As we enter the final furlong of a season-long two horse race Marown A just have their nose in front of Oncan A, who have come from behind in recent weeks to be within striking distance going into the closing stages. Both teams have been so evenly matched all season and whilst Marown made all of the running early on Onchan have fought for their lives to be ominously close, just two points adrift with two games to play. Neither team gave and inch last week matching each others results as they both picked up strong 9-1 home wins, with the challengers seeing off Ballaugh A and the perennial champions taking down North Ramsey A.

It is more about what lies ahead than what they have left behind them, and whilst they should not forget about what it has taken to get them here, what’s done is done. They must now focus on finishing off the closest title race for years which is almost certainly going down to the wire to be decided by a photo finish. With no games this week there is a rare chance to catch our breath and look at what lies ahead when we resume a week today.

Onchan have the chance to seize the initiative a week on Monday as they travel away to face Ballaugh A, as Marown sit out. Barring the biggest upset since David beat Goliath they will return to the top and will be looking to heap the pressure onto Marown, prior to sitting out themselves the following week. The Crosby men will then have the unenviable task of a trip to South Ramsey A to try and undo any damage done by Peter Slinger’s side.

These two fixtures are vital and will probably decide the fate of the championship trophy. If Marown can come out of them at worst level I think they should be able to finish off a successful campaign away at Castletown B on the Wednesday, with the champions heading up north to Ramsey to take on South, who are scrapping for the highly coveted third spot. That said Marown’s game will be far from a formality against a tenacious town B side who will be fighting for their top flight survival. It really is too close to call and which ever team ends up on top a week on Wednesday will be worthy champions, and this will without doubt have been the closest title race in over a decade.

South Ramsey still occupy third place but only by a solitary point after they slipped up at home to a fast finishing Castletown A side 7-3. It is a brilliant result for Town and with three games left they will now be odds on favourites to overtake the northerners, who have by far the hardest run in of any team in the league. In fact South will do well to hang onto fourth place as Douglas A found the form that had eluded them in recent weeks to beat Port St Mary A 8-2 and close the gap between themselves and third to just five points.

It is below Douglas where things get interesting with only seven points separating the remaining six teams, and a big slip up by any of them could cost them their first division status. Nobles Mixed had a great result away at Castletown B picking up a 6-4 win, but as the only team in the relegation fight with only two games left I fear it could be a case of too little too late. Just like the top the relegation race is too close to call, but if I had to stick my neck out I think Mixed and Peel A will fall just short of survival.

The battle for second division honours has been just as hard fought all season and Port Erin A put in a breathtaking display to pick up a maximum 10-0 win over Finch Hill B to give themselves some breathing space at the top. Second placed Port St Mary B are only three points behind however after they beat Douglas B 7-3. Port St Mary definitely have the harder run in as they still have to host Port Erin in their penultimate game before a dangerous trip to Finch Hill A, so I think Port Erin A will see the title out, as long as they avoid a large defeat in the looming top of the table clash.

Castletown C, Finch Hill A and Onchan B come next in the table and mathematically they all have a chance of promotion after good wins last week. It will probably take a massive slip up from Port B to open the door for them, but if they keep winning and winning big you just never know. Relegation in this division is not so closely fought with Port St Mary C and Peel C all but down at the bottom as the closest team to them is some 18 points above the drop zone.

The third division is also getting very interesting at the top. League leaders Noble Park A lost 7-3 at home to third place Onchan B but remain at the summit despite second placed North Ramsey B putting in a gargantuan performance to beat Nobles Park B 10-0. This maximum closes North to within just two points of Park and with both teams still to go head to head its still all to play for. Onchan are only five points behind the Ramsey outfit so promotion is not out of the question, however I think it will now prove difficult. I am going to throw it out there and tip North Ramsey B to win the title in the inaugural season in league bowls with Park to finish second.

Report by Mark Kneen

League leaders Marown A had to fight for their lives to overcome a battling Douglas A side 6-4 at the memorial playing fields on Monday. Douglas, the only side to defeat Marown this season, got so agonisingly close to picking up a famous win in almost a carbon copy of this year’s Rayner Shield final.

