Bowls: Ten wins out of ten for Dunbarton A team with victory over Ewarts side

The Dunbarton A team made it ten wins out of ten in Private Greens Senior Division One at the weekend when they hammered lowly Ewarts in Gilford.

Having not played for two weeks, the locals could have been forgiven for a bit of rustiness but they were anything but.

Only Myles Greenfield’s four were involved in a close game while the other three stormed home and with all four rinks winning, a maximum and all important seven points were achieved. Right from the off, the home side displayed hunger and determination and it was obvious that there was only one team winning this game. Indeed over the first two ends, they had chalked up seventeen shots across the four rinks without conceding any and already the writing was on the wall for their North Belfast counterparts. Whilst Myles’ four did have to survive a late scare, they were able to go into their last end five shots ahead and afford to lose a double. On the other three rinks however things were much more straightforward. On rink one DJ Wilson’s four simply blew their opponents away with a thumping 30 shot victory. On rink two Andy Hughes led from start to finish to cruise to a ten shot success while on the other middle rink, Conor McCartan’s quartet roared to a huge 22 shot victory. An excellent team performance.

Rink 1 J Moffatt, J Magennis, P Convery, DJ Wilson up 35-5

DJ and his excellent front three stormed into an early 6-0 lead and never looked back. By the midpoint their lead had been extended to double figures, 14-4 and over the second half of the game this became very one sided. Leading 25-5 with two ends remaining, the locals finished with a flurry scoring counts of six and four for a massive 30 shot success.

Rink 2 D Copeland, R McElroy, S Adamson, A Hughes up 21-11

Similarly to rink one, skip Andy and his teammates moved into an early six shot lead at 7-1 and also led by ten shots at the halfway mark, 13-3. This lead was extended to fifteen shots after fifteen ends and although the visitors did fight back over the final few ends, the hosts eased home by ten shots.

Rink 3 C Trainor, G Moore, G McElroy, C McCartan up 30-8

Conor and his home foursome proved much too good for their rivals and led right from the off. At the five end mark, they opened up a 7-3 advantage and by ten ends, it was ten shots, 14-4. Aided by a count of five on end 13, the locals continued to pile on the shots and by the close had romped to a very convincing 22 shot victory.

Rink 4 M Higgins, C Mulholland, M Trainor, M Greenfield up 19-16

Throughout the first half of this game it seemed a similar story to the other three rinks as the hosts started strongly and led 7-1 after five ends. By the midpoint, the home lead was nine shots but the Ewarts foursome did show character to start to narrow the deficit, despite their teammates losing heavily across the other three rinks. At the three quarters mark, the home lead had been reduced to six shots and this remained until the final two ends. With the game well over as a contest, the locals kept the two ends tight and were able to drop a single and double to guarantee their point, winning by three shots.

This week the Dunbarton A team will be involved in three massive away games which could prove crucial in the team’s quest for silverware this season.

Firstly on Tuesday night (22nd) the locals travel to old rivals Belmont in a top of the table clash. Should the Gilford side emerge victorious, they will all but put paid to Belmont’s title hopes and take a massive stride towards the league title. On Saturday, they then travel to Cookstown to play their last 16 Irish Senior Cup tie, on paper a very tricky assignment.

The following day it is back to league action as Dunbarton travel to Falls in a rearranged league match. Should the locals manage three wins in a week, a league and cup double could be on the cards. However, these are three very difficult games, away from fortress Gilford, and the locals will have to be on top form.