Ladywell Bowling Club's first league match of the season on Tuesday May 17th saw them lose a close match to Southwark Sports, the reigning John Collyer League champions, in extremely hot conditions.
All three rinks were closely-fought contests, with both clubs gaining and then losing the advantage. But it was Southwark Sports who eventually came out on top, winning two rinks to Ladywell's one and winning the overall match 58-55.
On Rink 1, the Ladywell team of Slawek Rutkowski, Marion Edwards and Mark Simmons got off to a flying start, as they raced into a 6-1 lead after 3 ends. But the visitors fought back and by the break after 9 ends, Southwark Sports were ahead by 14 shots to 8. But the Ladywell team came back well in the second half of the match, gaining 6 shots on the 12th end and 5 on the 15th, to eventually win by 23-19.
On Rink 2, the Ladywell team got off to a slow start and were 5-0 down after 3 ends, before they claimed two shots on the 4th end to get on the board. The team of Howard Smith, Richard Moorhouse and Phil Welch pulled back to 5-6 after seven ends, before the visitors pulled away again, to take a 10-5 lead at the break. The match followed a similar pattern in the second half, with Southwark Sports pulling away to an 18-10 lead with three ends to go. But then the Ladywell team played a remarkable end, gaining seven shots on the 16th. With Ladywell gaining one more shot on the 17th end, the scores were tied at 18-all going into the final end. But despite the Ladywell team's best efforts, the Southwark Sports trio managed to gain the single shot they needed to win the match.
The final match on Rink 3 was another nip and tuck affair, with the lead changing hands four times during the course of the match. Before the break, the teams alternated in sharing points and at the halfway mark, Ladywell had the slight upper hand, 9-8. After the break, Ladywell pulled away to a 12-8 lead after 11 ends, but then it was all change, as Southwark Sports regained the lead on the 13th end 13-12. Ladywell again tied the match at 13-all, but Southwark Sports pulled away again and this time, it was a decisive break. Going into the final end, Ladywell were down by 14-16. And although the skip, Des Marrett, had a chance to win the match with his final bowl, he couldn't take it, with Southwark Sports finally winning 20-14.
This meant that Ladywell gained 2 points and Southwark Sports gained 8 in a match that could so easily have ended with the reverse scores. But it was a good showing by the Ladywell team, which bodes well for the rest of the season.
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