Defeat at home dashes City's chances of a league win

Thursday evening saw Portsmouth City's home match against the league champions, Sarisbury.  City is still not at full strength and thus unable to field a complete team of eight.  Here's how the match went:

Portsmouth City - 487 R. Ashman (96) A. Nevatte (97) I. Cooper (98) G. Scruton (98) S. Hart (97) L. Haskett (97)

Sarisbury - 492 M. Guille (99) M. Frost (96) G. Barber (95) T. Gleed (99) M. Holdway (98) P. Pearce (97) P. Pepper (91) I. Kuprov (99)

So no embarrassments on either side but no tonnes either.  Well done to Sarisbury for their win - it looks like it could be a close finish between them and Wickham by the end of the season as to who will take the championship.

With this defeat, City now has three losses this season and it is unlikely with Sarisbury and Wickham as strong as they are this year, we'll be in contention for either first or second place.  That said, our current team average of 487.7 is a full one point higher than last year's average of 486.7, so we are improving, but perhaps not quite as much as a couple of our rivals.

The Sarisbury Away Match - City's 2016/17 Shoulder-to-Shoulder Season Gets Started

City's shoulder-to-shoulder season had a bit of a misstep last week as our first match, a home match against Chichester, had to be cancelled at the last moment due to a particularly nasty traffic accident on the A27.  We'll reschedule that match for later in the season, but this did mean that our season started off with an away match against the reigning league champions, Sarisbury.

Last year's matches against Sarisbury often left City wanting (see match reports here, here and here).  So how did we do tonight?

Sarisbury - 490 T. Gleed (93) M. Guille (100) P. Pearce (99) G. Barber (95) M. Holdway (97) I. Kuprov (99) P. Fitzsimmons (94)

Portsmouth City - 489 I. Cooper (96) A. Nevatte (97) S. Hart (98) G. Scruton (100) J. Rowe (94) R. Ashman (98) T. Sommerville (79)

So Portsmouth City is not off to the best of starts but with 489 we still managed to shoot well above last year's team average of 486.7 so there is definitely cause for hope.  Many congratulations to Sarisbury for edging a win and well done to Matt Guille and Gordon Scruton for the possibles.

Special apologies go to Tom Sommerville, who on his first ever shoulder-to-shoulder match had to shoot in a borrowed jacket with an unfamiliar scope.  Sorry, Tom, I'll remember your jacket next time! :-)

Arthur Lee Final (Sarisbury vs Portsmouth City)

Thursday night saw the long overdue final of the Arthur Lee Cup.  Back in April, we won the local final against Portsmouth Railway Rifle Club, the local final being the decider of which Portsmouth & District team would go on to represent the association in its match against the Southampton & District Association.

In the Southampton & District corner was our old rivals, Sarisbury, who have frustrated our efforts in a few recent competitions.  Here's how we did:

Sarisbury - 1169 T. Gleed (96, 96) M. Guille (99, 98) P. Pearce (98, 99) G. Barber (96, 97) M. Holdway (95, 96) I. Kuprov (99, 100)

Portsmouth City - 1154 M. Nevatte (97, 96) I. Cooper (94, 95) G. Scruton (96, 100) J. Rowe (95, 95) S. Hart (96, 95) R. Ashman (98, 97)

So unfortunately we were not able to take the cup home this year, and if we're completely honest, our scores were not as good as our previous matches against Railway (1163) and against West Meon (1169).  Congratulations to Ilya Kuprov for his overall score of 199.

This was a bittersweet match for Portsmouth City as it marked the last match for our captain, Marian Nevatte, who a little while ago moved to Havant Rifle Club but came back to finish the Arthur Lee season with us.  Many thanks, Marian.

As for what we've all been up to over the summer, the overall summer report is on its way!  So watch this space.

Arthur Lee Cup 2016 (Local Final): City vs Railway

This evening was the local final of the Arthur Lee Cup.  Last year, we reached the local final but were narrowly beaten by Fareham.  This year we managed to get to the final once again but were up against Portsmouth Railway Rifle Club.  The match was kindly officiated by Wayne Dugan of HMS Excellent Rifle Club and was held at Havant.