Marown moved into a 3-1 lead at the half way stage before the Villa men fought back to lead 4-3 with one game left on the green, John Gelling was always in control of the final match for the home side, but it was all about the aggregate points. Ken William’s dug in for his team but fell just short with Marown picking up the two bonus points by just two points.

Onchan A had to win big to keep the pressure on the leaders and they performed this task magnificently picking up another maximum win this time against Castletown B. There are now only two points separating them and Marown with three games to go, and both teams will be looking to pick up maximum points at home tonight to keep their title bids on track. A slip up from either side at this stage would open the door for the other to walk through and grasp the league trophy.

Third placed South Ramsey sat out on Monday but played a rearranged fixture against Ballaugh A on Wednesday and picked up a solid 7-3 home win. This leaves them firmly in the driving seat for the minor places as they now lead 4th placed Castletown by five points. South have four games left to play and although three of them are at home they couldn’t be any harder as the are yet to entertain Castletown A, Marown A and Onchan A and their results here will be instrumental in deciding the destination of top honours.

Ballaugh A had started the week in better form, picking up a vitally important 7-3 win over Peel A to move them out of the relegation zone and towards relative safety. They face a trip to the leaders tonight so are far from safe. North Ramsey A and Ports St Mary A had a mammoth battle at Mooragh park last week with the home side just edging it 6-4 to keep both teams on track for a mid table finish.

Castletown A had a good week to remain in fourth place and they added to the woes of Nobles Mixed A defeating them 9-1 at the Crofts. This result keeps momentum going for the towners and leave Mixed dead bottom of the table. Mixed travel to Castletown B tonight and with both teams firmly locked in a relegation battle this result couldn’t be more important, with a big win required for either side to drag them out of the mire. A heavy loss, however, will almost certainly see the recipients playing their bowls in the second division next term.

Second division league leaders Port Erin A suffered a shock 6-4 home defeat at the hands of Finch Hill A but still remain on top of the table now level on points with second placed Port St Mary B. Port St Mary B never had it all their own way either but managed to scrap to a 6-4 win over their C team to close the gap at the top.

Castletown C still have a lot to do if they want to get promoted but a 6-4 win away at Douglas B will go someway to helping them. They are 8 points off the pace with four games to go and will be hoping to claw back some of this tonight as they travel to Ballaugh B.

Finch Hill A and Onchan B are the only other teams realistically in with a shout of catching the leaders and are 13 and 13 points of top spot respectively. I don’t see them catching the leaders but this division has been full of shock results this season, and one unexpected big win for any of the top 5 would certainly throw the cat amongst the pigeons.

Nobles Park A are now odds on to win the third division title after a massive 9-1 away win over Douglas C sees them nine points clear at the top of the table. North Ramsey B have now moved into second place after a hard fought local derby win over South Ramsey A last week. If North do hang on an get promoted it will be a truly remarkable achievement when you think that this is only their first season in the league. Onchan C are the only team who can stop them just two points behind them after a shock 8-2 defeat away at Ballaugh C, however they will need to pull out all the stops as they travel to league leaders Nobles Park A this week.

Second division outfit Finch Hill A had their day in the sun lad weekend as the defeated first division Peel A by 18 chalks at Marown Bowling Green to win the coveted Rayner plate competition. They didn’t have it all their own way however as Peel fought hard to claw back the 40 handicap points they conceded winning 6-3 on games but falling short, only clawing back 22 points.

Fank Watson’s boys from the sunset City started well picking up wins in all of the first three games to reduce the starting deficit to 22 points and trail 63-85. Just when it looked like momentum was swinging in favour of topflight outfit, Bill Cairn’s Finch Hill men answered the rallying call to win the next 3 and move into an unassailable 41 point lead with just three games remaining.

Billy Wilson did a lot of the damage as he defeated Peel’s Ian Christian 21-9 however for me man of the match for Finch must be Paul Dougherty who put in a monumental effort to beat Tom McMeiiken 21-20 in an epic tussle.

