Single-point victories for Castletown and Douglas provided the drama in round four of the Isle of Man Rifle Association’s Winter League.
Castletown edged out northern visitors Sulby 479–478, despite Peter Faragher and Peter Webb each recording 97 for the travelling team.
Robin McFee was the hosts’ top gun, chalking up 98.
Junior shooters Isabelle Rolfe and Emily Corrin made their Winter League debuts, helping Castletown field full teams in all three divisions.
Isabelle’s 93 in Division 2 was particularly impressive after she was forced to make last-minute adjustments to her strap.
Narrowest of Margins
Douglas also prevailed by the narrowest of margins, beating hosts Laxey 480–479.
John Wood recorded 98 for the home team, closely followed by Adrian Cowin on 97. Sam Jones topped the visitors’ score sheet with 99, while Sam Cartwright posted a personal best of 94 to round off a strong team performance.
Mark Osborn was rumoured to have led the celebratory singing and dancing into the small hours.
Meanwhile, Port St. Mary posted the round’s highest team total, maintaining their 100% record with a comfortable 488–431 victory over Kirk Michael.
Ben Kelly was again the standout performer with 99, closely followed by Donna Gardner on 98. Suzanne McKnight topped the visitors’ score sheet with 97.
Results
Division 1
Castletown Sulby
Robin McFee 98 Pete Faragher 97
Richard Arthur 96 Peter Webb 97
Ian Arthur 96 Julian Teare 96
J.P. Bridson 95 Mark Boyde 95
Steve Gardner 94 Mark Cain 93
Total 479 Total 478
Laxey Douglas
John Wood 98 Sam Jones 99
Adrian Cowin 97 Mark Osborn 96
Harry Creevy 96 Christian Eaton 96
Andrew Jessop 96 Dave Humphrey 95
Stephen Curphy 92 Sam Cartwright 94
Total 479 Total 480
Port St Mary Kirk Michael
Ben Kelly 99 Suzanne McKnight 97
Donna Gardner 98 Perryn Watson 96
Ashley Gardner 97 Richard Kijak 95
Tom Pirson 97 Helen Fox 72
Derek Kermode 97 William Gadman(J) 71
Total 488 Total 431
Division 2
Castletown Sulby
Rhian Masson 93 Bob Radcliffe 88
John Brewis 93 Ben Stevens 85
Phil Corrin 93 Will Fenton 85
Isabelle Rolfe(J) 93
Neil Masson 92
Total 464 Total 258
Laxey Douglas
Breeshey Cowin 89 Dave Kneale 94
Matt Roosen 93
Total 89 Total 187
Port St. Mary walk over
Les Crowe 96
Paul Clauge 94
Kevan Kneale 93
Hayden East(J) 92
Ean Brewis 92
Total 467
Division 3
Castletown walkover
Charles Carter 91
Duncan Watterson 88
Andrew Bell 87
C. Williams-Jones 84
Emily Corrin 76
Total 426
Port St Mary walkover
Luke Ennett 91
Sophie Weldon 90
James Kennaugh(J) 90
Robert Faragher(J) 88
Joseph Proffitt(J) 85
Total 444
Next week’s round of matches sees Castletown welcome Laxey in a match that could go either way.
Sandsiders return from their bye week to face Sulby at The Sinclair range. The tie of the round could well be Port St. Mary versus Douglas, as the visitors will be buoyed by their victory this week.
If anybody wants to take up the challenge of target shooting, then get in touch with Douglas Rifle Club douglas.rifleclub@gmail.com or at the club night at The Sinclair Range just outside St. John’s is held on Thursdays from 7:30pm-9:30pm.