Week 15 August 19th

PREMIER SECTION RACE GOES DOWN TO THE WIRE
With just three weeks of the season remaining, the Premier Section title race is still far from decided. Leaders Littlemore British Legion ‘A’ strengthened their position with a valuable three-point victory away at The Black Horse ‘A’.
Legion took the opening leg setting with a modest 18, but The Black Horse missed their chance to capitalise after two blobs in the middle order left anchor man Steve Walton needing all six dolls to win, or five for a tie. Walton battled hard but managed only four, leaving Black Horse on 17.
Legion then took full advantage, cruising through the next two legs 25-16 and 22-15 to secure all three points.

Second-placed and defending champions The White House suffered a surprise 2-1 home defeat against Black Horse ‘B’. White House struggled throughout the night, setting just 21 in the opening leg, which Black Horse comfortably overtook with 25. Black Horse then set another 25 in the second leg. More inconsistent throwing from the champions left anchor man Ian McAteer needing all six, but he could manage only two, leaving White House on 22 and Black Horse with the leg.
White House salvaged some pride in the final leg, setting 23. Black Horse looked on course to pass it, but two blobs saw them finish on 21, denying them a clean sweep. Ady Cross top-scored for White House with 13 dolls (4-4-5), matched by Black Horse’s Alan Surman, also with 13 (4-4-5).

North Leigh FC remain in contention and boosted their chances with a three-nil win at The Ampleforth Arms ‘A’. The opening leg went to a three-stick shoot-out after the teams finished level at 18-18, with North Leigh coming out on top. They then made no mistake in the final two legs, winning 16-9 and 23-13.

Section One winners The Blackbird continue to set the pace after a 2-1 home victory over The Jolly Sportsman, despite suffering a nightmare start. Chasing a set of just 17, and with a two-doll handicap, Blackbird fell one short at 16. They responded superbly, however, setting 26 in each of the next two legs and winning them 26-24 and 26-20 to complete an impressive comeback.
Garry Rees and Martin Cook were the pick of the Blackbird players, both finishing with 11 dolls. Rees recorded 3-4-4, while Cook contributed 2-4-5.

The Masons Arms ‘A’ are holding on to second place after coming from behind to beat visitors The New Club ‘A’ 2-1. New Club comfortably took the opening leg after Masons could only set 16, with the visitors replying with 21. The second leg was a much tighter affair, finishing 21-21 before Masons prevailed in the three-stick shoot-out.
With the match on the line, New Club could only set 16 in the deciding leg. Masons struggled to respond, leaving anchor man Chris Webb needing three dolls to secure victory. He delivered, hitting all three to seal the leg 17-16 and complete a hard-fought comeback.
With the title races entering their final stages, every point is becoming increasingly valuable, and the next three weeks promise plenty of drama at both ends of the table.

FOUR STILL IN THE HUNT FOR THE SECTION 2 TITLE
Section 2 remains wide open, with four teams still firmly in contention for the title. Leaders Six Bells ‘C’ strengthened their position with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over one of their closest challengers, WADs Bar, in a game that could easily have gone either way.
The Bells took the opening leg after setting 18 and restricting WADs to 12, but the visitors struck back strongly in the second. WADs set an impressive 20 with the leaders only hitting only 14 to level the match.
With everything resting on the final leg, Six Bells set a challenging 21. WADs made a bright start and remained in contention until a costly blob threatened to derail their hopes. However, a maximum six from Mark Tilling dragged them back into the contest, leaving anchor man Harry Tilling needing four to win. He gave it a good go but fell two short, as WADs finished on 20 to hand the Bells the leg and a vital victory.

Donnington Club ‘C’s title ambitions suffered a setback as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat away at The New Club ‘B’. Donnington edged a tight opening leg 18-17, but the New Club raised their game to take the next two legs 18-16 and 22-20. John Cleaton was in fine form for the home side, hitting a dozen dolls with a maximum six in his 6-3-3 haul.

Donnington Club ‘B’ also dropped a valuable point at home to Queens Head ‘A’, although they could have lost more. Donnington set 15 in the opening leg, but Queens collapsed in reply, managing only six. The visitors responded in style in the second, trebling their opening score to set 18, before restricting Donnington to 15.
The final leg was another close affair, with Donnington setting 14 and Queens matching the score to force a three-stick shoot-out. Donnington held their nerve when it mattered most to claim the leg and a vital win in their pursuit of the title.

