Manx Short Mat Bowls Association

Bernie & Steve Durcan Claim Pairs Title

Bernie & Steve Durcan claimed their maiden MSMBA title last Sunday at the NSC after beating Michael Collister & Stephen Gale with their last bowl to take the Peter Coward Pairs League by 2 points.

The Durcans started the day 3 points behind Collister & Gale but with a game in hand they had the chance to go level on points at the top, however they came up against Seamus Whelan & Collin Holland who came away with a 7-5 win. Elsewhere Eddie Brew & Harry Minor kept in touch with 9-8 victory over Chris Holland & Jayne Smith.

The second round of matches of the day saw the Durcan’s face Holland & Smith, and after a tight last game they came out to win 9-8 on the final end while Brew & Minor ensured a close finish to the league with a fine 12-5 victory over Collister & Gale. That win for Brew & Minor meant they led at the top of the table by a point from Collister & Gale and Bernie & Steve Durcan, but with Brew & Minor having played all there games and Collister & Gale facing the Durcans in the final game, meant the champions would come from that final ‘winner takes all’ match.

That final match saw the Durcans take an early lead but Collister & Gale fought back to level it a 5-5. The Durcans once again opened up a four point lead to leave Collister & Gale trailing 9-5 with two ends to go. A massive chance of a four was wasted by Gale on the penultimate end when he move the jack two inches too far, so instead of claiming 4 shots to level the game, only claimed 2 shots. In the final end, Collister & Gale found themselves 3 shots on, however with Steve Durcans last bowl he managed to draw in under tremendous pressure to cut them down to one shot and win the game & the title by one shot.

The final table is:
[standings league_id=5 template=extend-bowls logo=false]

Next week is the final competition of the season with the 4 Bowl Singles. Entries will remain open until Friday night. Anyone wishing to enter should contact Stephen Gale on 462424.