Juniors wash away Old Bleach challenge

Only 14 shots were scored over the first 11 ends on rink 1 where Allen Stewart, Jimmy Larkin, Andrew Morrison and Jimmy Hodges took on G Barnes and at this stage of the game it was the visitors who held a 2 shot advantage.

The Ballymena men however levelled on the next end and then with the help of 3 counts of 3 shots over the next 5 ends they took control of the game. A further 5 shots on the penultimate end made sure that the Braid rink would eventually claim a well deserved victory by 24 shots to 12.

Alan McAuley, Arnold Kenny, Ivan Lynn and John Coulter lost the first 2 ends against M Robb on rink 2 but after 6 ends the scores were level at 4-4. Two ends late scores were still tied at 5-5 but then the Braid men made their move. The Ballymena men outscored their opponents by 11 shots to 1 over the next 8 ends to open up a 10 shot lead and even though the visitors had the better of the closing ends it was the Braid rink who claimed victory by 18 shots to 14.

Danny McCullough, John McFall, George Graham and Jonathan Millar were stunned on rink 3 when the Old Bleach rink skipped by J O’Kane picked up a count of 5 shots on the first end, however the Ballymena men quickly put this set back behind them and they dominated the next 7 ends when they scored 16 unanswered shots to lead by 11.

The remainder of the game was much closer but the visitors were never able to make any significant inroads in to the Ballymena lead and after the 21 ends had been completed the margin was still 11 shots with the Braid rink winning by 24 shots to 13.

On rink 4 Joe McKeown, Neal Garrett, Tommy Hill and Roy Torrington conceded a single shot on the first end against E Evans but any hopes of an Old Bleach win quickly evaporated over the next 4 ends as the home rink scored 7 shots without reply. The Braid men then added a further 7 shots to their total over the next 5 ends and lost only 1, to give them a 12 shot lead. Over the next 6 ends the visitors reduced the deficit to single figures but the Ballymena men still had plenty of powder left as they scored 14 shots over the remaining 4 ends to claim a resounding victory by 33 shots to 8.

Ballymena Juniors were also due to play a match last Saturday, however bad weather in Downpatrick had left the green flooded and so the game was cancelled and will have to be played at a later date.

Next week Ballymena Juniors entertain Falls in the NIPGL Junior League Division 1 and on Saturday they are at home again when they entertain Balmoral in the last 16 of the Irish Junior Cup.