Ladywell won through in a tight semi-final against Francis Drake BC on Friday 27th August to qualify for the final of the Beckenham, Bromley & District Association's Triples League.
The match, played on two rinks simultaneously, was decided on the combined scores of both rinks. On the first rink, the Ladywell triple of Bernie Jermin, Phil Welch and Des Marrett started strongly and were 3-0 up after three ends. But the Francis Drake team came back well and at the halfway point after nine ends, they had taken a commanding lead of 9-4.
The Ladywell triple came back into the match and reduced the deficit to 9-7, but with three ends to play, Francis Drake had extended their lead once again and were leading by 14-8. Four shots for Ladywell on the 16th end gave them hope that they could snatch a vital lead, but Francis Drake pulled away on the final two ends, eventually winning 19-12.
This meant the pressure was on the second Ladywell triple of Marion Edwards, Kim Simmons and Mark Simmons, who still had three ends to play when the first match ended. They had started strongly and at one stage had taken a 7-1 lead. And with three ends to play, they were winning 16-8, which meant the overall score gave Ladywell a slender one-point lead. But the Francis Drake triple gained two points on the 16th end, putting them one point ahead in the overall semi-final tie.
By this time, at 8.45pm, the light was fading, but the Ladywell triple lit up the 17th end, gaining a vital three shots to put them 19-10 ahead in their match and Ladywell ahead in the overall tie. The final end was played in virtual darkness, with the jack lit by the light of a mobile phone. And, despite some excellent shots by the Francis Drake triple, Ladywell were able to gain another point on the final end, to win their match 20-10, giving Ladywell the overall win by 32-29.
So, two triples from Ladywell will take their place alongside the Ladywell pair of Mark and Kim Simmons at the BBDBA finals day on Sunday 19th September. Good luck to them all!
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