Finals go to the wire in Ashton team knockout
St Geroges and Hadley USC won classic finals on an historic night of Ashton team knockout action in the Molson Coors Mid Shropshire League.
Their Monday division sides won the Ashton Cup and Ashton Shield respectively as the handicaps produced cracking finals when both were played at the same time and venue for the first time.
St Georges C made full use of their 12-shot handicap advantage to overcome Wrockwardine Wood C in the Cup final on Bowring’s non-Premier green by three shots.
And it was even closer on the Wellington club’s Premier green as Hadley B held on despite a 12-shot handicap disadvantage to beat Trench C by just two chalks to take the Shield.
Mirjana Gaut (21-6) and Jeff Bailey (21-9) were the best of four winners for St Georges in the 10-a-side clash with a Wrockites team who had won the trophy six times in the last eight years.
But it was Carl Teece, who has just returned after a break from the game, who got the Dragons over the line as he scrambled 17 from 20-10 down against Sophie Meredith in front of a big and excited crowd.
Ben Cotton (21-5) and Eddie Thorner (21-8) starred for Wrockwardine as they suffered a rare blip in an Ashton Cup final.
It was close all the way before Hadley USC finally got the better of Trench C, last man Al Jarvis producing the vital 21-9 card – the only single figure result in the final – to give them the consolation prize in the first year they have entered the KO for Monday night teams.
League chairman Sean Round presented the trophies on another night of ‘what ifs’ for Mid Shropshire President Mike Potter, captain again of the Trench team that lost in the same final last year.
