Locals are out of the B and D on a tie hole

Their opponents were Balmoral, who led 5-2 after the first leg.

Banbridge had a full strength team out for the second leg over their beloved Huntly Road course. Everyone was determined to claw back that deficit.

First out was Jim Carvill and he halved a very tight game.

Colin Wilton played number 2 and he won 2 and 1.

Rory Leonard was out next and he won 3 and 2. Banbridge were now only one point adrift (4.5 – 5.5).

Then came a shock to the system. Rory Madeley lost by one hole.

The turning point in this game came at the new 16th hole. Rory hit a superb second shot to within two feet of the hole.

The Balmoral man had left himself an impossible putt from the fringe right along the full length of the green.

Yes, you’ve guessed it. He holed the putt for a very unlikely half. On such slender margins are matches decided.

Kenny Stevenson used all his experience to win game number five by 4 and 3.

Johnny Ward halved his game so, going into the seventh and final game, Balmoral led 7-6.

Conor Doran played superbly to win the last game 5 and 4 and tie the scores at 7-7.

The last pair out would have to face a sudden-death play-off.

What tension!

Now Conor Doran is one of the best drivers of a golf ball in the club. We all know that.

What happened next was a major shock, to put it mildly. Conor’s tee shot went left and stayed left. It finished close to the second tee. His opponent was down the middle and he got a steady par four, which Conor couldn’t match.

It was sad but such is golf!

At the end of the day, the 2-5 defeat in the away leg was not good.

The Banbridge men came within a whisker of winning the match but it was not to be