Although Peel regained supremacy and closed out all of the games still on the green it was a case of too little too late as they were not able to claw back enough points to win this highly entertaining closely matched encounter. Thanks must go to Ron Williams for his continued sponsorship of the event and to Marown for their hospitality in hosting the final.

Report by Mark Kneen

It was a monumental week at the top of Isle of Man Bank Men’s division one with second placed Onchan A throwing down the gauntlet to league leaders Marown on Monday with arguably their best performance of their ten year reign as champions, before they went head to head on Wednesday. In the first of a double set of fixtures the champions continued their charge with a 10-0 demolition of Castletown A at the Crofts to cut the gap at the top to just four points.

They say when the going gets tough, the tough get going and this was certainly true of Onchan on Monday night. Few teams leave the Towner’s realm with a win let alone a maximum and the intensity of the Onchan performance is one that would be hard to match with every single one of their players giving their all, straining every sinew to keep their slim title hopes alive.

League leaders Marown A also put in a good shift away from home picking up a solid 8-2 win away at North Ramsey A to keep them in pole position prior to their eagerly anticipated midweek clash with the Champions at the Park. I don’t think I can over emphasise the magnitude of this clash for the local game with the perennial champions Onchan needing a win over the only team to realistically challenge them in a decade to further extend their record run of league wins.

If I am honest, going into this fixture, I firmly believed that Onchan would triumph relatively easily and regain top spot, especially with the deteriorating almost torrential conditions. I desperately wanted Marown to be up to the challenge, as I will always have a strong affinity with the great club, but genuinely didn’t think they would do it. Even with this doubt though I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for the second placed outfit, it wasn’t going to be enough for them to simply step up to the plate they were going to have to hit a home run to regain supremacy in the title race.

The Crosby men however did not share my doubts and went into the game believing they could win, that they deserved to win, after all the have been the best team in the division without questions this term. There was no way they were going to crumble they were going to scrap for every point; they knew they were in a fight, and fight they did.

First blood went to Marown with their Captain and June festival winner Neil Withers producing his best to see off the challenge of double Manx Champion Glynn Hargraves 21-11, in a game on paper that could have gone either way. Phil Kelly kept the momentum going for his side as he took out David Bradford 21-16. This is one that the champions would have thought they should win, with Bradford one of their best exponents at home, but Kelly more than justified his current fourth place in the league merit with another brilliant display.

Onchan were never going to go down without a fight and it was time for a family revival as father and son Kevin & Matthew Quirk picked up respective hard fought wins over Mike Cain & Ian Kissack to draw level on games with a narrow 3 point aggregate lead at the halfway stage. The home side weren’t don’t there with Phil Kerruish increasing their advantage by a game and 5 points as he beat last year’s division one merit winner Dean Kipling 21-16.

Marown stalwart Colin Kelly returned parity for his side on games and gave them a lead on chalks after a dominant 21-7 win over home captain Peter Slinger to leave everything hanging in the balance with just two games left on the green. Iron arm Gary Conwell put in an amazing second half of his game to come back from 18-9 adrift to beat John Gelling 21-18 and put the champions back in the driving seat. Marown, however, had their own man of steel though as seasoned campaigner Peter Kelly proved age and experience can overcome youth and treachery as he sealed the overall win for his team with a 21-17 victory over Jordan Cain.

This 6-4 win leaves Marown six points clear at the top and favourites to win their first title in eleven years and end Onchan’s era of invincibility, however there is still a lot of work to be done. With four games left each, forty points to play for, and Onchan with arguably the slightly easier run in Marown still have plenty of work to do.

I think Neil Withers’ charges will do it but I think there could be another twist in the tail yet and I firmly believe that both teams will be going into their final fixtures with the league still to play for.

Remaining Games:-
MAROWN
Douglas A (H)
Ballaugh A (H)
South Ramsey A (A)
Castletown B (A)

ONCHAN
Castletown B (H)
North Ramsey A (H)
Ballaugh A (A)
South Ramsey A (A)

Marown A remain at the summit of Isle of Man Bank Men’s league division one however their lead has been cut to just six points after a tricky double week of fixtures. They started a week with what was expected to be a formality at Nobles Mixed A, but the home side did anything but lie down and give the league leaders and easy ride, they scrapped and fought for every point and were unlucky to go down 4-6 as the Crosby side just had the edge on aggregate. They followed this up midweek with a good 7-3 victory over the talented Castletown A side to keep their hopes of a first league title in over a decade alive.

