Dunbarton B reach the Irish Junior Cup final

Cookstown 78

THE Dunbarton B team have booked their place in the final of the Irish Junior Cup.

With a superbly disciplined performance, the Gilford side defeated Cookstown B team by 13 shots at Old Bleach on Saturday.

The first half of this game was tight with little to separate the sides but the locals put their foot on the accelerator over the second half of the game to win comfortably by the close.

This was a superb team performance led by a brilliant showing by Fergie Larkin and his front three. Their surge from the midpoint guided their teammates to victory and themselves to a massive 19 shot success.

Pete Convery and his four also showed their nerve as they turned a three shot deficit after 12 ends into a fine four shot win with some excellent deliveries by all four bowlers.

Robbie Gough's rink had the closest game of the day as neither of the opposing rinks was able to establish any sort of advantage. It was no surprise that the two rinks were separated by one shot, thankfully in favour of the Dunbarton quartet.

James Kelly and his front three had a very up and down day. Despite losing the vast majority of ends, James' four recorded the remarkable achievement of scoring their second successive maximum of eight shots, having counted a maximum against Forth River in the league last week.

A count of six shortly after the eight kept the Dunbarton rink in their game, albeit their rivals moved up a gear on the final stretch to win by 11.

The Cookstown club will be sick of facing Dunbarton as their senior team also lost the final of the Irish Senior Cup last year to the Dunbarton A team.

Now the Gilford juniors will face Old Bleach in the final in their quest to lift the one trophy that has so far eluded them. This is a repeat of the 2004 final when Dunbarton B lost narrowly to Old Bleach B at Jordanstown. Hopefully revenge will be sweet!

Rink 1: E McElroy, A Magennis, M McInerney, P Convery up 22-18

Rink 2: G Magennis, T Gray, D Dennison, F Larkin up 27-8

Rink 3: D Breen, M Adamson, N Wilson, J Kelly down 22-33

Rink 4: J Gray, K Kelly, F Doyle, R Gough up 20-19

Dunbarton relinquished their hold on the Senior Private Greens Cup last Thursday night when they lost by 22 shots in the semi final to old rivals Ballymena.

Playing at Hilden, the locals simply never got going and with one rink struggling throughout, succumbed meekly by the close.

The game started off quite strangely as the expected close game on all four rinks was anything but. Myles Greenfield was ahead 13-1 and Conor McCartan 6-0 while DJ Wilson was behind 0-9 and Tony Bell in arrears 0-12.

Over the second quarter of the game, there was still not a big lot in the game as all four rinks that trailed early on had fought back.

Myles' lead had been cut to six shots while Conor had moved behind by one. DJ's four scored ten unanswered shots to lead by one while Tony had reduced his deficit to five shots.

It was over the third quarter that Ballymena really moved into the ascendancy and the Gilford side simply had no answer.

Despite Myles leading by four and DJ being all square, Conor was now six behind and Tony had endured a miserable run to slip behind by 12.

Over the last few ends, any time Dunbarton lifted a few shots on one rink, Ballymena quickly snuffed out the danger by scoring on one of the other rinks.

Myles and his front three finished as the only Dunbarton winning rink as they won by three. DJ's foursome who had played well throughout suffered a bad last end and saw their two shot lead change into a two shot reverse.

Conor finished five shots adrift while Tony's men came up against an inspired young Ballymena rink and lost by 18 shots.

This was not a good performance by the Gilford side and a disappointing way to lose their grip on the Private Greens Cup which they won last year against the same opposition to complete the glorious treble.

However, the big prize is a fifth successive league title and there is no reason for the locals to be downhearted as this is still in their own hands.

Rink 1: D Pedan, I Perry, A Hughes, T Bell down 11-29

Rink 2: D McElroy, E Campbell, G McElroy, C McCartan down 15-20

Rink 3: D Copeland, A Leckey, S Adamson, DJ Wilson down 18-20

Rink 4: M Higgins, C Mulholland, T Mulholland M Greenfield up 19-16

NICS 69 (1)

Dunbarton A 82 (6)

REIGNING champions Dunbarton maintained their position at the top of Private Greens Senior Division One with a hard fought 12 shot win away to improving NICS in Belfast.

With a number of players missing, the locals had to fight tooth and nail for this victory and came away delighted to lift six points.

The first few ends were an indication of what was to come as there was little to separate the sides early on.

Myles Greenfield's four started brightly leading 5-2 while DJ Wilson was 4-3 ahead and Conor McCartan was 5-4 in front. Tony Bell was trailing 1-7 so NICS led by a shot.

By the midpoint it was still tight. Myles had opened up a seven shot advantage, while Conor was six clear. DJ however had a bad run of ends to be seven in arrears and Tony was still behind by six. The game was all square.

At the three quarters mark it was still anyone's game and it was vital that the Gilford men dug in to stay on top of the league. Myles had roared into a 13 shot lead and Conor was ably backing him up with a nine shot lead.

However Tony was behind 8-17 while DJ had suffered a horrible middle to his game and was struggling at 5-19. Again, the Belfast side had a one shot lead and Dunbarton needed a big finish.

As the locals have done so often over the past few years on their way to their four league titles in a row, they put their foot on the accelerator for a strong finish.

And it was the two rinks that were struggling so badly after 15 ends that played a huge part in their team's victory. Tony Bell's foursome who were behind for the first three quarters of their game and could have been suffered of lack of confidence after their heavy defeat two days earlier, produced a magnificent finish.

Scores of 6, 1, 4, 1, 2 turned this game on it's head and ensured a brilliant four shot win when defeat looked likely. DJ's four also bounced back strongly and a run of 3,1,1,3,1 helped reduce their deficit to just six shots by the close.

Most consistent rink of the day was Michael Higgins, Paul Adamson, Chris Mulholland and skip Myles who started well and never looked back, cruising to a vital 12 shot success.

On the final rink Conor's four survived a late scare to win their point and ensure a crucial six points overall. The loss of nine shots from ends 16-19 saw the locals trailed by one shot with two ends remaining.

The rot was stopped by a magnificent draw by skip Conor on end 20 and then on the final end both Conor and third Gary McElroy produced the telling bowls when it mattered most for two shots and a very important rink win.

With Belmont's thumping away win at Ballymena it looks pretty much like a two horse race between Dunbarton and Belmont but both have two very difficult matches over the next fortnight which will decide the whereabouts of the Senior Division One trophy for the season.

Next up for Dunbarton is a tough trip to Randalstown to face Old Bleach next Tuesday night (17th)

Rink 1: D McElroy, E Campbell, G McElroy, C McCartan up 19-17

Rink 2: D Copeland, F Doyle, S Adamson, DJ Wilson down 14-20

Rink 3: M Higgins, P Adamson, C Mulholland, M Greenfield up 26-14

Rink 4: D Pedan, I Perry, A Hughes, T Bell up 22-18