Shoulder-to-Shoulder League Archive
Final results for Division 2 in the season 2009-10
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25/03/10: In the last match of the season, Watsonians welcomed Redcraig once again, and once again took the points in a close-enough match, with the visitors doing better than their average would suggest. However the City team prevailed, with Rhona Dove shooting best for them with 193. That wasn’t enough to beat her brother John Cranston in the Matchplay, though, as he was best for the visitors with 196. The overall Matchplay points were shared 4-all. In the five matches between these clubs this season John and Rhona have been matched together four times – are the Captains conspiring? – and John has won four of these encounters (and didn’t shoot in the other match). However, this has not prevented Rhona from winning the highest average award for Division 2, just pipping Steve Newlands of Dalkeith by one single point. Both shot 18 cards and Rhona dropped 75 points to Steve’s 76. She had to shoot at least 193 last night to win this and she did exactly that.
That concludes the programme for this season. Watsonians are confirmed winners of Division 2 (also winning the Matchplay competition).
Match results —
League Table —
| Place | Team | Shot | Won | Lost | Tied | Points | Agg | Avg | MP |
| 1 | Watsonians | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 386 | 38.60 | 60 |
| 2 | Redcraig | 10 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 540 | 54.00 | 37 |
| 3 | Dalkeith | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 670 | 67.00 | 23 |
Click on each team to see its detailed record for the season:
Dalkeith Redcraig Watsonians
Click here to see the individual averages for this division (pdf file).
Previous match commentaries:
01/10/09: The season got off to a controversial start when Dalkeith brought five shooters to their away match against Watsonians, apparently under the impression that a substitution could be made after the first four cards had been shot. The home team didn’t know the rules either, and they raised no objection when the substitute shot the second card in place of someone who had already shot. All teams should be aware that this competition is for teams of four shooting two cards each in every match, and bears no similarities to another shoulder-to-shoulder league run in this area. The regulations are available on the introduction page.
Anyway, after the dust had settled and the substitute shooter’s score in the second set of cards was discounted, Watsonians ran out comfortable winners. Their top scorer was Nick Baker with 198, with Dalkeith’s captain Steve Newlands heading their list (as usual!) with 195. The home team didn’t have it all their own way though, as the visitors picked up two Matchplay points.
29/10/09: Redcraig nipped round the City Bypass to take on Dalkeith for their first match of the season. Unfortunately the trip was less than fruitful as the home team took the honours quite comfortably, their only debit being the loss of two Matchplay points by their lowest scorer to Redcraig’s top scorer, K McConnell who scored 190. Top for Dalkeith was Cohnor Cummings with 192 (Captain Newlands having to relinquish the honour this time, albeit by only a point).
05/11/09: Redcraig gained revenge for last week’s defeat at the hands of Dalkeith when they hosted their rivals in a return match on their own turf. The home team improved their score by 15 points but the visitors dropped 11 more and Redcraig ran out comfortable winners. Top scorer for the home team was David McConnell on 194, with Steve Newlands resuming normal service at the top of Dalkeith’s list with 190, and in the process gaining his team’s only Matchplay points. All teams in this division have now won one match each.
26/11/09: Redcraig welcomed Watsonians in the hope of taking some points off the early league leaders, but lost out to their city rivals by some margin. They will have to improve on this performance to have any impact on the league. Top scorer for the home team was John Cranston with 188, and, keeping it in the family, top for Watsonians was his sister Rhona Dove on 194. Redcraig’s only consolation was a single Matchplay point.
03/12/09: Watsonians cemented their place at the top of the table with a convincing home win against Dalkeith to keep their visitors in last place. All the home shooters shot consistently, as only one point covered the whole team’s scores. Dalkeith also all shot quite steadily, but not quite well enough to trouble the victors. Joint top scorers for Watsonians with 192 each were Rhona Dove, Ian McAlpine and Mike Czemerys, with Gordon McDougall lagging behind on 191. The pick of the Dalkeith team was Steve Newlands as usual, on 190. Watsonians took all eight Matchplay points to give them a big lead in that competition. Early days yet though.
14/01/10: In the first match of the new year, Watsonians entertained Redcraig in their return match. Once again, Watsonians ran out comfortable winners, with everyone shooting fairly steadily. Alan McConnell for the visitors had a first card he would probably want to forget though, but it probably did not influence the outcome of the match. Top scorers for Watsonians were Rhona Dove and Mike Czemerys with 190s, but the best score of the night was from Redcraig’s John Cranston with 195, easily taking his side’s only Matchplay points off his sister Rhona. With all teams now having shot four matches, Watsonians are taking an ominously large lead in this division, having not lost a match yet.
