into gear and scored on 7 of the remaining 11 ends, including a score of 3 on end 12, and could consider themselves unlucky to lose 12-19. The bonus points for the pairs were lost by only 4 shots.

In the final session, Shorney’s triple raised its game, and although the visitors had almost got themselves back into the equation being only 2 shots behind (8-6) at 9 ends, fortunately the home side dug in and ran out 13-8 victors. On the next mat, Mond’s threesome had a rare victory, winning all but four of the ends and finished with a storming performance 15-6 which included two counts of 3. The bonus points for the triples were safely in the bag by 17 shots.

Having had such strong first game performances, both the rinks were hopeful of a great finish, but Wheatley’s foursome struggled against difficult opposition and although they were level at 7-7 after 8 ends, they dropped three singles and lost 7-10. Jelley’s rink were 0-8 down after 4 ends, but pulled themselves back into the game dropping only two more singles and grasping a draw 10-10. It had been a good overall performance and the bonus points for the rinks were in the bag as well.

The final result for this last game for the team in the league stage of the Inter-County competition was a win of 27 points to 13 (219 shots to 149). It consolidates their second place position behind a Gloucester side that they lost to narrowly, home and away.
They await news of their knockout stage opponents.

18TH NOVEMBER - AWAY TO AVON (26-14 WIN)

Hampshire Short Mat's A team bring home a victory having travelled all the way to Avon.

In the first session, Tony Wall contended a low scoring match and was 6-4 up at nine ends. He picked up a useful 3 on the 12th end putting him more in charge of the game (11-4) going on to a 13-6 winning score line. Brian Brown produced an even more comprehensive victory. Having been 9-1 up at 6 ends he only lost a further four ends in a 20-5 win. Unfortunately the pairs weren't quite as successful. Anita Bucknall & Stan Mond had been 7-7 at 9 ends, having picked up two counts of three along the way. Unfortunately they only scored on one more end, finishing on the wrong end of an 8-15 scoreline. Newcomers Julie & Martin Grange were 2-10 down at 7 ends but rallied slightly to only lose 11-17, having picked up a very welcome 3 on the final end. The points for this session were shared at 4-4

The second session John Bucknall, Jan Sansom & Lorraine Shorney were 4-6 down at 6 ends but a welcome count of 3 shots got their noses in front and that's where they stayed, and dominated the second half of the game, finishing 13-10 winners. Les Ricketts, Trevor Holmes and Frank Morton were in a low scoring game up to half way being 4-4 but then dropped a count of 4 on the next end and couldn't get back into the game eventually losing 6-13, although they had only won one end less than their opponents. In the fours, Graham Browning, Angie Rowe, Mike England and Paul Wheatley were already 0-11 down going into the fifth end having had a disastrous start but they rallied to only lose 9-13, picking up 7 shots in the final four ends. There was better news from the other foursome however, as Ray Wheatley, Gail Evans, team manager Glo Fowler and Dave Jelley had much the better of their opponents winning 14-4.

At the midway point, the points were level 8-8 and the game was all to play for.

Tony Wall started in mean mood, and was 14-3 up at 9 ends, only letting 5 ends get away, and finally crushed his opposition 22-10. Brian Brown was in equally bullish mood and scored on all but three ends in a 25-5 domination. All the points for the singles, including the bonus ones, were safely in the Hampshire bag. Bucknall & Mond registered an encouraging win of 16-9 although at 9 ends they had been 11-2 up so they had been in danger of letting the game drift away. Team Grange adapted well to the mats for their second match and were feeding on the progressively dominating away team atmosphere scoring consistently on all but four ends, and running out 18-7 winners. These results gave the travellers the Pairs bonus points
by 5 shots overall.

The final session produced mixed fortunes as the Morton triple started well but it seemed they could not get any consistency in their play as they then lost five consecutive ends to be 3-7 down. It was a scoreline they couldn't quite come back from and eventually they lost 6-10. On the adjacent mat Shorney's trio were equally unfortunate and despite having a slightly better finish, still lost 9-13. The triples lost their discipline bonus points by 12 shots. In the fours, Wheatley's rink dominated from the moment they scored a 4 and stormed to a 14-4 annihilation of their opposition who only scored on three ends. Jelley's foursome held on for an 8-6 win despite having won one less end. This gave the Hampshire rinks the precious bonus points with a convincing 18 shot advantage.

Overall it was a convincing victory for Hampshire away from home, 26 points to 14 and by a commanding 65 shots (212-147). Hampshire host their Avon opponents in a couple of weeks for the final match in the league format.

