They thought it was all over …………… well it isn’t yet. Minotaurs went into tonight’s Super League fixture against Meteors knowing that a win would see them crowned champions. All looked set fair for unbeaten Minotaurs with Meteors coming off the back of two consecutive 0-4 reverses. But things don’t always go to plan.
In the first game, Minotaurs Bernard & Pred were up against Meteors Gill G and Ian B-S. Minotaurs started slowly and were having difficulty gauging the piste. After three ends they were 0-5 down but still considered they could pull things back. In the fourth end things got a whole lot worse when, with Minotaurs holding but out of boule and Meteors having 5 boule in hand, Ian attempted to shoot the Minotaurs out, hit the cosh out into open territory, with the boule he had just played following it, leaving Meteors holding 2 and a vast open space to point into, which they duly did for 6. Minotaurs couldn’t complain as they had benefitted from something similar in their match last week. Leading by 11-0, Meteors pressed home their advantage and closed out the game 13-2.
In the other game, Minotaurs Vickie & Rose took on Meteors Norman and Keith T. The scoreboard was ticking over with neither team gaining any great advantage but with Minotaurs leading 9-8 they managed to find a bit of form and ran out 13-8 winners for a match score of 1-1 at the turnaround.
So into the third game, Bernard & Pred took 1 point in each of the first 5 ends and it was looking as if it would be long drawn out game. In the next end, however, they took 4 and it was then a long way back for Norman & Keith. Minotaurs then took another 4 ends to complete the job, taking the game 13-1. The score, however, did not really reflect the game with 10 ends being played and Minotaurs taking just 1 in 7 of them.
The Final Game
Minotaurs hopes of wrapping up the league title all hung on the last game between Vickie & Rose and Gill & Ian. The game seemed to be slipping away from Minotaurs when they found themselves 2-6 down but with some good play they managed to pull back to 6-6. After another couple of ends Meteors held a slender 9-8 lead which was a prelude to a nail-biting finish. Minotaurs levelled the scores again at 9-9 and then took a 2 for a lead of 11-9. On the next end Meteors levelled the score at 11-11 but were then Minotaurs were faced with tough decision. They were holding 1 with three boule in hand and 4 Meteors boules surrounding theirs all tight up around the cosh. A stray boule could quite easily have left Meteors holding 2 or even 3, so Minotaurs decided to take 1 to give them 12-11 lead. In what proved to be the final end Meteors managed to take 2 after some good pointing from both players, giving them the game 13-12 and giving Meteors a well earned draw in the match, dashing Minotaurs hopes of settling the title. Minotaurs were left wondering what would have happened if they hadn’t taken the 1 in the penultimate end!
For Minotaurs, the title is still in their own hands needing 1 point from their final fixture against Monarchs next week – unless Monarchs fail to beat Marauders tomorrow, which would hand the title to Minotaurs. Monarchs also have the title in their own hands but need to win both their last 2 games to pip Minotaurs to the title.