This match is a little different from our normal shoulder-to-shoulder matches.  This was teams of 6 (instead of the usual 8), shooting 2 cards each (instead of 1), and unlike our other competitions, every team member's scores counted.  Here's how it went:

Portsmouth Railway - 1147 J. Ring (98, 97) M. Carter (93, 94) C. Richards (97, 97) C. Coles (97, 96) N. Perman (94, 93) K. Hardyman (94, 97)

Portsmouth City - 1163 M. Nevatte (98, 98) S. Hart (95, 100) G. Scruton (97, 94) I. Cooper (99, 95) A. Nevatte (94, 100) R. Ashman (96, 97)

So Portsmouth City goes on to represent Portsmouth & District this year against Sarisbury, who will represent Southampton & District.  Well done to Sarah Hart and Adam Nevatte for their tonnes.

A win, a loss, and a draw (2016 Matches, pt 1)

We've had a few matches since our last post at the beginning of the month.

Unfortunately our success at West Meon at the end of last year has not been followed by the string of success we had hoped for but PCRC is by no means out of contention.  Here's how the matches went:

Havant A - 482 A. Morley (96) A. Perry (94) D. Cotton (99) J. Allsop (94) L. Hanna (95) S. Lavin (95) T. Brown (97)

Portsmouth City - 481 I. Cooper (97) M. Nevatte (95) A. Nevatte (96) G. Scruton (97) S. Hart (94) P. Upchurch (95) J. Rowe (96)

So it was 7 vs 7 and neither side shot particularly well and we were beaten by virtue of Havant shooting just that little bit less badly than we did.

Oh well... our next match was at home against the current champions, Sarisbury, who we had a particularly high scoring loss against earlier this season.  This had to be a far better score than the previous week against Havant, and thankfully it was.  Here's how we did:

Portsmouth City - 491 M. Nevatte (97) A. Nevatte (96) I. Cooper (98) G. Scruton (98) S. Hart (100) J. Rowe (96) P. Upchurch (95) R. Ashman (98)

Sarisbury - 491 M. Guille (99) M. Frost (98) G. Barber (94) T. Gleed (99) M. Holdway (97) P. Pearce (98) P. Fitzsimmons (94)

So, a high scoring match for both teams but an eventual draw.  Congratulations to Sarah Hart for getting a ton.

Our next match was against Fareham on their range.  It had now been three matches since a win for PCRC in the shoulder-to-shoulder league, so we were hungry for another win if was stood any chance of not slipping too far down the league table.  Luckily, we managed quite nicely:

Fareham - 472 D. Shepperd (99) D. Blake (92) M. Cakewell (92) D. Fry (92) M. King (84) D. Accourt (80) D. Spendlove (97) M. Salisbury (82)

Portsmouth City - 486 I. Cooper (96) M. Nevatte (98) G. Scruton (96) S. Hart (97) A. Nevatte (95) P. Upchurch (93) J. Rowe (95) R. Ashman (99) Reserve L. Haskett (95)

So no particularly remarkable scores but a good solid addition to our aggregate.  At this point our stats were as follows:

7 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses
Team Average: 486.4

Click here to see how we've done more recently.

City vs Sarisbury: The Highest Scoring Match in Recent League History!

This evening was the away match at Sarisbury and it was a night of superlatives.

The last match of the year.

The first possible (100) from a City shooter this season.

The highest team score of the season so far.

The highest scoring match in the Portsmouth & District League for at least the last three seasons.

Unfortunately, it was also:

The first possibles scored against City this season, and...

The first City loss of the season.

Here were the scores:

Sarisbury - 495 T. Gleed (100) M. Guille (98) P. Pearce (98) M. Frost (94) M. Holdway (99) G. Barber (97) P. Fitzsimmons (100) D. Cleeve (96)

Portsmouth City - 492 I. Cooper (97) M. Nevatte (98) A. Nevatte (98) P. Upchurch (94) G. Scruton (100) L. Haskett (93) S. Hart (98) R. Ashman (98)

So this was a high scoring match that saw City rise to the occasion admirably.  Our team average is now 486.6 and the team score of 492 solidly bests our previous best this season of 489 and is the best team score we've had for at least the last three years!

However, Sarisbury ain't the reigning league champions for nothing, folks!  Many congratulations to them for also shooting their highest score of the season so far and their highest scores for the last three seasons as well!

Special congratulations to T. Gleed, P. Fitzsimmons and G. Scruton for their possibles.

Mid-Season Report

Portsmouth City has shot 7 of its 14 matches of the Portsmouth & District 2015/16 shoulder-to-shoulder season.  So far we've had 6 wins and 1 loss and our current team average is 486.6.

