Black Country’s seventh fixture in the L-Style Division One of the UKDA National League was a home tie with high-riding Somerset. Black Country have slowly slipped down the table to eighth with 111 points from their six games while their opponent were placed second with 151 points from seven games.
It was not a memorable weekend for the ladies ‘B’ as they slumped to a 5-1 defeat losing the opening five games. Chalking up the first five wins for Somerset were Sue Lane, Lauren Collins, Kay Bisset, Gillian Roper and Lisa Hughes, who in turn accounted for Jodie Rowlands (3-1), Libby Gowen (3-0), Demi Titley (3-0), Scarlett Sullivan (3-0) and Sarah Jane Parker (3-2). The last game went to Black Country, Chez Allcock beating Zoe Liddle 3-1, and being the solitary winner she collected the match award for her 21.73 average.
The men’s ‘B’ got off to a good start with Mark Rollinson beating Carl High 4-3 and man of the match Neil Steventon winning 4-3 against Jody Matthews with a 26.33 average. From 2-0 up, parity was then restored as Kevin Hardy beat Wayne Hobday 4-1 and Daniel Davies won 4-1 against Jake Shipley. The two wins in-a-row pattern continued as Black Country won the next two games thanks to Ian Townsend who beat Chris Turner 4-2 and Rich Bowen who had a similar 4-2 win over Mervyn Adams to put the hosts 4-2 up at the halfway point of the game.
The second half continued the two in-a-row sequence as Carl Galeitzke and Ade Beale in turn won 4-3 against Kian Rogers and Andy Garratt to put the score at 4-4. Then, for the first time in the match, Somerset took the lead when Dave Farmer beat Matthew Lloyd 4-1. At 5-4 down the home side then roared to a 7-5 victory as Danny Chiswell and Mark Jones had straight 4-0 wins over their respective opponents Lee Gregory and Vincent Archer, Matt Coleman adding the magical seventh win when he won the final game of the day against Rob Lovell 4-1.
The first four games of the ladies ‘A’ match all went against the first throw advantage Grace Angell’s (Black Country) 3-2 win over Kate Hulme cancelled out by a 3-1 win for Becky Taylor (Somerset) over Chez Allcock. The host’s lady of the match Heather Wright restored the home team’s lead when she won 3-2 against Shelley Cotterell and averaged 16.19, only to see for a second time their advantage wiped out when Karen Little beat Doreen Hunt 3-0. The result was taken to 4-2 to Somerset with Donna Gullock and Sally Smith winning in turn against Abbey Hunt (3-1) and Stella Sims (3-2).
The men’s ‘A’ match began with the home side trailing in the overall score by 14-10 but still with a hope of a win or at the least a draw. The opening game saw Trev Brennan put the home team one up when he beat Tyler High 4-1. A 4-2 win for Jari High over Rhys Butler levelled the game but it was Black Country who took the lead for a second time when Kieron Bridgwater won 4-1 against Neil Raikes. George Willetts extended that lead to 3-1 with his 4-3 win over Mike Harper before Jamie Rollinson defeated Leigh Taylor 4-0 and in the process earned himself the match award for his super 32.85 average. By the midway point, Black Country were leading 5-1, Craig Butler closing the half with his 4-1 win over Jack Walker.
Nick Eggbeer chalked up Somerset’s second win when he won the opener of the second half against Steve Jones 4-0, but with a similar 4-0 win for Black Country’s Tom Bissell over Adi Wood followed by a 4-3 win for Jordan Grainger against Charlie Gay, the hosts were in a winning 7-2 lead. A third win was added for the visitors when Cam Nicholson won 4-2 against Dan Homer, Paul Wells taking the score along to 8-3 with his 4-3 win over Daniel Williams. The final score was 8-4 to Black Country when the last game of the weekend went to Somerset’s Sam Hoddinott who beat Harry Williams 4-2.
The overall score for the fixture was all-square at 18-18, Black Country staying eighth in the table with 130 points and Somerset remaining second with 170 points.
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