Sunbury let slip an opportunity to knock off a top two side in the Bowls Victoria pennant division 1, section 2 competition on the weekend.
Looking to put pressure on the top two, third placed Sunbury took on MCC at home with confidence high after a good win the week before.
With heavy rain predicted, the match was moved inside to Sunbury’s under-the-roof green to ensure they got a full match in.
Sunbury was in control for much of the day, but let it slip as they lost on the final end, with MCC winning 74 (16)-71 (1).
Sunbury’s David Glennon said it was a pretty flat atmosphere after the match, with the team reeling after a loss which should have been a win.
“We had a lead of 10 to 15 shots for most of the day,” he said. “We were still leading by one shot with one end to go, but they picked up four shots on the last end.
“It was especially disappointing to lose after leading all day.”
Carla Krizanic led the only winning rink, winning 21-15.
While they were the standouts, it was the rink that gave up the four shots on the final end.
Mark Cowan’s rink lost 17-15, Todd Trewarne’s rink lost 22-20 and Lee Wesley’s rink lost 20-15 in a tough day for all three of those rinks.
The loss sees the gap between Sunbury and top two sides Glenroy and MCC extended.
Glenroy sits on top with 167 points, while MCC is on 161. Sunbury is a further 14 shots back on 147.
There is a gap between Sunbury and the other sides. Glennon said they still have to face Glenroy in the run home.
Despite the gap, he said they hadn’t given up hope of a top two finish and a home final.
“We’re still in a good position,” he said.
“We’ve got Glenroy coming up and a couple of other teams who are struggling, so we need to get some big wins.
“It’s the crunch time of the season. We need one of the top two teams to slip up and take advantage of it.”
It was a tough day for Sunbury across the board, with just one win.
The second side had a one shot win in a rain-shortened match to move to the top of the table.
The third side had a loss, as did the fourth side, also in shortened matches. The fifth side had a washout and the sixth side had a walkover.
In the Central Highlands Bowls Division, rain played havoc with all matches in division 2 and 3 washouts.
In division 1, Lancefield was too good for Gisborne and Kyneton had a big win against Kyneton Golf.
