Singles Report July 1st

OXFORD SINGLES DELIVERS DRAMA AS SEMI-FINAL LINE UP IS CONFIRMED

League action took a back seat as this season's Oxford Singles competition produced an evening packed with drama, shocks and nail-biting finishes across two venues.
By the end of the night, Roger Goodall (White House), Steve Ward (Black Horse A), Kevin Stuart (Littlemore British Legion A) and Luke Purcell (New Club A) had all secured their places in the semi-finals, while both of last year's finalists suffered surprise early exits.

At the Masons Arms, defending champion Pete Rampton (Black Horse) made a winning start with a 2-1 victory over Tom Finney (Blackbird) first leg on three sticks after it was tied 2-2 and the second leg with a set of 5, but his hopes of retaining the title were ended in the second round by Dick Walsh (White House).
Rampton edged the opening leg 4-3 before Walsh levelled the contest after matching a set of three and winning the ensuing three-stick shoot-out and then a one stick shoot out by the narrowest of margins. The deciding leg was a tense affair, with both players managing just one doll before another three-stick decider was required. Walsh held his nerve to set three, leaving Rampton unable to respond as the defending champion bowed out.

Walsh had already shown his fighting qualities in the opening round, surviving a huge scare against Adrian Pitts (North Leigh). Both legs finished tied at 3-3 before Walsh prevailed on three sticks to complete a hard-fought 2-0 success. His second-round clash with White House team-mate Phil Austin was equally dramatic. Austin claimed the opening leg 4-2 before Walsh levelled after another three-stick finish and then produced a superb set of six in the deciding leg to progress.
His excellent run eventually came to an end against Steve Ward, who booked his place in the last four with another battling performance.

Ward had been involved in close contests throughout the evening. He recovered to beat Ian McAteer (White House) 2-0, winning the first leg 4-3 before producing three perfect sticks in a shoot-out to claim the second after it was tied 4-4. He then defeated Ashley Keenan (North Leigh FC) 2-0 before overcoming Neil Gaul (Masons Arms A) by the same score line.
His quarter-final with Walsh was one of the matches of the night. A low-scoring opening leg went all the way to a one-stick shoot-out before Ward eventually edged it back at six sticks. Walsh responded by taking the second leg, but Ward showed his composure under pressure, knocking off the four dolls required in the decider to seal his semi-final place.

Five-time World Champion Roger Goodall (White House) also progressed with a series of impressive performances. After brushing aside team-mate Steve McAteer 2-0, with an impressive first leg chase of 4 by hitting 5 dolls. Goodall comfortably defeated Pete Shepherd (New Club) before coming through a tougher test against Kevin Baker (Littlemore British Legion A).
Baker took the opening leg, but Goodall responded in champion fashion with a superb set of five to level before comfortably taking the deciding leg. He then completed his evening with a convincing straight-legs victory over Scott Thompson (Littlemore British Legion A), winning both legs with scores of four.

Over at Garsington Sports Club, Luke Purcell started off well by eliminating last year's runner-up Andy Beal (Littlemore British Legion) 2-1. Purcell opened with a set of five before Beal forced a deciding leg winning the second leg on three sticks, but Purcell held his nerve to edge through 3-2 in the final leg.

Purcell maintained his excellent form with a 2-0 victory over Ben Carter (Donnington Club A). Carter recovered from two early misses to set 4 in the opening leg and force a three-stick finish, but Purcell's consistency proved decisive winning the three sticker before comfortably taking the second.
Leading doll scorer Chris Webb (Masons Arms A) was next to challenge Purcell, but the New Club player continued his impressive run. He replied to Webb's opening set of three by hitting four before setting five in the second leg to complete another straight-legs victory.

Kevin Stuart completed the semi-final line-up after an outstanding night's work. He survived a stern opening-round test against Peter Flaherty (Donnington Club A), winning the first leg on three sticks before responding to a set of four by knocking off five dolls to seal the match.

Adam Williams (Rose Hill Club) was dispatched 2-0 before Stuart faced Doug Mingham (Blackbird) for a place in the semi-finals. Mingham claimed the opening leg, but Stuart responded superbly, hitting four after Mingham had set three in each of the final two legs to complete an impressive comeback and secure his place in the last four.

With four players remaining and several of the pre-tournament favourites already eliminated, the stage is now set for an exciting conclusion to this year's Oxford Singles Championship.

EDWARDS & EELES SET UP TED HOUGHTON SINGLES FINAL SHOWDOWN

Paul Edwards (Red Lion Yarnton) and Tony Eeles (Rose Hill Club) will contest this year's Ted Houghton Singles Final for Section 3 & 4 players at The New Club after both came through challenging semi-final ties.
Former runner-up Edwards, who finished second in 2022, will be hoping to go one better this time, while Eeles has reached the final for the first time in his career.

Eeles enjoyed an impressive run to the final, beginning with a 2-1 victory over Walter Harwood (Bletchingdon Sports). He then produced one of the performances of the competition in the quarter-finals against Wayne Harwood (Bletchingdon Sports). Wayne opened by setting with two dolls, but Eeles replied with three to take the first leg before wrapping up the match in style, setting in the second leg and hitting a maximum six dolls.

The Rose Hill player faced another stern examination in the semi-finals against Terry Lester (Six Bells 'B'). Eeles edged the opening leg 3-2 before the second produced the night's most dramatic finish. Both players hit three dolls to force a three-stick shoot-out and then matched each other again with two dolls apiece. Even the one-stick decider could not separate them as both whipped the doll clean from the swivel, sending the contest back to six sticks. Eeles finally broke the deadlock, winning the replay 2-1 to seal his place in the final.

Edwards also had to earn his place in the showpiece. The Red Lion Yarnton player opened with a 2-0 victory over Neil Butler (Cowley Workers), winning the legs 3-1 and 2-1, before defeating Sean Osgathorp (Red Lion Cassington) in the quarter-finals.
His semi-final against Dave Behan (Red Lion Cassington) proved to be the match of the night. Behan took the opening leg after setting and winning with four dolls, but Edwards responded superbly in the second, setting with an outstanding five dolls. Behan came within one doll of forcing another deciding leg after hitting four, but Edwards had levelled the contest.

The deciding leg was another tense affair. Behan set with two dolls, leaving Edwards with work to do, but the former finalist held his nerve to hit three in reply and book his place in a second Ted Houghton Singles final.
The final promises an intriguing contest as the experienced Edwards looks to add the title that narrowly eluded him in 2022, while first-time finalist Eeles bids to complete a memorable run by lifting the Ted Houghton Singles crown.

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