Denny Cup

Dorchester 80 MOONFLEET 87

THE new indoor season started with an early head-to-head clash between the top two clubs in South Dorset, who had the misfortune to meet each other in a preliminary tie.

Since Moonfleet opened in 2000 the two clubs have met three times with Dorchester 2-1 ahead, but on this occasion it was Moonfleet who dominated for most of the games to level the series.

The final score masked Moonfleet’s better all-round performance.

As usual when the two clubs meet, the game provided punch and counter punch, as big scores were rattled up at both venues.

Moonfleet opened in dramatic style and by five ends had posted a 26-9 advantage and were in charge on three of the four rinks.

Had it not been for a swashbuckling 38-10 win by Dorchester’s Darren Nutman over Barry Patterson, Moonfleet would have recorded one of the biggest wins over their local rivals.

Dave Joslin, Alan Newton, Jamie Lockwood and Nick Voss had a home draw against Brian Martindill, Ed Hughes, Mike Gale and Martin Puckett, and it was the visitors who quelled Dorchester’s winning lies.

This was thanks to a sparkling personal performance from Puckett, who is shortly to gain his first under-18 international appearance for England in the home series in Ireland.

Voss – an outdoor under-25 international - was consistently frustrated by Puckett’s last wood success, as the Moonfleet quartet took a 7-1 lead and consolidated at 14-4 before Voss chipped away patiently to capture six winning ends, eventually moving ahead at 16-14 ahead.

Puckett held his nerve and a very competitive exchange finally gave him a 21-17 success.

The Moonfleet home rinks were having a romp at Dorchester’s expense as Brian Burroughs, Pete Read, John Crabb, and Alf Sawkins tore into the Dorchester rink of Brian Paulson, Alan Curtis, Dean Curtis and skip Martin Pavey, who was soon looking down the barrel of defeat at 0-16 down after only seven ends. Despite recovering to 7-16, there was no way back for Pavey, as Sawkins piled on the agony with a 32-14 winning display.

Alongside George Spracklen, Ted Webb, Shaun Nutman and Adam Tidby were also unable to help the Dorchester cause as they slipped 8-1 behind against Chris Cook, Kevin Walbridge, and former Dorchester duo Doug Rumble and Steve Gait.

The Tidby rink eventually crept to a 11-24 final score and their combined away day trip left Dorchester 31 shots adrift.

Dorchester did manage to record the largest rink victory of the day.

The home four of Frank Gwatkin, Rob Jennings, Colin Gifford and Darren Nutman had a frolic at the expense of Mike Goddard, Mickey Durrant, Ron McCarthy and the subdued Barry Patterson, who were unable to make inroads into Nutman’s accumulated 18-10 advantage, and failed to win any of the remaining seven ends, dropping a further 20 shots in the 38-10 drubbing.

Dorchester had won one battle but lost the war, as Moonfleet moved into the first round proper, and the county town side now face the prospect of regaining some prestige in the Denny Plate competition.