Cliffe Woods 1 were competing in their second Charles Stampe Trophy (CST) Final in as many years and hoping to retain the trophy they won last season against Sturdee 1. With the handicaps set strongly in favour of the second division underdogs - Chatham Javelin, after the first match it was clear it was going to a tough night.
Maxwell Antrim only lost 20-21, 17-21 to Peter Mortley and Chatham Javelin (CJ) were already 9 points ahead following the first match. Alan Longhurst gave Cliffe Woods (CW) hope as he dug deep to defeat Robert Coe 21-3 in the first leg of match 2. However, with some instructions from his coach (Trevor Towers) Robert attacked more in leg two and recorded a 11-21 defeat. This meant overall CJ had a 11 point lead after two matches.
The star performer of the evening was up next - Daniel Gubala and his 14-21, 6-21 loss to Paul Cronin gained a further 10 points for CJ. Robert Coe was the first CJ player to take a leg off the CW trio as he beat Peter Mortley 21-16 in leg two which left CJ ahead by 39 pts.
One of the best matches of the evening saw Daniel Gubala narrowly lose out 19-21, 16-21 to Alan Longhurst gaining 25 pts in game 6 and by this time the writing was truly on the wall.
Daniel Gubala took a leg off Peter Mortley 21-18 in game 9 and Maxwell Antrim did the same 21-20 against Alan Longhurst.
The Chatham Javelin team performed well above their handicap and the final score 464-369 reflected the one sided match. Daniel Gubala gained 51 pts on the night and was well supported by Maxwell Antrim (37) and Robert Coe (7). A tough evening for the Cliffe Woods team with Alan Longhurst suffering the most on the night losing 50 pts against CJ.
Our sincere thanks are extended once more to the Stampe daughters for presenting the trophies. Also, Malcolm Kay and John Clark for umpiring all the games and Gareth Fox for organizing the event.
