Opening round of League Cup ties go largely with formbook

While some ties will remain ‘alive’ in the second leg by virtue of the shots handicap allocated to the lower-ranked sides, the likelihood is that the seven favourites ahead of the first round games will take their place in the second stage.

The team with possibly most to worry about is Services ‘B’ who, although they beat All Saints by one shot on the mats, were giving their opponents 10 shots on handicap and so ended up losing by nine on the night.

With another 10 shots to come, it means Services - who by-passed All Saints on their way to Division Two last season - will have to win by more than 19 shots at the Cushendall Road clubrooms.

Saints actually won three of the four rinks, with Sean Haveron, Paddy Martin and Eugene McReynolds edging close contests against Greta Coulter, Sheila Smith and Roy Dickson.

Eric Smyth’s Services rink beat Tony Dillon by seven shots but Services are going to have to step up their performance significantly if they are to progress.

The meeting of the two Broughshane Playing Fields Association sides went the way of the ‘A’ team by some 22 shots.

Doran Turtle, Alan Cahoon, Ivan Craig and David Morrison were the winning skips for the ‘A’ team, against Herbie McCullough, Noel Graham, David Kernohan and Joe Campbell.

The only meeting of the round between two Division One teams saw BIBC ‘A’ take a commanding lead into the second leg of their meeting with JTI.

The first half had been a fairly tight affair with the former Social Club outfit ahead by three shots at the break, thanks to Stephen Shields’ win over Brian Russell, with Timothy Rock replying for JTI with a three-shot win over David Elliott.

But the Bowling Club side pressed the accelerator after the tea interval with convincing wins for Andi Duncan and James Gaston - over Billy Lynn and Graham Maybin respectively - opening up a significant cushion ahead of the second leg.

Services ‘A’ should have too much in reserve for First Ballymena after opening up a 13-shot lead, after rinks wins from Dessie McNeill, Joe Stevenson and Sid McKeown, while Bill Kitson and Matt McPeake’s rinks battled out a 7-7 draw.

First division sides Clough Rangers and Golf Club had too much know-how for third division opposition in the form of Round Tower and Maine, while Harryville Community Centre have a handy lead ahead of their home second leg against West Church, with Joe Patterson’s rink impressive 21-5 winners over Maurice Livingstone.

SCOREBOARD

BPFA ‘B’ (+10) 33, BPFA ‘A’ 55: H McCullough 7, D Turtle 10; N Graham 5, A Cahoon 10; D Kernohan 4, I Craig 21; J Campbell 7, D Morrison 14.

BIBC ‘A’ 51, JTI 24: D Elliott 7, T Rock 10; S Shields 12, B Russell 6; A Duncan 13, B Lynn 5; J Gaston 19, G Maybin 3.

Services ‘A’ 42, First Ballymena (+10) 29: D McNeill 10, D McQuitty 4; J Stevenson 15, L McQuitty 4; S McKeown 10, R Woods 4; B Kitson 7, M McPeake 7.

Services ‘B’ 35, All Saints (+10) 44: G Coulter 9, S Haveron 10; E Smyth 14, T Dillon 7; S Smith 6, P Martin 8; R Dickson 6, E McReynolds 9.

West Church (+10), Harryville Community Centre 50: J Rainey 9, N Laverty 7; V Mahon 7, W Burgess 12; M Livingstone 5, J Patterson 21; T Wilson 6, S Wilson 10.

Maine (+20) 40, Golf Club 55: P O’Neill 7, J Lynn 16; B Kerr 5, S McGarry 9; L McQuillan 4, J Jamieson 10; P Reeves 4, D McCullough 20.

Clough Rangers 65, Round Tower (+20) 39: J Gilchrist 19, H Totten 3; D McClurkin 17, G Campbell 4; W Patton 13, J O’Neill 4; A Armstrong 16, M Teer 8.