Home advantage paid off in the latest round of action from the Montgomeryshire and District Airgun League which saw all five hosts victorious.
A an all six-shooter match Castle Caereinion beat Forden, 197.3-186.8, with Richard Morgan again leading his team from the front with another possible. M Goolden fired a possible for the visitors.
Crew Green A put in another solid performance at The Punchbowl to beat Guilsfield B, with opening man Edward Kelton setting the evening’s high score. Guilsfield B put up a spirited defence but were edged out 196.5-193.9.
Guilsfield A continued their winning form against Llanfair Caereinion, who struggled to find an answer to their dominance. Captain Paul Phillips shot an excellent 35.6 towards the end of the match, ensuring his team’s comfortable win.
Second-placed Arddleen outshot Crew Green B, with a range of just 1.4 points between their highest and lowest scores (33.0 to 34.4). Crew Green B were unable to capitalise despite being bookended by the 34’s scored by the Hilditch brothers.
Table toppers Churchstoke kept their 100% record intact with a 202.8-195.3 over Newtown, despite being a shooter down. The highlight of the note though came with the very last shot of the match when young Tabitha Corbett (The 2016-17 Individual Champion) rang the bell cleanly to record her first ever perfect score – 35.7.
Possibles: Richard Morgan (CC – 35.4), M Goolden (Forden – 35.5), Paul Phillips (GA – 35.6) and Tabitha Corbett (Newtown – 35.7).
Match Of The Week: This has to go to the match between a rampaging Guilsfield A and Llanfair Caereinion, purely on the quality of the home-team’s shooting and the score that reflected it.
Shooter Of The Week: This can only be Miss Tabby Corbett for her first perfect score.
Individual Knockout Championships
Shot at the Royal Oak in Welshpool (Upper Division) and Newtown Bowling Club (Lower Division and Under 21’s), the Individual Knockout competitions are always a test of the skill and nerve of the shooter.
There is often no time to recover between rounds as the schedule is tight. Also, the shooting takes the form of a line-up, rather than pairs of shooters shooting one-on-one, which can be distracting and always adds to the pressure.
In the Upper Division knockout, Richard Morgan of Castle Caereinion triumphed, beating Jane Thomas in the final and shooting four possibles – all 35.5’s and 35.6’s.
In the Lower Division, Hywel Morgan, also of Castle Caereinion, overcame G Steadman to take the crown, leading to what is possibly the only father and son lockout of the two top individual spots.
The Under 21’s knockout was won by Arddleen’s Jack Francis, who beat off stiff competition in the form of Joe Hilditch to take the title.