6 March, 2017
In the last match of the afternoon it was a much anticipated event with the spectators here at Newton Hall Bowls Club as two of their players were set to battle it out as they had been drawn against each other in the first round of the Co-op Funeralcare International Open.
The first set was a good nail biter with neither player giving in and it was Dawes who set off well going 6-0 up by the 3rd end. Gale fought back with a double and a single but Dawes refused to lie down and took a further single in end 6 to take the score 7-3. Gale fought back over the next three ends though and the set finished tied at 7 all. It was Dawes though that came out of the traps in the 2nd set and left Gale reeling as he powered through to take the 2nd set 9-4.
A delighted Dawes, a 34 year old accounting assistant and English international player since 2006, admitted “I wasn’t particularly pleased with my performance. It was a bit scrappy. It was a battle and to be honest I was relieved to share the first set after being so far ahead.
“ I got a few breaks in the second set, particularly getting a treble on the second end and then stringing together a good few ends to set me up. But over the piece I’m just happy to have won”.
On the other side of the fence, civil servant Gale, 33, who is also an international cap admitted “In the first set I got off to a bad start and went 6-0 down early on and was playing catch up for the rest of the set, and was really disappointed to only get a draw out of it in the end.
“In the second I got off to a better start with two shots on the first end but I didn’t send the jack far enough on the second end. It was about a metre and a half short of where I wanted it and I dropped a three and let Mark in.
“I was frustrated because it’s little things like that which can change games, and that’s what happened. I was happy overall with my performance though”.
AUTHOR: Richard Maddieson
CATEGORY:
News