BARRY Athletic PG2 side built on their commanding lead at the top of the league with another resilient victory away at Rhiwbina BC.

With the side having to make a last minute change due to the absence of regular skip Dave Snelling, it was left to experienced skip Mike Vaughan and his rink to lay the foundation for the victory, supported by captain Paul Webley who also skipped his rink to a fine away win.

The narrow defeats suffered by Albert Mintern’s and Gary Gane’s rink proved not enough for the Cardiff side, with the Athletic romping home to yet another impressive victory by 10 shots.

Athletic also managed to take 10 of the 14 points on offer to consolidate their position at the top of the division, increasing their chances of promotion back to the top flight.

The Vale of Glamorgan County Finals were held on the 4Wood green at Barry and the club were delighted to witness Glyn Thomas and Martin Clarke claim the pairs title – the 84th county title won by the club over its 106 year history.

Up against international opposition in Chris Ashman and Phil Robbins, it was a tight match all the way with no more than a couple of shots in the game at any stage.

However, with two ends to go, lead Martin Clarke laid a blistering sequence of bowls to create the opportunity for skip Glyn Thomas to add shots and build a head which eventually earned five shots for the Barry duo. This was enough to create a small advantage for the Barry pair over their Ely Valley rivals and left them with the straightforward task of merely matching their opponents bowl for bowl on the final end to lift the trophy. Glyn and Martin will now progress to the National Finals at Llandrindod, where they will be looking to secure the club’s 20th national title.

In the week, the club’s development side slipped to a narrow defeat against Penarth, claiming 4 points of the 14 available.

Rink wins went to Richard Bowen, who won by nine shots, and Dave Wright, who sneaked past the post on the final end. Peter Rogers and Dave Snelling meanwhile found the going tough against the hosts with both crashing to defeats, ending the winning run for Athletic.

With a number of matches still to play and plenty of points on offer however, the title challenge remains firmly on.

Barry Athletic also won through to the final of the Alun Martin trophy in the week, sweeping aside the challenge of Sully BC on a heavy running Dinas Powys green.

The experience of Glyn Thomas, Richard Bowen, Chris Wright and Lol Paige proved too much for the Sully rink skipped by Brian Griffiths, and although Carl Best was able to carve out a narrow victory over David Wright, it was not enough to stop the title holders from progressing.

Athletic will now face Penarth Windsor in the final later this month.