A never-say-die attitude and some great bowling under pressure led to Kyneton winning the Ballarat-Highlands Bowls Region Champion of Champions final by three shots in a tense finish on Sunday afternoon.
The Kyneton side, which defeated Romsey by 21 shots in the Saturday pennant division one final, travelled to play the strong Victoria (Ballarat) side that won the last three Ballarat pennants.
Eventually Kyneton prevailed 65-62, after trailing overall by 10 shots at one stage following afternoon tea.
The Champion of Champions pennant final was played under the dome at Sebastopol Bowling Club due to inclement weather, with the Kyneton players welcoming support from the sidelines.
Kyneton now represents BHBR at the Champions of State Pennant event at Moama from April 26 to 29.
Kyneton and Victoria traded shots early, and John O’Donnell’s rink opened up a handy lead over Aaron Wood to keep Kyneton in contention.
Greg Podesta led Marc Oswin narrowly for most of the afternoon.
When Victoria’s Craig Ford surged ahead of Anthony Mathison after the break, there were danger signs for Kyneton.
To their credit, Mathison’s rink clawed back to win vital ends in the latter stages to cut their deficit to six shots.
Overall Kyneton led narrowly when it mattered and players and supporters were elated with the performance.
Kyneton 65 d Victoria 62: John O’Donnell’s rink 27 beat Aaron Wood 20, Greg Podesta 23 d Marc Oswin 21, Anthony Mathison 15 lost to Craig Ford 21.
Note: Today (Tuesday) the BHBR final of midweek division 1 pennant will be played at Sebastopol between the Kyneton and Victoria BC premiership sides.
