Mount A had a game to catch up on this week in the Premier Division and therefore found themselves playing against both Cramlington Tigers and Prudhoe United Services Club A. Both matches were fairly comfortable for Mount as their line-up of Graeme Barella, Phil Prady and Anthony Ainley cruised to a 10-0 whitewash of the Tigers and an 8-2 victory over Prudhoe. With the Tigers’ usual James Bradbury out injured, Division 2 player Blair Carmichael stepped up but was unable to take any ends off the experienced Premier players of Mount. Rob Reed and Gareth Pearson both took a few ends each but couldn’t string a result together in any match. Prudhoe fared marginally better as top O60 veteran Jeff Salter beat both Prady and Ainley, but succumbed to Barella. Teammates John Williamson and Peter Stempczyk were unable to pick up any wins.
The other Mount Premier team was also in action as the B team travelled to China Town to face NECA A. Jamie Dent managed to beat recently-signed Newcastle University student Harry Saxton but neither he nor teammates Rodney Roberts and Dan Dodds were able to beat Chun Yin Yu or Adam Webster.
Harry Saxton also played in Division 1 as NECA B travelled to Cramlington to play against the Reivers. The home side’s Steve Pearce and Paul Jamieson were in good form as they beat Bernie Morris and Ken Lee, but Philip Smith also deserves a mention as he recorded one of his best wins to date as he beat Ken Lee 3-2 in a close match. Smith, playing up from Division 3, also took an end off both Morris and Saxton and was arguably unlucky to take more. Saxton took Player of the Match however as he won his hat-trick, but the home side took the doubles to claim a narrow 6-4 victory overall.
The two Division 1 Old England teams also faced off against each other this week in what was a fairly one-sided affair for the Jacks. The Crocks’ Colin Robson took a win against Jake Helm, but neither Brian Bateman nor Joseph Perrin were able to beat Joseph Muldowney or Lynne Herrington. The away side did however manage to win the doubles, making it 8-2 to the Jacks.
Mark Kimberley won Player of the Match when Tyneside A hosted Mitford, beating Karen Henry, Barry Hill and Michael Bull. Bull beat both Mark Patterson and Steven Dickinson, but Henry and Hill only won 1 each leading to a 6-4 victory for the home side.
Prudhoe B fielded a strong team at home to Ouston A, Andrew Firth and Mark O’Connor both winning their hat-tricks. Maurice Cheek beat Neil Rodgers, but was unable to beat Michael Lyons or Mark Rodgers. Father and son combination Neil and Mark Rodgers won the doubles in a hotly-contested match which went to deuce in the deciding end, but it will make little difference as Ouston’s relegation back to Division 2 is looking nearly guaranteed. They are now 16 points away from safety and three of the teams above them have a game in hand.
