Inter-Zone MEN.

Round One - Report

The men as usual outdid the ladies. As with last week the main surprise was that the holders lost at home. Oriel ladies had a tough opening to West Down but this week they were surpassed by Western men who where overwhelming favourites to dispose of Foyle but lost by one shot at home. Many other games were full of intrigue right to the end, bitter end for those on the losing side. The shortmat game was again the beneficiary with all the attributes of this fantastic game apparent in most matches. No fewer than five of the first round matches ended with a winning margin of four or less including a nerve jangling additional end which was required to separate two teams. Other scores were as expected with some teams hitting very good form and sending out a statement to others that they mean business this season.

Foyle Foil Western

Unbelievable would be the best description of this result. Foyle have struggled over the past few years and have been on the receiving end of some large defeats as they sought the personnel to replace some of their more renowned names who are no longer playing. The last draw they would have wanted would be to travel away to the current champions Western, who are a very solid unit. Western were very impressive last season and although there were weaknesses documented in reports last season the consistency displayed by the team overcame any troubles. This was to be the year when they would take a grip on this competition. Unfortunately they had two many personnel under-performing while Foyle had no inhibitions nor excessive pressure and were able to play freely without fear reaching very close to their full potential. It would be a positive if Foyle can play with the same freedom in the next round. Foyle have brought in some younger players who settled in well and whose enthusiasm rubbed off on the others to great benefit. In the end they possibly were hungrier for the victory showing more determination. Their more established names showed the way with the team spirit beyond recognition compared to last year. Being champions requires a different mentality to normal as every team raises their game making if very difficult to retain a title. That is why there are winners but very few teams who establish themselves as true champions. The only way for Western to take any consolation would be to win the shield, anything less would be failure. It may be the appropriate time to promote some of their young thirds into the skipping berth thereby using the shield as a natural transition period. What a boost for Foyle zone who have been down in the doldrums for a couple of years, their reward is a home tie which could propel them to greater heights against South Down, let’s face it, if you can beat the champions then you can beat anybody, it must get easier. Results such as this may prove that the differences between many teams is slight and the better matched the teams are will only enhance this competition further and make it almost as unpredictable as the ladies. Congratulations to Foyle Fighters.

Foyle team

G.Moore, L.Briton, M.Fahy, T.Patton
P.Nutt, P.McCallion, B.Donnell, T.Deeney
T.Briton, J.McGillion, K.McConomy, P.McSorley
S.Nutt, S.Holden, P.Eakin, M.Beattie
W.Witherow, J.Campbell, P.McCarron, D.McCarron
D.O'Donnell, A.Donnell, G.Barr, E.Curran

North Down Felled by North Eastern.

Both teams expected a battle with very little to chose between the teams over the past few encounters and neither team disappointed giving their best. Many players look forward to the buzz that such games give and the good uns raise their game for the occasion. Fortunately the North Down team remembered to bypass the outdoor greens and find their way to the indoor hall. Some made quite an impression with Ryan Craig and the silver haired, but evergreen, G Smyth in magnificent form being able to answer most of the complicated problems that Harry Elliott and Aidan Reid [skip] posed for them to win by five shots 12-7. The even more distinguished [older] Robert H as usual kept the game very tight as his rink {T Cannavan, G Pierpoint Snr, S Cavan}fought out a 10-10 draw. The trouble occurred for North Down on the third rink where Rodney McC and his four {D Kennedy, R Irwin, N Belch} were penalised on a few occasions to the maximum by both North Eastern and the run of the mat and ended up losing 7-17. Rod Rollback played like yesteryear and showed that despite the scoreline he can still produce a high standard at this level. Only a small advantage for the visitors at the interval. Who could take the initiative and produce a match winning performance?

