Cup Upsets A Plenty In Mike Tunningley Handicap Shield

The first round of this seasons Mike Tunningley Handicap Shield threw up plenty of upsets with teams from lower divisions getting the better of their opponents from the divisions above. The biggest scalp was that of DTH Redlands Fluffy Toys who currently sit second in the Division One table but their opponents and club colleagues DTH Redlands Mean Machine didn’t let that get in their way as they pulled off the shock of the first round. The Fluffy Toys won every game on the night amassing the maximum points on the table of 378 but their opponents Harry Clarke, Daisy Walshaw and Grace Dickenson fought gamely to score 148 points of their own and after adding the 285 handicap points that were awarded to them it meant that the Mean Machine won the match 433 points to 378.
Another shock came when DTH Redlands Monsters who are the current leaders of Division One also getting knocked out at the first hurdle, being dumped out of the competition also by a team from Division Three. Sparken Hill Blue Jays played really well to score 115 points against their more illustrious opponents and when added to their handicap of 289 it gave them a team total of 404 points and even though the Monsters won all of the games and scored the maximum of 378 it wasn’t enough to give them victory with the damage already done in the very first set of the night when Ivan Stallworthy put in a great performance to only lose it 21-19 against Orestas Riauba.
Another Sparken Hill side to cause somewhat of an upset against a Division One side were the Sparken Hill Falcons trio of Mick Potter, Luke Barraclough and Neil Penny with special mention going to Penny who had a great night against Clowne ‘B’ scoring a 100 of the 231 points that the Falcons managed to score on the table. Clowne ‘A’ scored the maximum of 378 but when the sealed envelope that contained the handicap points was opened at the end of the match it revealed that 165 points were awarded to the Falcons giving them overall victory by 396 to 378.
Not all results in the first round were upsets but there were a number of very close matches, none more so than in the match between Worksop Miners Welfare and Clowne ‘A’. After a fairly close match on the table between the sides saw Clowne ‘A’ return 342 points with the Welfare side scoring 288 but the result couldn’t have been any closer in the end as the Welfare team were awarded 55 handicap points which gave the victory by a single point!
Another close match involved two sides from Division Two when Stanley Street ‘B’ played hosts to Worksop Welfare Snipers ‘B’ in what looked like a terrific match. The Snipers team managed to amass 327 points to Stanley Street’s 284 but with the handicap points to be added to Stanley Street’s total there were a nervous few minutes for the Snipers but their nerves were calmed when the handicap envelope revealed that Stanley Street were to be given 38 points which meant the Snipers won by just 5 points, 327 to 322.
Worksop Welfare Snipers ‘A’ were also involved in a tight affair as they visited Worksop Welfare Cannon in what always looked like it would be too close to call. The Snipers trio of Pete Hodgson, Kerry Harvey and Jim Westwood did well to score a total of 366 points on the table, their only loss of the evening coming when Perry Bradford beat Jim Westwood 21-16, 21-14. The Cannon side never gave up and scored 218 points of their own which when added to their handicap of 140 points gave them a total of 358 which was just 8 points short of the Snipers total.
Manton Sports and Sparken Hill Eagles had a close game on the table before the handicap points were added with the Eagles scoring 335 points to Manton Sports 305 but when the handicap envelope was opened it revealed that the Eagles were to dd 50 points to their total giving them a comfortable win in the end by 385 points to 305.
Division Three sides DTH Redlands Rovers and Worksop Welfare Real Deal enjoyed a great match with both sides at different stages of the match looking like they would make it through to the second round. The Rovers side scored 373 points to the Real Deal’s 233 with some really close games mixed in with several walloping’s! The Real Deal were awarded 125 handicap points but when they were added to their total of 233 it wasn’t quite enough to save them being knocked out of the competition at the first hurdle.
The oddest result of the night I’ve saved until last as it really did beggar belief! Carlton X-Youth of Division Two entertained Sparken Hill Hawks from Division Three with the X-Youth’s captain suggesting that the handicap points awarded were a long way out but on closer inspection of the scorecard it was pointed out to him that they had used a Divisional Handicap Trophy scorecard which is a totally different competition and handicapping system from the Mike Tunningley Shield plus the two teams aren’t even in the same division!!
Credit to X-Youth though as they got the match replayed on Sunday evening, X-Youth scoring 349 points to the Hawk’s 253 but the X-Youth didn’t manage to keep the Hawk’s score low enough as they were awarded 185 points which gave the Hawks victory by 438 points to 349.