Following the previous Wednesday’s deluge at Oakdale when a snorkel and flippers would have been the most appropriate dress code, it was a welcome relief to be in shirt sleeves and shorts on the hottest day of the year so far for our short trip up the valley to do battle with our friends at Ynysddu in the South Mon League.
Ynysddu are a very competitive club and our matches against them are normally close and this proved the case once again, with Ynysddu leading by 5 shots on 5 ends, the Athletic leading by 2 shots on 10 ends, the game being all square on 15 ends before the mister men rallied in the final 3 ends to secure an 11 shot victory 61-50 taking 11 points to Ynysddu’s 3 points.
The green played well and the pace was good. It was a perfect Spring evening for a game of bowls, and the atmosphere across all four rinks was competitive but also convivial.
On rink 1 the “Athletic” (not meant as a descriptive adjective) foursome of David Bowd, John Sheldon, Jack Collier, and Richie Murphy were 6-1 down on 5 ends to Ynysddu’s J. Helmore, Callum, B. Warwick and Mark Warwick before winning 10 of the next 13 ends to run out 10-15 winners.
On rink 4, the mister men’s rink consisting of the versatile all rounder Malcolm Goldie, no-nonsense Scotchman Ken McKinnon, South Mon Team Manager Andy Elias and Club Chairman Andrew Goodwin were locked into a very tight game with J. Smith, W. Davies, A. Bartlett, and Roger Williams with the score level at 9-9 on 10 ends. Unfortunately, the Pontymister men couldn’t sustain their form in the second half of the match with the home four taking control with counts of 3, 4, and another 3 to finish 21-13 winners.
On rink 5 the mister men rink of Richard Beaugie, Keith Richards, Graham Smith and veteran campaigner Roger Simms were involved in another epic struggle with the Ynysddu foursome of J. Jones, C. Coombs, I. Bartlett, and M. Cublly. On 5 ends Pontymister led 2-5, on 10 ends it was 3-9, before Ynysddu won 5 ends on the trot to edge ahead 11-9 on the 15th end. Pontymister picked up a 2, and a single on the 16th and 17th ends respectively before Ynysddu pinched a single on the last for a 12-12 draw.
On rink 6, folk music enthusiast Mike Lyons, “Owls” enthusiast Jamie Roberts, captain marvel Chris Beale and tropical traveller Nick Harris began with two singles against the rink of A. Harrhy, Ben Helmore, Eliott Bartlett and Dave Thomas but then lost 4 ends on the trot to trail 5-2 after 6 ends. After this point though the mister men clicked into gear and began mastering the short to three quarter lengths, with Mike Lyons providing a solid platform, Jamie Roberts playing some telling bowls, and the back end pairing adding shots or converting heads when called upon. With only a handful of shots in the game overall, the mister men picked up a 4 on the 17th end and a single on the last to end up 7-21 winners.
Afterwards everyone enjoyed a very tasty buffet and liquid refreshments in the pavilion, it was a perfect ending to a very enjoyable evening. Our thanks go to our friends from Ynysddu, we wish them a very successful season and look forward to the return fixture later in the year.