I MADE MY OWN LUCK THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Thursday 31st July 2025

LEYLAND & DISTRICT LEAGUE DIV-1: Eagle Blue (176) 8-4 (174) New Longton 'A'

v STEVE GARSWOOD W 21-15

Steve started the game well and whilst I wasn't far off the mark, I slowly dipped to a 4-9 deficit. When I put good ones up, Steve was continuingly playing through on the opposite peg and to good effect. I kept my cool though, concentrating on keeping the pressure up and that eventually he might not get so lucky so often.

Funny how the opposition's most vocal viewpoint begged to differ. Steve knocking woods up to get a score was genius, but when it didn't produce a positive outcome, it was incredibly bad fortune and as if I had a clutch of lucky heather stuffed down my kecks.

I've put good bowls up in the first place for Steve to feel the need to have a go at them. By my own admission I did get lucky a few times, but I created that luck. I think I generally led really well throughout the game and deserved to get over the line. At 15-15 I sent some real belters that defined the direction of the match and although behind in those early stages, I never really felt on the back foot.

Steve came here and played a good game so if I hadn't been on the way to better form and able to hit a purple patch towards the end, it's one that would have slipped away from me.

It was another tight match against the New Longtonians with six winners and an aggregate by just two chalks - this time no controversial scorecard discrepancies thankfully and the result settled on the night.

Good to see our Vernon back on form with another win. A ten point gap and three places remain between ourselves and tonight's opposition who still occupy the second from bottom relegation spot. Four matches left, as I have mentioned before I am desperate for us to stay up. Aaron is an excellent young captain and leads from the front, team morale is very good and our league position has been quite consistent for some time so it would take a clatochistic course of events to slump so bad.

Right until the last few seconds of the evening though, as the door was about to be locked, New Longton captain and an honourable chap I often chat to about bowls, Brian Rigby, did raise my eyebrows when reiterating that I "Really rode my luck tonight" as we left. Brian actually scored my match with Steve, but without trying to be rude, must have been watching another one!

There are three 'L's' in crown green I am told... Land, Length and Luck. If you can nail the land and length, more often than not you will get the luck. In my defence, case in point this evening, cheeky Mr Rigby 😉