Woolhope show bowls prowess to win LEH Two Counties trophy
WOOLHOPE continue to prove that they are the club to beat across Herefordshire and Gloucestershire as they produced a strong performance to beat St Martin's 47-30 in this year's LEH Two Counties trophy final.
Held at Upton Bishop the competition sees two teams of ten go head-to-head across four disciplines of singles, pairs, triples and fours with each player playing once.
The final represented another step on St Martin's journey from newborn short mat club to Herefordshire Short Mat Bowls Association stalwarts where a tough path to the final saw them overcome two Gloucestershire teams in Forest of Dean (93-63) and Kingsway (82-60) as they looked to do what both Gloster Knights and Gorsley Chapel were unable to do in the two years previous and turnover a seemingly unstoppable Woolhope side who themselves faced a difficult path with wins over Defford (84-64), Ross (96-64) and Lea/Llangarron (74-67).
The stage was set for an intriguing final and a brilliant first half of bowls lay ahead with Woolhope's Bryan Watkins taking on St Martin's Phil Ladd in the singles and Dawn Cox & John Mills taking on Jo Millington and Jim Knowles in the pairs.
Any nerves were soon put to one side for St Martin's as both mats capitalised on a sluggish start for the defending champions to put them both 7-1 up with four ends played.
However, a spirited fightback from those in blue and red ensured the crowd were treated to a tense finish.
A thrilling contest between Watkins and Ladd saw the momentum shift dramatically at the halfway mark, with Watkins edging ahead 12–9 going into the final end, holding his nerve and conceding just a single shot to give Woolhope a two-shot advantage after the opening discipline.
A very similar story played out in the pairs with both sides playing to the very best of their abilities.
Ultimately it was Cox and Mills who came out on top with 12-8 win putting them six shots up overall at the halfway stage with everything to play for ahead of the second half.
The second half required a strong start for St Martin's but it was Woolhope who flew out of the blocks, taking a lead in both the triples and fours.
As the ends ticked on, Woolhope used all their experience and exhibited flawless game management across both mats.
The Woolhope triple of Carole Crisp, Graham Watkins and Anthony Rogers held off a strong comeback from Keith Jones, Kim Wooden and Pete Goulding to finish up with a 10-8 victory and give their rink an eight-shot buffer as they headed into their eighth end.
Ultimately, the team of Shirley Cox, Steve Crisp, Matt Baker and Becci Cox did not need to rely on their eight-shot overall advantage as they produced the result of the night against St Martin's Hazel Vaughan, Irene Healey, Phil Smith & Alan Link with a 13-4 win, giving Woolhope their third LEH victory in a row.
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