Superlative Lions have final in sights

THERE was a busy night at Hinckley Working Men’s Club, where the Sporting Lions were visited by Smallshaws, for the semi-final of the Hinckley Air Rifle League’s Norman Illiffe Cup.

This should have been the first leg in the home and away competition, but Smallshaws couldn’t get their venue for the following week so the two teams agreed to shoot both legs side by side.

The Lions shot first in their “home” match with team captain Glen Dainter getting them off to an excellent start with his 30.4. This was matched by Alison Smith; Karl Bunting contributed 29.5; Todd Astill and Bill Bend scored 29.3 and 29.2, respectively; Darren Hicks managed 28.1; and James Bend scored 27, to help the Lions to 203.9.

This proved far too good for Smallshaws whose 191.3 was made up of a 29.1 from Tom Williams; Mike Stephens’ 28.3l; the 27.1s of Rob Wainwright, Olivia Wainwright, and Bob West; Chris Roses’ 27; and Robert Good’s 26.1.

Smallshaws managed a similar total in their “home” match, putting together a 190.9 total that included Mike Stephen’s 29.2; Jackie West’s 28.3; Bob West’s 28.1; and Olivia Wainwright’s 27, but this proved no real test for the Lions who managed a superlative 209.1 thanks to Glen Dainter’s 30.5; Bill Bend’s 30.4; the 30.2s of Jackie Bend and Karl Bunting; the 29.3s of Alison Smith and Darren Hicks; and Todd Astill’s 29.2. Indeed, so well did they shoot that another 29.2, from James Bend, didn’t count!

The other semi-final, between Ashby Road and Ashby Road ‘B’, also shot both legs simultaneously although on this occasion it was because Ashby Road ‘B’ wouldn’t have been able to field a team the week after.

Each team shot first on their own targets, but it was Ashby Road that managed to come out on top on each. In their home match Ashby Road set their guests a relatively modest target of 185.9 that contained Seamus Moore’s 29.1; Pete Finney’s 28.4; Bertie Bugden’s 27.1; and the 26.1s of Innes Droomer and Richard White. This proved too much for the ‘B’ side who responded with a 179.6 that included Jon Storer’s 28.2; Rikki Hamersley’s 27.2; Alf Shore’s 26.1; and Mike Sansome’s 26.

Ashby Road ‘B’ did better on their own target, totalling 184.9 thanks to Jon Storer’s excellent 30.4; Jackie Palk’s 27.2; the 26.1s of Martyn Wood and Alf Shore; and Mike Sansome’s 26 but their opponents also improved as Pete Finney’s 28.4; the 28.3s of Bertie Bugden and Seamus Moore; Innes Droomer’s 27.1; Richard White’s 26.1; and Gabrielle Finney’s 26 helped them to 189.3.

This gave Ashby Road a total over

the two matches of 375.2 against their opponent’s 364.5.

The first legs of the Paynes Cup semi-finals saw the visiting teams establishing large leads to take to their home venues next week.

Hinckley Phoenix did especially well at the Greyhound Inn where they faced the Hounds. The home side shot first and did reasonably well to set what seemed to be a challenging 190.9 target that included Paul Huddlestone’s 30.2; Harlie McKeown’s 28.2; the 27.2s of Chris Allen and Paul Griffin; and Lee Foskett’s 27. However, their guests produced what was, by some distance, their best performance of the season. Karen Bown’s 30.2 was the first 30 this season for any Phoenix shooter; Mick Edwards scored 29.3; Colin Rusted maintained his recent strong form with a 29.2; Craig Bown and Ian Ratheram both added 28.1; Woody Newbold managed a 28; Roxy Ratheram scored 27.2; and Stuart Newbold scored 27.

All these combined to give Phoenix an excellent 200.1 total.

The New Plough did reasonably well against the visiting Trojans in the other Paynes Cup semi, amassing 187.6 thanks to John Bray’s 30.2; Nigel Hill’s 29.2; Tom Bray’s 27.1; Daniel Lakin’s 27; and Darren Statham’s 26, but this was comfortably beaten by the visitors who’s 195.9 total included a 29.4 from Chris Sills; Rob Forman’s 29.3; Ellen Horsler’s 28.4; Mark Smith’s 28.2; Dan Brown’s 27.2; and Nigel Jackson’s 27.1.