Record-equalling win for Leominster team

4:24pm Thursday 7th August 2008

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LEOMINSTER cemented their position at the top of the Tarmac League with a record-equalling score of 145 shots against Kingsland.

Leominster’s score of 145 equalled the league’s best four rink score achieved by Hay over four years ago, though their winning margin fell three shots short of Hay’s record.

Kingsland lost heavily on all four rinks to a rampant Leominster side where the four skipped by Mark Suter won by 37-6 to take rink honours on the day. Their effort was well supported by the four skipped by Brain Cade with a 44 -15 result to record the day’s highest score, and by Tracy Powell’s four that won by 39-13.

Only P Edwards’ Kingsland four kept the winning margin down to the teens as they lost by 14 shots in a 25-11 defeat to Fred Williams’ four that ensured a maximum 16-point haul for the league leaders.

St Martin’s moved back into second place with a hard fought home win by 13 shots against Weobley.

The match was much closer than the score suggests as Weobley had seven shots deducted for mistakenly fielding an illegal rink, although the final outcome was not affected.

In fact, at the half-way stage, Weobley held a four-shot lead and looked to be working their way to their second away win of the year.

But the St Martin’s four skipped by Steve Booth, 9–6 down at the half-way mark, then took a firm hold on their game to score 14 shots with only two scored in reply by Weobley as they came off the green with a 20–11 victory.

Jim Knowles’ St Martin’s four led all the way to a 19-9 shot win in a low-scoring game to seal the match for the home club, where the Weobley four, skipped By Dave White, fought hard all the way with only single and two-shot scores recorded on each end.

Barbara Warburton skipped the one Weobley winning rink to a 17–14 victory that denied maximum points to St Martin’s as they slipped two points further behind Leominster at the top of the league.

Hereford picked up a maximum 16 points at Castle Green in an all Hereford City match and move into fourth place to close the gap on the clubs above them.

Their 48-shot win against the host club was led by the four skipped by Phil Williams with a 33–10 shot win and Margaret Worth’s four that came off the green with 29-8 shot win. The other two rinks were very closely matched and Castle Green could consider themselves a little hard-done-by as both rinks lost by the same 18-20 score.

Neither Kington, now in third place two points behind St Martin’s, or Llandrindod Wells, in fifth, had league matches scheduled this week or next as Leominster and St Martin’s play off some of their games in hand on Kington.

But Llandrindod will now have up to four matches in hand over the four clubs above them in the league, including fixtures against St Martin’s, Kington and Hereford, and seem well-placed to mount a challenge in the final months of the season.

Hay hosted two league matches this week and extended their winning run to four matches by winning both.

After their dreadful start to the season, where they recorded only one drawn match and eight defeats, these two wins have moved Hay into a comfortable mid-table position.

The first match against Weobley, won by 25 shots, saw three rinks win with Ken Bounds skipping his rink to the day’s best result with a 30–20 win. Hay had to concede a draw, however, on the fourth rink where John Hughes’ Hay four were held to a 21-21 shot draw by the Weobley rink skipped by Mike Price.

Four days later, Kingsland were the visitors and, although Hay only won on two rinks, they won the match by 12 shots, due entirely to John Hughes’ four that won by the same 12 shots in a 22-10 victory.

Two games finished with a 21-20 result, one to each club, and the fourth rink was drawn at 19 shots apiece, in a match decided by the result of just one rink.

RESULTS: Hay on Wye 89 Weobley 64 Home Rinks (W3 D1 L0), Castle Green 54 Hereford 102 (W0 D L4), Hay on Wye 84 Kingsland 72 (W2 D1 L1), St Martin’s 67 Weobley 54 (W3 D0 L1), Leominster 145 Kingsland 45 (W4 D0 L0)