Hinckley Phoenix take cup win at home of their rivals Ashby Road
HINCKLEY Phoenix clinched the Hinckley Air Rifle League’s Paynes Cup thanks to the closest possible victory at the home of title rivals Ashby Road.
The visitors shot first and got off to a strong start thanks to Barry Wright’s 28.4 and Samantha Haskins’ 27.3, and while the next two scores were a little disappointing Stu Allen’s half-closing 28.2 got them back on track.
Ashby Road’s reply followed a similar pattern with Richard White’s opening 28.1 being followed by a couple of 26s before Lorraine White added a 27.3 and husband David closed with a 30.3 to leave the two teams neck-andneck at half time. The Phoenix maintained their consistency as Roxy Ratheram’s 27.2 was followed by Karen Bown’s 28, Geoff Herbert’s 28.2, Colin Rusted’s 27.1 and Ian Ratheram’s 27.3. The home team’s own second half started disappointingly before Seamus Moore’s 27.2 and Pete Finney’s 29.4 took them to within sight of the victory which would have kept their title hopes alive. Last man, Chris Rose, rang the bell with two of his first four shots meaning that one more five would have given his team the win but sadly neither shot was quite close enough and so Hinckley Phoenix won by just 0.1, 194.6 to 194.5.
The night’s other Paynes Cup match was something of a non-event as the travelling Hounds arrived at the home of Smallshaws with just five shooters, condemning them to an inevitable loss. The home side didn’t shoot particularly well with the best scores in their 181.5 total being Tom Williams’ 27.1, Rob Wainwright’s 27, and Bob West’s 26.2, but this was more than enough to beat the Hounds who managed just 137.1 despite Paul Huddlestone’s 29.5, Roy Pritchard’s 28.3, Andrew Mitchell’s 28.1, and Richard Allen’s 27.2.
The most significant match in the Gordon Smith Cup came at Hinckley Working Men’s Club where the top placed Sporting Lions played host to the second placed Bedworth Ex Servicemen’s Club.
The Lions had their customarily strong first half with Todd Astill’s 29.4 placing him just ahead of the 29.3s of Glen Dainter and Karl Bunting, and Lee Johnson’s 29.1. Andrew Cryer shone for the visitors, his 30.5 proving to be the match’s top score, James Bend did very nearly as well with his 29.4, and there were 27.1s from Mick Cryer and Katie Hartley. But this left Bedworth trailing at the half-time break, particularly considering a shortage of shooters left them having to count all scores. Melanie Jenkins started the second half for the Lions with an excellent 29.4 and while the remaining shooters all scored 26.2, the resulting 198.9 proved more than enough with Bedworth finishing on 193.6 despite Bill Bend’s match concluding 28.4.
Taylor & Ayre played their final Gordon Smith Cup match at home against Ashby Road B.
The visitors shot first, with Neil Price scoring three clean bulls to start before falling back to record a 27.3. He was supported by Sue Baker’s 26.2 and John Storer’s 28.3 to close the half. The best scores of T&A’s first half were Aly Steele’s 29.3 and Giles Headley’s 29.2, while their new young shooter Glenn Foxon continues to improve. He managed to avoid the three ring and closed his effort with two bulls, the latter being clean to give him a score of 26.1. After the break Ashby Road B’s scores increased, starting with Martyn Wood’s 26.2, through Alf Shore’s 27.2 and Jeff Goodyer’s 28.1 to late arrival Tom Middleton’s closing 29.2. The home side’s dander was up after a spicy chilli supper and all five scores counted, with Phil Steele’s 27.2 being the lowest, leaving left Glenn’s earlier effort just short of being his first counting score. Paul Griffin shot an above average 28.2, Alison Smith and Matt Hall both scored 28.3, and Darren Hicks closed the match with the other joint high score of 29.3 to give T&A a victory by 199.8 to 192.5.