HOW DID I WIN THAT?

Thursday 27th April 2023
Leyland & District League Div-3: Eagle & Child Reds v Bretherton 'A'
v NICK ROACH W 21-20

This is a game that won't be forgotten in a hurry. Having played against Bretherton more times than most other clubs so far, I had a good idea of their team, except a chap I saw warming up and he looked handy.
As tenth and final player to go on, sure enough as the match progressed it looked more and more likely that the draw had pitted me against the unknown quantity I'd spotted earlier.
Nick proved to be a good player and really difficult opponent. A deficit soon began to open up and crucially, when I did get in I didn't quite land my lead bowl to let him back in again. Overall, I wasn't doing too much wrong as my team mate and scorer Malcolm Jones pointed out, simply Nick was playing even better and getting the odd knock his way just to intensify the torture.
For a second successive week, red mist descended. 5-13 became 5-16 and onwards to 8-18... on the brink of a record home reverse.
Despite another chilly evening of bowling, I stripped down to one layer at this point after getting literally hot and bothered. 

Nick was getting joy from playing interesting straight marks up and down our green's far side. Not overly complicated, but getting very close every time and showing no signs of a lapse. In the next closely drawn end, Nick holds one and if I tap the jack on straight or to the right it's two for me - my wood jinks slightly at the death and taps the jack to the left - two for Nick instead and by now I can only smile and think this just isn't my night. It's 8-20. It's over, so let's just try and get to double figures.
Nick only needs one to win and is holding on the next end, positioned closely to the right with the other one not far behind the jack. It required a bowl of perfect road and weight and somehow I produced it, nestling on to the target to save the match when tapping it on could have knocked his other bowl in. A real chance for double figures now.
Our green had been busy with five matches on at a time, but now with only one other match still in progress, room to test this chap out on some longer marks... until I send the jack off the green. What a plonker. To be fair, I hadn't had much practice throwing it in this game.
Back to Nick's favourite mark we go, but I get in there with another toucher and another chance to get out of there and branch out. Double figures accomplished, composure restored and now my head is just playing bowls again.
Longer marks were proving to be quite rewarding and Nick was starting to show he was human. Good lead bowls put the squeeze back on my opponent and a few times I even got away with an average second bowl to count. 

Once I heard I'd edged up to fifteen I felt totally relaxed again at that point, yet also had a cheeky first fleeting thought that I might yet take this match to the wire. Sure enough, I kept sending good weight bowls and we are level. Malcolm, a fair player in his day, is loving it.
All on the last end and I don't quite send the jack towards the corner as intended. It gets sucked in over to the left for quite a tricky road to follow. My first bowl has the weight but is a good yard wide, yet in a scrappy finish, proves to be the winner.
How on earth I managed to win this game still doesn't quite comprehend, but what a win it was. 

Despite the Eagle Reds winning six games to Bretherton's four, we lost on aggregate score. Our team just can't seem to pick a win up at the moment and we hit the bottom of the table.