Desborough women march on

Desborough women took another step towards success in the Yetton Trophy with a dramatic 10-shot win against Oxford City and County Bowls Club and for the second time this month dumped an Oxfordshire side out of the  competition.

Desborough got off to a solid start as Mary Price and Yvonne Tilley applied early pressure playing on home ground.

Mary Price had Morag Goodchild at lead, Catherine Rogers at two and Lorraine Woodley at three and for seven ends they were unstoppable as they built up a 16-0 lead. 

For Yvonne Tilley and her team the seventh end was not so lucky as they dropped six and were on the back foot for the next 10 ends.

At Oxford, the two Desborough sides enjoyed a good start, Val Linton-Phare’s foursome ventured into a convincing  10-1 lead after six ends, while Margaret Hooper’s four were ahead 4-3 after five ends. 

Price’s team continued their charge and were 19-1 ahead at halfway and the overall match situation was promising for
Desborough at this stage with a 25-shot lead.

Then the pattern of the match turned. After completely outscoring Oxford, Mary Price and her rink lost dominance of their game and gradually the opposition edged their way back into contention.

Meanwhile Yvonne Tilley, Maggie Mackay, Jenny Morgan and Helen Copeland were in a close tussle and there was little to choose between the teams as they reached the 17th end – just one shot behind at 11-12.

Oxford were slowly getting back at Desborough and had it not been for their scintillating start Mary Price and her team could well have lost but as it was they saw their 18-shot lead reduced to just seven but enough for the win. Yvonne Tilley and company failed to score on the last four ends and lost by 10 shots.


The match was effectively won for Desborough at Oxford as  Margaret Hooper, Eileen Devonald-Batt, Chris Low and Pam Armstrong got to grips in the final six ends to secure a
nine-shot victory.
Val Linton-Phare had her supporting cast of Brenda  Clements, Doreen Bantock and Nora Holder in good form and although they were almost caught after 17 ends, they found an extra gear and clinched a five-shot victory. Desborough won through to the next round 77-67.

Scores (Desborough first): Home - Maggie Mackay, Jenny Morgan, Helen Copeland, Yvonne Tilley 11-22; Morag Goodchild, Catherine Rogers, Lorraine Woodley, Mary Price 23-16; Away - Eileen Devonald-Batt, Chris Low, Pam Armstrong, Margaret Hooper 22-13; Brenda Clements, Doreen Bantock, Nora Holder, Val Linton-Phare 21-16.