Ladies Inter-zone Final 2010 – Oriel v South Tyrone
Selection is always difficult but when it comes to a final the problems become more acute for the selectors. South Tyrone had three changes to their semi-final team with the most disruptive coming as a result of illness to Ida Eldon who fell ill straight after their semi final victory. Nonetheless Ida was determined to be a spectator despite not being well enough to play. Her presence will have given her team a lift but her presence, missing on the mat would be a blow to any ladies team.
Fortunately for South Tyrone Peggy Cairns came out of retirement for the game and had a very good game, her enthusiasm was welcomed by the team and gives her colleagues a boost.
Oriel also made changes with two players introduced who had not previously played in the 2010 competition. They also decided to move personnel between rinks to try and get a more even balance. They also threw in a tactical change moving Michelle Martin to the first half. This could have been the decision that swung the game in Oriel’s favour.
As anticipated the game was a close run affair. After three ends South Tyrone opened an eight shot advantage with only one of the six rinks still to record on the scoreboard. Peggy Cairns was relishing coming out of retirement and gained shots with her first two bowls as her rink claimed three shots on the opening end. She again caused the damaged on the third end as she opened a five shot lead.
Kathleen Daly ditched the jack in the third end to claim a single and lead Jill Rouliier by a shot in a close game where only singles were scored on the opening three ends. Jean McOscar’s rink were ahead by two shots after the third end.
The pressure eased for Oriel on the fourth end as Michelle Martin’s rink scored two shots to open their account against an enthusiastic and very energetic Peggy Cairns. A four on the same end for Jill Roullier’s foursome took them into the lead on mat 2. By the completion of end five the rink scores read:
M Carroll 2 v J Oscar 4
J Roullier 5 v K Daly 4
M Martin 2 v P Cairns 6
The momentum swung in favour of Oriel when Cairns lay five shots but Martin held her nerve and calmly drew shot. Cairns offered her hand in genuine display of congratulations for such an important bowl. Sportsmanship at its optimum. On the next end Martin ditched the jack and claimed a count of five. In the seventh end Oriel were still on a roll as they lay three shots however Cairns produced another very good delivery to change the head and claim a single to trail by a shot instead of possibly five which seemed likely prior to her final delivery. Cairns then levelled the scores going into the 10th end. The head favoured South Tyrone by the time the front ends had played their bowls as they lay three shots however Marion Martin played an accurate weighted shot to change the head with Oriel ultimately picking up a three including two drawn shots by Martin. Michelle Martin’s temperament is superb on the mat, her facial expression gives nothing away, whether down or ahead she focuses on each bowl and does not worry what has gone before. The only show of emotion she allowed herself was a punch in the air when she drew shot when five against and even then her facial expression remained the same.
M Martin 11 v P Cairns 8
Carroll’s rink claimed a single on the eighth end to take Oriel into the lead for the first time in the game however the overall lead changed on a few occasions over the concluding ends of the first half. McOscar claimed a three on the ninth end to give South Tyrone the lead and her rink seven shot advantage going into the last end. Oriel ditched the jack in the final end to claim two shots to reduce their deficit on this mat to five shots.
M Carroll 5 v J Oscar 10
Kathleen Daly was up against a very strong Oriel rink that had three players who skipped in their title winning year back in 2007. Oriel at times looked as if they would put clear water between the two rinks but the Daly foursome held on and two shots on the ninth end gave them a fighting chance going into the last end. Roullier claimed a double to win by four shots. The four shots for Oriel on the fourth end proved decisive and the final two shots enabled Oriel to go into the interval ahead by two shots.
J Roullier 10 v K Daly 6
Oriel 26 v South Tyrone 24
Oriel immediately extended their advantage to 7 shots after the first end of the second period with all rinks scoring. Anne McKiver started the South Tyrone fightback as she claimed a shot on the second end when three against. The other two South tyrone rinks scored singles on the same end to reduce the overall lead further. A fluked two by McGrath on the third end with a few against helped to keep South Tyrone in range. Oriel received a setback when McKiver scored a count of five on the fourth end to match Rachel Brennan’s early advantage for Oriel on mat 3. South Tyrone continued to hit back and with McGrath ahead by three shots in her match South Tyrone had edged into a one shot overall lead by the middle of the second half only to have it immediately taken away.
A count of six for McMahon put Oriel in control as Rachel Brennan converted several heads into ones and twos to lead 13-1 going into the final end. The scoreline was harsh on the South Tyrone front end but also an indication of how well Mary O’Hare and Rachel Brennan were playing. Brennan was superb nudging bowls, springing jacks and drawing, all with precision. Her use of precise weight was phenomenal throughout the whole game. Her partnership with O’Hare was the best on display. South Tyrone did claim four shots on the final end to give a truer reflection of the quality that both rinks had displayed. That four a single and a two on the other mats brought Oriel’s advantage down to only four shots with two games finished and two individual ends remaining. Oriel got over the winning line by calmly drawing in the concluding end as South Tyrone were forced to chase shots. Patricia Hanlon was decisive in decision making and thought process throughout the game and was instrumental in Oriel seeing out the victory when the pressure mounted. Margaret McGrath was the stand out performer for South Tyrone in the second period as she guided her rink to an impressive 8 shot win.
C McMahon 15 v A McKiver 8
I Hanratty 5 v M McGrath 13
R Brennan 13 v C Campbell 5
The overall quality level increased as the game went on. On the day Oriel produced the greater consistency and more decisive bowls at critical junctures of the game.
It was a very good final between two good teams who if they continue in this form will be challengers for the title next season. They together with Armagh would be the top three teams in the ladies competition.
For Consideration
For a final it was a pity that little thought was given to the spectators as it was hard to decipher between the two sets of stickers. It is time that two bright contrasting colours are used for the final. In addition seats should be reserved for the teams. Twelve seats, six either side of the officers should be allocated to each team.
Why have the hierarchy not implemented these two simple measures before now, it is not as if this was the first ever final, these issues have occurred at previous finals.
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