BARRY Athletic Bowls Club took a couple of important steps over the weekend, securing valuable league points in both PG1 and PG2 encounters.

The PG1 side had two matches, firstly taking on league leaders Penylan.

Fielding a weakened side for the contest, Athletic came up short against the strong Cardiff outfit, with heavy rink defeats for David Wright and Robert Horgan.

The writing was always on the wall, although a creditable draw secured by Chris Wright and his fledgling rink was very welcome. Elsewhere Martin Clarke slipped to a narrow defeat by two shots after leading for most of the match.

The following day Athletic were able to put out a much stronger side for the local derby fixture against neighbours Dinas Powys, in what was billed as a crucial relegation battle.

Barry Athletic started strongly, with David Wright quickly building up a 13-1 lead over Gareth Griffiths, and after five ends the Barry side led by 16 shots.

After his heavy defeat the previous day, skip Robert Horgan was in no mood to allow former Barry player Dean Rees any foothold in the game. Horgan quickly built up a significant advantage, emphasised on the 16th end when the Barry rink scored a six to build an unassailable lead, eventually running out victors by 28 shots to 10.

Glyn Thomas’ rink was up against the experienced Clive Todd – always a handful on his home green – but Welsh Pairs finalist Thomas took charge in the latter stages of the match, winning four of the last five ends to record a seven shot victory 20-13.

Richard Bowen’s rink was up against experienced former Welsh international Mike Prosser, but the Barry skip was in charge throughout the 21 ends. With Russell Harris excelling at lead again and Tim Morgan ably supporting at second, Geoff Whittaker and Richard Bowen were able to take advantage of the heads to build up a steady advantage and despite only winning eleven of the ends, secured victory by 24 shots to 15.

On David Wright’s rink, the home team had hit back after their shaky start, and two 4’s and a 3 on the ninth end put them back in touch with the Barry rink.

It looked bleak for David and his players as they faced a five shot deficit with just two ends to play but a one on the 20th end and a four on the last ensured they grabbed a draw at 24 shots apiece, securing a point that might be very valuable when the season winds up.

The defeat was a blow for Dinas who now face the realistic prospect of relegation straight back to the second division, but keeps the Barry side’s survival prospects firmly alive. The selectors at Barry Athletic will be keen to maintain this momentum next week when they face Carruthers Shield semi-finalists Ely Valley on the 4 Wood green at Barry.

The PG2 side also secured valuable points in their match with visitors Guest Memorial.

In a battle to top the league and secure promotion, every shot and every point was vital and the Barry side were in no mood to compromise.

Three winning rinks, all by considerable margins, secured another 12 points for the home side and maintained their unbeaten home record.

Top rink honours went to Gary Gane who was returning from illness, and notching up a seventeen shot victory 27-10. Mike Vaughan kept his impressive record on track with another 29-15 victory and the win was sealed by Paul Webley’s rink, winning by 24-14.

The defeat for David Snelling was not enough to upset the winning margin of 20 shots and the Barry side – with two league games left – will be looking to push on and secure promotion this season.

So the focus for the next few weeks at the Barry club will be securing the points needed for both teams to achieve their targets for the year.

It would be hard to bet against the consistency shown by PG 2 team captain Paul Webley’s team, but a final push is needed by all the players with the end in sight.

For the PG1 side, another 30 points from the 56 available should be enough to secure a place in the top league for another season but, up against some of the best teams in Wales, it will be important to have the players performing at the top of their games. A healthy slice of good fortune for the remaining four games of the season, three of which will be played on the 4Wood green at Barry, would also not go amiss.