Match eight in the L-Style Division One brought together Salopian and Black Country, the former going into the game placed sixth on 134 points and the latter eighth on 130 points.
The opening win in the ladies ‘B’ match went to Black Country as Sarah-Jane Parker won 3-0 against Rachael Williams and in the process won the lady of the match award for her 20.31 average, but from 1-0 up the away side then found themselves trailing and lost 4-1. Anna Peatroy had a straight 3-0 win over Sarah Tromans, Emma Tapp beat Leanne Wilson 3-1, Sue Lane won 3-0 against Libby Gowen and Kate Titley not only won 3-2 against Doreen Hunt but also won the match award for Salopian with her 17.83 average. The final game went to Black Country’s Jodie Rowlands who had a narrow 3-2 win over Hayley McGuinness to put the final score at 4-2 to Salopian.
As in the ladies ‘B’ game, the Black Country men’s ‘B’ were also first out the blocks as Mark Rollinson won 4-2 against Andy Gilbert. Matt Elsey (Salopian) levelled the game with his 4-3 win over Neil Steventon and with a further 4-0 win for Ash Hilditch against Luke Messer, the home side were 2-1 up. Ian Townsend pulled one back for the visitors when he won 4-0 against Jack Darby and with a 4-3 win for Matthew Lloyd over Danny Humphries Black Country were 3-2 up and by the halfway stage that lead was 4-2 after man of the match Wayne Hobday added his 4-0 win over Carl Wear with a 29.47 average.
The hosts were quick to reply as the second session got underway, Sam Morris reducing the arrears with his 4-3 win over Danny Chiswell and man of the match Paul Rowley levelling the score at 4-4 when he won 4-1 against Nick Whitehouse with a 27.74 average. Restoring Black Country’s lead was Sam Bissell, his 4-1 success over James Mansell taking the score to 5-4. The lead however was short-lived as Tony Burton made it 5-5 when he won 4-3 against Andy Garratt. With two games to play and the score level at 5-5, the last two games of the day both went to Black Country as Rich Bowen beat Ben Ellis Dean 4-2 and Mark Jones won by the same 4-2 margin against Ian Evans to give Black Country a 7-5 win.
The ladies ‘A’ game was a replica of the ladies ‘B’ with Black Country going 1-0 up, then trailing 4-1 and finishing 4-2 down. Grace Angell’s 3-1 win over Karen Weston not only put her team one up but also earned her the match award for her 14.71 average. Then came a quartet of wins for the hosts as Tracy Dean won 3-1 against Heather Wright, Chloe Ames had a 3-2 success over Stella Sims, Emma Hayward beat Abbey Hunt 3-0 and Salopian’s lady of the match Steph Clarke accounted for Tammy Chance with a straight 3-0 win and 22.77 average. Kirsty Shaughnessy (Black Country) won the final game against Danni Pritchard 3-1 to see Salopian ladies, once again win 4-2.
With an advantage of 13-11, Salopian’s men’s ‘A’ now could finish with a draw and still have an overall victory for the weekend. All of the first half games went against the first throw advantage with Salopian taking the lead three times and on each occasion being pegged back to level terms. Winners for Salopian were Dave Bayton who beat Paul Wells 4-3, Jake B. Smith with his similar 4-3 win against Jordan Grainger and Andy Evans, who once again was taken to a decider and won 4-3 against George Willetts. Black Country winners were Dan Home who had a 4-2 success against Jamie Kynaston, Steve Jones with his 4-3 win over Jon Mansell and Jamie Rollinson who won 4-0 against Dean Rogers to give a 3-3 score at the midway point.
The sequence was broken as early as the first game of the second half when Black Country’s man of the match Neil Wild won 4-0 against Oscar Saxton and averaged 29.47. Salopian were quick to respond, Gary Crowther beating Michael Powell 4-3 and Jamie Chaplin winning 4-0 against Dave Edwards to take the score along to 5-4 to the hosts. Trev Brennan levelled the score at 5-5 when he won 4-1 against Eddie Price, only to see the last two games both go to the home side as Mark Crutchley won 4-0 against Joe Colley and Kacey Jones had a straight 4-0 win over Reece Colley to earn himself the match award for his 29.91 average, the final score 7-5 to Salopian’s men’s ‘A’.
The overall 20-16 win went to Salopian to see them hold on to their sixth place with 157 points, Black Country also remaining fixed in eighth place with 146 points.
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