Ladywell's bowlers played their final John Collyer League match of the season on Wednesday 18th September at Southwark Park, and gained a welcome victory.
It's been an up and down season for Ladywell in the league this year, and their final match saw the two bottom clubs in the four-team league playing for pride. And with ten points at stake, a victory for either club would mean their opponents would finish bottom of the league.
On the first rink, the Ladywell triple of Susan Levene, Robert Dunn and Skip, Richard Moorhouse started well, taking a 3-0 lead after two ends. Their Southwark Park opponents hit back with four shots on the third end, but the Ladywell team scored steadily over the next three ends to take a 7-4 lead. Again, Southwark Park hit back, gaining three shots to tie the scores at 7-7. But further gains on the next two ends saw Ladywell take a 10-7 lead into the tea break. After tea, the home side came out stronger and gained six shots on the following three ends, to go 13-10 up. This time, it was Ladywell's turn to hit back, gaining four shots on the 13th end to take a narrow 14-13 lead, which they increased with two shots on the next two ends. So, with three ends to go, Ladywell had a slight advantage. And despite Southwark Park gaining two shots to Ladywell's one over the final three ends, Ladywell hung on for a 17-15 win.
The second rink saw an equally tight contest. The Ladywell triple of Merlin Ramdawar, Ian Bradford and Skip, Des Marrett took an early lead, gaining three shots on the first two ends. Their opponents narrowed the lead with two shots on the third end, but Ladywell extended it to 5-2 after five ends. Then the Southwark Park team took control, gaining two shots on bthe next two ends to take a 6-5 lead. And with two more shots on the following two ends, they went into the break 8-5 up. Southwark Park were still 11-9 ahead at the 14th end, but Ladywell were steadily eating into their lead and on the 15th end, they gained two shots to make it 11-11. And the 16th end saw Ladywell gain two shots and take the lead for the first time in ten ends. Southwark Park pulled one back on the 17th end, but Ladywell scored two shots, to gain a hard-fought 15-12 victory.
The third rink saw an extraordinary match as the Ladywell triple of Nova Dobb, Alvin Nelson and Skip, Phil Welch, got off to a disastrous start, and found themselves 13-0 down after only five ends. A single shot on the sixth end saw them finally get on the scoreboard - and this was the start of a remarkable recovery. Scoring steadily and winning the remaining three ends before the tea break, they went into tea 13-7 down. After the break, they continued to eat into the Southwark Park lead, and by the 14th end, the scores were tied at 13-13, after Ladywell had won nine consecutive ends. And on the 15th end, they took the lead for the first time, gaining three shots to go 16-13 ahead. The Southwark Park team pulled back a shot on the 16th end, but Ladywell opened up a three-shot gap once again on the penultimate end. And with Southwark Park gaining one shot on the final end, the Ladywell team had pulled off an incredible comeback to win 17-15.
This meant Ladywell had won on all three rinks and the overall final score was 49-42, giving Ladywell all ten points and third place in the league.
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