30th September 2011

AXE VALLEY BOULES: Golden Hind B double up

THE final, rain-delayed match of the Axe Valley Boules League season saw Colyton FC take on league champions Golden Hind B in the Whitbread Cup final at Seaton Town FC last Thursday evening.

The randomly-drawn match pairings saw the two captains playing each other in the first of the six singles games, with the Musbury captain running up nine straight points after losing the first end to take an early lead.

This soon became 3-0, and with a healthy 7-2 lead in the fourth match, it was looking like we were heading for an early finish, but a fine comeback saw Colyton turn this into a 9-7 win.

The fifth game was nip-and-tuck, and went to a deciding end which Colyton again won to reduce the deficit to 3-2.

Their recovery was completed in the final singles game, and so the six winners on the night competed in a deciding triples game.

The Golden Hind maintained their early evening form, running out comfortable 9-1 winners to clinch the cup and complete a league and cup double for the third time in five years.

Thanks go to Nick Ward of Kings & Queens for refereeing all the games.

Result: Golden Hind B 4 Colyton FC 3 (9-1, 9-2, 9-5, 7-9, 8-9, 5-9, 9-1).

The previous week saw the Triples Cup finals night at The Lamb in Axminster. In the first semi-final, Whitford Warriors easily saw off Gerrard Arms B 9-1, but the second semi-final was an epic game between the Ship Castaways and Golden Hind B.

After sharing the first four points of the match, the Axmouth side slowly built a lead, going 7-3 up, but a four-shot end saw the Hind level at 7-7.

The Ship held their nerve, however, taking the next two points for a 9-7 victory. In the final, the Castaways quickly moved into a 4-0 lead.

The Whitford team battled hard to reduce the deficit, but the Ship maintained their lead, and eventually ran out convincing 9-3 winners.

Congratulations go to the victorious triple of Pete Love, David Simpson and Nick Ostler, and also Terry Loveridge, who played in the qualifying competition earlier in the season, and thanks to Bron Edwards and Mark Ward for refereeing.

Results: Semi-finals: Whitford Warriors 9 Gerrard Arms B 1; Ship Castaways 9 Golden Hind B 7. Final: Ship Castaways 9 Whitford Warriors 3.

Presentation Night took place on Tuesday 27th September at The Royal Clarence in Seaton.

Thanks to all those involved at the Clarence for hosting the event, and the excellent buffet!

This completes the season’s events. The unfortunate late withdrawals from Division Two left the divisions somewhat uneven in size, and the League looks forward to attracting new teams for next season to even things out again.

Anyone interested can visit the league website for more information at http://www.avbl.co.nr

PICTURE: CHAMPIONS | The Gerrard Arms team which won the Division Two title.