4TH NOVEMBER - GLOUCESTER (14-26 LOSS)

The Hampshire County Short Mat Bowls “A” team travelled to Gloucestershire. They had mixed fortunes and although they lost, they are still top of their table, albeit by only 2 points.

Andrew Shorney scored a single on the first end and then a two on the third end, but only scored on three more ends in a disappointing 6-16 defeat. Brian Brown was having a similarly frustrating time although he fought back from being 3-9 down to being only 3 behind going into the last end only to drop 4 shots and registering an 8-15 defeat. Jan Bunker & Stan Mond put a lot of pressure on their opponents winning one more end than them but dropping five shots over the last two ends tipped the balance to the home side’s favour 13-15. Anita Bucknall & Tony Wall had done well to recover from being 2-10 down at 8 ends to get themselves into the game. They were only one shot behind at 13 ends (9-10) but then dropped a single and a three on the final two ends to lose 9-14.

In the second session, John Bucknall, Brenda King & Lorraine Shorney dropped a five early on in the game followed by two counts of three in quick succession and were thus 3-11 down after 6 ends. However a single and a five picked up over the next couple of ends brought them right back into it at 9-11. It was therefore disappointing to lose that positivity again in an 11-18 defeat. Trevor Holmes, Les Ricketts and John King also seemed to be struggling against their opposition and the full house of six dropped on the 4th end was telling (2-8). They only picked up 5 more shots in the remainder of the game and eventually lost 7-18. However there was better news in the fours. Graham Browning, Angie Rowe, Mike England & Paul Wheatley produced an awe-inspiring win of 16-6, whilst Ray Wheatley, Gail Evans, team manager Glo Fowler and Dave Jelley managed to
hold on to win 10-6.

There was a lot to do for the team in the second half of the match as they were 4 points to 12 down and 18 shots adrift at 80-98.

In the third session, there were signs of an early fight back as Andrew Shorney found the mat a little more to his liking and although it was a nip & tuck game throughout, the 6 shots picked up over the final three ends resulted in a 13-11 triumph. Unfortunately Brian Brown couldn’t add to that and fell to his second defeat of the day, 9-19. No bonus points for the singles then. In the pairs, Bucknall & Wall struggled to take charge of their match and after end 4 they were already 1-5 down, but pulled back to 6-6 at 8 ends. Trading shots over the next few ends and picking up 6 shots over the final three ends they saw off their opposition 18-11. Unfortunately the devastating defeat of
4-24 for Bunker & Mond wiped away any hopes for the bonus points in the pairs.

When the triples and fours took to the mats in the fourth session, the team knew the game was already lost, but there was still a lot of pride to play for, and there were some fighting performances.

Although Shorney’s triple kept the game pretty level up to the 7th end (6-6), it looked as if a defeat was on the cards because at 10 ends they were 6-9 down. However the 11th end produced a 3 for the travellers to get them back level again (9-9) and this was followed by a single and a four and so they escaped with a welcome 14-9 win. Unfortunately the other triple – King & Co only scored three counts of 2 and that was early on in the game going 6-2 ahead but fell to a 6-14 defeat. The bonus points for the triples stayed in Gloucester’s clutches.

Wheatley’s rink dug in for the first part of the game and they were 5-0 up after 4 ends. However although they seemed to lose concentration, they still managed to keep the game tight. A three collected on the 8th end and a two on the 10th and penultimate end put their noses well in front at 10-5, but they could have done without dropping a 2 on the last end. Nevertheless a win of 10-7 was creditable at such a time. Jelley’s foursome always struggled to tame the mat it seemed, although at 6 ends they had been one shot up (6-5) but fell away slightly. They were 7-11 down going into the last end and it was unlucky they could only pick up a three in a closely contested measure for fourth wood. The precious bonus points for the rinks were Hampshire’s though as the discipline overall saw a positive shot tally of 46-30.

The match had been a hard fought one, and Hampshire came away with 14 points to Gloucester’s 26. (164 shots to 214)

22ND OCTOBER - AWAY TO HEREFORD (16-24 LOSS)

Hampshire Short Mat’s A team travelled all the way to
Ross-on-Wye for their away tie against Hereford. Having beaten the Hereford side in Hampshire, the team hoped to have similar fortunes but regrettably this was not to be.

Andrew Shorney was 10-6 up at 9 ends in his first session match but then let 8 shots get away from him over the next 7 ends only adding a score of 2 to his total. However, it had been a close game and at this stage 12-14 down didn’t look too bad. Unfortunately colleague Brian Brown was having a similar game and despite picking up a two on the final end, lost 10-14. There was better news in the pairs though as June & Roger Messenger who always seemed to be in charge of the game, being 11-2 up at halfway, went on to win 19-12. Anita Bucknall & Tony Wall dominated the middle part of their game and won 16-10.

