ILFORD S chances of reaching the semi-finals of the Jackson Shield were given a massive boost as they followed up victory over Wanstead Central by beating Barley. The Barley boys had taken first blood in their home game last week, but this time Ilford fou

ILFORD'S chances of reaching the semi-finals of the Jackson Shield were given a massive boost as they followed up victory over Wanstead Central by beating Barley.

The Barley boys had taken first blood in their home game last week, but this time Ilford found their form to win 67-54 and put themselves on the verge of the next round.

Top dogs were Laurie Lewis, Jock McCabe, Micky Pace and Chris Granger, who beat Tony Bruno's rink by an impressive 29-11 scoreline.

They were backed up by the 25-16 advantage gained by Bob Taylor, Kevin Barry, Bill Beney and Bill Cullinan over Mike Durston's four, although Ian McConachie, Terry Pedrick, Keith Tyler and Dave Waters went down 27-13 to Dave Manning' s rink.

Alas, earlier in the week, Ilford saw their County Shield hopes dashed at the first hurdle with an 11-shot defeat at the hands of Harlow, despite losing on only one rink.

At Ilford, Matt Frost, Bob Piper, Jock McCabe and Paco Rodriguez gained a four-shot advantage over John Ander-son's rink, while Terry Pedrick, Richard Ward, Paul Lidbury and Chris Granger earned a commendable 19-19 draw with Jim Oakes' quartet after trailing for so long.

Away at Harlow, Laurie Lewis, Martin Plumb, Keith Tyler and Dave Waters had a fine 25-20 win over Steve Tucker, but the crucial rink was the other one at Harlow.

Alan Potts, Bob Taylor, Micky Pace and Bill Beney were sent crashing 20-6 by Graham Howell's rink and that sealed Ilford's doom.

The previous week in the Lea Valley League saw Ilford travel to Pymmes Park.

Tony Chessel, Richard Ward, Kevin Barry and Bill Beney led the way in winning 20-14, ably backed up by David Grint, Dave Beecher, John Smith and Matt Frost, who chipped in 22-19.

However, Laurie Lewis, Frank Roberts, Ian McCon-achie and David Brock narrowly missed out in losing 21-18, though the overall match result was already secured and Ilford took six points.

With the county competitions in full swing, there were wins in the pairs for Ilford's Chris Granger and Ian Scammell over D Brackett and Brian Kelly of Wanstead, Keith Tyler and Dave Waters over clubmates Micky Pace and Bill Beney and for John Smith and Bill Cullinan over Roy Barker's pair from Woodford.

The Triples saw Micky Pace, Paul Lidbury and Bill Beney triumph 23-15 over Peter Thomas, Eric Faulkner and Brian Carter of Clementswood, whilst in the Fours, Lee Parnell, Jock McCabe, Keith Tyler and Dave Waters went through at the expense of another Ilford foursome of Ollie Carter, Bob Parnell, David Brock and Paul Lidbury.

They will be joined in the next round by Micky Pace, Matt Frost, Ian Scammell and Bill Beney, who defeated Steve Welsh's Wanstead Central boys.