Up stepped the foursome of P Campbell { G Pierpoint, T Cheevers, G Baillie} who kept their side in the match by winning 17-8 and gave the rest a realistic chance of taking the overall spoils. P Canning’s rink maintained the pressure with a slender but important win by two shots [10-8]. However the best North Eastern rink on the day considering the pressure that mounted on them over the course of the game in the second half defeated M Caughey {G Caughey, R Lightbody & D Palmer} by 15-5 to ensure that NE will be playing at home in the second round. If they can match the performance levels of East Antrim then home advantage could be crucial with the visit of Mid Tyrone. Can they raise their game to another level and pinch a QF spot? ND won three rinks drew one and only lost one.

Mid Tyrone made to tremble by East Antrim onslaught.

The home side looked to have the victory wrapped before halftime as they led by nineteen shots with some very good bowling, building heads to their advantage and producing the end changing bowls which applied the pressure on East Antrim. The first half finished on a positive note for EA as Davy Coulter claimed a four in the final end to not only reduce the deficit but sneak a much needed morale boosting win against M Cunningham. T Vance and C Shortt had good wins over P Weir and S McKinley respectively setting up the fifteen shot advantage at the break.

The EA rinks in the second half played some superb bowls taking the home side by surprise with the standard they produced end after end. MT were stunned into silence as at one point the visitors had taken the lead by three shots. However with the calibre that MT have in their team it was still going to be very difficult for EA to close out the win and unsurprisingly the home side played some very aggressive but telling bowls to go into the last end of the match five shots to the good. A valiant effort by EA who finally came up short losing out by three shots but an excellent standard displayed throughout.

C Shortt defeated J Montgomery Snr, W Faulkner, R Curran & S McKinley.

T Vance defeated J Callaghan, J Caldwell, R Morrow & P Weir.

M Cunningham lost to N Johnston, D Burns, K Walker & D Coulter.

R Cunningham lost to A Mairs, G Burgess, A Moore & DJ Dilworth.

G Conroy lost to J Montgomery Jnr, M Currie, J O’Kane & E Montgomery.

D Spratt lost to A Dilworth, S Rea, W Johnston & E Crawford.

Mid Tyrone had four players, all skips, who recently played in the final of the Champion of Champions Fours, three of them won the trophy and one was a runner-up. Amazingly none won in this game showing how well East Antrim played. It is such a boost to have illustrious scalps for a zone like EA who constantly strive to compete but who have not been able to reach the level of consistency as the top zones. Mid Tyrone will use this fright as an incentive for their next game away to North Eastern who they will not under-estimate despite having a convincing win against the same opposition last season.

Meath Mangled by Mid Ulster

Have Mid Ulster regained that ruthless streak? All were out to impress as any slip ups or lack of enthusiasm may have sent the wrong signals to the selectors. With such a margin of victory MU have issued a statement of intent. There was no rest bite for the home side as the visitors were monotonous in their accuracy and efficiency. Meath simply had no answer to the power and finesse of the visitors.

Adam in the Lions Den

Lisburn fielded an experimental side which did the selectors proud. They fought and scrapped for everything and took the opportunities that arose to inflict wounds on the visitors from West Down. West Down reached the final last season and with two additional skips available since last season they looked a side that could be challengers. However the question after this display is how did they manage to reach the final last season? Lisburn undoubtedly punched above their weight with a few new faces showing that they have a future at this level but West Down may just have been slightly nonchalant in their attitude which cannot be easily switched off. Surprisingly DJ Wilson was one of the personnel to make way at skip stepping into third alongside brother Johnny. Weak Down which is more apt almost dug themselves into a hole but managed the great escape by claiming nine shots across the final end of each rink to force the game into an additional end. The script could not have been dreamt, the returning A Barr was the last West Down rink to finish and so his rink had to go back on in the decisive final end against the zone that he represented last season. After a nerve wrecking end it was his rink who came out on top and confined his former zone to the shield. The result could have been much different as Lisburn were minus a number of very talented bowlers.

Mid Down breeze past Larne

This is the third consecutive season that these two teams have played each other either in this competition or the shield and while the visitors had won both latest encounters the largest winning margin was by three shots. Larne would be hoping that it would be third time lucky while Mid Down came determined and prepared knowing that if they put in a sub-par performance they faced the exit door.