In the second session John Bucknall, Jan Sansom & Lorraine Shorney had stormed into a 10-2 lead by 8 ends but then seemed to lose a little concentration and the home side were able to nibble back to 11-7 at the finish. However it was a well deserved win for the travellers. Trevor Holmes, Frank Morton & Stan Mond were 0-6 down after two ends, but picked up a four to get them back into the game but then they got stuck on 5. However they rallied a little picking up 6 shots over three of the remaining four ends and an 11-15 loss didn’t seem quite so bad. Dave Sperry,
Les Ricketts, Mike England & Graham Browning couldn’t get started until the 6th end but had kept the away shots down to a minimum in the interim (0-5). They kept the pressure up, gaining a creditable draw of 8-8. Faye Ray, Ray Wheatley, team manager Glo Fowler and Dave Jelley couldn’t quite to grips with the mat and although 5-3 up at halfway lost 6-11.

At the halfway point, the travellers were two shots up (93-91) but two points down (7-9). It was all to play for in the second
half of the match.

In the third session, Shorney kept his opponent honest and although 3 up going into the last end, came away with a creditable 16-16 draw Brown had a cat and mouse game and at halfway he picked up a full house of 4 putting him one shot ahead (9-8) which seemed to un-nerve his opponent slightly. Shots traded were over the next ends, which saw the Herefordshire man get his nose back in front (10-11) but Brown then dug in, scoring on all of the last three ends to run out 15-11. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough to win the bonus points. The Messengers found their opponents difficult to manage but came away with a 12-11 win. Bucknall & Wall unfortunately didn’t get started until the halfway point by which time they were 0-9 down. They picked up four singles over the remaining part of the game but lost convincingly 4-18. Bonus points were shared and the shots
were level on 51-51.

The fourth session - the triples & fours - now needed to pull together hard to get anything out of the match and Shorney’s triple played their part in an 11-8 win, although they had let an 11-3 scoreline at 9 ends drift away. Mond’s dismal day continued though and the defeat of 9-22 did nothing to help morale or scoreline. Loss of the bonus points in the triples now signalled an inevitable away defeat for the team. Jelley’s rink had a very low scoring game and whilst there was never more than one shot in it either way, a tight measure on the final end saw the home side pick up an extra shot and win the game by one (5-6). All attention now turned to the last mat playing and Sperry’s foursome delivered a 9-9 draw having clawed back from
3-7 down at halfway.

Hampshire lost 174 shots to 192 and by 16 points to 24 but they still top the league table (over Hereford) by four points.

8TH OCTOBER - HOME TO HEREFORDSHIRE (27-13 WIN)

Hampshire’s Short Mat Bowls A team hosted Herefordshire and notched up their first victory of the season.

Andrew Shorney started with 3 consecutive singles but then the game seemed to slip away from him and at 9 ends he was 6-11 down. However he rallied and scored 7 shots over the remaining 6 ends with the loss of only another single in a 13-12 win. Brian Brown on the adjacent mat also started well and was 8-0 at 7 ends. On the 8th end his opponent picked up a score of 3 but Brown then gathered another 9 shots over the remaining ends with the loss of only 3 more shots in a 17-6 win. June & Roger Messenger had a great start going 12-1 up at 5 ends but then let the opposition nibble back at them. At 15-8 up going into the 11th end they were still well ahead but dropped 5 shots over the last five ends to only win 16-14. Anita Bucknall & Tony Wall had a tight tussle with only 11 shots being scored over the first 9 ends, but finished strongly to win 14-8.

The second session saw Jan Bunker, Lorraine Shorney and Stan Mond in danger of facing a whitewash until they scored 2 on the final end for a 2-23 defeat. John Bucknall, Frank Morton and Trevor Holmes also fared badly and only scored on four ends in a 5-13 defeat. The four of Colin Sansom, Angie Rowe, Mike England & Dave Sperry also found it difficult to score but kept the score as tight as they could in a 5-11 defeat. The only good news in this session came from the foursome of Fay Ray, Ray Wheatley, Team Manager Glo Fowler and Dave Jelley who pulled back from being 0-4 down at 3 ends by hitting a purple patch to run out winners 14-9, although dropping a four on the last end was frustrating.

At halfway, the home team were 86 shots to 96 down, but just ahead on points 10-6. The match was all to play for and some stronger performances were required in the reverse matches.

