Blog

As the new season approaches, Hustlers wamed up with a "friendly" match against the auld enemy, the Anchor Old Ladies. This looked particularky challenging this year, as the ‘Slurs were much depleted.

1st leg struggled to find form against equally shaky Anchors, losing by a mere 3 pins.  2nd leg proved more successful, with 40s from Pete & Stavros helping to turn the game around anfd give us a 1-pin lead at the halfway point.

The halftime feed and subsequent guest players then played their part as 3rd leg conceded 39 pins, leaving the anchors with a tough task.  But, with Rob’s top score. they managed to win the leg – just not by enough to turn the game.

A rare victory meant the Anchors became the inaugural winners of the Jim Swan Memmorial Trophu

16/8/13 v Anchor Old Ladies @ Suffolk

1st leg total 92 v 101

2nd leg total 117 v 113

3rd leg total 92 v 131

4th leg total 137 v 134

Grand total 444 v 479

Won by -35

Finally we get to draw the season to a close, as Hustlers face the Sinners in this long-awaited rescheduled return match.

A tough start for the 1st leg as we dropped 17 pins thanks to two Sinners 40s.  Another pair of 40s were conceded by 2nd leg, who added a further 15 pins to the deficit.  This wasn’t in the script.

Cap’n Clive’s top score (& our first 40 of the night) helped stem the tide, as 3rd leg won their battle and left the anchors just a 17-pin gap.  Rob & Neil chipped in with 40s to try and counter Pete’s bottom score  Despite winning the leg, it wasn’t quite enough totake the game.

But the Hustlers go marching on.  2nd place just eluded us, but we still go up another division – the Premiership beckons.

22/4/13 v Sinners @ Suffolk

2nd leg total 106 v 121

3rd leg total 115 v 106

4th leg total 113 v 111

Grand total 441 v 456

WON by -15

A big game in prospect tonight as the Hustlers looked to complete a double over the Chosen Champs and secure automatic promotion in the process.

Gary & TC did well to coubter Swayner’s efforts to lose the leg and ended with a narrow 3-pin lead.  A fleeting visit from Lofty saw him get our only spare of the night on his way to top score, with Lewis & AS helping to stretch the lead by a single pin – just 4 up at the midpoint.

Steve narrowly escaped bottom score, but a 40 from a resurgent Rich, with support from Cap’n Clive, ensured the lead crept out by another 2 pins, leaving the anchors to secure the game.  A few squeaky moments until Pete’s final hand 9 secured promotion, set up by steady Rob (just needs 95 next week to break the 1000 mark), & Neil throwing away the chance of a 40.

It’s the last game of the season, with the long-awaited rearranged return of the Sinners at the Suffolk.  A win could well see us finish as runners-up!

17/4/13 v Chosen Champs @ Churchdown Club

2nd leg total 110 v 109

3rd leg total 110 v 108

4th leg total 113 v 113

Grand total 437 v 431

WON by 6

 Looking to avenge their narrow 1st encounter defeat, Hustlers welcomed Cowley CC to the Suffolk for the rematch in our final official home match of the season.

We began well, with Pete & bottom  of the averages TC narrowly missing out on our opening 40.  With Mike doubling his man’s score (surely a record low at the Suffolk), we had a healthy 26-pin lead.  2nd leg weren’t quite as lucky, but were steady enough to stretch the lead by a further 10 pins, leaving it looking good for the 2nd half of the game.

Despite Rob losing to his man, 3rd leg made the lead look even more convinvcing, as Rich just missed out on another 40.  Oddly, the anchors started to ship pins and some doubts began to appear in the camp.  But they were just teasing us and JT finally got our 1st (and only) 40 of the night as they squeezed out a further 7 pins to give us a most resounding victory.

Our final away match of the season sees us take on the Chosen Champs at the Churchdown Club next week.

8/4/13 v Cowley CC @ Suffolk

2nd leg total 105 v 95

3rd leg total 107 v 90

4th leg total 119 v 112

Grand total 445 v 385

WON by 60

Catching up with a report from 2 weeks ago – IT issues.

Despite a 40 from Rob, 1st leg struggled to find form, but managed to only drop 3 pins to the Sarries.  2nd leg form was somewhat poorer, especially TC’s bottom score, but they somehow managed to end the leg with Hustlers leading by 5.

3rd leg’s form was a little better, with Lofty getting our second 40 of the night, but they did lose 4 pins, leaving the anchors with the narrowest of leads to defend.  A much better perfomance followed, although only jTmade 40 (a sadly low top score), but not enough as Sarries took the leg by 4 pins to take a very tight game at the end.