Larne sped out of the blocks in the initial stages and after two ends had accumulated nine shots to the visitors’ one. Two of the Larne leads had touchers with their first bowls while the remaining lead was only three inches away. Geoff Falconer skipping for Larne on mat2 drew the jack back for four to give his rink the early initiative. Then one rink lost a bad count of five when it was a straight forward draw to cut down while the other two lost singles making the advantage all but disappear within an end. Andrew Robinson drew the jack into the ditch on mat3 for a double in the second end and on the next end had an opportunity to put the pressure on Alan Laughlin by drawing eighth shot but he was short. It was of little significance as Alan corrected from his first bowl and promoted one of his own bowls in for shot. A high pressure bowl which was crucial in keeping the score close. G Christie pick up the five for Mid Down but at the same time missed the opportunity of a seven. The visiting front end struggled on mat2 and the excellent form of the young Larne front end only compounded the situation. If it had not been for some good bowls by P Fitzsimons in the first five ends then Larne could have been out of sight. Things were not going to plan on rink1 for the home skip who despite hitting the head accurately twice still proceeded to lose three shots. The third game was very close and the turning point came on the fifth end when Philip Cromie [acquired at reasonable cost from Lisburn Zone] ditched the jack to lie two shots and with A Laughlin adding a third they moved into the lead for the first time. Larne levelled at 6-6 after eight ends only to trail by one again going into the last and final end. Larne played the better bowls and lay three shots but with his last bowl A Laughlin again showed composure to draw an unlikely shot giving Mid Down a very fortunate two shot victory. The Larne four can feel aggrieved as at the critical times the bowls fell for the visitors but at the same time they left open doors that should have been closed and bolted.

How after eight ends Mid Down were only behind by one shot on mat2 is a mystery as the home foursome had dominated most ends. At one point Larne lay shot and T Ward changed the head to lie one then Geoff tried to move the jack for three but sliced it and ended up losing a count of four. The Larne side stuck at their task in hand and were rewarded with a 10-8 win. On rink1 the visiting rink were the imposing force as Alan McLean found himself under constant pressure. The Larne front two played well and matched their opponents but Graham Christie was missing very little, clearing bowls, ditching jacks and drawing to precision. He was instrumental in his rinks 4-13 victory which could have been so much worse if Alan had not produced some excellent drawing bowls including one close to the ditch line with three against. A deficit of nine for Larne that was not insurmountable for the second half rinks.

By the seventh end the deficit had increased and was insurmountable. P Christie was as ruthless and as good as his brother aided by S Bleue [a blow-in from South Down but a definite asset]. After seven ends they had a 2-11 lead. On mat1 D McCann was outstanding at skip and led by the same score [2-11] the rather studious combination [slow] C Wilson and P McNamara were also ahead for Mid Down, in this instance by six shots but only five ends had been completed. There was no let up or sympathy forthcoming from the visitors who despite their advantage continued to play very competitively including having Artie Rice at second kill the head twice. Mid Down possibly combined as a unit in the second half better than they have managed for several years and certainly produced a level of bowling that would have challenged any team. If they can reproduce this form only under more pressure then they have the capabilities of beating Armagh and progressing to the QF. There were some very good performances especially by the three second half skips and G Christie. If Mid Down can repeat the second half display throughout the team then they will be a team to watch out for.

Teams

Larne                                        v                       Mid Down

R Robinson                          4         v            13       C Gibson

J Dodsworth                                                             R Robinson

J Burns                                                                      A Gibson

A McLean                                                                 G Christie

M Graham                             10       v            8         P Woodside

A Kincaid                                                                   K McMallan

D McRandal                                                             P Fitzsimons

G Falconer                                                                T Ward

D McClelland                        6         v            8         C Cromie

C Black                                                                      D McNamara

D Montgomery                                                         P Cromie

A Robinson                                                               A Laughlin

W Blair                                   4         v            14       J Hunter

S Gingles                                                                  D Rooney

G Girvan                                                                    T Robinson

J Semple                                                                   D McCann

N Beggs                                2         v            15       J Kennedy

J Hamill                                                                      M McCashin

