Underdogs bite back in Division Three

Both leaders Dunclug PTA and second-placed St Mary’s Portglenone could only manage a point apiece against sides who had started the week in the lower half of the table.

Dunclug were well beaten - by 20 shots - at Round Tower, with their only crumb of comfort coming in the form of Robert Neeson’s 7-6 win over Kevin McLarnon.

But Gilmore Campbell’s 16-7 win over Noel Clarke before the break and John O’Neill’s 17-9 success against Alan Heron put the Antrim side into an unassailable position and Michael Teer’s rink added the icing on the cake with a four shot win over David Calderwood.

St Mary’s fared little better as they finished 19 shots adrift of All Saints in the Kenbaan clubrooms.

The match was still in the balance at the break, where All Saints held sway by two shots after Martin McGarry’s 10-4 win over James McCann, while Patsy Boyd ‘pointed’ for the Bannsiders, at the expense of Eugene Walsh.

The second half was a different story, however, as clear-cut wins for Eugene McReynolds and Paddy Martin - against Charlie Graham and Kieran Adams - guided the Ballymena Saints to victory.

First Ballymena haven’t had a season to remember but they did manage to claim their second win of the campaign at Eaton Park, who, contrary to the usual form of indoor bowls, seem to reserve some of their more disappointing performances for their home mats.

It looked as though ‘First’ were heading for their 10th defeat in 12 games when they trailed at the break, even though Lyle McQuitty had sneaked past Gary Shaw 7-6, but on the debit side, Jean Mullan’s rink had lost 14-9 to David McCausland.

The match-turning moment came in the second half as David McQuitty’s rink surged to a 14-6 win over Bonar Hill and Roland Woods ensured that Eaton Park would not gain any foothold back into the match with an 8-8 tie against John Carruthers, as First Ballymena left the Broughshane Road venue with three-and-a-half of the five points on offer.

In the other game, Glenravel and West Church ‘B’ could not be separated in a 40-40 tie, which yielded two-and-a-half points each.

David Aicken and George Arthur were the West Church winners, against Niall Sands and George Arthur, while the home side’s points came from Gerry Sands and Daniel Higgins, who overcame Joe Harris and Edwin Donaghy.