Bowls: Yetton Trophy disappointment for Houghton Ladies

The Yetton tie against South Shields was always going to be a big ask, against a decent squad, and so it proved.

Despite a spirited performance, Houghton were beaten by 44 shots overall.

At Houghton, both home rinks looked set for decent wins.

Ellen Faith’s quartet of Joan Watt, J. Clement and Gwen Eltringham led 10-1 against Maureen Charles but were pegged back to 11-10 at halfway.

By the 15th end, Faith led 18-11, but, in the end, she had to settle for a 21-17 win.

Jenny Smith’s rink of Evelyn Barkes, M. Glover and Brenda Robson led 12-5 but were left to rue a couple of dropped fives as Dorothy Sproates ran out a dramatic 22-20 winner.

The home squad finished 41-39 up, but the wheels fell off at Shields.

Margaret Metcalf, Ruth Turnbull, Margaret Eggleston and Florence Phythian only trailed by four at halfway against Pat Burns, but things slipped away and Phythian finished 26-12 down.

Houghton’s other away rink of Maureen Hall, Eleanor Barren, Audrey Vout and Joan Baker had a tough day at the office against Pam Carlin, beaten 36-4, so the away squad finished 46 shots adrift, sealed a 101-57 defeat.

In the next round, South Shields face West Denton, while Houghton drop into the Yetton Plate.

Houghton Ladies roused themselves to cruise to a 53½-shot win over Ferryhill in the league.

All four rinks recorded handsome wins, with Houghton collecting all 10 points on offer.

At Houghton, Susan Forster, Evelyn Barkes, Ann Banks and Ellen Faith eased to a 25-8¼ win over E. Kidman, while Jenny Smith steered Joan Watt, A.Latimer, and Brenda Robson to an impressive 24-10 success against S.Maughan. That left the home squad 30¾ shots to the good.

At Ferryhill, both Houghton squads put in cracking performances.

Florence Phythian skipped Margaret Metcalf, M. Glover and Margaret Eggleston to a big 29-10 win over S. Heath, while Joan Baker guided Maureen Hall, Ruth Turnbull and Audrey Vout home 20-12 win, securing a 27-shot away triumph.

Next up is Hartlepool on Wednesday, November 8.

Houghton Gilpin’s senior men return to Senior Inter-Club League action as they make the trip down the A1 to face Darlington B.

Houghton team – J Harrison, P Robinson, E Downes, R Robson; K Waterson, A Wood, W Longley, R Thorpe; D Robson, F Sanderson, D Gibson, W Roberts.

Houghton are in Top Ten action today as they host Durham. After a spirited performance at Darlington, hopes are high for a win.

Houghton team – Singles: P Thomson; Pairs: M Wright & D Todner; Triples: D Armstrong, P Harding, TW Todd; Fours: P Thomson (snr), J Scullion, F Fletcher, F Froud

The Seniors Premier League’s second week of action took place at Stanley and it was a good afternoon for the host club as both of their squads recorded comfortable victories.

Stanley A followed up their opening 37-6 win over Darlington A with a 21-10 defeat of Gateshead B. Stanley B also completed a second win, defeating Darlington A 19-9 after their initial 27-9 success against Houghton.

It was a tough afternoon for the Houghtonians trio of Fred Fletcher, Joe Sutherland and Terry Todd as they slumped to a heavy 42-5 loss to Darlington B.

Week 1 results (at Gateshead): Gateshead A 21 Darlington B 15, Gateshead B 22 Ferryhill B 13, Stanley A 37 Darlington A 6, Houghtonians 30 Ferryhill A 22, Houghton A 9 Stanley B 27

Week 2 results (at Stanley): Stanley A 21 Gateshead B 10, Stanley B 19 Darlington A 9, Houghtonians 5 Darlington B 42, Durham 13 Ferryhill B 15, Ferryhill A 8 Gateshead A 26

The third week of fixtures will be at Houghton on Wednesday, November 1 (12.30pm).

Houghton A will field Peter Thomson (snr), Richard Thorpe and Frankie Froud against Durham, while Fred Fletcher, Joe Sutherland and Terry Todd lead the Houghtonians against unbeaten Stanley B.

