‘First’ class display earns maximum points at West Church

First Ballymena continued their encouraging start to the Ballymena & District League season in some style last week.
All eyes were on the mat at the Services Club as the Services 'A' team took on Golf Seniors. INBT 32-809HAll eyes were on the mat at the Services Club as the Services 'A' team took on Golf Seniors. INBT 32-809H
All eyes were on the mat at the Services Club as the Services 'A' team took on Golf Seniors. INBT 32-809H

The church side more than doubled their points tally in Division Three in one fell swoop by taking maximum points from their trip to West Church.

Matt McPeake and Roland Woods guided their rinks to five and nine-shot winning margins against Jim Rainey and Victor Mahon in the first half.

It didn’t get any better for the Craig Hall side after the interval as Lyle McQuitty inflicted an 11-shot defeat on Tommy Wilson, while the closets game of the night resulted in David McQuitty edging past Maurice Livingstone by the slender margin of one shot.

Antrim IBC scored a morale-boosting win over Randalstown neighbours Maine, earning four points in the process.

Darren McCullough, Tommy Evans and John Logan led their rinks to decisive victories, with John Heffron’s quartet ensuring that the visitors gained something for their efforts.

Another Antrim side, Round Tower, had a happy journey back up the A26 after bagging three-and-a-half points from their trip to Eaton Park.

Bonar Hill had given the rugby club team a fine start with a seven shot win over Helen Totten, but wins from Michael Murphy and John O’Neill nudged Round Tower into a two-shot lead.

The remaining game, between John Carruthers and Michael Teer, finished all square at nine shots apiece to secure the lion’s share of the spoils for the visitors.

DIVISION TWO

BIBC were another team to record full points, with Harryville Community Centre on the receiving end of a 30-odd shot defeat.

Stephen Shields and Tommy Hill got the bowling club team on their way with Shields’ rink inflicting a nine-shot defeat on Willard Reid, while Hill’s rink were eight shot victors over Harold Smyth.

After the break, the ‘BI’ rinks led by Nigel Robinson and Roy Torrington ground out two more wins, with the former beating Gary Worthintgton by five shots, while Roy Torrington had eight shots to spare over Joe Patterson.

Services ‘A’ made full use of their home advantage as they took four points from their meeting with Golf Seniors, although they were pushed all the way by the Raceview side.

Bill Kitson won by four shots, having been six ahead after six ends against Stephen Surgenor.

Mark Shaw’s rink churned out a two-shot win over Ian Lecky having scored three shots on the third and sixth ends, while Lecky also scored three shots on the eighth end, only to drop a shot on the last.

Pauline Wilson finished up five shots ahead of Donald Smyth, consolidating her one-shot lead going into the last end by securing a count of four.

John Nichols’ rink ensured the golfers didn’t return home empty-handed after a six-shot win over Dessie McNeill.

Clough Rangers have adapted quickly to the second division following their relegation from the top flight and they added another four points to their total by beating by beating All Saints.

The first half provided each team with a point with Raymond Aitcheson steering his Clough rink to a four shot win over Eugene McReynolds, in a game which had been level at the halfway mark. Raymond’s total of 13 shots also included two counts of five.

The game between Jim Gregg and Shaun Haveron went the way of the Saints rink by a three shot margin.

The second half was a closely-contested affair with R Kilpatrick guiding his Clough unit to a single shot win against Tony Dillon, while G Gregg also had a close call against Anthony Mitchell before the Clough rink emerged victorious by two shots.

Moneyglass also claimed four points at the expense of Glenravel, who are finding the second tier a big step up following their promotion.

The match hinged on two rinks - on rink 2 Brendan McCusker, of Moneyglass, got vital scores on a number of ends when the opposition was holding two or three shots, in fact on last end his opposition was lying three shots and he took out two bowls, resulting him winning by two shots.

Henry Graham and Sean McNeilly’s rinks also contributed to ‘MG’s tally on the night, while Glenravel’s point came from Martin McKeegan who won by five shots but on a number of ends he rescued ends where he had been three or four shots down.

DIVISION ONE

Michelin continue to show impressive form after a third straight win at Golf Club.

The first half points were shared, with Wesley Caldwell’s win for Michelin cancelled out Sean McGarry’s win over Grant Robinson, where Chris Ramsey (second) and Leslie Barr (third) made telling contributions for the golfers.

Matthew Boyd’s big win over John Jamieson after the break took Michelin clear but it still required an excellent last bowl from Graham Wilson to secure a fourth point for the champions.

Portglenone and BPFA ‘B’ shared the spoils in their meeting, with Gerry McLarnon and Joe McErlean’s rinks winning for the Bannsiders, but Andrew Davison’s six-shot win swung the overall shots total in Broughshane’s favour. The other game, between Jim Gaul and Noel Graham, finished in a 10-10 tie.

In a re-arranged match, postponed from the opening week, BPFA ‘A’ secured a three points to two victory at Old Bleach, despite both sides finishing on 33 shots.

Andrew Morrison and David Morrison won for Broughshane, with Jonathan Millar’s 17-2 over Tom Morrison bringing the scores level meaning that the teams split the point for overall shots total.

The remaining point was also split as Bryan Magrath and Alistair McCullough’s tie ended all square at 7-7.

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