Tyneside A’s Mark Patterson did well in Division 2 this week as he took a hat-trick and the Player of the Match award against Backspin A. He beat stand-in John Cook with relative ease in three straight ends and had a hard five-ender with David Mcallister but arguably his best performance came as he beat Craig Fryer 3-1. Teammates Steven Dickinson and Bob Sanderson chipped in with a single win each, Dickinson losing out to Cook but earning a strong win against Mcallister as he edged to a 11-9 victory in the deciding end. The away team’s Fryer and Mcallister combined to win the doubles, giving them a hard-earned match draw.
Tyneside’s second team didn’t perform quite so well however as they faced a 9-1 defeat against Mount C which saw them slide into the second relegation slot. Mount posted a strong lineup with former Premier player Tony Gelder, recently-returned Dan Dodds and stalwart Alan Livingstone. Tyneside B’s Dan Kubacki raised his game for the occasion, pulling off an excellent win against Dodds and being unfortunate to lose out 11-9 in the fifth end against Gelder. The latter game in particular was a Premier-level encounter with counter-looping rallies, great retrieving and some superb touch shots. Unfortunately teammates John Carr and David Craddock both lost all of their matches, winning only a single end between them, eventually leading to a 9-1 defeat for the away team.
Cramlington Cobras hosted a weakened Sacriston Aces lineup of Jonathan Mawson, Ian Mcpherson and Daniel Hutchinson as they were without any of their first team players. Blair Carmichael had a tough evening as he failed to win any for the home team but Richard Williamson and Paul Jamieson both took hat-tricks to seal a 6-4 victory.
The final game of the week in Division 2 saw an almost total whitewash as the North East Chinese Association romped to a 10-0 victory over Ouston A. Team captain Ken Lee lost the only two ends of the evening as he beat Duncan Hindmarsh and Jeff Mckenna 3-1 but otherwise the away side simply could not compete. Keming Lee and Terry Kwong both won all of their matches without dropping an end, Jamie Milroy for the away team unable to win a single game.
As things stand, Ouston lie bottom of the table with a 13 gap to Tyneside B who find themselves in the second relegation slot. Cramlington Cobras are just above them, albeit with a game in hand, then Neca are 10 points further ahead. At the top of the table, Mount C are opening up a sizeable gap as they lie top with 73 points, 10 points and a game in hand over second-placed Sacriston Aces. Tyneside A also aren’t far off, just a single point separating them from the promotion spots.
