Manx Short Mat Bowls Association

Freeway Express Championship – Game Four

Rushen were the big winners on the penultimate weekend of the Freeway Express Championship, overcoming Castletown Rockets in a fiercely fought battle at the NSC last Sunday.

The opening games of pairs were shared between the sides, with Richard Faragher & Seamus Whelan winning 14-7 for Rushen but Peter Blower & Sylvia Maddrell won their game for the Rockets 8-7. The singles were also shared with Sylvia Maddrell & Peter Blower keeping the Rockets in it with 12-10 and 10-8 wins respectively but Seamus Whelan (15-3) and Stephen Gale (13-5) meant the while the scores were level, Rushen had a strong advantage on chalks going into the last game. The final game was tight throughout the first 4 ends but the Rockets took a 7-3 lead with three ends to play but Rushen showed their fighting spirit to take the game 8-7 on the final end to win the match overall 11-6.

The second game between Ronaldsway Rockets and Colby Cosmos was also very tight with Ronaldsway Rockets coming out on top by a single point in a 9-8 win. Again the opening game of pairs were shared between the two sides with Ann Hollingworth & Rita Woodworth winning their pairs 10-5 and Dave McTaggert & Collin Holland going one better with an 11-5 victory for the Rockets. Ann Hollingworth also took her singles with an impressive 14-4 but that was as good as it got for the Cosmos as the Rockets won the remaining singles games. Chris Holland won her game 11-4, Dave McTaggert took his with an 11-7 victory and Collin Holland continued his good form with a 13-5 win. Cosmos fought back well however and in the final game of fours ran out convincing 13-4 winners but it wasn’t enough to take the bonus point on chalks which the Rockets took for a 9-8 win.

The Freeway Express Championship with one game to go is as follows:
1. Rushen – 37 points
2. Ronaldsway Rockets – 29
3. Colby Cosmos – 23
4. Ramsey Rebels – 22
5. Castetown Rockets – 22

Next week is the 4 Bowl Pairs Championship with Sam Peel & Stephen Gale hoping to win the trophy for the fourth year in succession.