(483) Portsmouth City vs Havant (480)

Win (see results)
(481) Portsmouth City vs Fareham (473)
Win (see results)

(487) Portsmouth City vs Chichester (465)

Win (see results)

(481) West Meon vs Portsmouth City (487)
Win (see results)

(487) Portsmouth City vs Portsmouth Railway (482)

Win (see results)
(483) Wickham vs Portsmouth City (489)
Win (see results)
(495) Sarisbury vs Portsmouth City (492)
Loss (see results)

Best shoulder-to-shoulder averages so far are:

1st: Ian Cooper (97.57)

2nd: Marian Nevatte (97.29)

3rd: Sarah Hart & Gordon Scruton (97.17)

City vs Havant (The 2015-16 Shoulder-to-Shoulder Season Kicks Off)

Last night saw City's first match of the 2015-16 Portsmouth & District shoulder-to-shoulder season.  We were runners up last season, narrowly losing out to Sarisbury, so we were keen to start strong this season with a view to having another swing at the championship cup.  It was a home match against Havant and here's how it went.

Portsmouth City - 483 M. Nevatte (97) A. Nevatte (97) I. Cooper (97) G. Scruton (97) S. Hart (95) L. Haskett (92) J. Rowe (95)

Havant - 480 D. Cotton (96) T. Brown (95) S. Lavin (86) J. Allsop (94) A. Perry (96) A. Morley (96) J. Alexander (92) L. Hanna (97)

So while the team scores on both sides were a little lower than we would both like, PCRC managed to capitalise on the home range advantage and achieve a win.

Jonny and Sarah's 95s were both competing for a spot on the scoring team (the rules of the matches are 8 in the team, best 5 scores are counted in).  First the number of bulls were considered (both the same), then the number of shots requiring the gauge (the same), and finally it came down to the number of absolute bulls (where the middle spot was completely taken out).  Based on this, Sarah's card was deemed the superior card.

This gives the team it's first two championship points and we look forward to our next match in a couple of weeks against Fareham.

The Duttson Cup final comes down to graduated gauging... against Sarisbury... again!

On Tuesday, members of the Portsmouth City squad took part in the semi-final and final of the Duttson Cup.  This particular cup dates back to 1936, when it was donated by William Noel Duttson, the then-president of Portsmouth & District Rifle League (and also director of Portsmouth Brewery on Admiralty Road).

William Noel Duttson (1935)

This year it was Fareham, Portsmouth Railway, Sarisbury and Portsmouth City through to the semi-finals and, as always, we had both the semis and the final on the same evening and all on a neutral range, the Tipner indoor range, kindly provided by the HMS Excellent Rifle Club.  By virtue of drawing names from a bag, PCRC first faced Portsmouth Railway.

Here's how the semi-finals went:

Portsmouth City - 389 I. Cooper (99) A. Nevatte (99) M. Nevatte (97) G. Scruton (94)

Portsmouth Railway - 372 J. Nicholson (91) N. Toms (93) N. Perman (94) J. Stockham (94)

Fareham - 384 P. Randall (96) T. Read (97) D. Shepperd (95) D. Spendlove (96)

Sarisbury - 387 G. Barber (95) T. Gleed (96) M. Guille (98) P. Pearce (98)

This brought about the same final as we had last year: Portsmouth vs Sarisbury.  Last year it came down to graduated gauges; this is where the two teams' scores using standard gauges come out as the same - graduated gauges put the shots under a harsher spotlight and tell us who came closer to centre.

Portsmouth were the victors last year but would it be the case this year too?

Portsmouth City - 390 (.25G score - 384) I. Cooper (97) (96) A. Nevatte (99) (96) M. Nevatte (97) (95) G. Scruton (97) (97)

Sarisbury - 390 (.25G score - 389) G. Barber (98) (97) T. Gleed (95) (95) M. Guille (98) (98) P. Pearce (98) (98)

So, as with the Portsmouth & District shoulder-to-shoulder league this year, Portsmouth had to settle for second place to Sarisbury.  Well done, Sarisbury.

The Duttson Cup has taken pride of place on our trophy shelves in the last few years and we'll be sorry to see it leave us... but we'll get it back next year!

Current 1946 Duttson Cup Trophy replacing the 1936 trophy presumed lost during the war

Overall Portsmouth City hasn't done too badly in this competition, in fact we were the first ever winners of it!

Inaugural Winners of the Duttson Cup (1936).  The captain, H. E. G. Abrams is sitting; standing left to right is L. G. German, H. V. Young, and E. S. German.

