25th Sep v Penarth Athletic
A solid start in our posh new shirts saw us 1 up after two rolls, and
the oppos only having totalled 50 on their third. We should have put the
match to bed in that thirds roll, but squandered our position - whether
through rustiness or sheer complacency (cries of "it's all over"
when we entered the alley that roll were sadly and foolishly premature).
JR notched a fine 28 at the top, but elsewhere only Sparky and Gilo got
over 25. Must do better boys, or it'll be straight back down to the basement
division next term. |
| |
1st October v Llandough B
Tonight was skittles as it should be, lots of ale, plenty of
pins dropped, combined with top singing and a great atmosphere, culminating
in a win for the boys. JR continues his awesome start to the season and
now has the Yellow shirt glued to his back following his magic bolter
free 31. Fuming over the webmasters comments that the league table would
be turned on its head come the end of the season (after the first weeks
results), he continued his fine form. Obviously the manure he has been
resting in over the Summer has germinated him into the fine skittler he
is today. However, this was a team performance with all the lads rolling
well. A warm welcome to Richie Copley, a new player who has signed up,
probably a good thing as Trigger was completely AWOL. So a first win of
the season and plenty more to come. Woggy's beer this evening was superb.
After a long summer recess, likened to Kellogs cornflakes "We forgot
how good it is"! |
| |
8th October v Sprouts
We saw again the gulf between the 2nd and 1st Divisions as we were comprehensively
rolled over by the Sprouts, who since we last played them have moved from
the Cogan to the Penarth Legion. 2 up after the first roll, we looked
fine and dandy, but then they put their foot on the gas and we ran out
of petrol. Three 60 pluses and two 70's were far too good for us on a
night were there was not enough consistency on our side of the board.
Rossi's 32 and 28's from Harv, Sparky and Stabber apart there was only
one other score above 25. Having 3 sets of balls to choose from was odd,
but didnt shape the outcome. Sparky dopped 9 on the final roll in a defiant
captain's gesture, but by then it was too late. Hopefully things will
improve. |
| |
15th October v Llandough C
It's been a strange couple of weeks. Last week at the Pen Legion we had
9 balls on the rack. This week at home we had a different set of skittles.
And they weren't our usual splash skittles. A best roll score of 66 on
the night, only 3 of the 10 rolls 60 or more, and no 8's, let alone 9's.
Still we had enough to brush aside a relatively off form Llandough C side
by 16 pins, even after a poor final 49 roll. Sparky hit a bolterless 29
and Exocet a 1 bolter 27, whilst at the other end Nightmare scratched
his way to 20 with Mavis and DJ one ahead on 21. That's 2 from 4 now.
Steady. Nothing better. |
| |
23rd October v Marauders
We're never too keen on the Llandough Legion's alley, and after
being 7 down on the opening roll despite Gilo's 9, you could see why.
We pulled a couple back on roll 2, but the oppo's 3rd roll combined with
us turning up the heat a little saw us open a gap of 10. We made that
12 on the 4th roll, and a 60 from the Marauders on their final roll left
us 49 to win. A few middle order jitters saw us wobble a bit, but eventually
11th man Rossi saw us home with three balls to spare - just as well as
it tuned out as Harv only hit 2 on his final roll - no doubt he'll say
he would have hit 7 if he'd have needed to....
Top Dog was Gilo with 30, followed by Sparky on 27, whilst the night's
ne'er do wells were Rossi and Stockings on 18 apiece. Richie Copley hit
25 on an impressive debut. |
| |
29th October v Clive Arms
We lost this one by 3 pins. People will look at the anchorman who hit
5 on the final roll needing 8 to tie, but there's more to it than that.
At one end of the scale Sparky (right) hit a faultess 29 and Blakey hit
a spare of 13 (otheriwse he'd have been dropped), whilst at the other
end, new boy Andy Cooper managed just 13. We're back to our old inconsistent
ways and need to sort this out pretty soon. |
| |
4th November v Bulldogs
Either we didn't have the bottle, or this league is harder than we think
after we threw away a 21 pin lead to lose by 13 at the Penarth Legion.
Rossi's Diddler busting 34 earned him £48, plus the £2's,
and the yellow shirt, with Sparky on 31 close behind, and 31 was a respectable
score, but three 70+ rolls from the 'Dogs after their initial 48 just
blew us away, and we couldn't stick with them. This week we're breaking
with tradition and instead of a photo of "Top Dog", it's Stabber.
He doesn't get to feature as Top Dog very often, and it was
his birthday. Many Happy Returns mate. Only 7 years until you're 50! |
| |
12th November v Cefn A
This was a match we should have won, but we played poorly. We only scored
275 on an alley where you should be looking at 300+ every time, but
the pins have been changed - and worse, they're not all the same shape!
