Armagh Cassells Stand Firm

It was always going to be a difficult task for the home side and a good start was essential. The trial ends were used to good effect by the visitors who started brightly especially on mat2 where Marlene Hobson started with two touchers setting up a very welcome count of five. She followed these bowls in the second end with two excellent drawing deliveries again setting up another count of five and with a single in the third end had opened an eleven shot lead over the hosts. On mat1 Armagh had taken a four shot advantage and the full set was complete as the visitors lead 2-9 on mat3. They had an overall advantage of 20 shots after five ends had been completed on each mat with 13 of the lead coming from mat2.

The ‘five’ curse struck the hosts on the sixth end as they trailed by 1-19. North Belfast did win the final end of this contest on mat2 but lost out to an in-form Armagh four of Michelle Wright, Marlene Hobson, Diane Agnew and May Cassells by twenty one shots. All played exceedingly well with the loudest cheers reserved for ‘Ma’ who seemed to have been related to half the crowd. ‘Ma’ or May was in top form and her enthusiasm rubs off on to the rest of her rink. Generally she is the first have catalyst for the way the game is going for Armagh but always with a smile on her face.

North Belfast ran into difficulties from the sixth end on mat1 losing all of the last five ends as Armagh turned up the heat to win by 11 shots. On mat3 the homesters won four ends including a hard fought four but came out on the wrong side of a seven shot deficit.

At this stage the game was over with the visitors ahead by a whopping 39 shots but the North Belfast squad are a proud lot and came out fighting in the second period. After four ends they had surprised their opponents and led on all three mats.

An eight shot advantage after six ends on mat2 looked to have salvaged some pride for the home side but then the Armagh skip woke up. After being out of sorts on the opening ends she drew for three shots on the seventh. The North Belfast Belles then had a lapse in concentration and unravelled all their good work in one end as Armagh piled in a full house of eight shots. With six shots against B Hutchinson drew an excellent third shot but was immediately chopped out from the head by the Armagh skip’s best bowl of the day. All eight shots were within eighteen inches of the jack in a congested but one sided head. Armagh went on to win the next two ends to turn a 9-1 deficit into a winning margin of 11 shots with a run of 3,8,3 & 5.

There was a battle royale on mat3 where G Menice had an advantage of two shots going into the final end. Unfortunately the ‘five’ curse struck again with Armagh winning by three shots. There was an even more dramatic finish on mat1. The home foursome had produced some ideal deliveries to take a five shot lead after three ends. They consistently disrupted the play of the visitors to maintain a lead throughout. On the ninth end the home skip looked to have prevented a nerve jangling last end as she restricted Armagh to a single shot to go into the final end with a three shot advantage. However the home side left their worst end to last and in an open head lost four shots and the rink.

North Belfast 39 v Armagh 93

Rink1: M Mulholland, S Thompson, F Edgar & M Kyles 3 v E Hunter, S Whittle, S Garvey & D Marshall.

Rink2: M Blair, E Mulholland, B McKeown & M Owens 2 v 23 M Wright, M Hobson, D Agnew & M Cassells.

Rink3: M Hinds, C Mitchell, S Earley & M Long 7 v 14 L Milligan, H Agnew, R Cassells & C McMillan.

Rink4: M Barr, E Kirkpatrick, B Cassells & S Mercer 10 v 11 J Thompson, D Pearson, J Hawthorne & F McNally.

Rink5: N Baird, J Hewitt, B Hutchinson & M Millward 9 v 20 V Leckey, B Wilson, S White & P Cassells.

Rink6: Z Warnock, A Crawford, M Cahoon & G Menice 8 v 11 G Garvey, Y Hayes, E McDonald & B Malone.

Armagh is a strong team and genuine contenders for this competition especially if their first half rinks can produce this kind of performance in each round. They will be disappointed that they struggled in the second half but that was more down to the size of the lead plus the fact that the hosts played more to their potential. It was an injustice that North Belfast lost two rinks on the final end but it also shows the fighting and competitive spirit of Armagh that they never know when they are beaten and will fight right to the last bowl. It was all positives for Armagh and while it is never pleasant to be on the receiving end of such a scoreline North Belfast did well with the resources available to them and their final three rinks proved that they can be competitive perhaps in a version of the shield with only four rinks, a scenario that would assist other zones to be more competitive.

The game of shortmat is a wonderful game built upon the rock that is sportsmanship however at times it appears that respect is slowly being eroded. Spectators should be allowed to participate and add to the atmosphere with their enthusiasm however it is wrong to be calling bowls from a significant distance away as if one was playing. It is a tribute to Armagh that they bring so many spectators with them who are impeccably behaved setting the standard for others to learn from. It may have been inexperience or over exuberance on behalf of the home spectator but this kind of support should not be condoned nor encouraged.

