Shoulder-to-Shoulder League Archive
Final results for Division 1 in the season 2011-12
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This division was decided by a shoot-off between Balerno & Currie and Selkirk on 2nd October at Pathhead’s range. Click here to see the full details.
The winner of the top average award both for this division and overall, is Bill Vaughan of Selkirk. with an average of 97.45. Runner-up in both was Niall Georgeson of Pathhead with 97.04.
Match results —
League Table —
| Place | Team | Shot | Won | Lost | Tied | Points | Agg | Avg | MP |
| 1 | Balerno & Currie | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 378 | 31.50 | 52 |
| 2 | Selkirk | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 398 | 33.17 | 57 |
| 3 | Pathhead A | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 404 | 33.67 | 47 |
| 4 | George Heriot’s FP | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 423 | 35.25 | 36 |
Click on each team to see its detailed record for the season:
Balerno & Currie Pathhead A George Heriot’s FP Selkirk
Click here to see the individual averages for this division (pdf file).
Previous match commentary:
03/10/11: Selkirk v George Heriot’s FP. The season kicked off with Heriot’s making their way down the A7 for their first visit to Selkirk hoping to get their programme off to a good start against last year’s champions. Alas it was not to be as the home team, despite being two regular team members short, took the points easily by ten points. Nobody shot particularly well or particularly badly on either side, but Selkirk always had the edge, taking the Matchplay points 7 to 1. Top scorers for Selkirk were Bill Vaughan and John Milne with 195 each, and top for Heriot’s was Chris Watson on 193.
10/10/11: Pathhead A v Balerno & Currie. The new-look Balerno & Currie team nipped round the Bypass and down the A68 a ways to take on Pathhead A and attempt to record their first win in this competition for two seasons. It was a close match but the visitors did indeed triumph, by only two points, for a welcome win. If they can keep up this level of scoring, and perhaps improve on it, with a refreshed team then who knows, they may yet challenge Selkirk for the title. Top scorers for Pathhead were Alistair Parlett and Niall Georgeson with 194 each, while top for Balerno was Richard ‘Ziggy’ Hall with 196 with newcomer Ryan Bain only a point behind in his first-ever match in this league. Balerno & Currie also took the majority of the Matchplay points.
13/10/11: George Heriot’s FP v Pathhead A. Last season’s runners-up Heriot’s lost their second match in a row to visitors Pathhead, bouncing back from their early defeat to Balerno & Currie. They shot exactly the same score, but it was too good for the City team, who obviously haven’t found their form yet. Early days though. Heriot’s top scorer was again Chris Watson with 193 and the best for Pathhead was Niall Georgeson with 196. The Matchplay points were shared 4-all, which was the best that Heriot’s could have got.
20/10/11: Balerno & Currie v George Heriot’s FP. From being perennial whipping-boys, Balerno & Currie now stand proudly on top of Division 1 after two wins on the trot following Heriot’s unfruitful visit. It was a fairly easy win for the home team, who shot a similar score to their previous match, but Heriot’s are getting worse with each match and will have to improve if they want to make a mark in this league this season as they are now three for nothing as they say and have a lot of catching up to do. Top scorer for the home team was veteran Frank Gifford with 196, but top on the night was Heriot’s Colin Aitken with 198. Both he and Balerno’s Ryan Bain scored ‘possibles’ – the first time there have been two in a match for some time. Ryan rather spoiled his average by starting with a 94. Colin’s score took the visitors’ only Matchplay points (top score versus bottom score).
10/11/11: Balerno & Currie v Selkirk. Balerno are definitively on a roll now! This eagerly awaited top-of-the-table clash against visitors Selkirk gave them their third win on the trot. This puts them securely on top of the league with an undefeated record. Could this be the team that breaks Selkirk’s three-year stranglehold on the Championship? However, all three of the top teams have very similar averages, so it’s by no means over yet and there will be a lot of interesting matches coming as Pathhead certainly can’t be discounted. Top scorer for Balerno was Sinclair Bruce with 195 but top on the night was Selkirk’s Keith Nixon on 196. Unusually, it was the losing team that took most of the Matchplay points, with Selkirk winning that battle 6-2.
