Dee-light for Banbridge as they win to maintain top spot
On a sundrenched Saturday at King George V playing fields Banbridge senior team hosted Donaghadee in a rematch of the NIBA senior cup final from a month ago, with the Bann outfit looking to keep top spot in the league. The home side eventually run out easy 109-49 winners and picking up six points in the process and unlucky not to have the full seven points on offer.
On rink 1 for Banbridge we had Ken Stevenson, Martin Nelson, Gareth McCloughlin and Gavan Blakely up against Eric Kennedy’s rink.
The visitors started the better of the two sides winning the first three ends to go 6-0 up but the home side got on the scoreboard, winning the next two ends to trail 6-3 after five ends.
By the halfway stage of the game the Donaghadee rink had firm control of the game leading 14-5 after 10 ends.
At this stage the Bann rink clicked into gear and wrestled the lead back on the 16th end scoring three shots to lead 17-16. With the comeback looking complete the home side extended their lead to 20-16 with three ends to play but disaster struck on the penultimate end when they dropped a count of four shots after a fortuitous shot by the Donaghadee third to pull the jack into the ditch catching a wick off a wide bowl in doing so.
The Banbridge four eventually lost out 22-20 with a chance to tie or even win the game in the last end but it was not to be and was the only rink down on the day for the home side.
On rink 2 for the home side we had Mervyn Jess, Ian Wright, John McCloughlin and Kyle Blakely facing off against Gary Monaghan’s rink. The Bann lads raced into a strong position early on to lead 11-1 after five ends and extended their lead to 16-3 after 10 ends.
Skip Blakely and his rink kept the pressure on over the next 6 ends to lead 25-5 to all but guarantee a rink win and the overall score with five ends left. Over the last five ends it was a more even contest with both sides scoring five shots apiece down the run in with the game ending in a comprehensive 30-10 victory for Banbridge.
On rink 3 for the Bann we had Seamus Skelton, Matty Cromie, Clifford Dennison and James Kelly facing the Donaghadee rink skipped by Chris Dorman.
Once again the home side gained the upper hand here early doors, leading 4-2 after five ends with neither side giving an inch. Kelly’s four soon found there groove though and stretched out there lead at the halfway stage to be 13-4 up after 10 ends.
Like their team mates on rink 2, the Bann rink here really turned the screw in the third quarter of the game to all but put this one to bed with a lead of 20-5 after 16 ends. At this stage the home side had broken the resolve of their opponents, with all four playing at a very high standard and close out the game with a 27-6 victory.
On rink 4 for Banbridge we had Alex Cromie, Ben McArdle, Adam Cromie and Brendan Davis lining up against Robert Humphreys and his Donaghadee rink. The home side got off to a slow start to trail 5-3 after five ends but by the halfway stage they had turned it around to lead the game 8-7 after 10 ends.
The Bann lads kept their upward trajectory going by leading 16-11 after 16 ends and going into win the last five ends to end the game with a resounding 32-11 victory and seal another rink win for the Bann.
This was a tricky assignment for Banbridge with several regulars unavailable but those who came in more than made up for that and Brendan Davis winding back the years to skip his rink to a big win in the absence of regular skip Philip Cromie.
With this six point win the Bann outfit extended their lead at the head of affairs in the league to one point with second placed Bangor claiming 5.5 points at Dundonald.
The next game for the senior team is away to Curran in Larne on Tuesday 20th August which will be another difficult game as they have been one of the inform teams in the league lately, winning their last four games on the trot. With it in the hands of Banbridge with two games to go it looks like it will go right down to the wire.
Our junior team travelled to Bangor to take on Castle looking to pick up points to maintain their Division 2 status. This was always going to be a big ask away here up against a good team in Castle, it was indeed the home side who came away with the spoils by winning 92-67 and lifting all seven points on offer.
Our junior team’s next game on Saturday at home to North Down will be pivotal one on their season and will be hoping for a big win there to relive relegation fears. The rink scores against Castle as below:-
Castle 92 v Banbridge 67
S Curran 25 v W Steenson 19
M Stevenson 22 v J Major 14
J Corry 23 v P OKeefe 20
G Peters 22 v A Mark 14
After our games on Saturday our club members and partners went to Harry’s Bar & Kitchen, Banbridge for a meal and some socialising after. I think it’s safe to say it was a night enjoyed by all and Thanks again to Kevin and his staff for a great night and accommodating over 30 of us, as it is important to support those who support the club through sponsorship. It was great to see so many there enjoying themselves and something as a club we no doubt will look at doing more of from now on.
This weekend four of our members will represent the NIBA team in the junior inter association event which kicks off on Friday night. Matty Cromie, Adam Cromie, Pete Haughey and Alex Cromie will be taking part with Alex having the honour of captaining the team and our own Clifford Dennison once again taking the helm as Team Manger. The club would like to wish everybody all the best and hopefully land a series win.