After losing their opening match of the season to Southwark Sports a week ago, Ladywell gained their first John Collyer League win of 2023, away at Southwark Park on Wednesday 24th May. On a hot afternoon, a strong performance by the three Ladywell triples saw them gain eight points out of a possible ten.
The biggest win of the day saw Sally Bryan, Richard Moorhouse and Skip, Mark Simmons, gain a comfortable victory on the first rink. After losing a shot on the opening end, they built a commanding 11-1 lead after five ends and never looked like losing it, even when their opponents pulled a few shots back before the break. So, after nine ends, Ladywell were 13-6 up. After the break, Ladywell increased this lead to 20-6 after 12 ends and stretched it still further with a score of five on the 16th end, to lead 27-7. With one shot for each team on the final two ends, the end result was a 28-8 win for Ladywell.
On the second rink, the Ladywell triple of Howard Smith, Ian Bradford and Skip, Phil Welch, had a much closer game. In the early stages, the lead changed hands a number of times and after six ends the scores were tied at 5-5. But Ladywell hit a run of bad luck and failed to score on six consecutive ends. So the home side pulled away and by the break after nine ends, they'd gained an 11-5 lead, which they extended to 13-5 after 11 ends and 16-6 after 15 ends. With just three ends to play, the Ladywell team found their form, gaining five shots on the 16th end and seven shots over the final three ends to eventually lose by the narrow margin of 16-13.
The third rink saw the tightest match of the contest, with the Ladywell triple of Norman Lewis, Alvin Nelson and Skip, Des Marrett in a close struggle with their Southwark Park opponents. After gaining a two shot lead over the first two ends, Ladywell conceded three on the third to go behind for the first time. Two shots on the next two ends saw them take the lead again, only for Southwark Park to gain another three for a two point lead. Again Ladywell came back and the match was finely poised at the break, with the scores tied at 7-7. As is often the case, the game changed after the break and Ladywell came out the strongest, pulling away to a 12-7 lead after 12 ends. Southwark Park fought back once again, and with one end to play, the scores were tied at 14-14. But Ladywell pulled it out of the bag on the final end to win by 15-14.
This left an overall score of Southwark Park 38, Ladywell 56, earning Ladywell four points for two wins, plus an extra four points for the overall win, with Southwark Park gaining two points for their solitary win.
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