14/11/11: Selkirk v Pathhead A. Selkirk did what they had to do against their visitors from Pathhead, and took the spoils by only 3 points in a high-scoring match, leapfrogging them into second place behind unbeaten Balerno. All three teams at the top have almost identical averages so it promises to be a close programme. The home team had the top two shooters on the night with Selkirk’s Bill Vaughan and Keith Nixon shooting identical 197s, while Alastair Parlett was best for Pathhead with 195. Four-all in the Matchplay.
25/11/11: Selkirk v Balerno & Currie. Balerno & Currie’s undefeated run came to an end when Selkirk showed their true colours by posting their best score of the season and taking revenge for the away loss to their visitors a couple of weeks ago. Balerno’s score was well down on their score then and was their lowest this season. Eight to zip in the Matchplay also says something about the scale of the win for the home team. Their top scorer was Bill Vaughan with a pair of 99s. while Frank Gifford and Ryan Bain were best for Balerno with 190 each. These two teams are now tied at the top of the table with one loss each, but Selkirk take the top spot on aggregate.
28/11/11: Pathhead A v George Heriot’s FP. Pathhead keep their challenge alive by this convincing win against Heriot’s, which keeps the city team firmly anchored at the foot of the table with no points yet. They managed to buck their trend of shooting worse in each successive match though so this might be their turning point. Pathhead stay in 3rd and they had a 3-way tie for top-shot honours, with Niall Georgeson, Alastair Parlett and Stephanie Geddes all scoring 194, while Chris Watson was best for Heriot’s with 191. It was another whitewash in the Matchplay, with the home team taking all eight points.
05/12/2011: George Heriot’s FP v Balerno & Currie. In a cracker of a match Heriot’s suddenly found their form and defeated visitors Balerno by one single point . If past performance was anything to go by then Balerno would have been expecting an easy win, but the home team upped their game considerably to take the points with nothing to spare. Their top scorer was Chris Watson on 195 and his 99 on his first card probably won the match. Top for Balerno was Gavin Walker, making his first appearance of the season, also on 195. Matchplay points were unsurprisingly shared at 4 each. There is no change to the league though, but the top 3 all have similar averages and with Heriot’s getting back into the swing of it, it all looks pretty open.
09/01/2012: George Heriot’s FP v Balerno & Currie. The first match of the new year saw Balerno & Currie travelling into town again to first-foot Heriot’s in a repeat of both teams’ last matches a month ago. In that match Heriot’s upped their game considerably over their previous performances to win by a single point, and this time the same team delivered exactly the same score as in that match. However, it wasn’t enough this time as it was Balerno’s turn to up their game and their six-point improvement gave them the points. The overall aggregate equals the highest-scoring match of the season so far. Balerno & Currie now go top of the league, although Selkirk do have two matches in hand. Top scorers for Heriot’s were Stewart Mackenzie and Chris Watson with 195s, but way out front on the night was Balerno’s captain Peter May with 198, including a ‘poss’ on his second card. As in the previous match, the Matchplay points were shared 4-all.
16/01/2012: George Heriot’s FP v Selkirk. In what only can be called another shock result, bottom-placed Heriot’s continued their giant-killing act and inflicted on Selkirk their second defeat of the season. In a very low-scoring match the champions for the last three years never got into gear and went down by six points to what must have been an elated Heriot’s side who shot slightly better than their average. However, it was only their second win and they remain at the foot of the table. At the top, Balerno & Currie retain the lead but Selkirk are still lurking just behind them, now with only one match in hand. It can’t be denied that this unexpected result has opened the league right up. Pathhead are the dark horses – they have only shot four matches and have the best average. Who’s betting they won’t make an impact too? Their two home matches against Selkirk this and next week might have a huge influence. Top scorer in this match for Heriot’s was Chris Watson with 194 and best for the visitors, in their first match since the end of November, was Ian Burton with 193. Heriot’s took six Matchplay points to give their total a good boost.
30/01/2012: Pathhead A v Selkirk. Well, what can I say after last week’s prediction? Pathhead beat their very out-of-sorts visitors from the Borders by a considerable margin, and take over the second place spot, two points behind Balerno & Currie with a match in hand over them and a much better aggregate. If Pathhead repeat this performance in next week’s match against Selkirk it might put the league title within their grasp and beyond the reach of the past champions. This league is as wide open as I’ve seen it for years and it won’t be over till it’s over. Pathhead’s top scorer in this match was Niall Georgeson with 197 – way ahead of everyone else on the night, while best for Selkirk was Bill Vaughan with an uncharacteristic 190. Niall takes over from Bill at the top of the (qualifying) averages list for this division. The home team took the Matchplay points 7-1 and that secondary competition is starting to look pretty even too.
