Foursomes Blues at Eaglescliffe
As the teams assembled for the Men's match against the Teesside Union at Eaglescliffe, one could be forgiven for an analogy to a Manchester football derby between United and City, as the hosts wore red shirts, contrasting with our blue kit. If comparison with City's blues was seen as a good omen for East Riding, by lunchtime we realised that Old Trafford was in fact Anfield, as Teesside did to us in the foursomes, what Liverpool's reds regularly inflict on Everton's blues.
East Riding have an annoying habit of digging a hole in the morning foursomes and then attempting to extricate themselves in the afternoon singles and this match was no exception. In the last two years the team has successfully overturned deficits of 8:4 and 9:3 but here it faced a monumental task from 10:2.
Eaglescliffe is a quirky course, where local knowledge gives a huge advantage. Few of the East Riding players had seen the course and with viciously sloping greens, it was easy to get out of position. The winning margins in the foursomes are indicative of the dominance that Teesside enjoyed, as they benefited from knowing the course. It was only the pairing of Jack Northgraves and Luke Thornton who managed to avoid a foursomes whitewash, somehow managing to win their game by 5&4.
Previous fightbacks have tended to be slow to start but then come with a rush at the end. On this occasion East Riding were quickly into their stride, seeking to give momentum to the whole team. The top five games featuring Steve Uzzell, Jack Maxey, Paul Lockwood, Aaron Brettell and Matty Raybould all produced maximum points to put East Riding marginally ahead overall and the next two games were shared, Northgraves winning the last two holes for a 1 hole win.
Sadly, the early successes did not prompt the “tail to wag” and with all of the remaining five games down at halfway, only Tommy Risker was able to reverse the scoreline for a win by 2&1. So East Riding won seven singles to Teesside's five, giving an overall scoreline of 20:16 to the home side.
Risker still tops the Player of the Year table, 2 points clear of Lockwood. With only two matches remaining, Raybould, Uzzell, Brettell and Northgraves may have left themselves with too much distance to make up.
Howard Palmer
ERU Men's Team Support