1936 - Portsmouth City

1937 - HMS Victory

1938 - HMS Excellent

Suspended during World War II (1939-1945)

1946 - Portsmouth City Police

1947 - Civil Defence

1949 - Portsmouth City

1950 - Portsmouth City

1951 - Havant

1952 - Portsmouth City

1953 - Portsmouth City

1954 - Portsmouth City

1955 - Portsmouth City

1956 - Portsmouth City

1957 - Portsmouth City

1958 - Portsmouth North End

No Competition (1959)

1960 - Portsmouth City "B"

1961 - Portsmouth City

1962 - Royal Marines "B"

1963 - HMS Collingwood

1964 - Portsmouth City

1965 - Portsmouth City

1966 - Portsmouth City

1967 - Portsmouth City

1968 - Portsmouth City

1969 - Royal Marines

1970 - Fareham

1971 - HMS Excellent

1972 - Havant

1973 - Havant

1974 - Havant

1975 - HMS Excellent

1976 - Havant

1977 - Havant

1978 - Havant

1979 - Havant

1980 - Havant

1981 - HMS Nelson

1982 - HMS Nelson

1983 - HMS Nelson

1984 - HMS Nelson

1985 - HMS Nelson

1986 - HMS Nelson

1987 - HMS Nelson

No Competition (1988-1991)

1992 - Portsmouth City

1993 - Portsmouth City

1994 - HMS Excellent

1995 - HMS Nelson

1996 - Chichester

1997 - Sarisbury

No Competition (1998)

1999 - Havant

2000 - Sarisbury

2001 - HMS Excellent

2002 - Portsmouth Railway

2003 - Havant

2004 - HMS Excellent

2005 - Sarisbury

2006 - Havant

2007 - Sarisbury

2008 - Havant

2009 - Havant

2010 - Havant

2011 - Sarisbury

2012 - Portsmouth City

2013 - Portsmouth City

2014 - Portsmouth City

2015 - Sarisbury

For those of your keeping a tally, PCRC (21 wins), Havant (15), HMS Nelson (8), HMS Excellent (6), Sarisbury (6), Royal Marines (2), Chichester (1), Civil Defence (1), Fareham (1), HMS Victory (1), HMS Collingwood (1), North End (1), Police (1)

Portsmouth suffers defeat at the hands of Sarisbury

I'm not use to giving bad match reports on the blog.  So far this season, PCRC has acquitted itself very well (5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss).  However, on Monday, we faced Sarisbury at their range and unfortunately they took us down a peg and reminded us not to be complacent.

Here were the scores:

Sarisbury - 490 M. Guille (99) M. Frost (97) P. Pearce (100) P. Fitzsimmons (93) G. Barber (97) T. Gleed (96) P. Pepper (97)

Portsmouth City - 480 M. Nevatte (92) A. Nevatte (96) I. Cooper (96) S. Hart (98) L. Haskett (89) D. Reeves (85) G. Scruton (98) J. Rowe (91)

Put simply, we didn't shoot particularly well and we deserved to be beaten this time round.  Special congratulations go to P. Pearce for scoring another possible against us this season and to the entire Sarisbury team for a very respectable score of 490.  Our averages all go down a little on this one but we now look ahead to our two back-to-back matches against Fareham B next week with steely resolve!

PCRC gets off to a great start in the 2014/15 County League!

The Portsmouth and District Rifle Association shoulder-to-shoulder league got under way a few weeks ago.  So far PCRC has had two matches and we've won both of them!

Our first match of the season was an away match against Fareham's A team.  Despite not having a couple of our best shooters, we shot a very respectable 487 (out of a possible 500).  Hard luck to Fareham 'A', but well done to our shooters!

Fareham A - 473 D. Shepperd (98) T. Read (84) R. Spencer (90) N. Grimstead (92) D. Spendlove (94) T. Mace (96)

Portsmouth City - 487 I. Cooper (99) P. Upchurch (98) M. Nevatte (92) A. Fallows (83) G. Scruton (98) J. Rowe (95) S. Hart (97) L. Haskett (89)

Our second match was at home against Sarisbury.  While PCRC managed to win the match with a respectable 486, special congratulations should go to Mr. P. Pearce of Sarisbury for his possible.

Portsmouth City - 486 P. Upchurch (93) A. Nevatte (97) R. Ashman (87) M. Nevatte (92) S. Hart (99) J. Rowe (90) I. Cooper (98) G. Scruton (99) Reserve L. Haskett (95)

Sarisbury - 480 P. Pepper (93) P. Pearce (100) M. Frost (96) G. Barber (95) M. Guille (96) G. Guille (88)

Go Pompey!