18/3/13 v Saracens A @ Suffolk

2nd leg total 100 v 92

1st leg total 108 112

4th leg total 115 v 119

Grand total 428 v 431

WON by -3

Hustlers headed off to the Adam Eve looking for a rare double against Tivoli Boys.

1st leg set a steady pace as Pete & TC got our first 40’s of the night, with just Lewis failing to beat his man or get a 40, as we eked out a 4-pin lead.  Cap’n Clive bottom scored, offsetting 40s from Lofty & AS (who set his season’s best), but enough to see the lead fritter away to a 2-pin deficit.  Boosteded by his new high score, Stavros then went on to take the raffle.

Season’s bests fom Rich & Rob (who also joined the 50 club), with another 40 from Steve, saw that deficit turn around once more, this time giving the anchors a lead of 19 to defend.  Three 40s (with a season’s best for JT) easily beat three 30s and helped us cruise to a 45-pin victory.

Another break next week, with Easter on the cards, but it’s back to the Suffolk after that to face Cowley CC.

25/3/13 v Tivoli Boys @ Adam & Eve

 2nd leg total 126 v 132

1st leg total 145 v 122

 4th leg total 136 v 124

Grand total 529 v 484

WON by 45

On very unfamiliar territory, Hustlers headed out to Whaddon, looking to complete a double over the Diards

1st leg got off to a poor start, with only Lewis (with two 9s) beating his man to stop the 15-pin gap looking even worse.  2nd leg fared much better, with just Stavros failing to beat his man, yet still losing the leg & failing to make the 100 mark.  But we were still only 18 pins down, so all was not yet lost

1st leg total 89 v 104

2nd leg total 93 v 96

3rd leg total 100 v 121

4th leg total 106 v 101

Grand total 388 v 422

WON by -34

Looking to make up for the early season draw, could Hustlers continue their run of form as they took on Beehive Bitzas, back on home territory?

A steady start saw Lofty get the opening 9s of the night, as 1st leg racked up a 9-pin lead, just Clive failing to beat his man.  With Steve getting our first 40, and only TC failing to beat his man, 2nd leg extended the lead by a further 10 pins at the midpoint.

Another steady performance saw 3rd leg open the gap still further, as they added 12 more pins to the lead.  Neil opened with our lone spare of the night, but still needed another 9 to help him to top score.  Gary’s 9 pair helped him to a 40, while JT completed the hat trick to win the leg by a glorious 25.  And so we achieved by far our highest winning margin for quite some time, while keeping our run going.

1st leg total 104 v 95

2nd leg total 108 v 98

3rd leg total 103 v 91

4th leg total 125 v 100

Grand total 440 v 384

WON by 56

Back on a winning streak (will they match Bayern Munich’s?), Hustlers travelled to Parklands looking to extend that run.

A weak start from 1st leg saw Hustlers trailing by 4 pins as they handed over.  2nd leg featured Swayner’s first 40 of the seson, just beaten by Wallsy, as they won the leg by 4 to leave the game all square once more at halftime (Arsenal would have been very happy with that).

The improvement continued as 3rd leg saw Pete get another 40 to help us establish a 3-poin lead to hand over to the anchors.  And there was more to come, with three more 40s helping win the leg by 11 and so seal our 2nd double of the season.

Back home next week as we take on the Bitzas.

19/2/13 v Flyers @ Parklands

1st leg total 103 v 107

2nd leg total 117 v 113

3rd leg total 120 v 117

4th leg total 126 v 114

Grand total 466 v 451

WON by 15

A return to the Suffolk saw Hustlers looking to continue last week’s winning form as they took on Duke of York.

A good start from 1st leg as Pete, opening with our first 9 of the night, narrowly missed a 40, a mark reached by Lewis, helping set up a 4-pin lead.  A very mixed bag was to follow as both bottom-scorer TC & top-scoring Lofty hit 9s, but only 1 getting near (& passing) the 40 mark, losing 6 pins in the process.

A low scoring, but steady 3rd leg saw Mark & Stu hit a 9.  More importantly, the game took another turn as they also convincingly won the leg, leaving the anchors to defend a 12-pin lead.  All 3 broke the 40 mark, with JT retaking the "almost spare" prize, as they took the leg by a single pin to confirm a solid victory.

We’re off to Parklands next week for our return match against Flyers.

11/2/13 v Duke of York @ Suffolk

1st leg total 116 v 112

2nd leg total 110 v 116

3rd leg total 106 v 94

4th leg total 122 v 121

Grand total 454 v 443

WON by 12