Week 16

Games played Wednesday 24th August
Jon Townsend was in spectacular form as he clanged off fifteen dolls (6-6-3) and with team mate Pete Coates chipping in with fourteen (4-6-4) helped The Swan beat The Gladiators 2-1 in the top of the table Premier clash. The Swan set and won the opening leg 33-18. Gladiators looking to level in the next leg set 25 and looked to have secured the leg but a six from Townsend and five from anchor man Keith Powell saw them shoot pass that with a reply of 30. Gladiators got a deserved point in the last leg 27-24.
Charlie Buckingham was in fine form for The Woodman hitting fourteen dolls (4-5-5) but it could not prevent them going down 2-1 to The New Club A for whom Pete Shepherd bagged himself a six in his thirteen dolls haul (6-2-5). New Club threw well to take the first two legs 28-19, 27-26 but The Woodman hit back well in the last leg to avoid the whitewash 30-20.
Garsington Sports Club A boosted their Section One title ambitions by beating leaders Yarnton British Legion in a close game. The Sportsmen won the opening leg 25-21 and then just scrapped by in the next leg 21-20. Garsington set the final leg with 21 but Yarnton came back well to snatch the leg by the odd doll with 22. Mark Poulter top scored for Yarnton with fourteen dolls (5-4-5).
Bullnose Morris A stay in second spot after coming from behind to beat The George A for whom Kevin Stuart was in top form with thirteen dolls (4-4-5). The George stormed the first leg 27-19 but Bullnose came back strongly to win the next two legs 26-17, 25-20.

Section Two is still up for grabs with The Swan B boosting their chances and severely denting The Crowns at the same time by beating them 3-0 on their own patch. Swan easily won the opening leg 24-16 and then set 22 in the next leg. After a steady reply Crown faltered and left anchor man Dennis Sellar needing all six to tie. He gave it a good shot but fell one short with five to give The Swan a 2-0 lead. The Swan wrapped it up in style in the final leg 30-19.

It cannot get any tighter at the top of Section 3 with three teams level at the top and another just lurking below.
Vikings Sports A had a tight 3-0 win away at The King & Queen winning all three legs 16-14, 18-15, 16-16, the last leg on three sticks.
Florence Park A got off to a comfortable start against The Chequers C winning the first leg easily 20-10 but had to concede the next leg on three sticks after it was tied 17-17. The final and deciding leg Florence Park just won by the odd doll 19-18.
The Chequers A make up the trio but could have gone a point clear if they had not dropped a point against basement boys The Masons Arms A. It was going well for The Chequers winning the first two legs 22-11, 20-15 but Masons hit back well in the last leg to win it 24-19.

The Blackbird have got one hand on the Section 4 crown after beating their closest rivals Donnington Club A 3-0. Playing with a man short cost Donnington dear as they lost the first leg by the smallest of margins 16-15. Blackbird took advantage of the extra man and easily won the next two legs 15-12, 18-13.
Littlemore British Legions chances went down the pan when they crashed at home to Red Lion A Marston. The damage was done in the first two legs which The Lion won 19-17, 20-17. The Legion salvaged a point in the final leg 17-14.
Green Road Club B produced their best performance of the season to come from behind and beat The Berkshire House 2-1. Simon Hopkins (3-6-4) and Stuart Lawrie (3-5-5) both hit a baker’s dozen for the club men as they lost the first leg 17-16, but then hit back extremely well to win the next two legs 24-12, 22-14.

Eamon Hanlon hit his third thirteen on the bounce (5-3-5) to guide Section 5 winners The Black Swan to a 2-1 victory over The Swan C in the leg scores of 17-13, 18-13, 17-19.
After losing their previous twelve games North Oxford Con Club A reversed the trend and beat fellow strugglers Red Lion B Marston 3-0. They won the first leg 12-10 but had to rely on a three stick shootout to win the second leg after it was tied 11-11. They completed the whitewash in the final leg 18-10.

The Pheasant Inns Section 6 title ambitions are slipping away after they lost at home 2-1 to The Seacourt Bridge. They lost the first leg on three sticks after it was tied 17-17. Pheasant responded well to level the game in the second leg 22-9 but lost the deciding leg 17-14. Paul Wallington threw a steady 4-4-4 for The Pheasant.

Four teams are still within a shout in Section 7 with Northway Club A leading the pack after a 2-1 win at home over Red Lion B Cassington. They easily won the first two legs 13-6, 15-11 but could not complete the hat trick losing the final leg 13-11.
Florence Park Club B put themselves back in the hunt after beating local rivals The Bullnose Morris B 2-1. Florence Park stormed into an early 2-0 lead winning both legs at a canter 14-11, 14-8 but fell away in the final leg to let in The Bullnose 11-7. It was an unhappy return for former Bullnose player Ray Hambridge who blobbed out for Florence Park.
Green Road Club A were stunned at bottom team Donnington Club B who beat them 2-1 and put a spoke in their title chances. Equalling their best scores of the season Donnington won the first two legs 19-14, 13-12. Green Road composed themselves and took a point in the final leg 20-15 for whom Terry Lester hit a rare six to end up with ten dolls.

Black Horse Kidlington opened up a three point gap at the top of Section 8 after a routine 3-0 win at home over White Hart Wytham in the leg scores of 14-10, 11-7, 13-11.
Stuart Kimber hit a six for Kidlington Football Club but then followed it up with a blob as they lost at The Golden Ball B 2-1.

The last unbeaten record of the season fell as Section 9 leaders Golden Ball A crashed 3-0 away at The Kings Arms. It was a poor night all round for the leaders as they lost the first leg on three sticks after it was tied 9-9 lost the next leg 6-5 and finally the last leg 14-7.

SIXERS: J.Townsend (2) P.Coates (The Swan A) P.Shepherd (New Club A) R.Bradford (Black Prince) S.Hopkins (Green Road Club B)
T.Lester (Green Road Club A) S.Kimber (Kidlington F.C)

BLOBBERS: D.Smith (Red Lion B Marston) K.Sharp (Fox & Goat) C.Blackburn (Seacourt Bridge) R.Heath (Northway Club C)
F.Delaney (Democrats Club B) P.Dyer, D.Glancy (Kings Arms) M.Pestana (Golden Ball A) C.Butler (Vikings Sports B) W.Morris (Six Bells B)
R.Hambridge (Florence Park B)
TOP DOLL SCORERS:
15: J.Townsend (The Swan A)
14: C.Buckingham (The Woodman) P.Coates (The Swan A) M.Poulter (Yarnton B.L.)
13: P.Shepherd (New Club A) E.Edwards (The Woodman) J.Clemson (Six Bells A) K.Stuart (The George A)
S.Lawrie, S.Hopkins (Green Road Club B) E.Hanlon (Black Swan)

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