2nd team v Norfolk 

Following a busy Winter of Training and Team Bonding, we travelled to Norwich to play Norfolk full of confidence. 
In the morning Foursomes Brandon Sanders and Andy Saunders made a determined start, leading off the team. Brandon played some amazing recovery shots and Andy gained in confidence and his bunker play and putting was excellent. They secured their point with a 4 and 3 win. 
Match 2 saw Mark Bazeley and Ben Hawkins  against Norfolk Captain Pete Murphy and Tom Rutherford. This turned out to be a really close encounter with us 1 down with 1 to play. On the last hole we had ‘tree trouble’ and were penalised and lost 2 down. 
The third game was another really close game with Richard Dalton and Charlie Pearce taking on Brandon Hobley and Jamison Gray. The game went all the way to the 18th and ended all square. 
Our final pairing saw Ben Lavender and Jamie Milligan playing together against Michael Skipper and Dan Leggett. The experience of Jamie and Ben saw them finish early with a 6 and 5 win. 
This saw us go in to lunch with a lead, 2 1/2 -  1 1/2.
Brandon went off first in the singles and it looked as if he would lose as he was 2 down with 3 to play. However, 3 consecutive birdies saw Brandon come back to win 1 up. Andy, making his County team debut, played well but lost to Dean Scott. 
Ben Lavender was cruising at 3 up late on, only to lose 15 and 16, setting up a tense finish. Ben then played an exquisite chip on the 18th to secure a birdie and a 2 up win. 
Back came Norfolk with Mark Bazeley losing to Brandon Hobley and Charlie Pearce in an epic battle with Michael Skipper losing on the 18th when his 2nd shot to the par 5 cleared the green and went out of bounds.
The result was then getting very close. Fortunately the experience of Richard and Jamie down the order proved crucial and both had emphatic wins against young opponents. 
Ben played some really good golf in his match and was 1 up playing the last only for Norfolk Captain Pete to play a brilliant second shot onto the 18th for a simple two putt birdie to claim a half point.
Final result was a 7 - 5 win for Sam Bird’s NGL 2nd Team. 
Well played guys, the team spirit was excellent all day.