On Friday night, two sets of 8 ends were the prospect for our Aqua Café Triples Championship finalists; Marcia Pearson, Muriel Cain and Clive McGreal facing Trevor Quayle, Glenn Boland and Wayne Roberts. The match started with a bang in the first end when Boland trailed the jack to count 6 which McGreal could only reduce by 1. Another 5 chalks in the third end put the set out of reach despite heroic efforts from the opposition. After winning only 3 ends of the 8, the set finished 12-6 in favour of Quayle/Boland/Roberts.
The second set proved to be a much steadier affair but the gallery continued to admire some magnificent shots. It was nip and tuck with teams lying shot then being displaced, though Quayle/Boland/Roberts were always a shot or two ahead. End 7 brought drama when Pearson/Cain/McGreal were lying 4 and Roberts drove the jack off the rink to lie 6 after the re-spot; McGreal’s subsequent draw to sit on the jack gave the only consolation for his team. The set finished 8-4 and Quayle/Boland/Roberts lifted the trophy to take the double, having already won the Triples League.
Saturday afternoon’s entertainment began with the Men’s and Ladies’ Singles Finals being played alongside each other – Clive McGreal v Trevor Quayle and Muriel Cain v Paula Garrett. The gallery looked like they were at a tennis match as their attention was drawn from one match to the other. Miracle shots and intense concentration were needed by the players in both matches as they set out to play 2 sets of 10 ends.
McGreal and Quayle alternated the honours over the first 4 ends to bring them level at 4 across, then McGreal began to pull away to reach 8-4. One more from Quayle, then another for McGreal left the set poised at 9-5 with 2 ends to play. Quayle managed 3 more chalks, tantalisingly close, but the set was McGreal’s.
Meanwhile, Cain set the standard in the ladies’ match with her first two bowls marked as touchers. Garrett came back with 3 shots on the third end to level the match at 3 across, then Cain knuckled down and put on one of her classic displays of accuracy to take the first set 10-4.
Back to the guys where Quayle took the first point in the second set only to be prevented from scoring for the next 5 ends. At 10-1 in McGreal’s favour after 6 ends, it looked all over, but Quayle dug deep and produced some terrific shots to lift his tally to 5. Two ends left to play, 10-5, and McGreal stepped up to draw shot and put the set out of Quayle’s reach.
On the next-door rink, the ladies were battling away with Garrett taking the first 5 ends to put her 6-0 up. Cain scored 2 on the sixth but Garrett had the bit between her teeth and allowed no more chalks against, winning the set 11-2. So, the dreaded one-end tiebreaker was all set for the ladies, with the audience on the edges of their seats. Cain put her first bowl within inches of the jack and, despite Garrett’s best efforts, it never moved and Cain took the win.
So, our Aqua Café Singles Champions are Clive McGreal and Muriel Cain.
A deep breath, and on to the Pairs final featuring James Teare and Jenny Moore v Dee Lewis and Eddie Carlyle playing 2 sets of 8 ends. Teare & Moore set up their campaign in the best possible way by scoring 5 on the first end, leaving an uphill battle for their opponents. However, Lewis & Carlyle put on a brave face and set to work, taking the next 5 ends to turn the match to 7-5 in their favour. Two for Teare & Moore levelled the scores at 7 across, but that was it for the northerners as Lewis & Carlyle took one off each of the final 2 ends to win the set 9-7.
The second set commenced with Lewis & Carlyle on a roll and benefitting from a couple of extremely close calls to sit 5-0 after 4 ends. Two for Teare & Moore was followed by one for Lewis & Carlyle; a pattern repeated over the final 2 ends to leave Lewis & Carlyle winning the set 9-4. Dee Lewis and Eddie Carlyle are our Aqua Café Pairs Champions.
On Sunday the juniors were in action competing for the Acqua Cafe Junior Championship. The final was between Myles Taylor and William Corris who had both previously won their 1st round. There was some great bowling and sportsmanship from the juniors, and it was William who pulled ahead to take the match and the trophy.
Thank you to our sponsors the Aqua Café.
