Taylor Support Shropshire Premier Bowls League
Friday 5th October
Ford made history tonight as they became the first team to win a playoff against a Premier League club when they beat Bylet by 44 chalks at Donnington Wood. In another well attended final playoff game, Ford showed that they had learnt from last years disappointment, when they narrowly lost against Ifton, to claim a place in next seasons Premier League.
Captain Dave Hoffman again led by example and won 21-3 and with other cards also well up initially, it looked another comfortable night for the Shropshire League champions but the Bylet players fought hard to retain their league status and with Brian Link winning 21-8 and Tim Ealey recovering from 19-11 to win 21-20, the deficit was only 7 after 4 blocks.
Bylet rallied in the middle and at one stage looked as if they would be leading going into the back 4 but the “experienced” Mal Roberts won 21-14 and with the Bylet winners Russell Morris and Richard Stoker only winning 21-20 and 21-19 respectively, Ford led by 16 after 8 blocks.
It was now all on the back 4 games and Nigel Bound continued his impressive run of form with another single figure win and when he was 19-7 up, Ford only needed him to win to secure the match win, and when, he signalled 2 for game, a big roar went up from the noisy Ford contingent and history was made. Ford ended with the last three winners and secured the overall 44 margin.
Losing Bylet captain, Terry Phelps, admitted that they had been beaten by a good side and wished them well next season. The discussion then turned to what happens to Bylet next season and what the Mid Shropshire League propose to do with them. It is hoped that constructive dialog can take place with the relevant officials in the next few weeks.
Winning captain, Dave Hoffman was delighted that his team had done him proud and is eagerly looking forward to next season.
Final playoff game played on Friday 5th October at Donnington Wood
Bylet B.C. v Ford B.C.
| SCORE | PLAYERS NAME | NO. | PLAYERS NAME | SCORE |
| 3 | GREG WALE | 1 | DAVE HOFFMAN | 21 |
| 18 | RICHARD MORRIS | 2 | NICK DAVIES | 21 |
| 21 | TIM EALEY | 3 | GARY MIDDLETON | 20 |
| 21 | BRIAN LINK | 4 | ANDY JONES | 8 |
| 21 | RUSSELL MORRIS | 5 | PAUL MIDDLETON | 20 |
| 14 | COLIN TURTION | 6 | MAL ROBERTS | 21 |
| 16 | PHIL PACK | 7 | DAVE WYCHERLEY | 21 |
| 21 | RICHARD STOKER | 8 | ANDY GALE | 19 |
| 7 | DAVE ELLIOTT | 9 | NIGEL BOUND | 21 |
| 20 | SCOTT HARRIES | 10 | GEOFF DAVIES | 21 |
| 19 | GRAHAM MORRIS | 11 | BILL TARRELL | 21 |
| 10 | STEVE GARBETT | 12 | PHIL PRICE | 21 |
| 191 | 235 |
Ford Bowling Club won by 44 points.
Wednesday 3rd October
Bylet will now play Ford at Donnington Wood on Friday 5th October commencing at 7.00 pm. In tonight’s final playoff game Ford overcame District by 47 chalks, exactly the same margin as last year, and whilst Ford led by 16 shots after the last four, District flattered in the middle and actually led by 1 shot after 6, but Ford’s overall strength came to the fore and as like last year they had some big winners down the order for a comprehensive victory.
Final Table
| Played | Aggregate | Points | |
| Ford | 2 | 97 | 4 |
| District | 2 | -16 | 2 |
| Dun Cow | 2 | -81 | 0 |
Game 3
Wednesday 3rd October District v Ford at St Georges No.2
District B.C. v Ford B.C.