E Wilson                                                                    S Bleue

S Bell                                                                         P Christie

J Kane                                   5         v            10       D Gibson

J McFaul                                                                   A Rice

G Woods                                                                   C Wilson

M Murphy                                                                  P McNamara

Donegal Come so close – South Down steal vital counts at crucial times

	Donegal	South Down		Donegal	S Down
Rink 1	Bill Duncan	M. Glavin	After 5	04	03
	P.J.Gallagher	K. Brown
	Graham Bell	R. Graham	After 10	06	09
	Colin Mabon	S. O’Hare
Rink 2	David Bonner	J. Corrigan	After 5	09	03
	Jude Campbell	E. Morgan
	Nixon Alexander	E. O’Hare	After 10	16	07
	Derek McClintock	L. Murray
Rink 3	Joe Duggan	A. Murray	After 5	07	02
	Willie McGeehan	P. Gray
	James Marshall	B. McArdle	After 10	07	08
	J. Quinn	R. Cromwell
Score at interval				29	24
Rink 4	Vinnie Kelly	R. Sproule	After 5	05	03
	Owen Gallagher	E. Hurley
	Peter McGee	D. Carroll	After 10	06	11
	David Crawford	R. Carroll
Rink 5	Patsy Boyle	G. Blakely	After 5	04	06
	Christie Hegarty	J. McKnight
	Tom Vaughan	E. Smyth	After 10	10	08
	Pat Walsh	K. Blakely
Rink 6	Marcus McClintock	J. Graham	After 5	02	06
	Paddy Doherty	C. Cunningham
	Joe Cullen	P. Morgan	After 10	04	08
	Andrew Steele	M. Sproule
Score in second half				20	27
Overall score				49	51

A good game of bowls which ebbed and flowed throughout. Many excellent bowls on show and the game was played to a high standard of sportsmanship, a credit to both teams. South Down were trailing by 10 shots after nine ends but a good finish by their rinks in the tenth end before the interval reduced the deficit to five. The second half saw Donegal increase their lead to 12 shots after fourteen ends but the fifteenth end saw them concede 9 shots without reply to bring South Down to within 3 shots of them. Even after 19 ends Donegal held the lead by one shot but David Crawford’s rink lost 5 in the last end, Pat Walsh’s rink gained 3 and Andrew Steele’s rink could not get the one shot required to take the game to a tie end. A dramatic ending which ensured a pleasant journey home for the visitors.

North West v Northern

The battle of the two northern zones did not materialise. It was built up as a potential match of the round with the ingredients of a derby, deep rivalry and the unpredictability of the home side heightening the expectation of an epic game. North West were ready and waiting and they ambushed their opponents who turned up in body but not in mind. North West fired their heavy artillery while the visitors brought blanks. The question is have North West left any ammunition in the locker for the next round?

John Mckay 13 Briam McAlary 6  
Ryan O'Neill 8 Joe Moore 11 
Trevor McIntyre 15 Stephen White 9 

Second Half
Nishy Logue 9 Barry Kane 11 
Leigh Harrison 18 Willie McCaw 5 
Ian Watson 8 Alister Steele 6

Oriel Massacre

Unfortunately the gulf in class between the sides was evident once the visitors shook off the cobwebs inherited from the travel. It did take the Orioes a few ends to get into their stride but once they did the hosts of South Belfast could not contain the quality on show. The tightest match of the first half saw D McMahon and his cohorts trail by one shot [8-7] but then they went into overdrive while the wheels fell off the home wagon as they lost the remaining ends which included a seven and a five in recording an 8-22 scoreline. The other two Oriel rinks only conceded as many shots between them as they controlled the game in the second period. J Fox won 3-15 and G McCabe 5-13. Quite a convincing display which H McDonagh maintained in the second stanza as his rink with Conor Mackin at third ran out winners by eleven shots [6-17]. South Belfast must be given credit for not throwing in the towel and although still losing the remaining two rinks they put in their best foursome displays losing to the ancient of times B Taaffe 8-9 and to the skilful K Conroy 5-9.