Competitive teams also have to show respect to their opposition and adjust tactics when facing teams of a lower calibre especially when significantly in front and the game secured. Tactics that may be rightly employed in a close competitive match can be interpreted as rubbing salt into a gapping wound in other situations and it is up to each individual that the spirit of the game is upheld to the utmost degree. No slight was intended however one has to take into consideration the opposition and the circumstances of the game.

Oriel overcome difficult Donegal hurdle

In the first period the visiting four skipped by Rachel McDonnell gave Donegal the lead at the interval with a ten shot victory which was supported by the other two Donegal rinks who fought hard keeping their games close.

Oriel overturned the deficit early in the second half with Carol McMahon’s four taking the plaudits. There was only eleven shots scored on mat6 but nine of them went to the home side. Oriel had control of the conclusion of the match with enough in reserve that a five against in the final end on mat5 was of little significance.

Oriel 55 v Donegal 44

Rink 1 Margo McAntee, Mae Flanagan, Vera Mohan, Gabriele McArdle  4 v 14 Ciara Wilson, Rae McCausland, Mary Mullen, Rachel McDonnell

Rink 2 Rita Cunningham, Bernie Keenan, Patricia Hanlon, Gill Rouillier 11 v 8 Jean Buchanan, Mabel Witherow, Rebecca Hamilton, Elizabeth Doherty

Rink 3 Bernie Cunningham, Kit Weldon, Anne Marie Maher, Sadie Larkin 7 v 5 Kathleen Duggan, Lila Finlay ,Vera Patterson, Tracey Spence

HT Oriel 22 Donegal 27

Rink 4 Briedge Duffy, Geraldine Boyle, Margaret Carroll, Carol McMahon 18 v 3 Dorothy Montgomery, Mary McClintock, Ruby Graham, Margaret Montgomery

Rink 5 Mary Gartlan, Rosie McGee, Michelle Martin, Imelda Hanratty 6 v 12 Phyllis Lyttle, Rose Dowds, Pearl Bustard, Isobel Duncan

Rink 6 Catherine McArdle, Briedge McAleer, Mary O’Hare, Rachel Brennan 9 v 2 Margaret O’Sullivan, Maureen Beattie, Sylvia Bell, Audrey Gilfillen

Mid Antrim 34 East Antrim 71

East Antrim have made some changes despite being runners-up for the last two seasons. If they can blend together and the changes have a positive effect then again they will be challengers and a team to watch out for.

North Down 40 Foyle 63

Foyle have consistently reached the latter rounds of this competition and will be a true test for Oriel in the next round.

West Down 64 Mid Tyrone 52

The home team are rebuilding and will take heart from this result as Mid Tyrone had showed improvement last season so this win will may renew the confidence they had when winning the trophy in 2006

Cork 49 South Tyrone 50

This could be a water-shed for the visitors but they will have to lift their game to another level if they are to progress past the formidable East Antrim in the next round

South Belfast 52 Northern Eastern 62

South Belfast may lack the resources of the top teams but they make more than compensate with their determination and made North Eastern battle the whole way through. North Eastern will be at home for the next round but it will be a major test for them against Armagh

Northern 54 North West 53

What a close game. These two zones are neighbours which adds intensity to the match and to win by one shot is special and although the bragging rights will have changed hands the win was the important factor.

The hosts started brightly and by half-time they had a surprising lead by sixteen shots with all three rinks claiming commendable wins.

North West may have been minus a few of their more renowned names but they are winners and they fought back in the second period with the dependable F McDermott’s rink excelling against a strong home rink. Despite being the only visiting rink to win their performance almost sneaked the whole team across the finishing line in front. By the end of their game they had won by 16 shots and with one single end left to be played on mat6 the game was all square. The Northern rink claimed the single shot required for overall victory even though the visitors valiantly tried to remove the shot bowl. The solitary shot ensured that this rink shared fourteen shots with their opponents.

Northern had all their ‘big’ names available and it proved successful but at times it can be more of a hindrance as some of the less established players rely on the ‘names’. Last season the lesser known players lifted their game to compensate for the non availability of others. If they can reproduce a high performance level and the renowned names deliver at the same time then Northern could be coming out of the doldrums and become the dark horses for this competition.

North West are again left to draw comfort in the shield competition and as holders will be formidable opponents for any team.

B O’Neill 12 v L Rice 7

M Johnston 13 v M Tommons 7

D McCloy 11 v I Douglas 6

Interval – Northern 36 North West 20

T O’Neill 9 v S Simpson 8

C Murray 2 v F McDermott 18

B Caldwell 7 v M Douglas 7

The shield is a fantastic competition but the IIBA executive has to decide what purpose it serves. If it is to give the less successful zones some much needed close competition and trying to improve sides then the time has been reached where the more competitive zones should be seeded and kept out of the shield. This will give the ‘smaller zones’ a realistic chance of success.