Louth bowls: Shippers stay top as challengers slip up

League leaders Fast Shippers weren’t in action, but didn’t surrender their position and still top the table on shots difference as second-placed Blossom Way lost 18-11 to Highlanders.

APS moved into third spot, a point behind, after their comfortable 25-6 victory over Stags whose form was way down.

But Chalkers, who could have gone top, instead slipped to fourth place when beaten 20-13 by Roundheads.

Bottom team Questors are still looking for their once-in-a-blue-moon victory and first points of the campaign, but they came very close before going down 15-12 against next-bottom Wayouts.

* Ladies League leaders Canaries were all shook up when suffering a 20-2 defeat against Follies, but retained their two-point advantage over Tyros who were just pipped 16-14 by Woodentops.

* There was a notable result in Division Three of the Friday Mixed Pairs League where leaders Anne Burchell and Ian Bertram lost their unbeaten record.

They were defeated 16-15 by Sue Gurbutt and Martin Green, but they hung on to top spot on shots difference ahead of Pete and Gill Fletcher who won 18-9 against Anne Malcolm and Charlie Briggs.

There was also an important result in Division Two where Bernice Culham and Horace Cope beat Wendy and Vic White 18-10 to take top spot, one point ahead of Lorraine Evans and Malcolm Wade who didn’t play.

* In Division Two of the Australian Pairs, Tony Musson and John Welsh must have had a good luck charm as they just hung on to their 100 per cent record with a 13-11 win against Patrick O’Mahony and Wendy Porter.

The result kept them in first place on shots difference ahead of Margaret and Jon Utnage who beat Derek Smith and Graham Wood, but have played two games more.