Croesyceiliog were the visitors to Field Road on Saturday for a MBA division 1 clash. On a perfect sunny day for bowls, Pontymister were expecting a tough battle against a Croesy team who have started the season very well.
In the early stages Ponty held a slender lead across the rinks, 3 shots after 5 ends and at the halfway point the game was still very close overall with Ponty 2 shots up, rinks 2, 3, &5 up , but rink 4 having a trouncing 12 shots down. Encouragement was coming from Captain Lloyd Turnbull to the rink 4 boys led by Andrew Goodwyn, so much so that by the 15th end the rink was tied 19-19 giving the mister men a lead of 18 shots overall. Ponty never make things easy for themselves and to the credit of the away team, they never gave up and fought all the way to then end; final score Ponty 92 – Croesy 88 (12points to 2).
Rink 2 saw the revitalised Frank Trepleton, Phil Huntley, Roger Simms and birthday boy Roger Venn take on then Croesy 4 of D.Williams, captain Mike Cleaver,N.Furr and C.Jones. The game was tight throughout and the lead changed hands a number of times, but it was the Ponty boys who finished the stronger to win by 3 shots.
Rink 3 was the liveliest of all, with no need for a vocal coach, bringinging together Ethan Symmonds, Grandad Sid Phillips, Captain fantastic Lloyd Turnbull and the sheepish character Ronnie Morgan., playing W.Saunders, P.Goring, P.Silverthorne and Mal Bishop. A tight but quiet start soon lit up, as the Ponty boys stormed into a commanding lead with some top quality bowls. Croesy were matching the increase in decibels from the Rocket, but couldn’t match the bowls on the day, with the home 4 winning by 7 shots.
Rink 4 started well, for the Ponty 4 of Shaun Kenvyn, Jason Bradshaw, Chris Beale and chairman Andrew Goodwyn, with a 5 on the first end but it was short lived as the Croesy boys, A.Roberts, S.Manley, N.Gooding and Mal Brooks took control. Leading 19-7 after 10 ends, the mister men looked dead and buried but encouragement from team mates and supporters on the side, saw a spirited fight back that brought the rink level at 19 each on 18 ends. Credit must go to the rink for the character they showed after a first half drubbing, but they eventually run out of steam and succumb to the Croesy boys 31-23.
Rink 5 was made up of Dai Bowd, the refreshed Chris Symmonds, Richie Murphy and Dave Hill who faced L.Jones, D.Williams,M.O,Dwyer and K.Jones. The Ponty boys started well and were dominant throughout the game playing really well, but a slight wobble on the last 4 ends (8 shots conceded ), saw Croesy come back to within 2 shots, which slightly flattered them on the day. Final score 22-20.
The day ended with a fine buffet provided by Lloyd Turnbull and a well deserved drink or two with fine company. We wish Croesy all the very best for the season and look forward to the away fixture in August