Action gets under way in cup competitions
WITH the regular league programme reaching its conclusion, the teams of the Hinckley Air Rifle League were split into two groups of four to contest two round-robin cup competitions, the top four teams attempting to win the Gordon Smith Cup and the bottom four vying for the Paynes Cup.
The first round of matches in the Gordon Smith Cup produced the closest result of the night, with only 0.1 separating the participants in the meeting between the Trojans and the visiting New Plough Inn.
However, the evidence of the first half didn’t indicate a match destined for the nail-biting finish that ensued.
Put in by the home side, the Plough first half started slowly and never really built up pace, only Daniel Lakin’s 26.1 and John Orton’s 27 being worthy of note.
The response from the Trojans was much more assured with Dave Brown’s 26.1, Mark Horsler’s 27.1, Phil Hood’s 29.3, and Rob Forman’s 26 giving them a sizeable lead at the half way stage.
The Plough second half opened solidly with a 26.1 from Steve Reynolds but they would need to improve dramatically if they were to make a fist of the match… and that’s what they did. John Bray scored an impressive 29.2, Tom Bray did nearly as well with his 28.2, and Nigel Hill closed for them with an excellent 30.3.
This enabled the visitors to set a challenging 192.0 total and leaving their hosts needing three of their second shooters to score 83.5.
Leigh Hall’s 27.1 put them on the right path, whilst a 28.2 from Kenny Sills left their last shooter, Chris Sills, requiring 28.3 to clinch the win. His efforts started with a 4, after which he scored 5.1, 5, and another 4, leaving him needing two clean bulls to win the match.
Fortunately for his team he proved equal to the test, scoring the 28.3 that the Trojans needed in order to squeak a win with 192.1.
The other match in the Gordon Smith Cup, between Smallshaws and the travelling Sporting Lions, was far more one-sided but it did produce the highest team total of the week.
The home side shot first and did reasonably well with Lee Clark’s opening 28.1 and Tom Williams’ closing 28.3 being the highlights, the remaining shooters scoring no more than
25. The reply from the Lions was far more consistent with Glen Dainter’s 29.5 leading the way for Taryn Cockerill’s 29.3, Bill Bend’s 28.1, and Jeanette Mulkeirins’ 29.2.
The Smallshaws second half followed a similar pattern to the first with Mick Stephens’ 28.1 and Bob West’s 27.2 being the most notable individual efforts and the next best again being
25.
The resulting 184.8 left the visitors needing just two 23s from their second half to win.
Unsurprisingly, the Lions did much better than that as Melanie Jenkins scored 27.2, Karl Bunting added 28.3, and Mark Davies closed for them with a 27 to take them to an outstanding 198.6 total.
The postponement of the match scheduled between Ashby Road ‘B’ and the Hounds left the meeting between Hinckley Phoenix and the visiting Ashby Road as the only action in the Paynes Cup.
The visitors won the toss and decided to shoot first, but they allowed Phoenix’s Roxy Ratheram to go on first as she needed to leave early.
Ashby Road may have regretted this a little as she proceeded to score an excellent 28.4 but once they took over, they put together a reasonably strong first half that included Danielle Finney’s 27.2, Gabrielle Finney’s 27.1, and Bertie Bugden’s 29.4.
However, the remainder of the Phoenix first half managed to largely match this as Karen Bown’s 28.2, Craig Bown’s 26, and Luke Bown’s 27.1 left the two teams evenly matched at the halfway stage.
Ashby Road’s second half performed well, starting with David White’s 28.1, continuing through Lorraine White’s 27.1, Richard White’s 26.1, and Seamus Moore’s 27.2, before finishing with a 29.2 from Pete Finney.
The resulting 195.3 would have tested an in-form Phoenix second half but sadly they couldn’t match their first half performance, Ian Ratheram’s closing 26.2 being the only notable score.
This took their total to 186.0, putting them nearly 10 behind their guests.