Week 16 August 26th

PREMIER TITLE RACE BLOWN WIDE OPEN
A dramatic turn of events has blown the Premier title race wide open, with both the top two teams, Littlemore British Legion ‘A’ and The White House, suffering defeats while North Leigh FC took full advantage to leapfrog into second place.
Leaders Littlemore British Legion ‘A’ lost at The Jolly Sportsman in controversial circumstances. The Sportsman set the opening leg with 24 and Legion looked on target to pass the score, but anchor-man Kevin Stuart was denied a call on a perfect doll, leaving the visitors one short on 23 and handing the home side an early lead. The decision appeared to spur Legion into action in the second leg as they set an impressive 29. The Sportsman gave it a good go in reply but fell three short with 26 to level the match. The home side then set and won the deciding leg 25-23 to put the cat among the pigeons at the top of the table. Mark Bayliss, Scott Thompson (4-4-4) and Kevin Giles (3-4-5) all hit a dozen dolls for Legion.

The White House travelled to North Leigh FC and endured a nightmare evening, losing all three legs and suffering a massive blow in their quest to retain the title. A set of 23 from White House in the opening leg was never going to be enough to hold off North Leigh, who responded with 25. North Leigh then set 24 in the second leg and White House never recovered from a blob start, eventually falling well short with 19.
North Leigh set a beatable 23 in the final leg and White House looked set to capitalise, but some erratic throwing, including two blobs, left anchor-man Ian McAteer needing all six to win. Despite a good effort, he fell two short, leaving White House on 22 and allowing North Leigh to jump into second place and emerge as Legion’s main challengers for the title. Roger Goodall was the only real bright spark for White House, hitting 14 dolls (4-6-4) and recording his sixth maximum of the season. North Leigh’s Ady Pitts also threw well for his dozen dolls (5-4-3).

Last season’s runners-up New Club ‘A’ remain rooted to the foot of the table despite a comfortable 3-0 home win over Black Horse ‘A’. Luke Purcell led the way with a dozen dolls (4-3-5) as they won all three legs 24-17, 22-15 and 29-16.

Martin Green was in sizzling form, clanging off 13 dolls (3-5-5) to guide The Ampleforth ‘A’ to their first win in six weeks away at Black Horse ‘B’. They had to do it the hard way after losing the opening leg 16-14, but The Ampleforth upped their game to win the next two legs 20-11 and 21-20 to complete the turnaround.

The Blackbird’s good winning streak also continues after they beat visitors Masons Arms ‘A’ 2-1. They raced into a 2-0 lead, winning the first two legs 19-9 and 23-14, but could not complete the whitewash. Chasing a set of 17 in the final leg, they fell two short with 15. Chris Webb bagged himself a maximum six in his 12-doll haul (3-6-3) for The Masons.

SIX BELLS CLOSE IN ON SECTION 2 TITLE
Six Bells ‘C’ need just two points from their final two games to claim the Section 2 title after they swept aside Donnington Club ‘B’ 3-0 at home.
Chasing in all three legs, The Bells comfortably took the opening leg 22-13 but had to work much harder in the second, eventually sneaking over the line by the narrowest of margins with 15 when chasing a set of 14. The final leg showed exactly why they are title contenders as they raced past a target of 18 with an impressive 23 dolls. Top doll scorer Jack Wells bagged his second six of the season in a 12-doll haul of 6-2-4.

Donnington Club ‘C’ dropped what could prove to be a valuable point in their title pursuit against their own ‘A’ team. It started well for the C team as they chased down a set of 16 with 17 to take an early lead.
However, standards dropped in the second leg when they could only set 12. That proved no problem for the A team, who hit 16 to level the match. In the final and deciding leg, the C team set 17, and in reply the A team started off slow leaving the A team’s anchor-man needing four to win. However, he blobbed out, handing the C team the leg and the game. That dropped point in the second leg, though, could still prove to be crucial in the title race.

Dean Fitzgerald clanged off 13 dolls (4-3-6) for Queens Head ‘A’ in their 3-0 home win over Catherine Wheel ‘B’. They won the first two legs comfortably, 16-13 and 15-12, before completing the whitewash with a 17-15 victory in the final leg.
WADs Bar are enjoying one of their most successful seasons for a long time following a 3-0 home win over Garsington Sports Club. Chasing a set of 12 in the opening leg, WADs passed it with ease, hitting 17. They then set 12 in the second leg, giving Garsington the chance to level the match, but the visitors failed to capitalise, falling just one doll short with 11. WADs wrapped up the maximum win in the final leg, setting and winning it 14-11 to continue their impressive season.