Onchan A faired better over the week to narrow the gap at the top of the table, they have been lacking their air of invincibility recently but these results go someway to showing why they have been perennial champions recently. They picked up a good 7-3 away win at Port St Mary before dominating Nobles Mixed 9-1 at Onchan Park. They are now in touch with the leaders and if they continue to better Marown’s results it will not be long before they are literally breathing down their neck.

Marown have been the class act this term and have earned their position at the top of the table but it frightens me when I see how close Onchan are now, especially after their under par performances during this campaign. Marown have put themselves in pole position thanks to a number of exceptionally heavy wins earlier in the season, and Onchan’s inability to either match or better their results. If they want to take the heat off themselves and see out their challenge they need to start bettering the Champions results again and will be looking to start tonight when they travel to North Ramsey A as Onchan have the tricky trip to Town A.

South Ramsey A are now in third place but didn’t have things their own way on Monday as they drew 5-5 with Peel A in the Sunset City. This match was as close as it gets as the teams tied on both games won and points. They beat Port St Mary A 7-3 at home on Wednesday, to climb above Douglas in the table who only had one game last week.
Douglas A will feel extremely lucky to have escaped with a 7-3 win over Castletown B as Town pushed them all the way picking up three wins and just losing out 21-20 in two other games. This leaves them four points behind South with a game in hand.

Town B stepped up a gear on Wednesday as they whitewashed Peel A 10-0 at the crofts to climb away from the drop zone and to relative safety. This result leaves Peel A stranded in no-mans land four points behind the rest routed to the bottom of the table.

Port Erin A have now built themselves a four point cushion at the top of Division 2 thanks to a couple of 7-3 wins over two of the divisions strongest outfits, with wins away at Castletown C and at home to Onchan B. They are stringing the results together well now and I genuinely think they will finish top of the tree.

Second placed Port St Mary B can blow hot and cold and this was evident last week as they dipped 6-4 away at Onchan B on Monday before reversing this score line at home against Peel C midweek. They are nine points ahead of Town C in third, and as long as they keep chipping in with wins they should have enough in the tank to finish second and make the trip to the top flight next term.

Nobles Park A started up their engine again to stay at the top of the third tier with a strong 9-1 home win over Ballaugh C. This win leaves them three points ahead of Onchan C in the title race. Onchan C were the early pacesetters in the division and faltered a few weeks ago, but are now firing on all cylinders after beating South Ramsey B 8-2.

Marown A beat Douglas A at Finch Hill bowling green on Friday evening to win the coveted Canada Life International Rayner Shield for a third successive year, in arguably the most dramatic final ever in the illustrious competitions history.

It wasn’t a bowling match it was a war, with the challengers throwing everything in their arsenal at the defending champions who fought to the death as if their lives depended on it. The teams on paper looked evenly match, and on the impeccable yet tricky playing surface things were even closer.

Marown took the initiative in the early stages with Colin Kelly drawing first blood for his side with a 21-10 win over Keith Rise. The next three games came off the green in quick succession with Marown moving further ahead thanks to wins from seasoned campaigners John Gelling and Phil Kelly, but then something happened.

Stuart Garrett picked up a superb 21-18 win over June Festival winner and Marown Captain Neil Withers to give his side hope, and the Douglas troops responded brilliantly to this rallying cry with Paul Skelly and Matthew Keggen notching up wins to draw the challengers level. The balance of power seemed to be swinging towards to underdogs.

Then there was another twist in the tale as Mike Cain, who had trailed by a couple of points for most of his game, edged passed Douglas Captain Mark Kneen 21-19 to leave his team needing only one more win to retain their crown. With the two remaining games on the green finally balanced the scene was set for an ending so suspenseful that it could have been scripted.

Paul Kelly moved through the gears and held his nerve brilliantly to see off the challenge of Peter Kelly 21-16 to keep his team in the running leaving everything resting on the game between Ian Moore (Douglas) and Dean Kipling (Marown).

