Ladywell played at Southwark Sports Bowling Club on Tuesday 8th September in a John Colyer League match. But the club's day got off to a bad start when two of the players due to play in the match had to withdraw from the team. In particular, everyone at the club was shocked to hear that Alvin Nelson, who has become a fixture in our teams in his first season, had fallen down the stairs at his home and was taken to hospital. We all wish him well and look forward to seeing him back on the green soon.
The loss of two players meant that we had to quickly recruit replacements or forfeit the match. Luckily, Howard Smith and Gillian Papararo stepped up, so after a quick reshuffle of the teams, we were ready for our match against a club that was vying to go top of the league with a win.
On the first rink, the match was a very close affair, with the lead switching backwards and forwards throughout. The Ladywell triple of Terrie Sibley, Kim Simmons and Phil Welch took an early lead and were 4-1 up after four ends. But their Southwark Sports opponents came back and after ten ends, they'd taken a 10-6 lead. Ladywell regrouped and gained two shots on each of the following four ends, go 14-10 up. But once again, the Southwark Sports team responded, taking a shot on each of the next two ends. This left the score at 14-12 to Ladywell with just two ends left to play. A score of two on the penultimate end extended Ladywell's lead to four again. And, despite gaining three on the final end, the Southwark Sports team couldn't come back, meaning Ladywell won a hard-fought contest 16-15.
On the second rink, it was a similar story, although the Ladywell triple of Susan Levene, Howard Smith and Mark Simmons found themselves 7-0 down after the first two ends. But they soon got into their stride and after six ends, had reversed their fortunes, taking a 9-7 lead. In response, the Southwark Sports team upped their game, winning the next four ends to take the lead by 15-9 after ten ends. Ladywell took two shots on the 11th end, but Southwark Sports pulled away again, to lead 21-11 with four ends to play. And, although Ladywell staged a valiant fightback, winning all four ends, the final score was 21-18 to Southwark Sports.
The third rink saw a remarkable match, with the Ladywell triple of Gillian Papararo, Bernie Jermin and Des Marrett getting off to a strong start and leading 9-1 after six ends. But once their opponents got hold of the mat, they came back strongly with a series of long jacks that put the Ladywell team on the back foot. After nine ends, the scores were reversed, with Southwark Sports taking a 10-9 lead. But Ladywell responded, taking four shots on the tenth end, to lead 13-10. Unfortunately, those were the last points they scored, as the Southwark Sports team dominated the second half of the match and ran out the winners by 37-13.
It was a good afternoon's bowls in mostly decent weather, despite a couple of very heavy showers that sent all the players running for the clubhouse. But the final scores meant that Southwark Sports gained four points with two wins, while Ladywell had to settle for two points for their single win. And the aggregate score of 73-47 meant that Southwark Sports secured the extra four points for the overall win. So, Ladywell go into their last league match of the season against Dulwich Park on Saturday 17th September hoping for a win to secure a mid-table position.
Everyone at the club sends their best wishes to Alvin for a speedy recovery and would like to say thank you to both Gillian and Howard for stepping in at the last minute.
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