21/01/10: Redcraig, fresh from their defeat against top-of-the-table Watsonians last week visited Dalkeith in the hope of taking a lead in the table over their rivals from the east. Their quest was successful as their much-improved score took them to a comfortable victory. All the home team’s shooters performed below their averages, with the best being Stephen Newlands with 190. Top for Redcraig was Andy Hay with 193. The visitors took away six Matchplay points as well and lifted themselves to second place in the league, above Dalkeith on points now.
28/01/10: Dalkeith’s run of poor form continued with a heavy loss to Watsonians on their own range. They all shot below form and the result gave the widest margin of victory so far this season, with Watsonians producing the best score of the division so far, and Dalkeith the worst. Things can only improve for them. Top scorer for Watsonians was Ian McDougall with 196 (and all the visitors scored better than 190), whereas the best for Dalkeith was Cohnor Cummings with 188. The Matchplay points were all scooped by the visitors.
04/02/10: On their visit to Watsonians, Redcraig equalled their best total of the season, but it was not enough to overcome the home team, who were comfortable winners. Watsonians would seem to have a stranglehold on this division, and in fact winning this match means they cannot now be overtaken on points, and their superior aggregate should see them home. Redcraig are the only potential challengers and they would have to win their remaining four matches, two of which are against the leaders, and do so by out-scoring their rivals in a big way. Top scorer for Watsonians were Gordon McDougall and Ian McAlpine with 193s, while once again John Cranston took Redcraig’s only Matchplay points with his team’s top score of 195, and in the process recording another Matchplay win over his sister Rhona Dove. It was a bit of a family affair, with Rhona’s son Adam making his debut in the team. (However, we have yet to see a Redcraig team composed entirely of McConnells!)
11/02/10: Watsonians visited Dalkeith for the second time in as many weeks, and once again the home team suffered a heavy defeat. Not as bad as the last time, though, as they did improve their score and the visitors did not approach the fine score they put in a couple of weeks ago. Dalkeith also improved in the Matchplay stakes, taking three points this time. The home team’s top scorer was Steve Newlands with 194, and top for Watsonians it was Robin Thomson with 192, making his first appearance in this league for what must be at least 20 years having recently returned to this area after many years in exile down south. Watsonians are now the Champions-elect as they cannot now be be overtaken by either of the other two teams in the division.
22/02/10: Dalkeith headed out west to take on Redcraig and came away disappointed not to take the points in a close but low-scoring match which the home team won by a mere two points. Could have gone either way. Top scorer for Redcraig was John Cranston on 191 while Steve Newlands again topped Dalkeith’s list with 194. He was his team’s only Matchplay winner.
04/03/10: League-leaders Watsonians welcomed their visitors Dalkeith and, with their 100% record, were no doubt surprised to find themselves losing their first match of the season to a Dalkeith side which produced their best score so far by some way. The home team shot to about their average, but if their visitors had been shooting this sort of score in the earlier part of the season then the league would surely have turned out very differently. Top scorer for Watsonians was Rhona Dove with 194, and best for Dalkeith were Steve Newlands and Dave Thornton with 193s. The Matchplay points were shared 4-all.
11/03/10: Champions-elect Watsonians visited second-place Redcraig looking to bounce back after their first loss of the season to Dalkeith last week, and won convincingly in a low-scoring match, with both teams shooting below their averages. This could be explained by one shooter in each team producing one well-below-par score which affected the team totals, but probably not the result of the match. Top score for Redcraig was Alan McConnell, producing his best two cards of the season in this competition, with 195, while The best for the visitors was Ian McAlpine, equalling his previous best efforts with 193. It was a case of best against worst in the Matchplay, as Alan McConnell easily overcame the visitors’ bottom scorer (no names to protect the guilty!) to claim the home team’s consolation points..
18/03/10: Redcraig welcomed Dalkeith on a very windy night and it didn’t do the visitors any good as they went down heavily to their hosts. Looks like Dalkeith took the chance to blood an inexperienced shooter and with their regular top scorer and captain also absent, it was always going to be a tough match especially as Redcraig produced their top-equal score of the season. Top scorer for the home team was John Cranston on 192, with Dalkeith’s Cohnor Cummings topping their list with 186, and in the process winning his team’s only Matchplay points in the only match he could have won.