Week 18 September 3rd
In a dramatic end to the season White House successfully retained the Premier title when they pipped the New Club at the post by one point. Going into the last games New Club led by one point and in their opening leg at home to Black Horse ‘A’ (who needed one point to win Section One) New Club set 24. In reply a maximum six from lead off man Pete Rampton got the Horse off to the perfect start and they galloped past with a score of 29 to win the one leg they needed to secure the Section 1 title.
Meanwhile at The White House, they set a beatable 22 in the opening leg against The Swan. However, the Swan struggled in reply and left anchorman Lee Thompson six to win and he nearly pulled it off but fell one short with 5, missing with his last stick, to send it to a three sticker which the White House won 13-12 and this put them level at the top with The New Club.
Back at The New Club, in the second leg they could only set 22 which proved no problem for The Black Horse who hit 24 to go two up.
The White House set and won their second leg 28-22 which now put them one point clear of The New Club, so it was all down to the final legs of the season.
The New Club rallied and set a good score of 27 which The Black Horse couldn’t match and hit 21 in reply to give The New Club a precious point and move them back level top.
All The White House had to do was win their final leg to be crowned champions and choosing to set they started off impressively and had 15 on the board at the halfway stage, however the back half collapsed and could only hit 8 between them to give a total of 23. Some erratic throwing by the Swan left their anchorman needing three to tie to send it to three sticks, or four to win, astonishingly he could only whip off the doll twice to fall one doll short with 22 and to send the White House players into a frenzy for an unexpected win and retain the title for the third time in succession.
Littlemore British Legion ‘A’ needed all three points against their C team to have a possibility of forcing a playoff in Section 1, and it started off well when they won the first leg, however the C team won the second leg to diminish any hopes the A team had although they did win the final leg 27-22. In the end it didn’t matter as Black Horse got the point they needed at The New Club.
After 17 weeks of trying Garsington Sports club finally tasted victory when they came away from Yarnton British Legion with all three points in the leg scores of 24-15, 18-15, 18-17.
In the local derby, The Ampleforth Arms ‘A’ ended a six-game losing streak by beating visitors Masons Arms ‘A’ 2-1 in the leg scores of 18-20, 24-24 (on three sticks) 23-19.
The top dolls chase between holder Kevin Baker from Littlemore British Legion and Luke Purcell from The New Club also went down to the wire. Baker leading by one doll hit four in his first leg as did Purcell. Second leg Baker clanged off 5 dolls, Purcell only hitting 3 to fall three behind. They both hit four dolls in their final leg to give Baker the title with 207 dolls while Purcell ended up with an impressive 204 dolls.
Pete Rampton was top dolls king in Section 1 hitting 197 dolls from 17 games.
SECTION 2
The top two clashed in Section 2 and going into the final game Black Horse ‘B’ led The Six Bells ‘C’ by one point and the opening leg was tied 12-12 with the Bells winning it on three sticks to move level at the top. Bells set 15 in the second leg and things were looking bleak for The Horse when they only had 4 on the board at the halfway stage, however the tail wagged, and they sneaked over the line by the odd doll with 16 to go one point clear. Final and deciding leg was tied 15-15 and in the three sticker Horse held their nerve and won it to be crowned Section 2 champions by two points.
WADs Bar ended the season well winning their last three games on the bounce, the last one at home to Rose Hill club. This was their second-best score of the season winning all three legs 18-16, 15-12, 22-15.
The bottom two teams clashed The Tandem & Cowley Workers to decide who would end up with the wooden spoon. Starting off level on points The Workers set and won the opening leg 15-13, then won the second leg 19-12 to condemn The Tandem to bottom spot, however they finished with a flurry winning the final leg 17-12. Eamon Hanlon top scored for The Workers with 11 dolls (3-5-3).
Queens Head ‘A’ had a narrow 2-1 win at home to Duke of Monmouth. Chasing a set of 20 in the first leg they left anchorman Dean Fitzgerald needing three to win and he did not disappoint whipping of the winning doll with his final stick to give the Queens an early lead. Duke struck right back in the second leg 15-13. A set of 21 in the final leg by The Queens was more than enough to secure the leg and game when the Duke could only hit 16 in reply.
Donnington Club ‘B’ completed the double over visitors The Blackbird who were a player short. Donnington won the first leg 14-11, lost the next 10-15 then won the deciding leg 16-13.
