Falcons flay befuddled Bats

Falmouth Falcons - 390* vs Ballycastle Bats - 80

	Bats	Falcons
Keeper	Alford	Frobisher
Chasers	Quigley	Grinderford (C)
	Evans	Goodfellow
	Doolittle	Meadows
Beaters	Ogborne	Bundy
	Skively	Wagtail
Seeker	Shettigar (C)	Mostafa

Two weeks ago, in the league’s previous round, the Ballycastle Bats played poorly and scored a point, while the Falmouth Falcons played with spirit and not a little skill but came away with none. As it stood, both teams had suffered an unexpectedly poor start to the season, with just a win each. Another loss for either here, particularly the unlucky Falcons, and finals chances may start to come into question.

Thanks both to their Seeker Ajax Shettigar, as well as opposition Seekers to varying levels, the Bats had been the king of the short game this year so after three rounds still little was known. But manager Marcus Montgomery had seen enough to have cause for concern, making three changes. Ignotus Thomsonicle’s general play has been adequate, but his lack of poor conversion rate into goal can only be tolerated for so long. So Valeria Doolittle got her first starting run as Chaser. In the Beater department it was a wholesale cleanout. Uncharacteristic errors had crept into both Rubens Smeek and Nobby Nutter’s game so they gave way to Taurus Ogborne and Bianca Skively.

The Falcons once again stayed true to their ever-present seven, including the misfiring Caliban Goodfellow and slightly leaky Odo Frobisher, both of whom can consider themselves lucky to still have a start.

Their form showed little sign of improvement in the early stages of this contest, but luckily their services were barely needed. Not even the agile but often anonymous Fairfax Meadows could bring the Falcons down with her strangely brainless performance, for the solo brilliance of Marina Grinderford and the utter dominance of Cyprian Bundy and Gordon Wagtail over their match-fitness lacking opposite numbers was the difference.

Grinderford’s brilliant early season performance went to new levels as she battered and weaved her way around the hapless Bat Chasers and directionless Bat Beaters. The Falmouth Captain drew her team 150 clear within an hour and a half virtually single-handedly.

The Bats third new starter, Doolittle, was likewise rusty. Demeter Quigley was inevitably sterling but was fighting a losing battle in a Chaser line-up that lacked unity and coherence without Thomsonicle’s experience.

It was surely the Bats’ worst performance since 2010, with stale icing to come. A frustrated Taurus Ogborne shot an illegal Bludger at Falcon Keeper Odo Frobisher. Unsporting as it may have been though, it opened a door. The clearly handicapped Frobisher was unable to stop a sudden swathe of goals from Quigley.

Ajax Shettigar, the best eyes in the business, predictably caught early sight of the snitch, within two hours. But he baulked baulking, trying to buy Quigley time to muster a comeback within 150. The hesitation was enough for a cleverly nimble Oakden Mostafa however and he pounced, sealing a comprehensive win.

Falmouth Falcons - 390: Grinderford 21, Goodfellow 2, Meadows 1, Mostafa Capture

Ballycastle Bats - 80: Quigley 8

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: MARINA GRINDERFORD (FALCONS)