What's going on? But that's just an excuse - the Cef had the same pins
and they hit 5 more than us. And that's what counts. Only 3 men hit
more than 25. JR and Exocet got 27 apiece, but at the other end Coops
followed up his debut 13 with a 16 - and a Sunshine to boot on his first
roll - all three balls straight through the middle of the diamond. We
weren't near;y good enough on the night, and it showed. School report
- must do better. |
| |
20th November vs DP Athletic A
We've had some shockers in the past, but this must rank up there. 9 pins
up after the first roll we were all sqare after 4, so the final roll was
the cruncher. We needed 57 to win, on an alley where a change of pins
means that's a decent score. We fell short with 53, but 10 bolters showed
how different it could have been. Gilo hit a stylish 29, and Statto showed
some of his old flair with 27, but apart from that it was, it has to be
said, pretty mediocre. |
| |
26th November vs Unsportsmans
The bolter money is racking up - or it would be if everyone paid - 53
bolters should amount to £10.60p, but only £8.90p was banked.
Gripe over, a 30% bolter rate is poor, but we still did enough to comfortably
beat the Unsportsmans by over 20 pins. Pete "Exocet" Coilley
led the way with a fine 30, able supported bu old stager Gilo, Statto
and this term's new boy Richie "Rich" Copley (C'mon, someone's
gott come up with a better nickname for him than that!) There weren't
really any spectacular things to report about the match. We rolled, we
hoit a few, we missed a lot, but we hit more than they did, and that's
about that. Sausages and chips were nice though.... |
| |
3rd December vs Ex's C
The Ex's alley is always good for a few pins, but little did we think
that we'd have to chase 85 to win on the final roll goin into that roll
only 3 down. However, a humungous 82 by them left us far too much to do.
Until then, it had been nip and tuck. They were up after roll 1, we were
up after 2. We were still up after 3 and then down after 4, and then came
that moster roll. Pins abounded, and Stockings took the plaudits for his
33, but a special mention to Tankerman who steped in and floored 31 including
a 9 that could have been so much more bar his final 2. A loss then, but
not a disgraceful one. We need to get back on track though as we're aproaching
the halfway point with just 4 wins under our belts. |
| |
10th December vs Sleepers
After the pain of losing last week after the oppo's final 80+, we again
lost out on the last roll. It had been nip and tuck all the way. We were
2 up after 1, 2 up after 2, 1 up after 3 and 6 up after 4, but a mediocre
55 final roll left the Sleepers needing 62 to win. Give the best score
of the night until then was our own 60, and they hadn't hit above 55,
we were hopeful, but the cheers from the alley told a different story
as they rattled in a 67 to win by 6. So with one match left in the first
half of the season, we've managed to accumulate just 8 points from a possible
24. There were too many bolters again last night - 47 in all. Sometimes
we just seem to chuck the balls down without much thought. Only Exocet
(27), DJ and Harv (26 apiece) looked respectable. |
| |
18th December vs Pilot
Skipper took a depleted squad to the Pilot. Finding us in the
relegation zone for the first time the boys were in no mood for losing.
After winning every roll a comfortable 30 pin win with a score of 289
was celebrated. Three 'Top Dogs' were Nightmare, DJ and Stocks all on
27. (Yellow Shirt to Nightmare by virtue of a play off). Howler of the
night was 'Bouncing Bomb' Peter Colley who hit a 20 but managed to bounce
a ball over the top of the pins. Thanks to the Pilot boys for their hospitality
and to their overworked barmaid. Xmas carols were sung especially 'when
Dinas win away' as we made our way to the Curry House via The Lion and
The Albion. Blakey demolished the extremley HOT Chicken Phal and the Lime
Pickle Chutney (There is something wrong with that boy). A noisy arrival
at Dinas 1.30 am meant some sore heads in the morning. Well done lads
a good night was had by all. |
| |
14th January vs Penarth Athletic
Big Daddy Stocks saved the day and said "I dedicate my 29 to my new
son "Mackenzie".
An 11 pin win looks good, but with too many balls off the alley, and
4 boys hitting 19 and under there's clearly more work to be done and
too many still having the Christmas spirit in them.. A shortage of players
forced skipper to pick the unfit Ken who battled gallantly even though
in obvious pain. At least he had an excuse. Another two points in the
bag to ease rlegation fears.
|
| |
|
21st January vs Llandough B
No report available
|
| |
28th Janbuary vs Sprouts
Another fine win came our way in a tight match as we saw off the Sprouts.
In the absence of the skipper who was away supporting City at Coventry,
Stabber led the boys to a fine victory, leading from the front with an
almost faultless 29. Statto also floored 29 as we mustered 285. The Spouts
needed 66 to win on their final roll but fell short after a tense match.