Moore was ahead 20-17 and led out to try and bring home the trophy for his team. He headed straight for the corner however he got a little tight with his first bowl and it just went off the green. Last years division 1 merit winner Kipling capitalised and played a great bowl which Moore just failed to beat with his second. Kipling then picked up a two to tie the scores at 20-20.

Kipling put up two brilliant woods to leave Moore lying game down but he held his nerve and with everything resting on the fate of his final bowl he struck the jack off the green, killing the end and keeping the Douglas hopes alive in the process. However it was not meant to be for the challengers as Kipling, who seemed to thrive in the pressure cooker atmosphere, led magnificently and picked up the final point required for a Marown win.

It is heartbreaking for Douglas who came so close to winning the shield for the first time in over 50 years, but it wasn’t meant to be. Marown just had the edge by the smallest of margins winning 5-4 on games with the scores ending 167-165 on points in a match that had everything. In sport there are always winners and losers and Marown are brilliant champions but Douglas are far from losers after this performance, the real winners on Friday night were those lucky enough to watch this epic encounter which I am sure will be stored in the memory banks for years to come.

Winners (Marown A)

Runners Up (Douglas A)

Holders Marown A and challengers Douglas A are set to face off in the final of the Canada Life International Rayner shield on Friday after they both picked up superb away wins to book their final berths.

Marown became the only the second team in 10 years to defeat Onchan A at the park with man of the match performances from Peter Kelly and Mark Moorley as they picked up respective victories over Phil Kerruish and Glynn Hargraves. The rest of the team worked well and the final nail was put in Onchan’s coffin by young Luke Hyland who came back from 19-11 down to win 21-19 against Peter Karran and seal a 6-3 win for his side.

Douglas had the tricky task of travelling to Castletown A and despite trailing 2-1 put in a masterful performance to finish 7-2 winners. It looked like it was going to be a lot more difficult but after Ian Moore held his nerve to finish off a great 21-19 win over Bob Clark, and Ken Williams waded in with a 21-16 win over Tony Dugdale momentum swung towards the visitors.

It should be a magnificent final with two of the top teams in the league competing for the magnificent shield.

Mark Kneen

South Ramsey A continued where they left off last week putting pressure on the top three with a magnificent four points away at Onchan A. This really is an indication that the northerners mean business and are in great form as they pushed the champions all the way drawing on games but just losing out on the aggregate points to go down 6-4.

There are a lot of positives for the Ramsey outfit to draw on and non-more so that the signs that former greats Andy Kennish and Peter Collister are now getting back to their best and a match for anyone on their day. They entertain third placed Douglas A tonight and a win by over 4 points would see them leapfrog their rivals into the much coveted third spot.

Onchan A surrendered top spot despite beating South and will be hoping to regain it tonight with a maximum against Peel A at home. The Govags beat Onchan last time out and the champions have along memory and will be hoping to right that wrong at the Park.

Marown A put in another strong display with a 9-1 victory over Castletown B to regain top spot with a game in hand over their closest rivals. They face Port St Mary A at home tonight and will be hoping that they can do enough to at least match Onchan’s result to allow them to maximise the effect of their game in hand next week.

If they win big tonight and next week I honestly think that there will be too much daylight between them and the chasing pack and that the championship will be heading to the memorial playing fields.

Douglas A won away from home 7-3 at Ballaugh A to keep them in the hunt for minor places ahead of their showdown with South tonight. If they escape with 4 or more points it will a great result for the Villa Men.

Castletown A remain in fifth place after a solid 7-3 home win over Port St Mary A, but have a game in hand on both South and Douglas and will want their rivals to take points off each other to allow them to close the gap. Town travel to North Ramsey A and will have their work cut out after North picked up a good 7-3 victory over Peel A last week to find some form.

I see this week as a turning point in the season a lot of the top outfits have the chance to throw down the gauntlet to their rivals and this week’s results could be fundamental in determining  the fate of the top 3 place.

