Last-gasp drama for title contenders

IF there was a bowling equivalent of the phrase 'it's not over until the fat lady sings' then it would probably be 'it's not over until the last bowl is thrown'!

In the same way that the best football teams always seem to come up with that crucial last-minute winning goal, the top teams in the Ballymena and District League seem to have the ability to conjure up point-winning ends right at the conclusion of closely-fought matches.

And so it was the case in the matches involving champions-elect Towers and Social Club, who have been installed as the new favourites to finish behind them in second place.

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Towers took four points from their visit to BPFA 'A' - a result which surely extinguishes any lingering hopes the Broughshane side had of finishing even in 'silver' position.

But how different it could have been but for some last-gasp drama on the closing ends of three of the four matches.

A '3' on the last end - part of a 1,1,1,3 finish over the last four ends - gave Ivan Craig an 8-6 win over Robert Black, while David McCullough's produced the same shots count on the last end to pip Willie Humphrey 8-7.

In keeping with the fine margins of a hard-fought contest, Alan Cahoon pulled Broughshane back into contention with an 8-6 win over Graham Maybin but David Shields' rink guided Towers to a four-point haul with the biggest winning margin of the night - 12-5 over Doran Turtle.

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In contrast to the other rinks, David did the damage early on in this one, with two counts of three inside the opening three ends.

There was more edge-of-the-seat action at the Raceview clubrooms where Golf Club will feel harshly done to, as they lost by just 10 shots to BUSC yet failed to pick up a single point.

Once again, the outcome could have been vastly different but for some decisive moments over the closing ends.

Social Club already had a first half point in the bag thanks to Uel Fleming's 9-6 win over John Jamieson but a '2' for Richard Fleming on the last end of his match against Johnny Lynn ensured that BUSC enjoyed their half-time cuppa with two points assured.

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Remarkably, the trend continued in the second half where a '3' on the penultimate end was instrumental in giving Bryan Magrath a 9-7 win over Kevin McGarry, while Andy Bonnar's rink notched a '4' on the last end to beat Sean McGarry 11-8.

In the lower reaches of the table, Old Bleach all but assured their place in the top flight for next season by taking four points from their visit to Moneyglass, who looked doomed to relegation.

David Burrows and Brian Trimble gave the Neillsbrook men a comfortable half-time advantage with wins over Kieran Teague and Thomas Close.

Thomas Magee's 5-4 win over Alan Scott - which brought Moneyglass their only point - yielded an unusual occurrence with just nine shots being scored over the 10 ends, while Mervyn McDonald edged out Henry Marron 9-8 to snatch a fourth point for Bleach.

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