Sturdee 1 secured victory in the second Jim Bradford Consolation Event Final at Blue Bell Hill Village Hall on Monday, 24th April 2023 when they defeated Luton Invicta 2.
Early exchanges in the match were very close. After the first round of matches Luton Invicta held a two-point lead with Ian Sayer losing by just one point to Wayne Matthews. Ross Childs beat Neil Le Milliere by a single point and Dave Hopkins beat Tim Vaughan by two points. That all changed in the second set of matches as Dave Hopkins suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Neil Le Milliere by 21 points. With Ross Childs also losing out to Wayne Matthews by just 7 points. Ian Sayer enjoyed a good win against Tim Vaughan gaining 11 points. That put Luton Invicta behind by 15 points going into the final set of matches. Childs shared the spoils with Tim Vaughan. Hopkins lost by 4 to Wayne Matthews. That left Ian Sayer requiring a victory by 19 or more against Neil Le Milliere which was a very tall order and Sturdee ran out winners 366 - 337.
The man of the match was Neil Le Milliere who gained 30 points overall on the night and made the real difference for Sturdee. His team mate Wayne Matthews also ended 12 points ahead. For Luton Invicta Ian Sayer finished the night exactly as handicapped which is testament to the fine work completed by Gareth Fox.
Our thanks are extended as usual to Malcolm Kay and John Clark for umpiring the final and all the helpers from Boxley TTC - Michael Sheppard, Barry Roles and Bob Ellis.
Highlights from the match on YouTube
Picture gallery
