The 4ths returned to winning ways after a long sequence of nearly-theres but it was a close run thing, only being decided on the last rally of the night.
First up was Will Henderson at No 5 against Robin Carse. Will was in top form and really gave Robin little chance to get a start in any of the games and ran out a 9-1 9-2 9-2 winner.
Gavin Fultons's match at no 4 against Willie Wood went the same way. Gavin was simply too strong and controlled throughout and took the games 9-0 9-5 9-1.
Christy Looby was up next at No2 against Harold Nesse. Christy started very well, having Harold well foxed with his customary sharp and steeply angled boasts to take the first 9-3. The second game started the same way, but a different Harold suddenly emerged to reverse a 0-4 deficit to a 6-9 win. A battle of attrition then ensued with the next two shared at 9-7 6-9. Harold held it together better in the last to take it 3-9 to consign Christy to a 2-3 loss.
Gary Walker at No1 had the thankless task of taking on the division's top ranked player Adam Lord. Despite his best endevours Gary wasn't able to make much of a dent in Adam's control of the match. The first two games went 1-9, 3-9. The final game was more evenly matched but Adam took that 5-9 to leave Gary with a 0-3 loss
At 2 rubbers each it fell to Mark Dutton and John Brown to slug it out to decide the match. It didn't start well for Mark, being unable to find the width or depth to stop John volleying everything powerfully and accurately and it was quickly 0-7. A good recovery by Mark ensued but the game went west 8-10. Similar story in the second game with Mark staring at defeat at 2-8 before a too-late recovery saw that game go 7-9 to John as well. A bit of wise advice from Christy (…"for god's sake just hit the bloody thing, will you"…) saw a reversal of fortune with the next two going Mark's way 9-5 9-5. The final and deciding game of the night started very badly with John racing to a 0-7 lead but Mark finally managed to drop the anchor in and then got moving himself to square it 7-7. Near disaster as John snuck the next point and a few match points were saved to finally see the match and the night balanced at 8-8. John called set-one and was immediately made to regret it as the serve drilled into the nick to see the Grange team snatch victory from the jaws of defeat (as opposed to the usual other way round). 3-2 to Mark.
A good 16-10 win to see Grange 4 now not too far off the leading pack in terms of points despite the relatively lowly table position we occupy at the half-way point of the season. Report by MotM Mark Dutton. 5 pizzas between the 6 players that stayed, kept everyone's gums going as anecdotes from the snowy experiences of the last 2 weeks were entertainingly recounted.
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