At the other end of the table, the battle between Catherine Wheel ‘B’ and Garsington Sports Club produced some extraordinary scoring. The Wheel could only set 12 in the opening leg, but Garsington struggled badly, hitting three blobs on their way to just nine.
Garsington hit back in the second, more than doubling their opening score with an impressive set of 19. The Wheel improved but could only manage 14 in reply.
Standards then dropped dramatically in the deciding leg, with Catherine Wheel setting just nine and Garsington matching it to force a three-stick shoot-out. Remarkably, both teams scored more in the shoot-out than they had with six sticks. The Wheel set 10, but Garsington found 11 to snatch the leg and the game in dramatic fashion and stop their five match running loss.

WORKERS CLOSE IN ON SECTION 3 TITLE
Cowley Workers have one hand firmly on the Section 3 title after another commanding victory, this time at home to Headington Con Club, who arrived a player short.
It proved to be a comfortable night for the league leaders as they swept all three legs 14-11, 23-12 and 16-6 to move ever closer to the championship. John Styles had a mixed but productive night in his nine-doll haul, opening with just one before firing in a maximum six and then coming back down to earth with two in his final throw. Nevertheless, it was enough to give him his highest score of the season. Brayden Shields was the only real bright spot for The Con, hitting 10 dolls with a 3-5-2 haul.

Six Bells ‘B’s outside title hopes were brought to an end as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat away at Catherine Wheel ‘C’. The Bells made a bright start, setting and winning the opening leg 17-8, but The Wheel hit back in the second. A set of 13 proved enough as the visitors could only reply with 11.
The deciding leg was a low-scoring affair, with Catherine Wheel setting just 10, but the Bells failed to find the response they needed and could only manage five.

Littlemore Rugby Club’s title hopes were also extinguished after they lost to near neighbours Littlemore British Legion ‘B’. The Legion raced into a 2-0 lead, winning the opening two legs comfortably 14-9 and 16-8.
The final leg was a much closer affair, finishing level at 12-12, but the Legion held their nerve in the three-stick shoot-out to complete the whitewash. Darren Walker was top dog for the Legion with a 10-doll haul of 4-2-4.

SECTION 4 TITLE RACE TAKES ANOTHER TWIST
The battle for Section 4 took another twist as all three leading teams won their games, although leaders Red Lion Cassington dropped a vital point at home to The Tandem — and it could easily have been more.
The Lion set 11 in the opening leg and looked to be in control when Tandem had just four on the board with two players still to throw. Neal Clarkson then produced a five to bring the visitors back into contention, only for their anchor man, needing two to tie, to manage just one.
Tandem responded superbly in the second leg, setting an impressive 18 and restricting the leaders to just 11 to level the match. The deciding leg produced more drama as Red Lion set 10. Despite hitting four blobs, Tandem somehow matched the score to force a three-stick shoot-out.
The Lion then showed exactly why they are title contenders, holding their nerve to win the shoot-out 7-5 and claim the game. Clarkson was the standout performer on the night with a baker’s dozen of 13 dolls, hitting 5-4-4.

Rose Hill ‘A’ took full advantage of Red Lion’s slip-up by collecting maximum points away at The Corner House. They swept all three legs at a canter, winning 17-7, 14-11 and 19-9.

Kidlington Sports Club’s title hopes were blown apart at Rose Hill ‘B’, where they crashed to a 3-0 defeat. The home side took all three legs, winning 11-6, taking the second after it was tied 9-9 on three sticks, before wrapping up the whitewash with a 14-10 victory in the final leg.

Gardiners Arms produced one of the shocks of the night as they beat visitors Vikings Sports 2-1. It started disastrously for the Gardeners, who could only muster a score of two in the opening leg, with Vikings replying with seven to take an early lead.
However, Vikings could only set six in the second leg, and Gardiners improved dramatically to hit seven and level the match. Both teams raised their game in the deciding leg, with Vikings setting 11, but the Gardeners went one better, hitting a dozen dolls to snatch the leg and complete a memorable victory.

SIXERS:
J.Styles (Cowley Workers) M.Tilling (WADs Bar) J.Cleaton (New Club ‘B’)

BLOBBERS:
J.Turnock (Gardeners Arms) S.Oliver (Vikings Sports) H.Bates (Rose Hill ‘B’)

HIGHEST SCORERS
13: A.Cross (White House) A.Surman (Black Horse ‘B’) N.Clarkson (The Tandem)

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