Phoenix struggle but maintain top spot in hunt for trophy
HINCKLEY Phoenix held onto the top spot in the Bernard Yates Trophy with a win against the visiting Smallshaws.
The visitors opened the shooting but their first half was decidedly uninspiring with just a couple of 25s and only two points, and whilst the Phoenix side didn’t score much high- er, their best scores being a pair of 26s and a 27 from Samantha Haskins they did manage to score four points in the Yates Trophy match.
The Smallshaws’ second half was a marked improvement over the first with John Stevenson, Tom Williams, Jackie West and Bob West all scoring 27s to allow them to set totals of 182 and seven points.
Phoenix’s second half performance was a little disappointing with Ian Ratheram’s closing 28 being the only score of note but they did well enough to gain wins in both competitions, finishing on 184 and 10 points. There were mixed fortunes at the Greyhound Inn were the Hounds played host to the high flying Trojans.
The home team started slowly with none of their first four shooters bettering a 26 but the level of scoring improved thereafter with Roy Pritchard’s 28 being followed by the 27s of Andrew Mitchell and Andy Smith, and Paul Huddlestone’s 29, to take them to 188 and nine points.
The Trojans’ response was more evenly distributed with first half scores of 27, 28 and 29 from Dave Brown, Phil Hood and Rob Forman respectively joining the second half 28 and 29 of Chris Sills and Leigh Hall to take them to victory in the regular match with 193 but leaving them short in the Yates Trophy with eight points.
An early winter malaise struck the Barn, where Taylor & Ayre hosted Sporting Lions, in a match with few highlights.
The hosts’ first half managed a 28 from Giles Headley, whilst a pair of 25s from Glenn Foxon and John Orton earned them one and two trophy points respectively.
Lions’ Lee Johnson scored a 29 earning him two trophy points, but the 28s of Glen Dainter, Todd Astill and Karl Bunting and Jeanette Mulkeirins 26 weren’t enough to merit any more than that.
T & A then had Phil Steele score 26, Alison Smith and Matt Hall 27 and Darren Hicks 28, giving totals of 186 and five points.
For the visitors, Melanie Jenkins’ 25 and Taryn Cockerill’s 26 were the only scores to count.
Nevertheless, the visitors took the league match with a total of 190 whilst two additional trophy points from Ken Pauley allowed the Lions to scrape a draw with five points.
The match between Bedworth Ex Servicemen’s Club and the visiting Ashby Road ended in a pair of home team victories, keeping alive Bedworth’s hope of winning the league title and also giving them their first points in the Bernard Yates competition.
The visitors had the best of the first half, responding to a 27 and a 29 from Bedworth’s Mick Cryer and Andrew Cryer with Richard White’s 27, the 28s of Seamus Moore and Pete Finney, and a Neil Smith 29, but the story changed massively in the second half.
The home team’s second half was made up of James Bend’s 29, Robert Wagstaff’s 27 and a closing 30 from Bill Bend that took their totals to 194 and seven points, whilst the best the visitors could offer was just 24, leaving them on 185 and six points.
The lowest scoring match of the night came from the meeting between Ashby Road ‘B’ and their guests from the New Plough Inn.
The home team’s performance was a little below par as they set targets of just 187 and seven points thanks to Jon Storer’s 29 and the 27s of Craig Shuttleworth, Martyn Wood and Mike Sansome, but they did well enough to win in both competitions as the Plough struggled to 177 and six points with their only significant score being Nigel Hill’s 27.