FYNN Valley won the Hambro Cup for the first time in their history when they defeated the holders, Ipswich, by seven holes in a well-contested final at Thorpeness on Sunday.

By Tony Garnett

FYNN Valley won the Hambro Cup for the first time in their history when they defeated the holders, Ipswich, by seven holes in a well-contested final at Thorpeness on Sunday.

The setting was ideal and the weather was perfect for a match played in the best of spirits despite foursomes being played at a snail's pace.

Valley were three holes to the good at lunch and, although there was a hint of an Ipswich revival midway through the afternoon, it petered out in the closing stages. Valley clinched their victory when Paul Dobson, in the final match, sunk a putt on the 16th green.

It seems ironic that Dobson should be playing against the club where he is the current stroke play champion, but a situation like this is always likely to crop up when so many talented youngsters are members of more than one club.

In the morning Ian Brown and Neil Meadows made a flying start for Ipswich until Bradley Wilkins holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the seventh to check the Ipswich progress. Even so Chris Smith and Wilkins needed to win the final two holes to reduce their margin of defeat to one.

In the afternoon the Fynn Valley pair turned the tables to win by a single hole so it was level on the day.

In the second match Warren Goddard and Aaron Bowen ended one up against Paul Barnard and Jack Jowers despite the Fynn Valley pair losing the 18th after Goddard had put his approach shot from the middle of the fairway into bracken near to a gorse bush to the right of the green.

Goddard and Bowen continued their good work in the afternoon boosted by Bowen sinking a long putt on the 12th green.

It developed into damage limitation for Gavin Richards and Daniel Bryett against Jamie Abbott and Andy Munro. The Ipswich pair reduced a six-hole deficit to four for a while but it was six again by the time they finished. Abbott was fresh from a third-place finish in the St Mellion Amateur Championship during the week in Cornwall.

Ipswich drafted in Chris Gooding for Richards in the afternoon. The fresh pairing clung on for a while but were two down at the end.

Ipswich must have expected to win the 12th in the afternoon after Munro fired his approach shot into a gorse bush on the left. Fynn Valley had to take a drop from behind the bush so getting down in two from there for a half was a remarkable escape.

In the last match it looked as though Graham Wardley and Ben Farthing might have a runaway victory for Ipswich. They went four up over Paul and Hugo Dobson after eight holes in the afternoon to put them seven up on the day.

It looked as though this match might haul Ipswich back into the tie but then the Dobsons hit back in the nick of time and Ipswich hopes receded.

Hugo Dobson, perhaps weary from playing in the Northern Youth Championship at Middlesbrough, has withdrawn from this week's Boys' Championship at Royal Porthcawl.

Fynn Valley became the 17th club to win the trophy since the event was first contested in 1931.

Hambreo Cup final scores

FYNN VALLEY 7 IPSWICH 0

At Thorpeness.

Fynn Valley names first.

Morning

Chris Smith and Bradley Wilkins 0 Ian Brown and Neil Meadows 1.

Warren Goddard and Aaron Bowen 1 Paul Barnard and Jack Jowers 0.

Jamie Abbott and Andy Munro 6 Gavin Richards and Daniel Bryett 0.

Paul Dobson and Hugo Dobson 0 Ben Farthing and Graham Wardley 3.

Afternoon

Smith and Wilkins 1, Brown and Meadows 0, Goddard and Bowen 3 Barnard and Jowers 0, Abbott and Munro 2 Bryett and Chris Gooding 0, P Dobson and H Dobson 0 Farthing and Wardley 2.