LOWLY-ranked Mortlake Blue will enter the Christmas break on a high after knocking off third-placed Terang Green in lawn bowls pennant on Saturday.
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Mortlake Blue won the Western District Bowls Division (WDBD) round 11 match 92-81.
Victorious skipper George Draffen said his side led all day.
Mortlake won two of the four rinks, with Draffen downing Kevin Lee 26-15 and Darren Grant narrowly defeating Jim Whitehead 21-19.
The other two rinks went down to the wire, with Terang Green scoring tight wins.
Charlie Duynhoven pipped Mark McDonald 26-25 and Jamie Heffernan clawed a 21-20 win against Peter Summerhayes.
Draffen said his bottom-placed side went into the final round before Christmas quietly confident.
“We always gave ourselves a bit of a chance because Terang always struggles a bit on our greens,” he said.
“We were close all day — there was never a lot in the game.”
Draffen said McDonald worked his way back into the contest with Duynhoven, which was crucial in the overall result being tipped in Mortlake Blue’s favour.
“My rink was a fair bit ahead most of the day and Mark McDonald was down by a fair bit and made a bit of a comeback,” he said.
Draffen said it was a positive day for the regional club overall, with its division three and fours sides also winning.
Mortlake Blue is in a battle with Warrnambool White and Port Fairy Red to avoid relegation.
Draffen said holding on to its division one spot was Mortlake Blue’s main aim.
“This win gives us a chance to avoid relegation,” he said.
“We have a couple of winnable games at home plus Port Fairy and Warrnambool White later in the season away from home.”
Dennington Red got the better of Warrnambool Blue for the second time this season, 98-78. Warrnambool slipped from fourth to fifth after the result.
City Memorial Gold jumped two spots into the top four with a 92-82 win over Port Fairy Red.
Top-placed Warrnambool Gold pushed Timboon Gold one rung down the ladder to sixth on the back of its 101-79 win.
Second-placed City Memorial Red was too strong for Warrnambool White, winning 104-84.
WDBD Saturday pennant resumes on January 12.