Meole Brace finally ended their trophy hoodoo by beating joint record holders Castlefields\u00a0by 18 in the Black Tech Ltd Alan Mayhew Trophy Final. It was nip and tuck with just one chalk separating the teams after the first and middle fours before Andy Wigginton won 10 and \u00a0Dave Redge 14 to seal the win for the Meole.<\/p>\n
In the first four and Castlefields dominated for the most part but Meole fought back valiantly. Clay Flattley led Pete Bound 20-6 on a 20m round peg before Pete got back to 15 on a 25m round peg before Clay got out. Paul Williams was 20-14 up on Darren Wellings in the corners before Darren got back to 20 across after shortening it down before Paul beat a foot lead of Darren\u2019s to get out 20. Keith Walton was 15-9 up on Will Tarrell before only scoring one more as Will went over the middle, and with Colin Beaman winning 18 in a close game with Jon Palmer, Meole led by one when it looked like they should have been 20 odd down!<\/p>\n
In the middle and Ade Rowe played very well against Mike Beer, despite neither being able to hold the block for more than three ends in the entire game it was Ade\u2019s 2s that won him the game, with Mike getting back to 18 from 19-11 down in the corners. Rich Goddard led Julian Cooke 10-0 in the corners before pegged back to 14-11, however Rich then went 20-11 up but Julian then gained another seven chalks on a 25m round peg to get 18. The two other games had nothing in them throughout, Bill using the longer marks to his advantage while Luke used shorter marks and down the edge to lead 18-17 before Bill got out 18. Nige Bound and Dave Peach was another contrast of styles, Nige playing well long and Dave on 20m round pegs, and it was the round pegs that won out with Dave winning 18. This meant the middle four had 2 18 winners for each side and Meole led by 1 still.<\/p>\n
One decisive card was gonna help seal it in a tight contest, and Andy Wigginton produced it. He was only 9-8 up before having a break of 9 and then winning 10 to give Meole Brace a lead of 12. At this time Callum Wraight led Doug Edwards 17-11,\u00a0Glyn Herbert led Mark Thomas 11-1 but Dave Redge was 11-5 up on Mark Taylor so it meant it looked like it would be close again. But the three that were behind all dug deep, Doug getting back to trail 18-16 in the corners while Mark Thomas got back to 12-10 and Mark Taylor to 14 across with Dave Redge. Meole only needed a few chalks to get over the line and kept producing pressure woods when the Castlefields\u2019 lads asked the question. It was Dave Redge\u2019s 2 that got them over the line getting to 19-14 up, with Mark and Doug on 16 and 18 respectively, meant they couldn\u2019t be caught. Dave then won 14, Callum then got out 19 before Mark Thomas sealed a fine comeback to win 20, giving Meole a 18 shot win overall.<\/p>\n
I would like to congratulate Meole Brace on winning their first trophy in the league after 23 seasons of trying, and commiserate Castlefields. Both produced a top final which was close throughout until Meole edged ahead late on.<\/p>\n
Thank you goes to hosts Bicton for producing a great surface, and to looking after us so well and for the food afterwards. Thank you to John Coxill for refereeing and to Martin Gaut and Rob Burroughs for organising. And a big thank you to Black Tech Ltd, with Director Tom Langford there tonight and adjudicating the man of the match award. It was also nice to see Alan Mayhew there to present his trophy, we appreciate his support!<\/p>\n
Castlefields v Meole Brace:
\n1 Jon Palmer 18-21 Colin Beaman
\n2 Clay Flattley 21-15 Pete Bound
\n3 Paul Williams 21-20 Darren Wellings
\n4 Keith Walton 16-21 Will Tarrell
\n5 Mike Beer 18-21 Ade Rowe
\n6 Rich Goddard 21-18 Julian Cooke
\n7 Luke Jones 18-21 Bill Tarrell
\n8 Dave Peach 21-18 Nigel Bound
\n9 Andy Duckett 10-21 Andy Wigginton
\n10 Callum Wraight 21-19 Doug Edwards
\n11 Glyn Herbert 20-21 Mark Thomas
\n12 Mark Taylor 14-21 Dave Redge<\/p>\n
Castlefields 219-237 Meole Brace<\/p>\n
Mark Thomas (right) receives the Man of the Match Champagne off sponsor Tom Langford (left), Director of Black Technologies Limited, with League President John Coxill centre.<\/p>\n![\"IMG_1038\"](\"http:\/\/www.thespbl.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1038.jpg\")
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