06/02/2012: Pathhead A v Selkirk. Selkirk travelled back to Pathhead in the hope of halting their recent decline in fortunes, and improved their score from last week by ten points. It wasn’t enough, though, as a rampant home team improved their score too, and won handsomely. Selkirk have now lost three on the trot and all four losses have been away matches. Anything in that? Only time will tell, but their next match is also away, to Heriot’s in three weeks’ time. Pathhead A take over from Balerno at the top of the table on equal points but with a better aggregate. It’s certainly not over. Top scorer for Pathhead was again Niall Georgeson with another 197, and joint top for the visitors were Ian Burton and Bill Vaughan scoring 191s. Selkirk were on the receiving end of what could well be their first-ever whitewash in the Matchplay, losing 8-0.
09/02/2012: Balerno & Currie v George Heriot’s FP. What a match! Both teams stepped up several gears to improve on the best score so far recorded this season. In any other match, Heriot’s would have taken the points comfortably, but as it was a rampant Balerno team won handsomely to take the outright lead at the top of the division. Pathhead are still in the hunt in second with a match in hand though. Top scorer for Balerno was Ryan Bain with an impressive 199, while the best for the visitors was Colin Aitken with 196. The visitors took 2 Matchplay points courtesy of two tied matches. Balerno’s next engagement is a double-header on their own range against Pathhead in a couple of weeks: these matches will have an undoubted influence on the eventual outcome of the league.
23/02/2012: Balerno & Currie v Pathhead A. This was a double-header day due to a rearranged match taking place on the same day as an original match. Both were ‘home’ matches for Balerno & Currie.
Match 1 (postponed from 8th December): A late injury to captain Frank Gifford meant a call-up for Gordon Buchan and he didn’t disappoint, top-scoring with 194 in a confident Balerno team that won the match convincingly by 11 points. Pathhead never got settled and there was a wide gap between their best and worst scores. Their top man was Niall Georgeson with 196, taking his side’s only Matchplay points.
Match 2: Not quite a re-run of the first match as the home side really powered their way to a another convincing win, improving on their first match total by a massive ten points. Pathhead got a little more into the swing of it and improved their score as well, but it wasn’t nearly enough to bother the home team whose top man this time was Peter May with a fine 198. Niall Georgeson was again best for the visitors, this time with 195. Such was Balerno’s dominance of the match that they took all 8 Matchplay points to shoot into the lead over Pathhead in that competition.
Balerno & Currie must now consider themselves favourites for the title. They have three matches left – Pathhead again (away) then Selkirk home and away. Two wins out of these three will probably clinch it for them.
(Apologies for making the dates for these two matches different in the results table – my computer system can’t handle two matches on the same day between the same teams!)
27/02/2012: George Heriot’s FP v Selkirk. Heriot’s couldn’t repeat their previous shock win against their visitors, who ended their run of three defeats with a not-too-convincing victory on their latest trip up the A7. I’d say Heriot’s lost, rather than Selkirk won. However, it doesn’t make that much difference to the league placings as Selkirk remain third and Heriot’s fourth. Top scorer for the home team was evergreen Stewart Mackenzie with 195, while Keith Nixon and Bill Vaughan both had that same score to head Selkirk’s list. The team scores weren’t that much difference so it’s slightly surprising that Selkirk won the Matchplay by 7 points to 1. Good captaincy perhaps?
05/03/2012: Pathhead A v Balerno & Currie. Balerno are heading towards their first title since 1997 with their third win on the trot against challengers Pathhead. The Pathhead team all shot steadily, but their visitors, despite some ups and downs, took the points comfortably. It’s not in the bag yet though, despite their 8-point lead as Selkirk have two matches in hand and could still come up on the rails to retain their trophy. There are two matches still to come between Balerno and Selkirk and there’s everything to play for between them as Pathhead and Heriot’s cannot now win the title. In this match, Pathhead’s leading scorer was Niall Georgeson with a 194, but way out in front of everyone was the Balerno’s Sinclair Bruce with a fine 198. Four-all in the Matchplay. Balerno have the lead over Selkirk just now, but they shouldn’t be counting any chickens quite yet.
