Cowboys jump into promotion places with excellent win

The Sunderland and District league tables have begun to take shape as the majority of teams have reached the halfway stage of season fixtures.

East Boldon Cowboys lifted themselves into the Division Three promotion places after gaining an impressive 7-3 victory at Backspin C.

Will McCallum played a major role, scoring a hat-trick, but was pushed to the wire by Debbie Irwin before prevailing 11-9 in the deciding end.

Bruce Davison and Colin Byers aided the Cowboys’ drive by adding two apiece, but Backspin salvaged some consolation as Irwin and Lyndsey Irving defeated Byers and Davison in straight games.

Backspin D consolidated their top-half status with a 7-3 success at St Gabriel’s E, Martyn Parry registering a maximum.

Elsewhere, there were crushing wins for Brandon Devils, Brandon Energy, and Durham City Scorpions.

It is looking like a threehorse race for the top honours in Division One as Backspin A and Brandon Air challenge reigning champions Thompsons.

The Brandon trio of Geoff Salter, Jamie Lupton, and Jevon Chan proved to be in irresistible form as they clocked up a convincing win over West CA.

Although Backspin also won, their opponents, Unionist A, ensured they did not have things all their own way.

There was a rocky start for the high-flyers when Dave Cutler toppled Jamie Dent 118 in a deciding end.

Troy Maddison and Dan Dodds were able to withstand Cutler’s attacks however, notching doubles.

There was another fine performance from Unionist’s Richard Wilson and his treble restricted Backspin to an overall 6-4 margin.

Elsewhere, there was an away victory for True Roof Direct at St Gabriel’s B, with impressive unbeaten displays from Andrew Benjamin and Shirley Gelder.

St Chads also emerged with a road-trip success, 7-3 at East Boldon Amigos.

In Division Two, a rampant Durham City Bombers’ squad flexed their strength in depth to leave hosts Silksworth IM shell-shocked.

Although Kevin Richardson (3) rarely looked troubled, he was ably supported by Jeff McKenna (2) and Ian McPherson (2).

Although the auxiliary Bombers were temporarily defused by Dave Craddock and Alan Bickle, they regained the initiative by overcoming the other’s conqueror.

At the death, McPherson edged a deciding end against Howard Brown, 14-12, to ice an 8-2 triumph.

At Redby, the home team were left to rue their luck as East Boldon Bandits claimed all three of the five-end shootouts.

Sophie Richardson defeated Ken Tweedy 11-6, while Frank Booth suffered two cruel 11-9 setbacks against Ryan Campbell and Istvan Franko.

This tipped the balance to leave Bandits 7-3 victors.

Elsewhere, there was a valuable 8-2 victory for St Gabriel’s D over West CA C.

A battling performance from David Snowdon (3), Istvan Soos (3), and Gary Anderson achieved an 8-2 result that gives them a little breathing space while leaving the defeated West in dire relegation danger.