STILL ON THE UP IN A DOWNPOUR

 Monday 9th June 2025

CHORLEY & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-2:

Eagle & Child 'A' (154) 7-3 Brownedge Blue (128)
v PAUL FERGUSON W 21-15

It was a rainy night with the green getting heavier as the matches went on. Conditions like this take away some of the game's finesse and it can become a slinging match at times. Despite the continuous downpour our green soaked up well and certainly no standing water anywhere.
Paul's a good player, nothing felt safe whilst he still had a bowl in his hand. He berated himself a lot (far more than even I do) saying it helps him, but in contrast I'm trying to keep my lid on, which certainly helps me.
There wasn't much in the match, I didn't feel like I played any better than my opponent, but having edged away in to a lead at 12-8 I managed to sustain it. Paul played some pearlers, so did I. He won ends when my woods looked like winners and vice versa. He let me off for a very poor two, I returned the favour later on with a couple of howlers when on seventeen. It was at that point I thought I heard someone behind me in the away end mutter the word "rubbish" when my second bowl ended up as bad as the first. I can't be entirely sure it was intended for me, but the timing was very coincidental. If I needed an extra bit of edge to see the game out, that was it!
In a tight match it's about finding a way to win and especially in difficult conditions. Perhaps more often than Paul, I landed a length bowl on a few occasions over his attempts at long marks to scupper hopes of any prolonged jack possession for the visiting bowler.

Having nudged myself up to nineteen, Paul played a cracker to keep himself in it. But then played a mark I know to be tricky which Sheila Speed attempted in similar circumstances first match of this league season. 

Paul was tight and short with his lead, then shot through with his second. Now last game remaining on the green, "Same again lad!" was the chorus from our pavillion after my close first bowl. Repeating the scenario against Sheila, I kept my cool to put an equally good second up and get over the winning line line.
With five winners on the night and aggregate in the bag, a much needed victory and seven points which takes us off the bottom of the table.
I'm desperate for us to stay up. The team is struggling for numbers this season but I don't want to play in the third tier next season and don't want the difficult decision of what to do. I think we can make it and certainly can with better home form like tonight against a good Brownedge side.