05/03/2012: Selkirk v George Heriot’s FP. Selkirk roared back into form and perhaps contention for the title with this substantial victory against the bottom team. Selkirk were back to their best on their home turf whereas their visitors were very erratic (90, 98? 95, 89?) . Top scorer for the Borders team was Bill Vaughan with 199, also returning to form after a lean spell. Top man for Heriot’s was Stewart Mackenzie with 195, taking his site’s only Matchplay points. This puts Selkirk four points behind Balerno, with a match in hand. It’s going to be close, and the two remaining matches between these sides will be decisive.
08/03/2012: Balerno & Currie v Selkirk . Selkirk are coming up fast on the rails with this timely victory against the league-leaders to keep their comeback on track. Despite the home team wheeling in big gun Alasdair Horne, they went down to their visitors in the end as Alasdair didn’t really produce the fireworks perhaps expected of him. That honour went to Selkirk’s Bill Vaughan who joined the exclusive ‘200 club’ with a fine double-poss, continuing his resurgent form (399 for his last four cards in this competition). That might have been the match-winning performance as the victory margin was only 5 points. Four-all in the Matchplay, and that’s going to be close too. This leaves these two teams’ match next week (and Balerno’s last in the programme) as a possible title-decider, If Balerno win, then they win the league outright. If they lose, then Selkirk will have to beat Pathhead (who are out of contention now) in their last match to tie on points, and the aggregates are too close to make a call on which team will take the title in that scenario. Bill Vaughan’s 200 might just win the league for his team. It ain’t over yet.
12/03/2012: Pathhead A v George Heriot’s FP. A decent match. Pathhead took the points to cement their 3rd place in the league against a Heriot’s team which could have done better, but hit their average score on the button. Pathhead just did that little bit better to close out the match by only a couple of points. The home team’s top shooter on the night was Iain Forrest with 194, and Heriot’s best were 193s from Chris Watson and Stewart Mackenzie. 5-3 to Pathhead in the Matchplay, which is finishing up quite close.
16/03/2012: Selkirk v Balerno & Currie. For a match between the top two sides in the league battling it out for the title, this was a bit of a damp squib. The Balerno posted their worst score of the season in what was their last match of their programme, and the home team produced their second-worst. However, it was enough to win the match and avoid losing the league title there and then. Selkirk’s top scorer was Eric Brown with 195 and Frank Gifford’s 191 topped the visitors’ list. It was 6-2 to Selkirk in the Matchplay, and it looks like they will take that trophy as they have a deficit of only one point with one match to go. That match is against Pathhead and in order to retain their title they must firstly win the match and secondly score fewer than 16 points dropped. Perhaps a tall order given that their best so far is 21 off. The B&C boys will be watching with interest! Bill Vaughan of Selkirk looked like walking away with the best average award earlier in the season, but he has only one match left to stretch what is now only a very slender lead over Niall Georgeson (Pathhead), who has two matches to try to overtake him.
19/03/2012: Selkirk v Pathhead A. Well, Selkirk gave it their best shot and their performance was good enough to win the match against Pathhead by a decent margin to equal Balerno & Currie’s points total, but their score in the match wasn’t sufficient for them to overtake Balerno’s total gunscore. The Midlothian team therefore win the league title for the first time since 1997 by 20 gun points. Congratulations to them. In this match, the home team’s top scorer was Keith Nixon with 196, while Pathhead’s top man was Niall Georgeson with 191. Selkirk won the Matchplay encounter 6-2, and become the first ever winners who did not also win the league title. Bill Vaughan’s performances over the season means he wins the highest average award with an average of 2.55. Niall Georgeson will be second as he cannot now overtake that average even if he shoots 200 in the last match.
Put the champagne on ice! The organiser has just informed the site administrator that he made an error in assuming that the title is decided on gunscore if points are equal. That is not the case, so a shoot-off between Balerno & Currie and Selkirk will be arranged to decide the winner of Division 1. He sends his apologies to all concerned for this oversight.
29/03/2012: George Heriot’s FP v Pathhead A. Heriot’s took on Pathhead in a nothing match to conclude the league programme for the season. The home team took the opportunity to show what they are really capable of by turning in their second-best performance of the season. If they had shot like this throughout the season they would have been definite contenders. Pathhead didn’t shoot badly (spot-on their average), but Heriot’s were too good. Their top scorer was Stewart Mackenzie with 195, while Pathhead’s Iain Forrest started with a great 100 and followed it with a not-so-great 94 to top the visitor’s list with 194 and took his team’s only Matchplay point.