Johns Trophy and Walker Cup Match Reports
Saturday 17 June 2023 saw the Suffolk Ladies team at Borough of Eye in their second Johns Trophy pool game of the season, with our opponents being Essex. The first few ends of the match didn’t quite go our way, and by 10 ends we were 28 shots down across the game - our opponents were clearly feeling confident of a comfortable win, but little did they know what was to come! A warm afternoon built up into a tense climax to the game, with Suffolk scoring heavily over the last 5 ends of the match, and we entered the last end on the final rink just 3 shots behind across the match. A fine display of holding their nerve saw the Suffolk rink secure the 4 shots we needed to win the match overall by 1 shot, the final score being 124 to 123 in our favour. An outstanding effort by the entire team, which really showed just how much grit and determination Suffolk Ladies have! Needless to say that half of the large crowd of spectators went wild!
Sunday 18 June 2023, and Suffolk Ladies were back at Borough of Eye, this time hosting Hertfordshire in the first round of the Walker Cup. The day did not begin all that well, with a last-minute substitution being needed shortly before the game, but never let it be said that we let things like that ruffle our feathers! After a narrow defeat to Hertfordshire in 2022, both rinks were determined to seek revenge. Pat Hilson, Moira Self, Sue Bard-Bodek and Sue Bernard got off to a flying start (8-0 up before Hertfordshire got a shot on the board). Shirley Plummer, Pat Jolly, Tracey Johnson and Julie Spice were a little slower out of the blocks but came back steadily, and at the half-way mark Suffolk were only 2 shots down across the game. The rinks continued to be close fought right up to the end, with the final 3 ends being crucial as it was all square after 18 ends. All 8 players held their nerve and supported each other strongly against very tough opposition (and their many supporters). Julie’s rink pushed ahead to a 23-19 win, whilse Sue’s rink held their nerve and finished all square at 15-15, such that the overall result was another fabulous Suffolk win, this time by a slightly more comfortable margin of 4 shots (38-34). We now progress to Regional Finals next Sunday (25 June 2023) at Brampton where our opponents will be Norfolk.
The Ladies County Executive would like to thank all of the players and reserves who attended the games this weekend, in particular those who stepped in at the last minute. We would also like to thank Borough of Eye for their fantastic hospitality and everyone who came along to support Suffolk Ladies over two days of tough competition.
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