Kebab joy for East Winchester

JUBILANT members of the East Winchester Social Club B side celebrated with a kebab after their first win of the season.

With nine straight Winchester City and District League defeats and a first-round exit in the cup behind them, the team who are rooted to the foot of Division 2 travelled to Bishopstoke WMC in the Vase competition.

Deano Baigrie and captain Rob Watson gave the away side a 2-0 lead. Jason Cattle pulled one back against Gary Unsworth but Si Rowlands clinched a 3-1 victory against Bishopstoke skipper Nick Goater. Fifth player Darren Fagan was spared the pressure of a decider.

Watson, a 36-year-old air-conditioning engineer, said: “We were all driving so we went and had a kebab; we’ll have a beer at the weekend.” 

The team was formed on New Year’s Eve 2006 and - apart from Rowlands, who holds the Division’s top break of 38 - none of the lads have league experience.

Watson added: “[Si] teaches us how to cue properly, the angles and how to move the white ball round the table. He’s brought the team on leaps and bounds. We’ve not had much luck in the league. We were 2-0 up last week and lost 3-2. That quite often happens. We bottle it at the end.”