Gordon scores maximum in his first ever match to give Hounds a boost
THE Hinckley Air Rifle League match between the Hounds and their Smallshaws guests saw an amazing night for the home team.
With five new signings the Hounds had 11 names on the score sheet for the first time in a number of years and as a special bonus one of those new signings, Dan Gordon, hit an incredible maximum 30 despite shooting in his first ever match.
Smallshaws shot first with their best first half efforts being Chris Slimm’s 27 and Rob Wainwright’s 28 while for the home team Dan’s 30 was joined by the 27s of Richard Green and Andy Mitchell, and Roy Pritchard’s 29.
Smallshaws continued to battle on in the second half with a Jackie West 27 and the 29s of Tom Williams and Bob West taking them to 192 and 12 points.
The Hounds couldn’t quite beat the points total as they too finished on 12 points but they passed the regular score quite easily as Richard Allen’s 27, the 28s of Brian Allen and new shooter Ben Miller, and Paul Huddlestone’s 30 took them to 199.
The match between Hinckley Phoenix and their guests from the New Plough was definitely one of two halves.
The home side were strong- est in the first half as Samantha Haskins’ 27 and the 29s of Barry Wright and Tony Overton helped them in to a strong lead over their guests whose best score was Daniel Lakin’s 27.
The story was, however, very different after the break where the 27s of Roxy Ratheram and Geoff Herbert were the best offerings from the Phoenix team while for the Plough there were 29s from Nigel Hill and John Bray plus the 27s of Mick Stocker, Tom Bray and Paul Barwell.
All this left the teams level on 191 apiece in the regular match but did give the visitors a 14 to 10 win in the points match.
Taylor & Ayre welcomed the Trojans to “The Barn” where a close match ensued.
Shooting alternately, T&A managed a couple of trophy points, thanks to lowered target scores.
Aly Steele scored a 27, as did Steve Vincent while Giles Headley shot a below par 28 and Dave Hollinshead managed a 26.
Leigh Hall got the Trojans going with a maximum 30 score, backed up by Nigel Jackson’s excellent 29.
After the break T&A’s Alison Smith remained calm to score a 30 and Matt Hall hit a 27 while for the Trojans there was a Rob Forman 28 and a 27 from Mark Smith.
With one shooter each left to play the teams were tied, based on the best six scores for each team.
Unfortunately for Trojans their final shooter wasn’t able to get a counting score and the home team’s Darren Hicks shot a 29 to give them the regular match by 194190.
As a consolation Trojans won the Bernard Yates Trophy points by outscoring T&A by eight points to six.
The Sporting Lions held on to their positions at the top of the league and Bernard Yates tables thanks to comfortable wins over their Ashby Road hosts.
The home side shot first but struggled to find the centre of the target regularly enough with the best performances in their 185 and six point totals being Pete Finney’s 20 plus the 27s of Seamus Moore and Chris Rose.
The reply from the Lions was much more confident, Glen Dainter’s 28 leading the way for Karl Bunting’s 30, the 29s of Melanie Jenkins and Todd Astill, and a 27 from Taryn Cockerill, all of which helped them to 194 and 10 points.
Bedworth Ex Servicemen’s Club enjoyed similar results from their match against the travelling Ashby Road B.
Shooting first, the visitors struggled to 188 and five points despite a trio of 28s from Neil Price, Martyn Woods and Jeff Goodyer, and a pair of 27s from Jon Storer and Sue Baker.
The home side managed to beat both totals with relative ease as 30s from Andrew Cryer, James Bend and Bill Bend, plus the 28s of Mick Cryer and Jackie Bend helped them to 198 and 11 points.