At the halfway mark of the game Port Fairy trailed by 20 shots and its chances of upsetting the top-of-the-table Koroit line-up appeared a long way off.

But Red used the half-time break to regroup and its bowlers clawed back into the contest to pull off a brilliant 96-88 victory.

Little separated the teams at the end of play, both claiming two rinks — the margin in three of those eight shots or less.

But it was the rink led by Jim Murray that gave Port Fairy the decisive break.

Murray’s rink won 31-15 to give the home team the winning edge in an absorbing battle.

The win kept Port Fairy well placed in fourth position on the ladder while Koroit remains on top — but now just one point clear of City Memorial Red.

Third-placed Warrnambool Gold is three points further back in third.

Port Fairy player Jim Lowe said the win over Koroit Blue was an encouraging start to a tough period of the season.

“We are very pleased with the win. We had to work really hard for it,” Lowe said.

“Our two winning rinks were able to sneak a little bit further ahead in the second half of the game and the other two rinks were able to close the gap a bit.

“It was the start of a tough few weeks so it was good to get a win over such a good team.”

Over the next fortnight Port Fairy will come up against Warrnambool Gold and then City Memorial Red, a run that will continue the stern test of its capabilities.

Warrnambool Gold is in good form after a 107-69 win over Mortlake Blue on Saturday.

It was a bit tighter for City Memorial Red when it edged out Dennington Red 98-92, and fifth-placed City Memorial Gold kept its finals hopes alive with a 103-85 win over Terang Green.

Warrnambool Blue had a 104-98 win over Warrnambool White while bottom-of-the-ladder Lawn Tennis Red had something to celebrate with a thrilling 90-88 win over Timboon Gold