Shorney did his bit picking up his second victory of the day with a much more convincing 18-6 scoreline whilst Brown let his opponent back into the game from 12-6 up at 10 ends ending with a 12-12 draw. The bonus points going to the home side. The Messengers found a bit of consistency and won 18-12, although they had let an 11-2 advantage at mid-way slip. Bucknall & Wall, however had no such problems and stormed to a 22-9 victory. Pairs bonus points safely added to the home side score sheet.

Mond’s trio had another miserable game and although they scored on more ends than in the previous game, they still lost 6-11. Holmes’ triple picked up two counts of 5 but then let a 16-8 advantage at 9 ends slip away, ultimately hanging on for a 17-13 win. The bonus points for the triples went to the away side. Sperry’s foursome reversed their morning’s fortunes dropping just 4 shots in a 12-4 win. Jelley’s rink scored on just 4 of the available 11 ends but picking up 4 shots on the 6th end to surprisingly only lose by 1 shot in an 8-9 defeat. The fours bonus points were won by Hampshire by 6 shots.

So overall it was a win for the A team, although a fairly narrow margin of 27 shots separated the teams in a 199 to 172 win (27 points to 13). It had been a good team comeback from the
lunchtime scoreline.

17TH SEPTEMBER - HOME TO GLOUCESTER (19-21 LOSS)

Hampshire’s Inter-County Short Mat Bowls season for the A Team commenced on Sunday at Testbourne Community School in Whitchurch. It saw a thrilling comeback to only narrowly lose their opening match against Gloucester by two points. Sporting bright new shirts which reflected the colours of the County’s supporting partners Stannah they took to the mats.

In the first session, Andrew Shorney had a difficult time of it but kept the scoreline fairly tight only losing 10-15. Graham Browning, alongside, found his opponent definitely too hot to cope with and, only scoring on five ends, lost 8-23. June & Roger Messenger only scored on two of their available 15 ends in a 5-25 scoreline, but Dominic Channell & Tony Wall next door fell from a 10-0 scoreline at 6 ends to lose 13-14, dropping a 3 on the final end. It did not look to be a promising start in the new venue.

In the second session Jan Sansom, Lorraine Shorney & (President) Stan Mond had come back from a poor start dropping 4 on the first end and being 2-7 down after 5 ends, before recovering to be 11-9 up going into the final end. Disappointingly they let this advantage slip away dropping a four on the final end to lose 11-13. John Bucknall, Linda Stiles & Frank Morton had had a slightly better start but were still 7-12 down going into the final end. The single shot they collected on that final end was poor compensation but again the scores were kept tight and 8-12 down wasn’t, at that stage, a bad result. Jan Bunker, Faye Ray, Mike England & David Sperry fought back from a 0-6 scoreline deficit at 4 ends and found some consistency eventually winning 14-9. Ray Wheatley, Gail Evans, Glo Fowler (Team Manager) and Dave Jelley had a much more comfortable start being 9-3 up at 5 ends. At this point though they let their opponents back into the game dropping a two and a five on subsequent ends to be 9-10 down. This
kick-started their morning however and they scored a four on the following end. With the loss of only a further two shots, they moved on to win 18-12.

At the halfway point Gloucester were pretty much in charge of the match with the scores at 87 shots to 123 and 4 points to 12. Hampshire were down but not out and there was a lot of work to be done in the reverse fixtures.

In the third session Shorney was in charge of his match from the very outset and by 6 ends he was 10-2 up. With the loss of only another 6 shots over the remaining ends he comfortably beat his opponent 23-8, picking up two scores of 4 along the way. Unfortunately the Hampshire mini-singles resurgence was not matched by his compatriot as Browning slipped to a 5-21 defeat. The bonus points for singles well and truly lost. The Messengers also found some winning form and tussled their way to a 14-11 win, but Channell & Wall fell to their second defeat of the day
7-15 having been 6-6 after 8 ends. More bonus points going
to the visitors.

The final session saw Mond’s trio keep their heads in a strongly contended match picking up a two on the final end to win 12-10. Similarly Morton’s threesome barely let their opponents into the game and then only over the last four ends, in a 21-3 demolition. At last! Some bonus points in the bag. Jelley’s rink kept their hopes alive as well, despite a see-saw game and finished with a draw 11-11. Sperry’s four also found some form and had a storming game to finish 12-4 up. Bonus points for this
discipline as well.

So although the overall score was a defeat of 19 points to 21, (192 shots to 207), given the poor start it was a wonderful comeback and promises much for the future.