Sowerby Bridge League 4 Person Final
At West End 20th September 1pm
Hipperholme “A” Defy the Odds
Author John Beard
On a lovely sunny afternoon Hipperholme “A” defeated Pellon “A” by 99 – 80 to collect the Malcolm Edmondson Memorial Trophy and a share of the sizeable prize money, thanks to our kind competition sponsor Mrs Linda Stewart.
In their semi final they faced a strong looking Mytholmroyd team. In the first game Simon Clayton and Shaun Frewin fought out a close game, with Simon just shading it after 13 ends 11-6. A run of 9 chalks saw Shaun hit the lead and after a few exchanges looked to be heading for the win at 19-15 but Simon had other ideas coming back strong to run out.
Paul Fisher started brightly in the second game taking an early 6-3 lead for Mytholmroyd but Bev Clayton hit back to go 9-7 up in the 13th end. The match swayed one way then the other. Bev edged further in front 17-14 after 24 ends. Paul pulled back to lead 18-17 and eventually took the game 21-19.
Match 3 turned out to be another close run thing. Steve Richardson opened the scoring, but found himself 9-1 down to Mark Jefferys after 7 ends. Steve fought back well and led 18-14 at the 24th, and then it was all but across. Mark scored the vital point to win the game.
The final pairing had a similar look to the previous match, this time it was Hipperholmes Nigel Parker who took a 9-1 advantage, then 13-2 and 16-8. Kevin Mullin fought back well to level the scores at 16s. Nigel held his nerve to win back the jack and the game 21-17.
Hipperholme deservedly eased through to the final without requiring their 15 point handicap winning 103-85
Pellon “A” played Sowerby T&BC in the other semi final which turned to be a much more one sided affair. In fact Sowerby conceded their 11 point handicap in the first game. Jimmy Biggins starting the game in fine style scoring six pairs and two singles. Martin Grace got off the mark at ends 9 & 10. Jimmy scored three more singles before Martin, who never got to grips with the pace of the green, made it 18-4. Jimmy finished the game off after just 16 ends.
The next game followed a similar pattern. Martin Dodd and Peter Lomax were one each after 2 ends. Martin then scored 7 pairs and 4 singles to lead 19-1. Peter managed to score 3 more points from the last 4 ends.
Keith Barker held an early lead at 7-3, before Brian Pickles pulled it back to 7-6. Keith took a strong hold of the game making it 17 with just one in reply. Brian managed only 3 more points losing 21-10.
The last pairing was a more even match between Aaron Bottomley and Michael Wood. Aaron took the lead after 6 ends 8-4, Michael came back to make it 8-9. Aaron just seemed to get the upper hand at 15-12 and 19-14 finishing with 2 singles to take the game.
Pellon comfortably defeated Sowerby by 95-53 to reach the final.
Simon Clayton and Jimmy Biggins got the final off to a topsy turvy start with the lead changing one way then the other. Jimmy in front at 5-1, 8-2. Simon winning 12-8, 14-10 and 19-13, Jimmy made it 19-17 before Simon scored a pair at the last end.
Bev Clayton followed in the next game against Martin Dodd. Again it was a close match right up to 13 across after 20 ends. Martin then bowled in the corner and Bev struggled with the longer marks losing by 21-14 after a brave performance.
Game 3 produced another thrilling match. Steve Richardson and Keith Barker were level at 6, 9 and 16 across. Keith nudged in front at all but 18. Steve wasn’t finished yet he came back to win the game.
The final pairing saw Nigel Parker take a 6-0 lead. Aaron Bottomley however came back level. Nigel edged in front again 11-7 before streaking ahead 19-11 and scored a pair to seal the victory.
Once again Hipperholme had the win without needing their handicap. Worthy winners of the Trophy.
Thanks to all the teams for supporting the competition and all the venues in the earlier rounds to enable the event to take place.
A big thank you to Alwyn Guide and West End for organizing the final and setting up to comply with the strict Covid 19 guidelines in place.