Downend Short Mat Bowls Club

This afternoon, Mike, Pete and John received the League “Runner Up” cups on behalf of Downend Colts at the Bristol and District Bowls League AGM. An 'end of term' competition involving most of the league teams took place either side of the meeting. The Colts won all their three matches in the opening round but lost out to Wellsway by one shot in the semi final. It wasn’t all doom and gloom. Mike won three bottles of wine in the raffle!

It was the Avon S.M.B.A AGM today, down at the Bristol Bowls Centre. The AGM is always preceded by a random trilples event. It was good to see three of our members represented in the winner’s enclosure: Gill (left) was part of the team that won the cup and Tim and Tracey (right) won the plate. It’s good to see Downend keeping up those winning ways!

It wasn’t an easy match to watch in the Parish Hall this afternoon as the Mustangs took on Midsommer Norton in the penultimate game of their League season. On Mat 1, Val, Tim and Tracey took an early lead but allowed the visitors back in, so by the fourth end it was back to all square at 5 all. The Mustangs drew ahead but by end ten the visitors had again pulled it back to 10 – 10. Despite the Mustang’s valiant effort to pull clear, Midsomer Norton were not giving up and at end thirteen it was back to level pe***ng at 13 all. Fortunately, four shots to the Mustangs on end fourteen gave Midsomer Norton a mountain to climb. Their skip made a brave effort on the final end but they could only manage one shot so the Mustangs took the game 17 -14.
Over on Mat 2, Gill, Mike and Sid made a confident start and by end five appeared to be cruising with an 8 – 2 lead. However, by this time Midsommer Norton were beginning to read the mat better and by the ninth end, they had taken the lead. This recovery was short lived as they lost all the remaining six ends resulting in a 17 – 9 victory for Downend and a well-deserved five points.

This afternoon the Colts played away at Warmley in their final league match of the season. On Mat 1, Julie, Dave and John had a very close first three ends until, in end four, they gained a hot shot! This was followed by a five in end seven which put them in a commanding position from which they never really looked back and went to take the game 12 – 19. On Mat 2 Tim, Pete and Mike took an early lead but Warmley were not giving up and by end six they were two points ahead. However, the Colts fought back and after taking nine shots from the next three ends, Warmley were in trouble and never recovered. The final score: Warmley 10 Colts 17. So in the final league table, the Colts end up a couple of points behind Wellsway Hawks, the league winners, and a definite feeling of “what might have been”.

Today’s was the penultimate game of the season for the Colts but with Wellsway Hawks having secured the league title and with the Colts holding an unassailable second place, the result was largely academic. Nonetheless, the Colts were determined to put on a good performance against Saltford Scamps. Julie, Pete and John got off to a shaky start on Mat 2, going four down on the first end but soon got their act together and only lost a single shot in the next six ends. Consistent bowling saw them cruise through to take the game 21 – 12. On Mat 1, Tim, Dave and Mike quickly drew ahead and after four ends they were 9 – 1 up. However, some excellent bowling from Saltford saw the visitors haul themselves back into the game and by the ninth end it was honours even on 11 all. Saltford thought they were in with a chance but the Colts had other ideas and took thirteen points off the next three ends and went on to win 25 – 13. Another good day at the office for the Colts!

Both teams were in action this afternoon with the Colts entertaining Whitchurch, whilst the Mustangs were off to Winterbourne to take on the Beavers. On Wednesday, the Wellsway Hawks took all five points against the Harriers so any hope of the League title has slipped away. Nevertheless, the Colts were determined not to let that upset their final push in the last few games of the season. On Mat 1, Sue, Dave and Mike quickly drew ahead and apart from a brief blip in the middle of the game, never looked in danger of losing and went on win 20 – 9. On Mat 2, Julie, Pete and John found it a lot tougher. They made a slow start only winning three of the first nine ends and at that point found themselves 6 – 10 down. Two good ends bought the Colts back into contention but they still went into the final end 12 – 14 down. The pressure was on. Fortunately, the Colts rose to the occasion and with two cracking bowls from John, it was three shots to the home side and another five points in the bag.
Over in Winterbourne, things started well with both teams taking an early lead. Unfortunately, on Mat 1, Winterbourne pulled back and Catherine, Gill and Ivor eventually went down 15 - 11. On Mat 2, Val, Gina and Sid fought hard to maintain their lead finally taking the game 9 – 14. So, overall victory to the Mustangs by one shot but just the three points this time.

Yesterday evening the Colts were off to Wellsway for an away fixture against the Harriers. Matches against either of the Wellsway teams are never easy but since the Colts were fielding the same teams that brought home the Avon Challenge Cup on Saturday, they were able to approach this one with a certain amount of confidence. On Mat 1, Sue, Pete and Mike got off to another storming start and some really consistent bowling stopped Wellsway ever getting into any sort of rhythm so the Colts were able to pile on the points and in the end took the game 6 – 22. On the other Mat, things weren’t going quite according to plan with a much closer contest. Julie, Dave and John started well but Wellsway pulled back and eventually took the lead. It was time to dig deep again. In the final few ends, they held it together to draw back in front and eventually take the game 13 – 15, so another good win for the Colts.

VICTORY FOR DOWNEND IN THE AVON CHALLENGE CUP The 2026 Avon Challenge Cup took place at Bristol Bowls Centre this afternoon. Downend haven’t fared well in this competition in the past but buoyed by yesterday’s league win they were determined to put in a good performance this year. The morning’s group stage proved quite a challenge with Jule, Dave and John struggling in a couple of the matches but Sue, Pete and Mike won all theirs with Sue striking a particularly rich vein of form. The ten points amassed in the morning proved enough to take the teams into the semifinals in the afternoon. A comfortable win against Saltford saw Downend into the final against St Andrews, a team that had won the cup on two previous occasions. Now the club was on a roll and there was no stopping us. Comfortable wins on both mats meant that, at last, the Cup was ours. Well done, Downend!

It’s been five weeks since the Colt’s played their last match so there was a danger of a certain amount of “rustiness” when Midsomer Norton visited Downend this afternoon. With Wellsway holding top position and pretty much unreachable at this point, it’s a battle for second place between the Colts and Midsomer Norton Owls. This was not a match we could afford to lose. Fortunately, the Colts rose to the occasion. On Mat 1, Sue, Pete and Mike got off to a storming start and were seven up after two ends and never really looked back, eventually winning 26 – 5. On Mat 2, it was a little closer but Julie, Alan and John kept up the pressure and went on to take the game 21 – 14 and secure the five points for the Colts.