Trojans take the honours in clash of titans

PRIOR to the fourth week of the Hinckley Air Rifle League’s 2018-2019 season just two teams had a faultless record; Taylor & Ayre and Trojans; with the former topping the table thanks to their slightly higher average score.

However, as fate would have it the league fixtures pitted them against each other in the fourth week with T&A travelling to the Greyhound Inn, home venue for the Trojans.

The match itself wasn’t particularly inspiring, with neither team managing to crack 190, but maybe this was down to the pressure of the league situation. T&A were put in by their hosts and started reasonably well thanks to Aly Steele’s 27 but the next three shooters struggled to scores of 24 and 25 before Alison Smith closed their first half with another 27. The reply from the Trojans was similar as they too managed a couple of 27s, thanks to Dave Brown and Phil Hood, but their supporting scores were slightly better, consisting of a couple of 25s and a Rob Forman 26, and this was to prove crucial in deciding the outcome of the match. The visitors managed a couple of 29s, courtesy of Matt Hall and Darren Hicks, whilst Trojans added a Mark Smith 29 and Chris Sills’ 28 but that small first half difference swung the result the way of the Trojans as they won by 187 to 186.

The match between Ashby Road and Ashby Road ‘B’ also had a 187-186 outcome but this time in favour of the “visitors”. The evidence of the first half suggested that the home side would be winners as they dropped just ten shots thanks to Alison Finney’s 27; the 28s of Seamus Moore, Innes Droomer and Richard White; and Pete Finney’s 29 whereas the best scores the visitors had to offer were Neil Price’s 27, Craig Shuttleworth’s 26, and Jon Storer’s 30. However in the second half Ashby Road suffered from having just seven shooters, forcing them to count a 21 and a 25, taking them to a disappointing 186 total.

Ashby Road B’s second half did much better with a 25 plus 27s from Tom Middleton and Jeff Goodyer taking them to 187 and their first win of the season.

The visit of the Hounds to the Barwell home of Smallshaws very nearly produced the same result with the winning team also scoring 187, but this time two ahead of an opposing 185.

It was Smallshaws who managed the higher score thanks to Bob West’s 28; the 27s of Bob Wainwright, Jamie Slimm and John Stevenson; and the 26s of Rob Wainwright, Tom Williams, Jackie West and Craig West, and whilst the Hounds did better in the high score department thanks to Paul Huddlestone’s 29 and the 28s of Lee Foskett and Claire Barnes, the best of their remaining scores was Roy Pritchard’s 26 and so they finished two adrift.

Bedworth Ex Servicemen’s Club went into their match against the visiting Hinckley Phoenix hoping to return to winning ways but knowing that, with two of their number absent for a second week, this would be difficult. The home side’s efforts were a mixed bag with 30s from Klaus Baker and James Bend plus 29s from Andrew Cryer and Robert Wagstaff combining with a 25 and a 22 to take them to a creditable, for a six shooter strong side, 189 total.

This proved too good for Phoenix who, whilst not having the lows of Bed- worth, couldn’t match the highs either with the best scores in their 183 reply being Samantha Haskins’ 28, Tracy Allen’s 27, and a trio of 26s.

The Sporting Lions enjoyed a comfortable victory over the travelling New Plough Inn, finishing the match on the higher side of a 195-185 score-line. The Lions shot well pretty much throughout, their total being built of consistently strong performances including the 29s of Karl Bunting and Glen Dainter; the 28s of Todd Astill and Mollie Harris; and the 27s of Lee Johnson, Jeanette Mulkeirins and Mel Jenkins. The response from the visitors undoubtedly had its highlights with the most notable being John Bray’s 30, Tom Bray’s 29, Nigel Hill’s 28 and Paul Barwell’s 27 but the supporting scores were less impressive which is why they fell short by ten shots.