Western 63 v Donegal 56 - Mens shield 8.12.07
Western were hot favourites for this tie as they had defeated Donegal in the same venue last season by 19 shots. However the home side have shown indifferent form this season so far. In the first round of the main competition they were also firm favourites to defeat Foyle but inexplicitly lost by one shot which ranks as one of the biggest upsets in inter-zone history. Then they are only back from winning the British Isles team event therefore their confidence should have been sky high.
It was almost a repeat shock of their first game as Donegal fought hard and took most opportunities that cane their way to pressure the home side into mistakes. Complacency is often under-rated and many teams dismiss it and say they never suffer from it but in Western's two games at zone level they have been far from their best and subconsciously complacency has been a factor together with their opposition raising their game.
Western only had a three shot advantage at half time but Donegal hit back and led briefly in the second half eventually ended up losing by a mere seven shots. This is an opportunity for Western to bring in a few changes and to give both M McGrade and A Graham an opportunity at skip. A zone can hang on too long to its established skips to the detriment of the zone. The more experienced players should now when they would be better deployed in other positions which would let them impart their experience to young up and coming skips benefiting all.
Mervyn White and young Daniel O'Kane making their debuts played well for the visitors and should be part of a future team. The teams narrow defeat to South Down and good showing against Western should bode well for next year and a kind draw might help boost confidence in the team. No scars were evident from last season's result against Western.
Teams
Western
| Rink1 |
R Graham |
S Gunn |
N Cox |
T Morrison |
| Rink2 |
J Breadon |
W Knox |
I McElroy |
P Wilson |
| Rink3 |
A Browne |
D Gilliland |
T Cathcart |
G Burke |
| Rink4 |
H Nixon |
K Bradshaw |
A Graham |
D Graham |
| Rink5 |
I Armstron |
N Noble |
H Gawley |
J McVitty |
| Rink6 |
J McCaffrey |
R Kelly |
M McGrade |
J Morris |
Donegal
| Bill Duncan |
P.J.Gallagher |
Graham Bell |
Colin Mabon |
| David Bonner |
Jude Campbell |
Nixon Alexander |
Derek McClintock |
| Joe Duggan |
Willie McGeehan |
James Marshall |
J. Quinn |
| Mervyn White |
Owen Gallagher |
Peter McGee |
David Crawford |
| Daniel O'Kane |
Christie Hegarty |
Tom Vaughan |
Pat Walsh |
| John O'Donnell |
Paddy Doherty |
Joe Cullen |
Andrew Steele |
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