Durham County Ladies’ Atherley Trophy squad have two warm-up games prior to their first round tie against Lincolnshire at Scarborough in November.

The Durham squad are playing South Shields this afternoon, with five Houghton players involved.

Team – M Hall (Houghton), M Metcalf (Houghton), F Slinn (Durham), N Stephenson (Houghton); J Kirby (Sth Shields), A Jameison (Sth Shields), J. Baker (Houghton), P Carlin (Sth Shields); R Skinner (Hartlepool), E .Horan (Durham), J Pickford (Durham), A Stafford (Durham); J Brown (Durham), S Pegg (Darlington), M. Richardson (Ferryhill), S. Maughan (Ferryhill); J Tallack (Sth Shields), Y. Cooke (Ferryhill), C Budd (Durham), M Charles (Sth Shields); K Dixon (Aycliffe), JB Smith (Houghton), A Ritchie (Aycliffe), E Helm (Aycliffe)

Reserves: D Jackson (Hartlepool), A Longmuir (Hartlepool), J Pattison (Darlington), J Hewitson (Aycliffe), L Barkess (Durham)

It is five years since the Durham County men last lifted the Liberty Trophy, however Durham are still the most successful county in England with 11 Liberty titles.

Last season, a disjointed Durham were humbled in the first round by Cumbria, going down by 50 shots. Any hopes of a 12th success will need a united front on the green, with past grievances put to bed.

Team manager David Kilner has selected the following players for a trial and squad day on Saturday, October 28 at Hartlepool.

Squad: K Burton (Darlington), M Barkess, R Bewick, M Laydon, K Minnis, GR Smith, P Smithson, M Wright (all Durham), M Gleeson, J Harston (both Aycliffe), C Boston, D Fenwick, J Forcer, C Higgins, P Hartley, J Halcrow, I Jackson, M Jones, P Mosley, V O’Neill, D Oram, M Squirrell (all Hartlepool), J Sneller, S Barker, D Bolt, G Farquhar, D Paterson, M Peach, N Ridley, P Sainthouse, I Riches (all South Shields), B Arkley, J Thurlbeck, B Houghton, J Thurlbeck (all Stanley)

With the indoor season just getting started, the local qualification rounds in the national competitions are yet to get a head of steam up.

However, there have a been a few ties played in the singles.

Area Two is virtually a north-south split before the two halves meet in the area final.

The northern half has 60 entries fighting for the one place, while the south has just 16 entries fighting for the other spot.

In the north, Durham’s Mark Higgins continues to impress with a cracking 21-11 win over club-mate Mark Barkess, while Gateshead’s Mal Johnston progressed with a 21-18 home win over Durham’s Jimmy Richardson.

West Denton youngster Aaron Robson eased to a 21-11 home win over The Park’s Roy Stephenson, while South Shields’ Stewart Hubbard recorded a cracking 21-11 victory at Stanley against James McKenna.

Houghton’s Peter Thomson, Carl Elliott (Shields) and M. Appleby (Durham) have all been given walkovers into the next round, alongside Hartlepool’s Carl Higgins in the south section.

In the two-bowl singles, Alex Bryden won an all-Gateshead affair 21-17 against Mal Johnston.

The Denny Cup gets underway next weekend with a tasty opener as South Shields and Stanley go head to head.

They met two years ago and Shields ran out winners by 36 shots. Last season, Stanley crashed out in the first round to Gateshead, who were then narrowly beaten by Shields.

On paper, Shields have a strong-looking squad, including several Wearsiders.

Team – At Shields: J Lambert, J Sneller, G Farquhar, S McIntosh; N Ridley, S Hubbard, I Riches, I McIntosh; At Stanley: P Dixon, J McKenna, D Paterson, D Bolt; M Peach, P Sainthouse, J Minto, C Yeomans

There will be another change in venue for South Hylton members in the 2018 outdoor season.

Due to council cuts, their green at King George V was sacrificed so they had to move onto their neighbours’ Pennywell green.

However, a season that has been plagued by anti-social issues has seen the Hylton lads take the decision to move to Barnes Park and share the West End green.