Division 2 leaders Port St Mary B put in a blistering performance to defeat fourth placed Finch Hill A 9-1 to extend their lead at the top and give themselves some breathing space in the title race. They face second placed Castletown C tonight at home and a big win will put them firmly in the driving seat for top honours.

Town C will be up for a challenge and after picking up a good 6-4 win last week away at the tricky Finch Hill B will hope to get some really valuable points from tonight’s top of the table match up.

Third placed Port Erin A won 6-4 at the battling Castletown D and find themselves equal on points with town C and will be hoping they can take advantage of their rivals facing off with a big win at home over Ballaugh B to move them up the tree.

Nobles Park A remain at the summit of division 3 after battling to a 6-4 win away at South Ramsey B last week.

North Ramsey B are the surprise package of this division and as this talented bunch of mainly new players find their feet they could become the force to be reckoned with. They picked up  brilliant 7-3 away win over then second placed Onchan C to swap places with their rivals and move into the promotion places for the first time.

Onchan C were the early pace setters in this division and a recent slump have form has seen them falling down the table they really need to get hold of this soon if they are to genuine contenders for promotion. They have the time and quality to do this but they need to start now and a win away at Nobles Park B on Tuesday would be a good place to start.

Report by Mark Kneen

Champions Onchan A turned on the style on Monday evening as they brushed aside genuine contenders Douglas A with relative ease, effectively ending any real hopes the Villa men had for top honours.  The 8-2 score line mirrored that of their first encounter earlier in the season however the match was anything but similar as Douglas were up against it from the off and lucky to escape with two points.

There was something different about the post-festival champions. They had a competitive edge that had thus far eluded them this season, and every single one of them played every bowl as if their lives depended on it.  I still think Marown will pip them to the post this year, but this performance has put doubts in my mind. If Onchan do go down, they will go down fighting and the odds of them defending their title for the 11^th consecutive time have shortened dramatically after this display.

Marown A kept momentum behind their title bid as they picked up 9-1 win away at Peel Sunset A to close in on the champions. This solid, workman like performance leaves them one point adrift of the champions, but with a game in hand.  They will be hoping to better the performance of the champions tonight and return to the top of the tree.

There is definitely something different about the Marown team this year and there seems to be a synergy around this particular line up which had been missing in recent seasons. Their ability to pick up big wins is what has made them stand out from the crowd and could be what sees them to their first title in over a decade.

South Ramsey A took advantage of Castletown A sitting out and a big 9-1 win at Town over the B team sees them move into 4^th place. They are now only one point behind Douglas in the battle for third and with all their players firing on all cylinders they could be the ones to watch in the battle for the minor places. They travel to Onchan A tonight and this performance should show us where they are in terms of improvement and progression.

Port St Mary A now have fire in their bellies and their 9-1 win over Ballaugh A has seen them move up the table and away from the relegation places. They need to keep this going tonight and at least try and pick up some good points away at Castletown. If they can string some form together they should be able to finish the season in a mid-table position allowing them to build on it next year.

The final match of the division was a cracker with Nobles Mixed A and North Ramsey A tying 5-5 after the Northerners won on games but just missed out on the aggregate points by 9 chalks. Both these teams sit in the relative safety of 6^th and 7^th places and if they continue to pick up points in the second half of the season should start next year in the top flight.

Division 2 leaders Port St Mary B remain in pole position after a good 8-2 win away at Ballaugh B sees them consolidate top spot.  Castletown C put in the performance of the day to move into second place, just 3 points behind the Spaniards, after they put in a devastating display to demolish Peel B 10-0 at the crofts.  Town C have the class to stay challenging for top spot and the thought of making history and having 3 teams from the same club in the top division could become reality.

Port Erin A are still very much in the hunt and are in third spot on equal points with Town C after they beat Port St Mary C 8-2.  The fate of this title is still finally in the balance and I can’t call who will be crowned champion come September.

There are new leaders in division 3 for the first time this year with Noble Park A now occupying first place thanks to a brilliant 9-1 win over Douglas C. Long-time leaders Onchan C have slipped down into second after suffering a shock 6-4 loss at home to Ballaugh C.

Report by Mark Kneen