South Ramsey Close The Gap
In division one South Ramsey B travelled to Onchan A and were delighted to come away with a 4-6 loss, drawing on games. For the visitors Ben Dugdale had an excellent 21-10 win over Kevin Quirk, with Tony Dugdale also winning 21-14. James Teare performed well to beat Rob Monk 21-18, whilst Sid Bolton just got past Steve Crampton 21-20 to ensure the Ramsey men left with their spirits lifted.
Marown A had the pleasure of a trip down South to take on Port St Mary A. The two winners for the home team were Trevor Quayle who beat Phil Kelly 21-14 and Rob Cooil who beat John Gelling 21-11. Wayne Roberts nearly added an extra win for the home team but fell at the last hurdle 20-21 to Matthew Keggen who had to dig in after being behind the entire game. For the visitors Dean Kipling, Neil Withers and Colin Kelly all won to single figures.
Peel A made the short trip to take on Marown B and will have been pleased to come away with an 8-2 victory thanks to winning three close games. Tommy McMeiken and Gary Smith won 21-18, defeating Arnie Withers and Harry Barton respectively, whilst David Proctor beat Juan Killip 21-19. Ste Kelly and Tom Kelly both won to single figures. For the home team Brian ‘Boothy’ Kelly beat Jerome Surridge 21-11 and Steve Bridson had a strong 21-9 win over Frank Watson.
North Ramsey A didn’t have far to travel to take on South Ramsey A and came away with one winner, bettering their Rayner Shield result from the first week of the season. For the visitors Allan Callow prevented the whitewash with a comfortable 21-12 win over Alan Moore. For the home team Dido Kelly and John Kennish won to single figures, with Chas Grills manging to hold off John Cannan to win 21-18 in difficult conditions.
Douglas A played their first home league fixture of the season on what is without doubt the most improved and best surface on the island at present thanks to the hard work that the club has put in over the past year. The ‘Villa’ men only just missed out on a maximum with Castletown’s George Peach edging his game 21-20 against Gary Conwell. Green Keeper Ian Moore, Mervin Sayle & Keith Rise all won to single figures. Mike Hargraves was next closest to adding a second win for Castletown, however Jimmy Sansom won 21-18.
Port Erin A had a good result at home with a 9-1 win over fellow strugglers Douglas B, who lost three games to single figures, will feel slightly unfortunate not to take at least one more game with Graham Moore, Gordon Wynne-Smythe and Pat O’Donohue losing out to 19,18 and 17 respectively. Andy Cannell was the only winner for the visitors with an excellent 21-6 win over Dave McCabe.
Rearranged fixtures also took place this week with Port St Mary A defeating local rivals Port Erin A 8-2, the winners for the visitors were Dave McCabe beating Wayne Roberts 21-17 and Seamus Whelan who defeated Rob Cooil 21-20.
In the other rearranged fixture Peel A took on Castletown A with Peel using their home advantage to record a 10-0 win. For the home team Frank Watson, Tommy McMeiken & Gary Smith all won to single figures, whilst coming closest to winning for the visitors were Jordan Drewett, Jeff Kinley and Mike Hargraves who scored 20, 19 and 17 respectively.
In division two Castletown B are top of the table and they continued their strong start to the season with an 8-2 home win over Finch Hill A. Hot on their heels are Onchan B only two points behind, who had a 9-1 home win over Port St Mary C. Noble’s B kept the pressure on the top two with a 9-1 home win over Port St Mary B. At the other end of the table Port Erin B are finding life tough as they made the trek to Ballaugh whose A Team were in uncompromising mood and the trip would have been a long one home following a 9-1 loss.
In division three Ballaugh B extended their lead at the top to two points thanks to an 8-2 home win over Onchan C. Marown C sit in second place and will have been pleased to come away from Castletown with a 6-4 win against third placed Castletown C after drawing 4-4 on games but taking the aggregate on chalks. At the other end of the table Peel D sit only a point behind Douglas D.