Pool results

Shepherds overcame a very tricky away fixture to maintain their place as joint leaders in the McLean bookmakers first division. Russell Connell took the opening frame for Shepherds but they then found themselves 2 -1 down when Ken McKee and Kevin Tumilty were both successful for the Hawthorn. Another big scalp was on the cards for the Annaclone side but Shepherds showed that they have great fighting spirit and the determination to hold on to their league challenge as they took four of the final five frames to take the points. Mark Doolan, Jonny Neil, Stevie Rudd and Andrew Byrne were all winners on the night. Paddy Byrne was the other winner for the Hawthorn.

Halfway House 3 - 5 Banbridge Golf Club

In a battle of two of the in-form teams of the league, the golf club came out on top and now stay level with shepherds at the top of the league. Jim Mathews gave the golf club an early lead in this tight match before Hector levelled in the next. The following two frames were also shared by Rory Madley for the golf club and dazza (no nick names please) for the Halfway. Then the golf club took hold of the match as Wayne McAllister and Chris O'Sullivan won the next two frames. Dave Mulligan pulled one back for the Halfway and made sure we were in for an exciting final frame. John Brush gave the night a brilliant ending as he cleared the table in just nine shots to give the golf club the victory.

Anglers B 4 - 4 Coach B

Both these teams knew they could not afford to lose this one and therefore lose vital ground on the teams above them in the league. The most disappointed team on the night would have to be the Coach as they found themselves 3 - 1 up. P Haughey , N Meara and Bert Doherty were all winners. Ivan Burns had given the anglers an early lead in the first, and the home side then went on a three-frame winning streak through E McCleary , Cathal McAvoy and BJ McAnarney. The Coach now found themselves a frame down with one to go but S Blackwood was well fit for the challenge and secured what could be a vital point for the Coach.

Mulhollands B 3 - 5 Castle Tavern

The Castle continued their recent good form with a hard fought away win in Dromore. Gordon Church gave the Tandragee side the opening frame before Mulholland won the next two. N McMurray and M McCormick, Brian McCleland levelled the match in the next. A McCandless restored Mulholland’s lead in frame five and the Castle knew that they had a fight on their hands. They pulled themselves together and took the final three frames through John Turley, Ronnie Weir and Tom Bell .

Market Bar 5 - 3 Donachloney

The Market Bar put paid to any chances that the Legion may have had of league success with another strong home display. In fact the Market have had a great second half to the season and if they had have shown this kind of form in the first half they surely would have challenged for the title themselves. D Brooker gave the Legion an early lead before the Market hit them with three wins on the trot through P Delany, C Beggs and A Currie. The Legion then levelled the match when C Morton and P Tinsley won their respective frames. The home side finished off very strongly with A Moore and M Jardine the final two frames.

Imperial Inn 2 - 6 Castle Bar B

The Imperial never got into this one as the Castle flexed their muscles. They are another team that are asking themselves why they could not have had a better start to the league campaign as their recent form matches any team in the division. The Gilford side took the opening three frames through E Meaney, F Byrne and R Harper. A Corbett stopped them in the fourth frame but P McKevergan restored the three frame advantage in the next. T kerr pulled one back for the Imperial but E Sullivan and P Teggart finished off the scoring for the Castle.

Individuals Competition

The final of the Banbridge and District pool league individual competition took place last Monday night and it surpassed the excitement of previous years as one of the most popular pool players in the league came out on top. As Brendan Davis representing Higgins bar won his first individual title and that success was fully deserved on a night that saw Brendan having to over come two previous title holders in the form of Paddy Donachey in the quarter finals by a score line of 2 - 1 and the two time defending champion Colly Wilton by the same score line in the semi final. Brendan’s opponent in the final was the potting machine of Cecil Corbett from the very successful Castle Bar side in Gilford. Cecil had steamrollered his way to his first final as he was potting everything in his way and defeated teammate Gordy Magennis and McGrath’s captain Stephen Burns on his way. In the final itself Brendan showed yet again how he has all the shots available to a great pool player as he navigated his way around the table with great precision. Cecil would be the first player to admit that he just could not get into the final as Brendan would not allow him to do so. The final score was 3 - 1 to Brendan and with this win can only give all us pool players who have been hitting the green baze for many a year a great sense of hope and pride. I am sure Brendan will be back next year to defend his title in stlye.

Michael Scott made the presentation post-match. The pool committee would like to take this chance to thank the Leader newspaper for their continued sponsorship of this event. We would also like to the thank the Coach Inn for hosting this successful event .