Game number five for the West Midlands in the Andy Wheeler Fisheries Championship Division of the UKDA National League was an away fixture against bottom of the division Oxfordshire. With West Midlands riding high in third place and with twenty-nine more points than their hosts, on paper a win for the away side was on the cards and they could not have wished for a better start.
The ladies ‘B’ romped to a straight 6-0 victory all begun with a lady of the match performance in the opener from Hannah Davies who in her 3-1 win over Emma Manning averaged 17.59. Kelly Aston doubled the lead with her straight 3-0 win over Emily Baldwin before Tara Fullwood and Jade Wellings, in turn accounted for Sandy Cox and Babs Manning with 3-1 results. With the game already won, West Midlands leading 4-0, Katherine Jenkins, despite being taken to a deciding leg by Jo Dudley, came out on top with a 3-2 win and rounding off the 6-0 victory was Shellbie Guest with her 3-1 result against Tracey Sculley.
The men’s ‘B’ were quick off the mark, going 2-0 up with Connor Lucas beating Simon Key 4-3 and Dean Fullwood winning 3-2 against Aaron Stevens. Jon Jukes pulled one back for Oxfordshire with his 4-3 win over Rob Thompson only to see the away side move into a 3-1 lead when Martin Price got the better of Liam Earwicker with a straight 4-0 result. By the midway point the score was level at 3-3 after the hosts chalked up wins from Kevin Taylor and Preben Krabben, who in turn won 4-1 against Callum Parkes and Cameron Baird.
West Midlands took the lead once again as the second session got underway, man of the match Kieran O’Mahoney winning 4-1 against Andrew Quinn with a 26.74 average. Extending the away team’s lead to 5-3 was Sean Craig who beat Mark Burns 4-1 and with a further 4-2 win for Justin Evans over Matt Kershaw, West Midlands were in an unassailable 6-3 lead. Unfortunately the visitors were unable to cash-in on their lead and take it to a win as Oxfordshire won the last three games, Pete Hall beating Luke Griffiths 4-1, Craig Gaynor winning 4-3 against Jordan Craig and securing a share of the points for the home side was Sam Jackson with his straight 4-0 win over Mark Craddock.
The first five games of the ladies ‘A’ match all went with the first throw advantage, West Midlands taking the lead three times and having it wiped out twice. Winners for West Midlands were Jacqueline Trott who won 3-2 against Nicola Curzon, Evonne Taylor with her 3-0 result over Denise Pape and Gemma Barratt for her 3-2 win against Sue Burns. Winners for Oxfordshire were Karen Williams, who beat Kat McLean 3-0, Deta Hedman OBE who won 3-0 against Eloise Milburn. Gemma Barratt was the lady of the match with a 20.31 average. With the result hinging on the final game, Jacqueline Maiden chalked up a 3-1 win over Caroline Caldicott to give West Midlands a 4-2 victory.
After going one up when Jon Platt beat Brandon Richardson 4-2, West Midlands men’s ‘A’ then found themselves trailing 3-1 as Graham Earwicker beat Will Beaden 4-3, Sean Holley won 4-2 against Gavin Baker and Stephen Wright had a 4-0 win against Darren Williams. Shaun Carroll reduced the deficit with his 4-1 win over Jack Wright and with a 4-2 success for Ryan O’Connor over Luke Stallwood, the score was level at 3-3 at the break.
For the first time since the winning opening game West Midlands took the lead, Jack Aldridge beating Dean Lockyer 4-1 and with a 4-3 win for Daniel Hands against Ade Larner, the visitors were 5-3 up. Geoff Heath kept Oxfordshire’s hopes alive with his 4-2 win over Scott Baker, but a draw was secured for the away team when their man of the match Richard Platt won 4-0 against Daniel Smith with a superb 32.85 average, the Midlanders now leading 6-4. Taking the result to the wire was Kevin Lowe, his 4-0 win over Adam Teasdale putting the pressure on the last two players of the day Alex Ward (Oxfordshire) and Jay Woodhouse. The game went the full seven legs distance with Woodhouse not only sealing a personal 4-3 win but also a 7-5 victory for his team.
The overall 23-13 win for the West Midlands took them into second place in the divisional table with 122 points, just nine short of leaders Hampshire but with a game in hand.
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