Hotspurs, at the bottom of the Orchard Health Group First Division, took no points from their match with IBC, while Dynamics, one place above them, managed to beat Royal Mail 4-2, leaving Hotspurs 17 points adrift and liable to go down.
As previously this season, Hotspurs were competitive on both rinks for the first half of their match with IBC, but were beaten over the closing ends, the final scores being 25-12 and 16-11.
Dynamics took control on Anthony Tabor’s rink and won 19-13 after a poor start had quickly left them 2-8 down. Royal Mail trailed 5-11 on the other rink, but fought hard to secure the win 17-12 for skip Geoff Taylor.
Cammack’s Second Division saw a top of the table clash between the leaders Optimists and Burtons, five points behind. Optimists took all the points, Burtons slipping to third as a result. For Burtons, Dave Allen’s rink had built a useful 13-7 lead by the mid-way point, but Andrew Reeson’s Optimists dominated the second half to win 18-16. Liam Reeson skipped his rink to a good 25-9 win.
Desperados moved into second place after beating Vikings 6-0 with impressive wins of 24-10 for John Melless and 22-7 for Dean Harris.They trail Optimists by ten points, but have the chance to close the gap when they meet in two weeks’ time.
The Division One title race continues to be close with Holland Fen leading Invaders by two points, more than forty ahead of Strollers in third. Both leaders had 6-0 wins, Holland Fen beating Strollers 13-10 in a tight game, but one where they led throughout, and 23-12. Invaders faced Golfers, winning convincingly on both rinks, 26-7 and 20-10.
Mid-table A40 and Breakaways had two very close games, A40 taking 5 points for a win and a draw, and getting the shot aggregate by a single shot. Jean Cammack and Nick Whitmore shared a 17-17 draw, while Bill Exton’s rink led the game throughout and held on to win 15-14.
Nomads have mostly struggled against teams above them since early January, but they managed a good 4-2 win over Parthians, who are fifth, and were close to taking all the points. Derek Smith’s rink was in charge early on, securing a 20-14 win. Karl Pick’s rink led 11-7 after 12 ends and were bowling well, but Parthians finished strongly to snatch the win 14-13 on the last end
Second Division Amateurs and Phantoms played twice last week, including a catch-up game. Amateurs took the first 6-0, with 20-7 and 20-12 wins, Phantoms the second 6-0, winning 23-15 and 20-16.
Central beat Woodpeckers 4-2, David Boyne winning 16-10. Paul Heppenstall won the other, 16-13.
Shipmates took 2 points off Vectors, Wally Parker winning 15-14. Colin Heppenstall’s rink won 17-9 to claim 2 points for Vectors, plus the extras for shot aggregate.