City of Belfast retain East Antrim League trophy

Starting the second leg of the final with a 3-2 advantage from the home match last week, the Mallusk men produced some fine golf on Sunday afternoon to secure the trophy.

In the first match, David Linder and John McGrath overturned a one hole deficit on the eighteenth to take half a point, and in the following group Craig Stewart and Stephen Gardiner wrapped up a comfortable win on the sixteenth green.

That meant City of Belfast only needed one more point for overall victory. And club Captain Paul Ritchie and his partner Drew Dickson duly obliged, with the latter holing out on the sixteenth to secure the trophy with a 3 & 2 win.

With the league title decided, the last two matches left out on the course were called in.

In those games, Gary McAllister, who was undefeated in six matches in this year's league campaign, and his partner Paul Atkinson were all square with their opponents, while the final match involving the pairing of Tommy Pollock and Duncan Elder was also level after 14 holes.

During his address at the after-match dinner, East Antrim League President Tommy Pollock praised the players from both clubs for the standard of the golf and the sporting manner in which the final was played.

Reflecting on the result, City of Belfast team captain Darran Long said: "To win the East Antrim League two years in a row is a fantastic achievement. In total 36 different players have represented the team over the course of the season and they've all played their part in helping the club secure this excellent result. Hopefully we can maintain our good form next year and make it three in a row!"

Meanwhile, Connor Devlin was the winner of the Dunoon Argyll Trophy at City of Belfast Golf Club on Saturday.

Leading by three points after his superb score of 42 last week, Devlin took the overall title by producing the third best round of the day.

Result: (Week 2) 1st Conor McKee (41 pts), 2nd Craig Stewart (40 pts), 3rd Connor Devlin (38 pts). Overall winner: Connor Devlin (80 pts).