TENSE EVENING AT TOP OF THE TABLE CLASH

Monday 21st August 2023
Chorley & District League Div-2: Eagle & Child 'A' 138-138 Penwortham Sports 'B'
v JENNIFER IDDON W 21-17

The stakes were high. An excellent result for our team could replace Penwortham at the top and make us strong favourites for promotion going in to the last match.
A reasonable result would still leave promotion hopes in our own hands.
A good result for Penwortham would see them book their place in Division One with a game to spare.
A poor night for our team would surely give second spot up to Mawdesley on this penultimate week, who were strongly fancied to score heavily at home to Hind's Head.
Captain Steve Marginson had tipped me off the previous day that I was in the team "at the moment", so I knew that could change very easily.
I turned up for practice without a clue if I was in or not and just cracked on regardless, rolling in hope!
Steve had also brought some extra big guns down from the club to bolster the squad on the night so it really wasn't clear at all what the starting eight was likely to be. Looking around, I'd resigned to being sidelined so put my bowls back in the bag when next news, Steve wants £1.50 off me for the sweep... Wow! I am actually in afterall!
Tension about wondering whether I was playing transcended in to tension about the fact that I WAS playing and in the most important game of the season so far.
There was no way I was going to shake the tension this evening so just had to play through it. Steadily I've been getting form back and just had to keep a bit of faith in myself. Not let the inevitable crap shots drag me down and just make sure I produced more good than I did crap.
To add to the tension overload, this turned out to be a very tight match against Jen who in contrast, seemed remarkably relaxed. There was no more than a score or two in it all the way to 16-16. One thing to my credit on the night was the ability to produce a winner when I really needed one. There was a period in the middle of the match when I sent a few howlers, but at least corrected enough times to spare Jen getting her nose in front.

At the business end then, after Jen rolled a well placed two to level those scores again, two well taken singles and then a tightly placed two took me to all-but. The first time daylight shone upon the scorecard. A good lead followed, but Jen knocked me out perfectly.
Thankfully for me though, her next lead bowl, on a tricky inswinging peg to the corner that she had taken a nice two from earlier, was this time high and wide. I nailed the land this time around and although running through perhaps a couple of feet, it was enough and a big relief to get over the line.
The whole match ended in a draw. Four wins each and level on chalks. Given we lost by just one chalk at Penwortham in the Spring, incredible that the statistics were so close over two matches.
Although not quite mathematically assured, Penwortham are essentially up.
Five points and a draw wasn't a disaster for us, but not quite a good result either. Mawdesley meanwhile, took nine out of a possible ten points to draw level.
The stakes for the final match of the season aren't complicated. Away to Hilltops 'B', who need a result to help stave off telegation, we have to score more than Mawdesley. Mawdesley visit Croston Subs 'B' and Croston themselves have an outside chance of sneaking up through the back door if they beat Mawdesley hard enough and our Eagle team have a total nightmare.
On paper, it's a tougher task for our West Lancashire rivals, but away games can be unpredictable. Our team have to just get what we can and wait and see.
I really can't envisage my inclusion in the line-up next week, even after a win because it's another green I haven't seen before and there's too much to play for. To be honest I was just so pleased to be included in this one tonight and also grind out the right result. A good experience to play with quite a bit of pressure riding on it for the team.