Match Report – Bristol A 24-20 Devon A

How very proud I am to stand captain of what I believe to be as the best Bristol side I have seen for many years, not just for ability but for belief, heart and unity! Devon have been and probably still are(apart from us) the strongest side in the region, we have gradually over the years got closer and closer to them, now we’ve done them. We drew at there place and now turned them over here in Bristol 24-20! With both Foxy and I losing both our first 2 frames as openers meant being 2-0 down in both first 2 sets was always going to mean hard work. Still we stuck in there losing both the first two legs 6-5! Just to prove how tough we are, we stuck with them and managed a 6-5 win in the third, only a frame down going into the last leg we knew we had to give a real big last push! With the encouragement we feed each other and the noise level rising, out of the two teams we were always going to be the ones to be able to reach the next gear and a massive 8-3 win in the last gave us a very acceptable 24-20 win! After a discussion with a Devon player he accepted the fact that with the voices and encouragement we give each other its like playing against 15 men! That’s what we do to teams, we lift our own standards and no one can compete with that! Lets keep it going boys!

Man of the Match

Again so many great performances, even Tim and Sid who on this occasion only managed 1 frame each, they played exceptional in that frame and being that, that was the only frame they actually had a part in it has to be mentioned. Sid has been a rock for the A’s this year and we all just knew the second he was in he would finish and at such a crucial point in the match too! Woody gets 3 and goes back to the top of the tree again stamping his authority following last years kick up the ass, and bringing home the victory for Bristol yet again! Ken bounced back with 3 and so did Doyley! Simon seems to have hit his form back and its great to see him playing with confidence again! Coop’s cut ,of his last yellow down the rail had to be the shot of the day to beat 2 times world champ Twisty to give himself 3! But no argument to man of the match, A team Debutant Marcus Foster who won 3 from 4, he was the only player to play his last match for all 4 after winning his first 3, but lost out to a dry break, only to see top 32 professional Jez Graham clear! Well done Marcus and well done to all!

Next Match

Home to Dorset, with only one more tough game remaining and being in the driving seat, every frame really does count, no time for complacency, again on this occasion I ask each of you NOT to ask what the score is, Ken and I will be keeping it between ourselves for this one and I want you all to just win the frame infront of you without worrying about the score! The big one now is Somerset, but if we don’t do the business against Dorset then Somerset doesn’t matter so lets keep doing what we’re doing, keep positive, keep buzzing, keep loud and keep supporting all the way to Yarmouth!

Table				Rankings
P	Team	Pl	Pts	P	Name	Pl	W	L	Pts
1	Somerset	7	208	1	Mark Wood	28	19	9	57
2	Bristol	7	201	2	Kevin Smith	28	23	5	55
3	Devon	7	193	3	Paul Elliott	28	18	10	54
4	Cornwall	7	175	4	Ben Flack	24	17	7	51
5	Dorset	7	130	5	Ken Edwards	28	17	11	51
6	Wiltshire	7	121	6	Simon Doyle	28	16	12	48