COWLEY WORKERS CLAIM SECTION 3 TITLE
Cowley Workers Club were crowned Section 3 champions after sealing the title with a 2-1 win away at The Masons Arms ‘B’.
It has been a remarkable turnaround from The Workers, who lost their opening game of the season before embarking on a superb nine-game winning streak to secure the championship. They were made to work for it after Masons set and won the opening leg 17-15, but the champions responded in style, taking the next two legs 22-10 and 24-15 to spark the celebrations. Chris Jilbert was the only Masons player to reach double figures, hitting 11 dolls, including a maximum six, in his 6-3-2 haul.

Littlemore Rugby Club remain in second spot following a comfortable 3-0 win over visitors Six Bells ‘B’. Malcolm Bough led the way with 10 dolls (4-2-4) as the Rugby Club took all three legs 20-15, 15-10 and 14-12.

Littlemore British Legion ‘B’ produced their second-best team score of the season as they came from behind to defeat Red Lion Yarnton 2-1. The Lion edged a tight opening leg 15-14, but Legion upped their game in the second to level the match with an impressive 22-10 win. In the final and deciding leg, the Lion set 14, leaving Legion with a straightforward target. It all came down to anchor-man Dean Jacobs, who needed just two dolls to win. Jacobs held his nerve, whipping them both off to clinch the leg 15-14 and secure the match.

Ampleforth Arms ‘B’ set in all three legs of their home match against Catherine Wheel ‘C’, and their positive approach paid off as they came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory. The home side narrowly lost the opening leg 15-14 but responded well to take the next two 17-14 and 15-11.

Headington Con Club remain rooted to the foot of the table following their latest defeat, this time at home to Queens Head ‘B’. The visitors turned on the style to complete a 3-0 victory, winning all three legs 16-12, 13-9 and 19-14. Josh Breakspear top scored with 10 dolls in his 3-3-4 haul as Queens Head completed an impressive night.

SECTION 4 TITLE RACE STILL WIDE OPEN
The Section 4 title is still up for grabs, with three teams remaining in the hunt for the honour.
Rose Hill ‘A’ dragged themselves firmly back into contention after a crucial 2-1 home win over leaders Red Lion Cassington. The damage was done in the opening two legs, with Rose Hill taking them 18-14 and 19-15. The leaders hit back in the final leg to claim what could prove to be a crucial point, winning 17-15. Just how important that point will be remains to be seen at the end of the season.

Bletchingdon Sports Club moved to within just one point of the leaders following a hard-fought 3-0 win at The Gardiners Arms. Chasing a modest set of 11 in the opening leg, Bletchingdon struggled through the team with two blobs hampering their progress and leaving anchor-man Wayne Harwood needing three to win. He did not disappoint, whipping off the winning doll with his final stick. That dramatic finish appeared to inspire Bletchingdon as they went on to win the next two legs 16-10 and 13-10, completing the whitewash and keeping the pressure firmly on at the top.

Rose Hill ‘B’ made it three wins on the bounce with a 3-0 victory at The White Hart, although the score line could easily have gone the other way. After winning the first leg 13-9, Rose Hill could only set 12 in the second, a target White Hart matched to force a three-stick shoot-out. Rose Hill eventually prevailed to take a 2-0 lead.
They then set a beatable eight in the final leg, but White Hart could not take advantage. Three costly blobs dented their chances and they eventually fell two short with a total of six, allowing Rose Hill to complete the 3-0 victory.

SIXERS
C.Webb (Masons Arms ‘A’) R.Goodall (White House) J.Lane (Six Bells ‘C’) C.Jilbert (Masons Arms ‘B’) D.Fitzgerald (Queens Head ‘A’)

BLOBBERS
D.Ragbourne (Ampleforth ‘B’) D.Willoughby (Bletchingdon Sports) C.Grisbrooke (Gardiners Arms) S.Cadle, H.Bates (Rose Hill ‘B’) S.Wyatt (Garsington Sports)

HIGHEST SCORERS
14 R.Goodall (White House)
13 M.Green (Ampleforth Arms ‘A’) D.Fitzgerald (Queens Head 'A')

TOP LEG SCORES
Littlemore British Legion & New Club 'A' 29 dolls

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