Tom Finney from The Blackbird won the top dolls race by two dolls in a thrilling encounter form Alan Surman form The Black Horse ‘B’. going into the final games Finney led by one doll, and they both hit two dolls apiece in their opening throw. Second leg Finney opened up the gap to two dolls when he hit two dolls and Surman could only manage one. They both hit four dolls each in the final leg to give Finney 169 dolls and Surman 167.
SECTION 3
New Club ‘B’ and Donnington Club ‘A’ were level at the top and in Donnington’s opening leg away at The Masons ‘B’ chasing a set of 14 they could only hit 9 in reply. New Club in their opening leg away at The Cricketers set and won it 19-9 to one point clear. The Cricketers then set 15 in the second leg and a poor start by The New Club cost them dear as they fell three dolls short with 12 Back at The Masons, they dramatically collapsed in the second leg and could only muster up a score of 8, Donnington took full advantage and hit 12 in reply to go back level top. Final legs New Club won 19-13, while Masons imploded again only setting a score of 9 which Donnington passed with ease hitting 18 to force a playoff which will be on Wednesday 10th September at Littlemore British Legion. John Cleaton with a dozen dolls (4-3-5) and Chris Holton 11 dolls (4-3-4) top scored for The New Club.
Queens Head ‘B’ came away from Littlemore Legion ‘B’ with maximum points and condemn the Legion to bottom spot. They won the first leg 16-7. The second on three sticks after it was tied 13-13 and was then set 11 in the final leg. In reply Queens laboured and left anchorman Jack Wells needing five to win and he was up to the task whipping off the winning doll with his final stick. Wells was top dog with 11 dolls (3-3-5).
Littlemore Rugby Club completed the double over Red Lion Yarnton winning 2-1 who set the first leg with 14. Rugby club was on target to pass that when they only needed 3 from their last two players, however bizarrely they both blobbed out to give the Lion and unexpected lead. The Ruby club regrouped and improved to win the next leg 15-12 and the final leg 16-15 to complete the turnaround. Gary Bough hit double figures for the first time this season with 11 dolls (2-4-5) for The Rugby club.
Joe Bandrowski from The Masons Arms ‘B’ won the top doll chase with 158 dolls from nearest rival Doug Mingham from The Cricketers with 152 dolls.
SECTION 4
The Section 4 title chase was just as tight as all the others with The Ampleforth Arms ‘B’ holding a two-point advantage over Six Bells ‘B’. Nerves got to both teams as The Amp sneaked their first leg at The Catherine Wheel 13-12. Six Bells playing at home to Kidlington FC won their first leg 13-7. They then won the second leg on three sticks after it was tied 11-11. The Amp set their second leg with 14 and should have lost it when The Catherine Wheels anchorman only needing two to win blobbed out to hand the Ampleforth a precious point and with it the league title by two points as they both lost their last legs. Bells losing 10-11 while The Amp lost theirs 10-12.
Red Lion Cassington finished off the season with a 2-1 win at home to Headington Con club. They lost the first leg on three sticks after it was tied 13-13 then won the next two 10-9, 10-7. Mark Finch (Red Lion) was top doll scorer for the Section with 126 dolls.
The top lady scorer was reintroduced this season and the honour goes to Julliette Kemish from The Cricketers with 87 dolls.
SIXERS: F.Sawyer (Littlemore Legion ‘A’) P.Rampton (Black Horse ‘A’)
BLOBBERS: P.Wells (Queens Head ‘B’) K.Percival (Kidlington FC) J.Boyd (Vikings ‘C’)
R.Jackson (The Blackbird) I.Lund (The Tandem) R.D’Costa (Red Lion Cassington)
TOP DOLL SCORERS
13: K.Baker (Littlemore Legion ‘C’) A.Cross (White House) P.Rampton (Black Horse ‘A’)
12: B.Carter (Littlemore Legion ‘C’) D.Simms (Ampleforth ‘A’) S.Walton (Black Horse ‘A’)
J.Cleaton (New Club ‘B’) J.Bennett (Littlemore Legion ‘A’)
TOP LEG SCORE
The White House 28 dolls & 83 dolls over three legs.
Finals night is on Friday 24th October at Cowley Workers club. Each section winner will receive 10 trophies, if you require more, these are at £15.00 each and must be paid in advance.
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