Dan's right out of luck

IT WAS a case of so near but so far for Dan de la Mare as he crashed out of the Crown Trade Paints WIBC under-25 men's singles. Up against Scotland's Wayne Hogg in the final group stage game, second-placed de la Mare came from behind against the group leader and title favourite to force the match into a tiebreak which he narrowly lost.

At the same time, third- placed Mark Dawes won his match to go level on points with the Sarnian and the Englishman went through on the basis that he had beaten him in their head-to-head.

'It was a very good game,' said de la Mare of the Hogg match.

'I'm pleased with the way I played and it could have gone either way.

'In the first set he was making the conversions but in the second set his conversions didn't come off.'

The 19-year-old took the first two ends of the match to lead 2-0 but last year's finalist Hogg turned on the style to eventually triumph 8-3.

Into the second set, de la Mare turned things around to go 4-0 up after two ends.

On the third and with de la Mare two shots up, Hogg pulled off the shot of the match with a firm draw that pushed the jack out of de la Mare's grasp into a pack of his woods for three.

To say the Guernseyman bounced back in style would be an understatement as four supremely placed bowls gave him the maximum four and it effectively gave him the set as he now led 8-3 with three ends left.

Hogg could add only one more point while de la Mare racked up another three to take the set 11-4 and to force the match into the tiebreak which the Scot took.

Meanwhile Dawes beat Afrizal Shuhaimi in another tiebreak after their two sets were both tied.

De la Mare was philosophical about it all afterwards.

'It's been a good tournament,' he said.

'I was happy with the way I played. It was a shame because I thought had more shots than him but they don't count that.

'It goes on who beat who.'