Relegation Battle Heats Up in Division One
The bottom four teams clashed in Canada Life International League Division One as Peel B went level with their opponents on the night, as they beat Marown C 8-2 at home, with the Crosby men still in danger of relegation. For the Peel men Tony Carroon was the best winner as he won 21-9, whilst Alan Cromwell caused the biggest upset of the night as he recovered from a 10-15 deficit against Tom Kelly to win 21-18. The two winners for Marown were Peter Kelly who beat Geoff Rice 21-8, and Conor Keenan who stepped into the team as he picked up an impressive 21-15 win over Rob Middleton.
The crunch clash at the bottom took place between Castletown A and South Ramsey B at the Crofts, with Town taking a 7-3 home win. For the visitors Ben Dugdale won the clash of the captains as he beat Jordan Drewett 21-17, Tony Dugdale beat Nathan Cooil 21-15, whilst Christian Caley was staring defeat in the face, however he pulled off an incredible comeback as he trailed 5-20 against David Quayle to run out with a 21-20 victory. For the home team four comfortable wins were taken by Aaron Richardson, Ron Williams, Ian Watson, George Foy, with Nathan Hamilton getting home 21-20 against Tony Hart.
League Leaders South Ramsey A stretched their lead to 10 points ahead of their next fixture away to Marown A, as they won 8-2 at home to Onchan A who were kept below 100 chalks (162-90). Winning for the visitors were Reg Temporaza who held off Stefan Kelly 21-17, whilst Matthew Quirk edged a good battle with Jordan Cain 21-19. Will Penhallurick missed out on a third win for Onchan as he let a 9-2 lead over John Kennish slip, eventually losing out 17-21. For the home team there were four single figure victories, whilst David Bradford earned a 21-13 win over Kevin Quirk.
Marown A came away from the Villa with a 3-7 victory over Douglas A, as they cruelly missed out on another two points with two 20-21 defeats, as Andy Cannell held off Glenn Boland, with Keith Rise getting the better of Sam Clague. The third win for the home team was from captain Merv Sayle who beat Phil Kelly 21-16. Four of the Crosby men’s wins were to single figures, with Paul Dunn having to battle for his 21-17 win over Gordon Wynne-Smythe.
Port St Mary A hosted North Ramsey A at Breagle Glen with the Port men winning 5-3 on games, the teams tied on chalks (141-141) to ensure the home team took a 6-4 win. Home captain Wayne Roberts held off Paul Allison 21-19, Dave Saxon beat John Cannan 21-20, with Dan McCabe seeing off Steve Walmsley 21-17, with Paul Skelly the best winner as he beat Gary Merrill 21-9. For the Mooragh men Allan Callow beat Robbie Cooil 21-8, Steven Waters won 21-15 against Tim Williams, whilst Rob Monk beat Tom Collins 21-13.
Marown B drew 4-4 on games with Peel A at Crosby, the home teams superior chalks securing the aggregate for a 6-4 win (152-126). Darren Kerruish continued his good form of late, as he beat Gary Smith 21-5, with teammate Matthew Keggen beating Dave ‘Barney’ Kelly 21-7. For the visitors Tommy McMeiken was the best winner as he beat Juan Killip 21-14, Peter Greenlees won 21-17 against Harry Barton, Dean Kinley held off Brian Kelly 21-18, whilst David Proctor got over the line 21-19 against John Kelly.
In Division Two league leaders Finch Hill A are 11 points ahead of second placed Ballaugh A following their 8-2 home win over Douglas B, with just 13 chalks separating the teams (139-126). Winning for the visitors were Dave Pease who beat Dave Jones 21-5, whilst Nick Firth beating John Qualtrough 21-8. For the home team Les Brookes was the best winner as he beat Steve Cook 21-7, with teammates Paul Dougherty (21-18) and Pat Maher (21-19) having to battle for their wins over Willie Cowley and Paddy Murphy respectively.
Ballaugh A were just four chalks off a 10-0 win, as they beat Noble’s A 8-2 at home. Two 21-19 wins were claimed by Juan Qualtrough and Mark Bradshaw over Mike Spooner and John Keenan respectively. For Ballaugh single figures wins were taken by John Maddrell, John Andrew, and Nigel Tebay.
Castletown B promotion hopes took a hit as came away from their fixture against South Ramsey C with a 7-3 defeat. Paul Routledge took the best win of the night as he beat Willie Corkill 21-6, Greg Barlow and Franz ten Donkelaar stepped up from the D team, with both players earning victories, whilst Richie Davies edged home 21-20 against Alan Phair. For the Town men Peter Oates, Derek Lewney, and George Peach all won with the latter winning 21-18 against James Moore.
Elsewhere in Division Two Onchan B took on their C Team, despite the higher ranked team losing 3-5 on games, they won the aggregate by five chalks (134-129) to avoid an embarrassing defeat.
Another draw on chalks (130-130) between North Ramsey B and Peel C at Mooragh Park resulted in a 6-4 win for the home team, whilst Port Erin A came away from Noble’s B with a 2-8 victory, with the Breagle Glen men having a game in hand on the teams above them as they look to close the gap.
In Division Three Noble’s D sit in third place, they were the only home winners this week as they beat South Ramsey D 7-3, helped by four single wins from Terry Bates, Alex Colquitt, Stan Cooper, and Roy Moore. Winning for the Ramsey men were Steve Kelly, Geoff Collier, and Billy Blair.
Ballaugh B closed the gap on leaders Port St Mary B, with a comfortable 3-7 victory away to Douglas D, whilst Port St Mary B came away from Peel D with a 4-6 victory as they remain top by two points on 120 points with just four games left to play. The result could have been better for the visitors with three of the Port players losing to 18,19 & 20.
Marown D slipped to a 4-6 home defeat over Douglas C, with John Ferguson and Greg Tomlinson winning to single figures for the visitors. Stu Mason responded for the home team with a 21-7 win over David Beynon.
Finch Hill B took home a 3-7 away win over Port Erin B, with Guy Smith winning 21-20 against Trevor Barker. For the Breagle men Alan Crebbin beat Samson Smith 21-3.
The closest game in Division Three was between Ballaugh C and Noble’s C, with another positive result for the visitors, as they came away with a 4-6 win taking the aggregate by seven chalks (140-147). Visiting captain Steve Cain beat Charlie Harrison 21-8, whilst teammates Paul Moore and Nigel Hinds lost out in close games.