There is a new name added to the Sunderland & District Champion Of Champions roll of honour. In the final at Pemberton saw Sunderland’s Patrick Hore take on South Hylton’s Billy Roberts, both lads were in their first S&D final so a new name was guaranteed to be added to the roll of honour. The early exchanges were dominated by Hore who raced into a 15-2, things then clicked for Roberts and to his credit got back to 17-15 only for Hore to hold his nerve and get over the line 21-16. The last winner from the Sunderland club was a young Phil Dixon in 1991 in 2006 when he beat the late Barnes Park’s Tommy Jopling.
The final line ups in the remaining Sunderland & District competitions have also been confirmed. In the Silver Jack’s semi finals New Herrington’s John Sproston & Gary Wallace (jnr) beat Dairy Lanes John Inch & Jeff Wilson 13-4. Usworth’s Brian Poulter & Stevie Copeland ended defending champion the Pumas Scott Baker (sub) & James Sneller’s hopes 17-14. The final will be played at Pemberton on Thursday 6.30pm.
In the Burkett semi finals Houghton Dairy Lanes Steve Hnalon, Peter Brickle & Ian Whorlton won a tight affair against Seaham Town’s Bryan Henderson snr, David Wright & Gary Wood 13-12. The other semi final saw the Pumas Scott Baker receive a walk over, the final will also be at Pemberton on Friday 6.30pm.
The David Morgan Mixed Pairs final will feature Dairy Lane’s Margaret Godfrey & Dan Todner against Barnes Park’s Norma Stephenson & Frankie Froud. In the semi finals Froud beat Houghton Town’s S Hume 15-10 while Todner beat past winner New Herrington’s Linda & Colin Watson 16-6. The final will be at Dairy Lane on Tuesday 18August at 6.30pm.
There is still plenty to play for in the various Sunderland & District leagues, after being presented with the trophy the newly crowned Swan Cup champions Houghton Dairy Lane came down to earth with a bump as they suffered a second defeat of the season 5½-½ at home against New Herrington. The relegation battle will go down to this week’s final round of games; Hylton Colliery’s 6-0 loss at already relegated North Biddick leaves them in the second relegation place. Roker Marine suffered a 5-1 home loss to Barnes Park and are 1½ points ahead of Hylton. Seaham Town lost 4-2 at home to the Pumas and may well need to win their final game to be safe.
In Division 2 Simonside’s 5-1 win at South Hylton puts them on the verge of promotion in their first season in Sunderland & District. Pemberton’s 5-1 win at Hetton Workmen lifted them into the other promotion place but only a half point covers three teams. Usworth’s 6-0 local derby win over Washington moves them on the cusp of the promotion race.
The destination of the Harold Howey title is still up for grabs even though the final scheduled round of fixtures were played. Leaders New Herrington B saw their title hopes ended as they lost 4-0 at Houghton Dairy Lane A, to demonstrate how tight the top was Herrington now finish fourth. That result opened the door for second placed North Biddick A however their chances also vanished as they lost 3-1 at home to Roker Marine and will now finish third. Those results allowed current holders Barnes Park to claim top spot after beating Seaham Town 4-0 however they must wait until Hetton Workmen’s play there weather affected cancellation from 14 May at Dairy Lane. In the meantime Hetton moved up to second after a 4-0 win over Washington B and will need to win on one of the two rinks at Dairy Lane B to claim a first Howey success. At the other end of the table despite being already relegated New Herrington A ended a nine game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the said Dairy Lane B.
The race for promotion from Division 2 is just as tight with only four points covering the top four teams. Pemberton B’s seventh straight win this time 4-0 at North Biddick has lifted them top albeit by a half point from Thompson Park, although the new leaders have played a game more than the chasing pack. Thompson Park’s 4-0 win over South Hylton lifted thme up to second, Silksworth Pumas kept their promotion hopes alive with a 3-1 win at fellow promotion chasers Usworth. Sunderland B are also coming up on the rails, a 4-0 win over Houghton Town gets them to within four points of the leaders.
The Storey Bowl holders Seaham Town’s title defence took a minor hit as they post 5-2 at home against Thompson Park, mathematically Seaham probably only need one more win to retain the title. Jarrow West End’s 6-1 win over New Herrington lifts them off the bottom.
Dairy Lane’s hopes of completing an Earl – Swan double increased after they beat leaders Barnes Park 5-1 to go top by 2½ points, on Monday Dairy Lane host holders Silksworth Pumas who are 8½ points behind after they beat Roker Marine 5½-½. North Biddick notched only there second win of the season 5-1 against Dairy Lane B to get a stay of relegation for another week.
In Divison 2 Hetton Workmen’s 6-0 win over Hylton Colliery secured a quick return to Division 1, second placed Usworth lost 6-0 at Seaham Town while Houghton Town beat South Hylton 5½-½. There are only five points covering those three and they all have to play Hetton Workmen’s in the run in.
The final of the inaugural Jim Huntingdon Super Five’s takes place at Roker Park on Friday. Houghton Dairy Lane tackle Roker Marine with the winning club getting a £200 first prize.
The Bowls England national championships get underway this week as eighteen days of wall to wall bowls takes place at Leamington Spa.