Juniors lose ground but then gain revenge against Larne

Last Tuesday night Ballymena Juniors travelled to Larne looking to cement their top two position in the NIPGL Junior League Division 1 and the outcome of this game was in the balance right up until the very last bowl of the evening.
Neil Garret keeps an eye on his delivery for Ballymena Juniors during their cup game with Larne. INBT26-254ACNeil Garret keeps an eye on his delivery for Ballymena Juniors during their cup game with Larne. INBT26-254AC
Neil Garret keeps an eye on his delivery for Ballymena Juniors during their cup game with Larne. INBT26-254AC

Going in to the final ends it looked as though the Braid men were on track to pick up 6 points however it was not to be their night and in the end they had to settle for just 2 points which sees them loose ground in the race for the NIPGL Junior League Division 1 title.

On rink 2 Artie McAuley, Norman Armstrong, Ivan Lynn and John Coulter picked up two fours on the 2nd and 3rd ends to get themselves off to a great start against J Smith however over the next 9 ends they were only able to score 4 more singles as the home rink closed the gap to just 3 shots. Although the remainder of the game was close the Braid men were always able to keep their noses in front and a brace of 3’s over the last 4 ends ensured that Coulter’s men could not be caught with the final score 19-17.

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Tommy Hill, Danny McCullough, Chris Wilson and George Graham were involved in a tough game against D Snoddy on rink 3. The home rink started strongly and when they won 5 of the first 6 ends it did not look good for the Ballymena men who found themselves on the wrong side of a 10-2 score line. The Braid rink hit the front for the first time in the game when they picked up 2 counts of 3 shots on the 16th and 17th ends and even though the home rink won 3 of the last 4 ends the Ballymena men had completed a tremendous comeback to claim the victory by 20 shots to 19.

John McFall, Neal Garrett, Alan McAuley and Roy Torrington took on L King on rink 4. A count of 4 shots on the first end settled any Ballymena nerves and 8 ends later the visitors appeared to be in control as they lead by 12 shots to 5. With 14 ends completed the Braid rink still held a healthy advantage however 2 counts of 3 shots over the next 2 ends saw the Larne men draw level with the score board reading 16-16. Geoff Padgett, Jimmy Larkin, Nigel McFadden and Jackie Robinson were involved in a close game with G McKinley on rink 5. The lead in this contest changed hands on several occasions and in the end the result of this game came down to the final end. At this stage of the contest the Ballymena men held a 2 shot lead however the 21st end did not build up well for the visitors and it was the Larne team who snatched victory when they picked up a count of 4 shots to claim victory by 17 shots to 15.

Then last Saturday Ballymena Juniors faced Larne for the second time in five days. This time the Braid men were on home territory and were determined to put the disappointment of last Tuesday nights defeat behind them. Again this was a close match. Larne took an early lead however as the afternoon progressed the Braid men wiped out the Larne advantage. At the half way stage of the game the Braid men began to pull away and in the end they ended up victors by a margin of 8 shots.

Tommy Hill, Jimmy Larkin, Nigel McFadden and Jackie Robinson had tough day at the office on rink 1 where they took on L King. The Braid men could only score 2 singles over the opening 8 ends and when the visitors picked up a count of 5 shots on the 9th end they trailed by 13 shots.

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Four ends later the margin was up to 14 shots and the Ballymena men knew that in the context of the overall game it was important that they did not let the visitors get further ahead. The Braid men dug deep and in fact they shaded the remainder of the game and when the game had been concluded the final score was 22-11. John McFall, Neal Garrett, Alan McAuley and Roy Torrington were drawn against J Smith on rink 2 and for the first 7 ends there was little to choose between the 2 rinks with the visitors holding a 2 shot lead.

With 12 ends completed they had wiped out the 2 shot deficit and opened up a 9 shot lead. Four shots were shared over the next 3 ends but between the 16th and 20th ends the Ballymena men added another 10 shots to their total. The visitors claimed a single on the final end but the afternoon belonged to Torrington’s men who eventually recorded a fine 29-11 victory.

Four shots to the Braid rink got them back in contention and with 5 ends remaining Coulter’s men had drawn level with the score board reading 14-14. On rink 4 Leslie Barr, Danny McCullough, Chris Wilson and George Graham made a steady start against J Hamill and with 9 ends completed the Braid men held a 6 shot lead. he visitors had slightly the better of the remaining ends but in the end the Braid men were rewarded with a 26-15 victory which was justice for a good afternoon’s work.

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