Bowls: Todner triumph not enough as Houghton miss out in Top Ten Premier derby

Peter Thomson found Gary Smith too hot to handle and was beaten 21-7 in the singles, while the Henderson father & son combination lost the pairs and Frankie Froud went down in the fours.

Houghton’s only win came from Dan Todner in the triples.

Next up is another home game against Stanley.

Team – Singles: P Thomson; Pairs – M Wright, D Todner; Triples: TBC, F Froud, B Henderson; Fours: F Fletcher, M Carr, S Tindale, TW Todd

Week 1 results: Darlington 6 Houghton 4, Durham 8 Stanley 2

Week 2 results: Stanley 4 Ferryhill 6, Houghton 2 Durham 8

Latest standings: Durham played 2 pts 16, Darlington 1-6, Stanley 2-6, Ferryhill 2-6, Houghton 2-6

Last season, South Shields’ Inter-County League campaign was a struggle both on and off the green, and relegation to the second tier was no surprise.

This season, it appears they are taking a bit more interest as they attempt to bounce back into the top flight at the first attempt.

In their rearranged opener against Aycliffe, a strong Shields squad won on all four rinks to record a 89-56 victory.

At Aycliffe, both Shields rinks eased to victories, David Bolt winning 30-12 and Gary Farquhar 22-12, securing a 52-24 away success.

At home, Shields’ Ian Riches converted a late 18-14 deficit into a 23-20 win, while it took a cracking final Stewart Hubbard bowl to seal a 14-12 triumph.

Those scores left the home squad 37-32 up and completed a 10-0 whitewash. Shields next face Gateshead A.

All three veterans squads at Houghton have had a stop-start campaigns this season.

Between the three squads, they have played five games but have only mustered two points out of a possible 25 between them.

In Group Two, Houghton Gilpin must have a chance of recording a first win as they entertain a Ferryhill squad who have lost both their opening two games.

Houghton Sancroft will need to be at their best as they look to get their first win of the Group Three season at table-topping South Shields on Thursday.

Houghton Kepier have a bye.

Latest tables, Group 1: Gt Aycliffe 2-8½, Darlington A 1-4, Spennymoor 2-1½, Durham 1-1, Shildon 0-0

Group 2: Darlington B 3-14, Ferryhill 2-6, Hartlepool A 1-4, Houghton Gilpin 2-1, South Shields 2-0

Group 3: South Shields 2-9, Stanley 2-9, Gateshead A 1-1, Houghton Sancroft 1-1, Parks B 2-0

Group 4: Hartlepool B 2-8, Durham B 1-5, Parks A 1-4½, Gateshead B 2-2½, Houghton Kepier 2-0

In the Seniors Premier League, both Houghton squads will be looking to make home advantage count as Houghton host the third round of fixtures.

Houghton A face Durham, while Houghtonians take on unbeaten Stanley B. Te other two games are Darlington A v Gateshead B and Stanley A v Darlington B.

Houghton team v Durham: P Thomson, F Froud, R Thorpe

Houghtonians team v Stanley B: F Fletcher, J Sutherland, TW Todd

There is plenty of team action coming up at Houghton.

Following their whitewash of Ferryhill in the ladies’ Inter-Club League, Houghton return to action against Hartlepool.

In the mixed Egham Trophy, Houghton have yet to progress past the first round in four attempts. Next weekend, they will need to be at their best if they are to break that sequence of defeats as they face a strong South Shields outfit who reached the last eight last season.

The Durham County select are in action tomorrow, with Durham IBC hosting them. Houghton’s Sam Patterson, Bill Race, Les Young and Jack Scullion are included in the select team.

The Durham County ladies’ Atherley Trophy squad enjoyed a cracking win last weekend in the first of two warm-up games.

The County side won five of the six rinks against South Shields. Their second warm-up is at Houghton against the HVPs next month.

There has been more action in the local section of the national singles.

In an all-Durham affair, Gary Smith got the better of club-mate Russell Bewick 21-17 and next faces another club-mate as Malcolm Wright eased to a 21-4 win at Shields over Derek Robson.

Houghton’s Pat Thomson lost his opener 21-14 at Shields against John Morgan, Stanley stalwart Eddie Henry held his nerve to pip The Parks’ Matt Raftree 21-20 while South Shields’ Alan Lawton progressed with a 21-15 win over West Denton’s Ray Robson.

In the pairs, Durham’s Mark Higgins cruised past Houghton’s Freddie Fletcher 23-4, while Stanley’s Garry Robson got home 16-15 against Gateshead’s Brian Orrell.

In the Champion of Champions, it was a case of what might have been for Houghton’s Peter Thomson.

Facing Shields’ David Bolt, the Houghton lad opened up a 15-7 lead and looked set for a cracking home win. However, Bolt dug deep and turned the tie around to run out a 21-18 winner.

Bolt next faces a trip to West Denton or Gateshead.

In the national Top Club competition, South Shields are in first round action tomorrow as they travel to The Parks.

The winners have the incentive of the much sought after top of the draw home advantage.

Team – Men’s singles: I McIntosh; Ladies singles: N Riches; Mixed pairs: J Tallack, D Bolt; Mixed triples: P Dixon, A Upsall, I Riches; Mixed fours: K Paterson, P Carlin, C Yeomans, S McIntosh.

The popular South Shields Men’s Classic Triples competition returns on Saturday and Sunday, December 2-3 at the Jack Clark Centre.

The two-day event generally attracts a high quality field. Entry costs £33 per triple with an entry limit of 32.

The Houghton Feast Open Singles title was won by Spennymoor’s Malcolm Dent. In the final, Dent ended defending champion Leadgate’s David Warnaby’s hopes of retaining the crown.

The Grindon League will hold its annual general meeting on Wednesday at Grindon Mill BC (6.30pm).

In the Under-18 British Isles Home International mixed championships, Scotland avenged last year’s loss to England by taking the title this time around.