Needle match tonight as these teams met in the 3rds league on Wednesday and it was a win for team B. Although this match is in the main league Team A were champing at the bit for a win.
Team B win the toss. Team A choose yellow stones.
End 1 :- Looking good for 3 points for A as skip Macornerkicky played one of his specials and fluked a stone to the button with a kiss or two off the opposition. (Only John knows how it was at all possible).
End 2 :- Up for the challenge team A replied with 3 points.
End 3 :- Team A struggled to find position at front of house early in the end resulting in opportunities for B. They did not waste the opportunity and claimed 3 points back. Score: Team A-3, Team B-4.
End 4:- With 4 stones just touching the front of house and 1 stone on the 2 foot circle it looked like it was in the bag. The front stones had the advantage of being guarded so any one of them could have been promoted.
Somehow Macornerkicky found a way through and after rattling off a number of stones managed to reduce the count to 1. Once more Team A could not understand how the ‘Stone Whisperer’ was able to pull off such a shot.
Ends 5 & 6 resulted in single shots for Team A, early stones for both teams falling short. Clearly the pressure was too much for both teams.
John Macornerkicky in an act of desperation brought the score card up to date but inadvertently (?) filled in the score sheet wrongly adding points to his team rather the correct entry. Clearly desperate measures to record a win – stewards enquiry at close of play spotted the anomaly and corrections were made before signing.
End 7 (final end):- House filling up on the left and centre. Last stone: Team B need 3 points to win. Team A appear to be in control with several stones potentially counting if tapped and 2 stones counting.
A draw from the right would reach the button but only give 1 point. A draw from the left with some weight would give the possibility of 2 points. But if one of the cleared yellow ricochets well then it could promote a blue resulting in a 3 for the B’s. One heck of a shot if it could be made
Skip John does his worst….. stone rumbles down the left….. slightly wide of target…. rattles off a front blue then a yellow then clears another yellow while the earlier blue moves out the house.
Players are left wondering what just happened and as the confusion lifts skip John realises that it has reduced the score to 1 yellow.
Cracking game – any one could have won but this time the Curling Gods favoured Team A.
Dougie.
A footnote from Team A’s Third regarding the last end of the game:
“Dougie neglected to include the shot of the evening, worthy of best competitors. Blue was sitting clear in the inside ring, well protected in front and nothing to cause problems. There was a yellow out to the side on its own. It was possible to to send it onto the blue but would take pinpoint accuracy, I did not think it could be done, however Dougie decided to give it a go. The stone was launched, looked a bit too far out, so I kept the sweepers off and it came in bang on line, hit the yellow which kicked off at 45 degrees and hit the blue right on the front and rocketed it out the side. Everyone gobsmacked.
Kind regards
Ken”
Holyrood Curling Club 