Outcome of New Plough Inn friendly comes down to final competitor

OF THE four matches in the Hinckley Air Rifle League’s third and final round of friendly matches, the outcome of only one could have gone either way as the final competitor made their way to the shooting position.

That came at the New Plough Inn where the away team, Ashby Road, won the toss and elected to shoot first.

Ashby Road had an adequate first half with Alison Finney’s opening 26 being followed by the 26 and 25 of daughters Danielle and Gabrielle respectively, before Richard White closed their half with his 27. However, the response from the home side was quite a bit better, Glen Foxon’s 29 top scoring ahead of the 27s of John Orton and Daniel Lakin, and the 26 of Paul Barwell.

The visitors improved in their second half as Bertie Bugden’s 27 preceded the 28 of Innnes Droomer and Pete Finney’s 30, but the subsequent 189 total looked to be within range of the home side.

However, a slow start to their second half left their final two shooters, brothers John and Tom Bray, needing to drop no more than three shots between them if they were to win the match. John was a little short of his very best form but his 27 did leave Tom with hope of winning the match.

This hope was dashed when his second shot failed to ring the bell, but it looked for a while as if he might be able to salvage a draw before his final two shots also hit the four ring, giving him a 27 and his team 187.

The next closest result came from the encounter between the Trojans and the travelling Smallshaws but even so it wasn’t close, with the winners finishing ten ahead of their opponents.

The visitors shot first, putting together a reasonable first half that included Robert Good’s 25; the 26s of Michael Stephens and Rob Wainwright; and a 28 from Tom Williams, but the home side did markedly better thanks to Rob Forman’s 27, Dave Brown’s 28, and Phil Hood’s 29.

Smallshaws had a reasonable second half with a Jackie West 25, and the 26s of Simon Grewcock and Bob West, but the resulting 182 proved inadequate as Mark Smith’s 26, the 27s of Ellen Horsler and Chris Sills, and Leigh Hall’s 28 took the Trojans to 192.

The highest score of the week again came from the rifles of the Sporting Lions, who this week made the journey to the home of Ashby Road ‘B’. The home side shot reasonably well, with Jon Storer’s 30 being added to by Andrew Cryer’s 28; the 27s of Mike Sansome and Rikki Hammersley; the 26s of Martyn Wood and Alf Shore; and Kim Baker’s 25.

However, as good as their 189 might have been against other opposition, it proved no particular challenge to the visiting Lions who surpassed 200 once again, their 202 total being made up of 30s from Glen Dainter and Karl Bunting; 29s from Todd Astill, Taryn Cockerill, and Darren Hicks; a 28 from Bill Bend; and the 27 of Alison Smith.

The widest margin came at the home of Hinckley Phoenix where the visiting Hounds outscored their hosts by more than two per shooter.

The home side started strongly thanks to a 29 from Samantha Haskins but the remaining shooters struggles a little, the next best scores being the 27 of Mick Edwards and Fred Knowles’ 25. Their 170 total never looked like being enough against a Hounds team that could count on the 29s of Adam Padamsey and Paul Huddlestone; the 28s of Claire Barnes and Paul Griffin; and the 25 of Lee Foskitt.

These were enough to take the Hounds to a sixteen-shot victory with 186.