The last Middleton Cup game of the season required the long haul to Kingscroft BC in Leicestershire. After an early start it was good to see the familiar faces of the players and regular supporters.
Both teams still had a chance of qualifying from the group but were dependant on the result of the Essex vs. Norfolk game.
With the pleasantries out of the way, the match started and a strong Leicestershire team were out of the blocks with a bang, hitting the halfway mark up on 5 rinks with a shot differential of +21
Kingscroft BC are the top club in Leicestershire and with over half the team coming from Kingscroft, home green advantage was beginning to tell. Although Suffolk were fighting back, the shot differential was increasing, at 15 ends it was 3½ – 2½ (+27) to Leicestershire. Suffolk continued to make rink progress but couldn’t dent the shot difference.
So we didn’t progress past the group stage this year and, ironically, neither did Leicestershire. Essex turned Norfolk over 129 (18) to 106(4) but the two rink wins were enough for Norfolk to seal the group win and progress to the quarter final stage
Final Score: Leicestershire 144 – 99 Suffolk
Points Score: Leicestershire 16 – 6 Suffolk
Top Suffolk Rink: Adam Turner, Andrew Pulford, Mark Euston and Joe Sims
Thank you to all who played for Suffolk in the Middleton Cup this season, particularly player/manager John Rednall who was ably assisted by Adrian Beecroft, and to all who came along to watch the various matches
We go again next season.
Comments