Black Country had their final game of the season in the L0Style Division One an away fixture against neighbouring Staffordshire brought forward by one week, neither team having much more than pride to play for.
The ladies ‘B’ saw Black Country draw first blood when Demi Titley won 3-1 against Shelly Colclough, but with a 3-0 result, Lia-Marie Woodcook levelled the score when she won against Kirsty Shaughnessy. With a lady of the match performance from Doreen Hunt, Black Country took the lead for a second time, Doreen beating Sammi Brown 3-0 with a 14.59 average, then with a further 3-1 win from Sarah Tromans over Beckie Bailey the away side were guaranteed a share of the spoils. A share is what they got as the last two games both went to Staffordshire, Angela Standen winning 3-0 against Sarah-Jane Parker and Colette Duffield beatig Abbey Hunt 3-1 to give a 3-3 result.
After going down 1-0 when Shaun Gara won 4-2 against Andy Garratt, Black Country then opened up a 2-1 lead with Rich Bowen winning 4-2 against Paddy Kavanagh and Mark Rollinson accounting for Dan Wilkinson with a straight 4-0 result. Parity was restored in the fourth when Shane Beckett won 4-1 against Nick Whitehouse but by the halfway point the visitors had gone 4-2 up after Luke Messer won 4-3 against Darren Burgess and Matthew Lloyd won 4-1 against Stephen Jones
Black Country moved into an unassailable 6-2 lead as the second session got underway, Neil Steventon having a 4-1 win over Darren Beesley and Wayne Hobday beating Danny Key 4-2 and in the process winning the match award for his 26.93 average. Lea Bates pulled one back for Staffordshire when he won 4-2 against Ian Townsend but the win was sealed in the tenth when Matt Coleman won 4-2 against Gaz Barnett. With two wins in the last two games from Sam Bissell and Mark Jones in turn over Jack Leadbeater (4-3) and Martin Plant (4-1) the 9-3 result went to Black Country.
After the away team had won the opener in the ladies ‘A’ match when Stella Sims beat Rhiannon Scales 3-1 the score was levelled in the second when Julie Robinson won 3-2 against Scarlett Sullivan. The hosts then took the lead for the first time when Jenny West beat Heather Wright 3-0 before the game was levelled once more when Jodie Rowlands won 3-1 against Anne Allsop. Row Sidley kept hopes alive for a win for Staffordshire when she put them 3-2 up with a 3-0 win over Grace Angell, however a lady of the match performance from Chez Allcock, a 3-1 win over Danielle Pearce and 22.59 average, the final score was 3-3.
With a 15-9 lead, Black Country now required four winners from the men’s ‘A’ game for the overall win for the weekend. The opening two games had straight 4-0 results, Mark Wheat (Staffordshire) winning the first against Dan Homer and Trev Brennan (Black Country) the second against Stuart Livesley. The away team went ahead in the third when their man of the match Liam Kelly beat Andy Beardsmore 4-1 and averaged (28.90), but it was all-square again in the fourth when Kevin Johnson had a narrow 4-3 win against Alfie Corbett. Tom Bissell put Black Country 3-2 up with his 4-1 success over John Burgess but by the break it was level-pegging at 3-3 after Jamie Dunsdon beat Martin Greenwood 4-1.
Staffordshire moved into a 5-3 lead as the second session began, Andrew Kenyon winning 4-3 against Jordan Grainger and Stephen Lewis winning 4-0 against Neil Wild. Steve Jones managed to momentarily reduce the arrears to 5-4 with his 4-2 win over Mick Cooper, but the win for the Black Country was put out of their reach in the tenth when Matt Carr beat Danny Chiswell 4-3 to put the hosts 6-4 up. Paul Wells kept the visitors in the game when he won the penultimate encounter against Drew Tyler 4-2 but a straight 4-0 win for Darren Wilson against Liam Homer in the last game of the weekend, gave Staffordshire men’s ‘A’ the 7-5 win.
The overall score for the weekend was 20-16 to Black Country which saw them finish seventh with 192 points, some forty-seven short of champions Leicestershire.
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