Gorsley Chapel Oaks made it two Summer League final victories over the Lea in two years following a convincing 10-0 (49-24) victory at Upton Bishop on Tuesday 27th August.
Last year’s 7-3 win for Gorsley saw them take the crucial 2 points for overall shots by only one shot, tipping the final score in their favour as both teams hoped that this year’s final would provide the same excitement albeit in favour of their respective side. As a fantastic number of 19 spectators took their seats, the first half started with Joe Loveys facing Merion Attwood in the singles whilst Lynn Williams, Clive Matthews, Sophie Heather-Warner and Dean Rudman took on Bradley Kite, Terry Griffiths, John Clapson and Adrian James in the fours.
The singles saw Joe Loveys race into an early 6-0 lead before Attwood settled on the slow Upton Bishop mat to put the score at 9-4 on the eighth end. A crucial 3 for Loveys followed, keeping the momentum in his favour as he held Attwood at arms length in the remaining ends to secure an 18-9 victory. On the other mat, the fours produced an incredibly close game that could have gone either way. By the seventh end the score was level at 7-7 before a one on the eighth end put Gorsley into the lead as they followed this up with a two on the final end to take a 10-7 win, putting them in overall control of the final- 4-0 in points and 12 shots up- at the halfway stage.
The pairs saw Loveys and Attwood go head to head once again as they skipped Sophie Heather-Warner and Bradley Kite respectively. Meanwhile in the triples, Jason Chester joined Clive Matthews and Dean Rudman for Gorsley whilst Terry Griffiths, John Clapson and Adrian James continued for Lea.
Whilst the pairs saw a nip and tuck start that gave Gorsley a slender 4-3 lead going into the seventh end, the triples were as good as finished by that stage with Gorsley taking a 9-0 lead following some strong draw bowling. Knowing that they needed to keep their shots down and avoid any late drama, the Gorsley triple came out 10-4 victors, securing the title before an 11-4 win for Heather-Warner and Loveys completed the defence with an overall 10-0 victory to the Oaks.
Following the presentation of trophies, HSMBA League Secretary Ian Roe thanked the players, spectators and those who had helped with the equipment and refreshments. The Association gives its thanks to Ian for his work running the Summer League and we now look forward to the start of the season and Presentation Evening on Saturday 5th October.