| SCORE | PLAYERS NAME | NO. | PLAYERS NAME | SCORE |
| 10 | MARTIN LLOYD | 1 | DAVE HOFFMAN | 21 |
| 21 | CHARLIE WEAVER | 2 | NICK DAVIES | 16 |
| 16 | CARL HINTON | 3 | GARY MIDDLETON | 21 |
| 16 | PAUL GRIFFITHS | 4 | ANDY JONES | 21 |
| 21 | CHRIS LLOYD | 5 | PAUL MIDDLETON | 8 |
| 21 | ROB MANSFIELD | 6 | DAVE WYCHERLEY | 17 |
| 6 | BRIAN JONES | 7 | ANDY GALE | 21 |
| 21 | PETE OWENS | 8 | GEOFF DAVIES | 20 |
| 3 | RICHARD PULLEN | 9 | NIGEL BOUND | 21 |
| 14 | DAVE KYNASTON | 10 | RICHARD HUGHES | 21 |
| 13 | DAVID HILES | 11 | BILL TARRELL | 21 |
| 20 | JIM EVANS | 12 | PHIL PRICE | 21 |
| 182 | 229 |
Ford Bowling Club won by 47 points.
Game 2
Played on Saturday 29th September District v Dun Cow at Telepost No.1
District B.C. v Dun Cow B.C.
| SCORE | PLAYERS NAME | NO. | PLAYERS NAME | SCORE |
| 21 | MARTIN LLOYD | 1 | TREVOR WILLIAMS | 7 |
| 21 | CHARLIE WEAVER | 2 | GEOFF CLARKE | 12 |
| 18 | CARL HINTON | 3 | MARK SELLEY | 21 |
| 21 | BARRY JONES | 4 | DAVE RHODES | 20 |
| 21 | PAUL GRIFFITHS | 5 | MARK FRANCE | 13 |
| 21 | CHRIS LLOYD | 6 | PAUL REEVES | 13 |
| 20 | ROB MANSFIELD | 7 | BRIAN CLARKE | 21 |
| 21 | BRIAN JONES | 8 | DAVE BICKER | 12 |
| 21 | DAVID HILES | 9 | STEVE WORTHINGTON | 20 |
| 16 | DAVE KYNASTON | 10 | JOHN LOVETT | 21 |
| 21 | RICHARD PULLEN | 11 | PAUL BEER | 17 |
| 7 | JIM EVANS | 12 | DAVE MELLOR | 21 |
| 229 | 198 |
District Bowling Club won by 31 points.
Played on Wednesday 26th September at Archibald Worthington
Game 1
Ford B.C. v Dun Cow B.C.
| SCORE | PLAYERS NAME | NO. | PLAYERS NAME | SCORE |
| 21 | DAVE HOFFMAN | 1 | MARK SELLEY | 9 |
| 21 | NICK DAVIES | 2 | STEVE WORTHINGTON | 5 |
| 21 | GARY MIDDLETON | 3 | GEOFF CLARKE | 17 |
| 13 | ANDY JONES | 4 | DAVE RHODES | 21 |
| 21 | PAUL MIDDLETON | 5 | TREVOR WILLIAMS | 18 |
| 17 | DAVE WYCHERLEY | 6 | MARK FRANCE | 21 |
| 20 | ANDY GALE | 7 | PAUL REEVES | 21 |
| 21 | GEOFF DAVIES | 8 | NIGEL EVANS | 15 |
| 21 | NIGEL BOUND | 9 | DAVE BICKER | 9 |
| 21 | RICHARD HUGHES | 10 | BRIAN CLARKE | 19 |
| 16 | BILL TARRELL | 11 | JOHN LOVETT | 21 |
| 21 | PHIL PRICE | 12 | PAUL BEER | 8 |
| 234 | 184 |
Ford Bowling Club won by 50 points.
Ford Bowling Club
Back Row: Phil Price, Bill Tarrell, Nick Davies, Gary Middleton, Geoff Davies, Andy Jones, Gavin Price.
Front Row: Dave Hoffman (capt), Andy Gale, Mal Roberts, Paul Middleton, Nigel Bound.
Dun Cow Bowling Club
Back Row: Paul Reeves, Mark France, Geoff Clarke, Nigel Evans, Steve Worthington, Paul Beer.
Front Row: Dave Rhodes (captain), Charles Haywood, Mark Selley, Trevor Williams, John Lovett.