Fractions decisive in Paynes shootout in air rifle leage round up
TWO matches played in the Hinckley Air Rifle League’s Paynes Cup could hardly have been closer as both winning teams outscored their opponents by less than a shot.
The margin was 0.5 in the New Plough against Ashby Road match and 0.8 for Hinckley Phoenix versus Smallshaws.
The New Plough started well in their match against the visiting Ashby Road as the opening 28.4 of Nigel Hill was followed by Steve Reynold’s 27.3, Paul Barwell’s 29.2 and Darren Statham’s 27.2 but the visitors matched this with Richard White’s initial 27.2 preceding Innes Droomer’s 27.1, Lorraine White’s 28.2 and David White’s 29.4. The Plough carried their good form into the second half as Mick Stocker’s 28.3 and John Bray’s 28.4 led the way for anchor man Daniel Lakin’s 27 to take them to a challenging 195.8, and this looked likely to be good enough as Neil Smith’s 26 and Seamus Moore’s 29.2 left last man Pete Finney needing a 29 to take the win. A third shot four put the pressure on Ashby Road’s skipper but bulls from the final three shots of the night gave him the 29.3 that took his team to 196.3 and their 0.5 victory.
The result of the other match also came down to the last shooter if not the last shot.
With a Samantha Haskins 28.2 plus 28.1s from Barry Wright and Karen Bown the home side managed to open up a small first half lead over Smallshaws who had best scores from Rob Wainwright 27.3, Bobby Wainwright 27.2 and Chris Slimm 27.
Roxy Ratheram’s 29.4 got the Phoenix second half off to a strong start and there was good support from Ian Ratheram’s 28.2 and Geoff Herbert’s 28.1, but the fact that their seventh best score was only a 25.1 left them a slightly vulnerable 195.2 total. When Jamie Slimm’s 28.2 was followed by Tom Williams’ 29.2 and John Stevenson’s 28.2 it looked as if the visitors would be able to overhaul the Phoenix total but Simon Grewcock’s 27.1 and Bob West’s 27.2 left them agonisingly 0.8 short on 194.4.
Bedworth Ex Servicemen’s Club made it two wins from two in the Gordon Smith cup with a close win at the home of the Trojans. Despite having just seven shooters Bedworth scored an excellent 203.3 with Andrew Cryer’s 30.2, James Bend’s 30.3 and Bill Bend’s 30.4 the main highlights. The reply from the Trojans came close to matching this but with top scores from Leigh Hall’s 30.3; and Chris Sills’ 30.5, they were left just short on 199.7.
A depleted Taylor & Ayre played host to the full strength Sporting Lions in a rather one-sided match. For the home side Giles Headley claimed bragging rights with the match’s highest score of 30.4, supported by Aly Steele and Alison Smith, who each scored a 27.2, and Steve Vincent who struggled to a 25. In reply Glen Dainter got the visitors off to a fine start with a 30.2 while a pair of 29.3s from Todd Astill and Lee Johnson, plus Karl Bunting’s 29.2 and Jeanette Mulkeirins’ 28.1 saw them well ahead by the half time break. T&A’s second half comprised Phil Steele’s 28.2, Norman Hall’s 27.2 and Dave Hollinshead’s 25.1, giving them a total score of 190.3. Lions continued as they’d left off, with Melanie Jenkins scoring 28.2 and Taryn Cockerill an excellent 29.3. Pete Dainter took his turn, but didn’t record a counting score and his remaining teammates decided not to shoot as the Lions had already done enough to run out the winners with a total of 203.6.
The regular league season came to a close, two weeks late, with the completion of the postponed match between Ashby Road B and their visitors from the Hounds but with nothing depending on the result it was no real surprise that the shooting wasn’t of the highest quality. The home side set a slightly disappointing 189 total that included 28s from Kim Baker but this was more than sufficient to beat an under strength Hounds who struggled to 177 despite Roy Pritchard’s 29.