Manx Short Mat Bowls: Gale & Durcan go down to final week

Report by IOM Short Mat Bowls

A final end tie from Collin Holland stopped Stephen Gale from claiming the maiden Isle of Man Singles League title this evening after he scored a 2 to finish 9-9, while Steve Durcan won both his games tonight to force it to go to a final week.

Durcan won both his games with 9-5 win over Christine Holland and a 15-9 victory over Harry Minor.

Meanwhile, Stephen Gale got off to a 9-6 win against Jayne Smith before a fight back from Collin Holland meant that he would go to the final set of games with a 1 point advantage.

That point for Collin and a win earlier in the evening over Sheila Durcan meant that he remains in third place, 5 points back from Durcan.

Harry Minor edged Seamus Whelan in his opening game which keeps him ahead of Jayne Smith despite an 11-6 victory for her over Sheila Durcan, thanks to Minor’s head-to-head win over Smith.

Seamus Whelan took a 10-6 win against Christine Holland, which puts him in 6th, with Christine and Sheila 3 points further back.

Next week, the final games will be played on Wednesday, 25 November, with Stephen Gale playing Sheila Durcan and Steve Durcan facing Seamus Whelan.

Christine Holland faces Harry Minor and Jayne Smith plays Collin Holland.