Pleasing week for Park Seniors with win ‘double’

It was a good week for Ballymena Senior Park as they recorded two excellent victories.
Willie McNabb is watched from on high as he delivers a bowl during the Senior Parks League game with Saintfield. INBT 23-176CSWillie McNabb is watched from on high as he delivers a bowl during the Senior Parks League game with Saintfield. INBT 23-176CS
Willie McNabb is watched from on high as he delivers a bowl during the Senior Parks League game with Saintfield. INBT 23-176CS

Ballymena Senior Park (72) Saintfield (54.5): Jimmy Shields, Clifford Duncan, William Crawford and John Elliott made a good start in their game against T Ferris with a count of 4 shots on the first end and this turned out to be the real difference between the rinks. The Braid men were never behind and although their lead fluctuated, the visitors were never able to get back on to level terms and in the end the Ballymena rink ran out victors by 20 shots to 16.

Keith Burnett, Alan Smyth, Leslie Jackson and Gary Shaw took on R Copes and for the first 16 ends there was little to separate the two rinks with the visitors holding a slender 10-9 advantage. The game turned very much in favour of the Ballymena men when they picked up 2 shots on the 17th end and when this was followed by successive 4’s there was no way back for the Saintfield rink who eventually went down 20-11.

John Montgomery, Andy Hill, Robert McCready and Jim Cameron did not have the best of starts against G McMullan and with 5 ends played they trailed 6-0. A count of 4 shots on the next end got the Ballymena men up and running but by the time the game had reached the 14th end the visitors had extended their lead to 10 shots. The remainder of the game was close but it was Saintfield who claimed victory by 23 shots to 11 (The visiting rink could only field 3 players so they forfeited a quarter of their shots to leave the final score 17.5 – 11)

John Houston delivers a bowl during Ballymena Parks Senior Division 3 league game with Saintfield at Ballymena Bowling Club. INBT 23-175CSJohn Houston delivers a bowl during Ballymena Parks Senior Division 3 league game with Saintfield at Ballymena Bowling Club. INBT 23-175CS
John Houston delivers a bowl during Ballymena Parks Senior Division 3 league game with Saintfield at Ballymena Bowling Club. INBT 23-175CS

John Houston, Willie McNabb, Derek Greer and Alex Wilson shared 10 shots with J Alexander over the first 8 ends however the complexion of the game changed over the next 9 ends when the Ballymena men outscored the visitors by 9 shots to 2. The Braid rink were well worth their 21-10 victory.

Ballymena Senior Park (89) Knock (72): Keith Burnett, Alan Smyth, Dessie Shaw and Gary Shaw were going along nicely against D McCluskey on rink 1 and with 7 ends played the Braid men had opened up a 3 shot advantage. Disaster struck the Ballymena rink on the next end when they conceded a count of 7 shots and they never recovered from this setback with the visitors claiming a 21-12 win.

John Houston, Roy Kernohan, Willie McNabb, Derek Greer won 4 of the first 5 ends to open up a 6 shot lead against J McMullan. The visitors however won the next 7 ends to turn a 6 shot deficit in to a 5 shot lead. The Braid men dug deep and by the 17th end they had levelled the game with the score board reading 14-14. The turning point came on the next end when Greer’s men picked up a count of 6 shots and a further count of 4 shots on the final end gave the Ballymena men a hard earned 24-20 win.

Jimmy Shields, Bertie Thompson, Stephen Roberts and John Elliott shared 14 shots with J Gallaher over the opening 8 ends. The Ballymena men then went on a tremendous run scoring 16 shots over the next 7 ends to set up a 33-10 win.

John Montgomery, Andy Hill, William Crawford and Robert McCready were slow out of the blocks against C Bailie and with 8 ends played, trailed 11-1. The Braid men finally got their act together over the next 4 ends and with the help of two counts of 4 shots they found themselves in front for the first time. It was nip and tuck over the remainder of the game and going in to the final end the Ballymena men held a 2 shot advantage, however the visitors snatched victory when the scored 3 shots to pip the home rink by 21 shots to 20.