Southwark Park v Ladywell bowls match report

After losing narrowly to Southwark Sports in their first bowls league match of the season, Ladywell were hoping for a better outcome in their second match, away at Southwark Park on Wednesday 20th May.

In the John Collyer League, clubs play three triples matches over 18 ends, with two points for each victory and an additional six points for the club who scores the most points over all three rinks.

On the first rink, the Ladywell triple of Alvin Nelson, Norman Lewis and Skip, Phil Welch, soon got into their stride and, after going down one shot on the first end, they moved into a 5-1 lead after five ends, But their Southwark Park opponents came back strongly, scoring three shots on both the sixth and seventh ends to go 7-5 up. The Ladywell team recovered to tie the scores at 7-7 after eight ends, and with Southwark Park taking a single shot on the ninth, they held a narrow 8-7 lead going into the break. Ladywell tied the game up at 8-8 in the first end after the tea break, but a gain of five shots on the following end saw the Southwark Park team take a decisive advantage. And, with single shots on each of the following three ends, they pulled out to a 16-8 lead. Ladywell cut the lead to 16-10 with two shots on the 15th end, but Southwark Park regained their grip with single shot gains on the following two ends. And in a disastrous final end for the Ladywell team, Southwark Park gained another five shots to win by 23-10.

On Rink 2 it was a very different story, with the Ladywell team of Merlin Ramdawar, Robert Dunn and Skip, Steve Marlow starting strongly to earn an 8-0 lead after five ends. Their opponents got on the scoreboard with a single shot on the sixth end, but Merlin, Robert and Steve reaffirmed their dominance with four shots over the following two ends. And, despite Southwark Park gaining two shots on the next end, at the tea break, Ladywell had a 12-3 lead. After tea, the Ladywell triple continued to add to their tally, with single shots on the 10th and 11th ends, before gaining six shots on the 12th to open up a 17-point advantage. Their opponents gained a single shot on the following end, but once again Ladywell piled on the pressure, gaining six more shots over the following three ends. And despite Southwark Park gaining two shots on the 17th and another two shots on the final end, Ladywell gained a decisive victory by 26-8.

This meant the overall result depended on the third rink, where the Ladywell triple of Christian Denereaz, Terrie Askew and Skip, Howard Smith faced opponents who got off to a flying start, moving into a 10-0 lead after five ends. Ladywell hit back with six shots of their own over the following three ends, and with the home team gaining a single point on the ninth end, the score going into the break was 11-6 to Southwark Park. Ladywell came out strongly after the break and, although they conceded two shots on the 10th end, scores of two and three on the following two ends cut Southwark Park's lead to two points. But their opponents hit back, scoring two, three and four over the following three ends and stretching their lead to 22-11. The teams exchanged single shots over the next two ends, and Howard played excellently on the final end to gain another three shots, leaving the final score at 23-15 to Southwark Park.

This meant the final outcome was an overall victory for Southwark Park by 54-51, giving them eight points and leaving Ladywell with just two points to show for their efforts.