Our good start to the New Year surely eases relegation worries. Stabber
said after the match "I'm exhausted. People don't realise how much
captaining the side takes it out of you, but without me we'd have been
stuffed" |
| |
11th February v Marauders
This looked like being a ding-dong match for the first three rolls. After
Exocet had given us a perfect tonic in the first roll with his second
man up 9, we managed a 1 point lead. The Marauders, flying high in the
table showed their class as they went 7 up after two rolls. only for us
to pull it back and go 5 up in the 3rd. The Maraurders could only match
our steady 56 in the 4th with a 54 that gave us a 7 pin lead going into
the final roll. On this alley this season, that's a big advantage, and
we capitlaised with a superb 64, to leave them a huge ask. They duly struggled
to 49 to give us the match comfortably. Exocet's fine 30 including that
9 was the star turn. |
| |
18th February vs Clive Arms
In a rollercoaster match at the unique Clive in Penarth, we missed out
on extedning our unbeaten run after they hit a huge 71 on their final
roll. Until then, it had been a belter of a match. Two down after the
first roll, we were 3 up after 2, level after 3 and 1 down after 4, but
that final 71 was like a knife in the heart. The short alley played well,
as Gilo with 32 showed, and he really should have had the Diddler now
worth sixty big ones. Elsewhere, DJ managed to find a way to record a
sunshine, and Harv with 29 goes to the top of the averages by 0.01 over
Sparky. |
| |
25th February vs Bulldogs
This match swung all ways, as we opened up a 6 point lead after the first
roll. The Bulldoogs turned that round after the second roll to leave us
6 down, and we tied the 3rd roll. We hauled 4 pins back on the 4th, and
a decent 63 left us in with a shout, but it wasn't enough and the 'Dogs
ran out winners by 6. Statto tuned back the clock with a Diddler winning
35, and Harv able supported with a 28, but with 5 scores below 25 there
wasn't enough support elsewhere to merit a win. |
| |
| 5th March v Cefn A
This was a classic case of blowing a match we should have won easily.
We were 13 pins up after the frist roll, and already the comments of
"it's in the bag" started. The lead was cut to 10 after the
second roll, and a poor 48 on the third roll saw that reduced to a two
pin advantage. We regained ground on thr fourth roll and a 9 pin advantage
kicked in the comforat factor. But a good skittles side is shown by
it's mettle, and the Cef hit us with a final 65 leaving us 57 to win.
Gettable certainly, but not this night as we stumbled to a 52 and watched
the points go a begging. We sent down 56 bolters on the night. That's
the equivalent of almost 4 men scoring zip all - effectively playing
with 8 men. A poor display and we must start to do better.
|
| |
11th March vs DP Athletic A
Derby time again, and we got our revenge as we swept aside the "A"
in a comprehensive victory. We won all 5 rolls to win by 27 pins in one
our most comfortable victories of the season. Gilo led from the fron with
29, but 28's from DJ, Sparky and Stocks and 27's from JR, Exocet, Statto
and Harv showed a consistency in our game that has been lacking of late.
The rot has stopped and with only 5 games left to play, it's all about
pride now. |
| |
25th March v Ex's C
Another week, another loss at home, this time the Ex's C rolling us over
on our own turf. Frankly, this was all over after the first roll when
we ended up 10 pins down. We only won one roll all night, and that was
only by one pin. Harv and Stockings kept us in the game with 31 each,
but only Statto (29) and JR (27) were other to get over 24 in a night
where bolters were flashing around all over the pplace. Nightmare hit
a great 9 on roll 3, but a pair of 2's and a 3 elsewhere in his set only
managed to get him to 20. Must try harder, but I think end of season fatigue
is setting in. The skipper must surely be thinking of releasing some from
their contracts in a few weeks time. |
| |
2nd April v Sleepers
How did this one slip away? After being behind all night, we needed 58
to win this match on the tough Railway alley. A few had found it hard
going, although the Skipper's faultless 30 suggested it's mind games as
much as anything else. At the halfway mark of the final roll, we were
exactly on course with 29 pins down, and when penultimate man Statto stepped
up the equation was 10 between him and Harv, 2 good men and true - though
until them Stat's had struggled. He steeled himself and floored 7 to cheers,
and with Harv needing just 3 to wrap thegame up it looked like game over.
But skittles is a funny game, and Harv who'd looked good all night took
only 2 pins with his 3 balls to leave the match tied on 269 apiece. |
| |
14th April vs Llandough C
This match, delayed from February got off to the most rip-roaring of starts
as JR opened up our first roll with a spare of 13. That enabled us to
take a 17 pin lead on roll 1, and we kept the pressure on all night to
win by 15 pins in a relatively comfortable win. JR's start-off gave him
the impetus to reach 35 and take the Didddler worth £30. Elsewhere
Gilo's 28 was impressive, but barring a miracle it will be Harv who lifts
the championship next week. It's DJ or Nightmare for the wooden spoon. |
| |
