Ballylumford are crowned champions

BALLYLUMFORD'S title aspirations were dependent on beating table-toppers Mossley in order to keep the title race alive.

Mossley went into the game in pole position, knowing that a 5-2 defeat would still have them lead the championship with only two games to play.

However, the Larne outfit put in one of their best all-round displays of the season to win three of the rinks and draw the other to claim 6.5 points and move into pole position for the title. This was Mossley’s first defeat for three years.

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The reigning champions finished the season on 78.5pts with this half-point, five against Kilroot and seven against Ulster Transport. The two points gained by Kilroot gave Ballylumford slight breathing space, but they still had a tough task to claim the title as they required 10.5 points from away games against Carrick BC and Barn.

Carrick made Ballylumford fight and sweat for every shot, with Dessie Hill claiming a first-half rink point for Carrick with the final bowl of the first half. David McRandal’s rink gave Ballylumford the first-half lead as they clawed ahead over the final ends. In the second period the home rinks piled the pressure on the visitors as the games were all neck-and-neck after five ends. Ballylumford held their nerve to edge the rink points.

Ballylumford still had to win away to Barn, who showed they were not there to make up the numbers as they took an early lead on both mats. Simon Bell's rink then pulled away, winning by 10 shots, while Alan McLean had to fight right to the end to claim a two-shot win.

Twelve shots at interval should have eased the nerves of the title chasers, but Stephen Sewell heaped all the pressure back on as he claimed an eight shot-lead after seven ends.

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At the same stage on the other mat Brian Forsythe and Jamie Semple were all-square, with Brian lying four shots with one bowl to come, effectively the game was level overall. Jamie delivered his bowl with accuracy and promoted a Ballylumford bowl into the head to claim shot, a turnaround of five shots.

Jamie then went on to claim a narrow win to secure the title for Ballylumford by a very narrow yet sufficient margin of two points.

Player of the Year

There were a few players in contention with their consistency throughout the season making the decision difficult. However, when it came down to the player who contributed the most to the final league position of their team, the award goes to Jamie Semple of Ballylumford.

Without his contribution throughout the season Ballylumford would not have taken the title off Mossley.

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Jamie is one of the unsung heroes of the team. He played 12 games, winning them all, but as skip he played some very critical bowls in tense situations to secure vital rink points for his side.

Jamie is a very consistent bowler and is always hard to beat. His biggest asset is his accuracy of converting the head when shots down. He uses controlled weight in his shots and remains calm under pressure.

This season he was instrumental in Ballylumford winning the title with possibly the most important being that bowl on the seventh end in the final game of the season. Other crucial bowls to claim rink points were against St Patrick’s when he trailed the jack for five with shot against and against Carnmoney, when he trailed by seven shots but hit back to ditch a toucher with his last bowl to win by a shot. He also had the biggest rink win against Mossley.

Other players who make up the top 10 are Stephen Gingles, Ballylumford; Jean Ringland, Mossley; Norman Allen; Stephen Wilson, Ballyeaston 1st Pres; Tom Mercer, Ballynure Pres; Rab Wilkinson, Ballycarry Pres; Darren Witherspoon, Ballylumford; Jack Montgomery, Mossley; Chelsea Rea, Kilroot.

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Most improved team: Ballyeaston 1st Pres, who narrowly lost out on third place having finished fourth-from-bottom last season.

Larne bowlers on a high

Clubs and individuals within Larne contributed to an excellent season for bowls within Larne. Ballylumford ended the reign of Mossley in the East Antrim league, going undefeated for the first time.

In the Carrick and District Churches' League some Larne youngsters arguable achieved a better feat than their Ballylumford counterparts by winning the title in their first season. It was a close encounter, as they only secured the championship-winning rink point in the last end of a shoot-out with Mossley.

The reason for joining the league was to give young bowlers within the Larne area an opportunity for to gain experience playing alongside more senior players. They surpassed all expectations by winning the title, an achievement even more remarkable as the majority of the team were under 25 years of age.

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In the national championships, Nigel Todd impressed as he reached the quarter-finals of the singles where he narrowly lost. In the triples James Burns, Simon Beggs and Geoff Falconer had the bitter experience of losing their quarter-final tie, which went into an extra end.

In the u18 singles Mark Petticrew was disappointed to miss out on a semi-final place by the odd shot. Mark is still young and has another handful of years in this competition and if he continues to improve can be a serious challenger for the title.

Cairncastle claimed the Wilson Charity Cup, organised by Ulster Transport, in a nailbiter of a final against St Patrick’s, Jordanstown. In a close game, St Patrick’s had pulled into a five-shot lead with the final ends to play on each rink.

Mervyn claimed three shots in his game, but it was left to Alex Kincaid to deliver the winner with the very last bowl of the game. The young man had the fate of the cup in his hands: He had to rest out an opposition bowl and count with his own bowl to win the trophy. Despite the immense pressure he delivered the telling bowl to give his team a memorable win in one of the longstanding premier cup competitions in the area.

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Most of the big clubs in the East Antrim area regard the Logan Cup, run by Gardenmore Presbyterian, as the most prestigious to win and in another exciting final Larne B&LTC lost in the final end of the competition to Ulster Transport.

All in all, this was a very successful season for Larne bowlers. It is now up to the bowlers in the area to prove that they can reproduce this standard year after year and that this is only the foundation for further success.

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