Curran end campaign with ahigh five!

On rink one James Burns had his usual rink of Robert Bradley, Kenny Falconer and Raymond Robinson. The first five ends saw the shots shared between the two sides at 3-3. By ten ends the home side had edged ahead to lead by three shots 8 – 5. Burns and the boys were really struggling to find their best form and consequently went further behind to trail 14 – 7 at fifteen ends. By twenty-one ends the Curran four had fell further behind and finished up losing by 21 – 9.

Michael Dickey’s rink consisted of Mark Russell, Simon Beggs and Jim McIlwrath on rink two playing against the Blakely four. The Dickey boys were slow off the mark and found themselves trailing 9 – 2 after five ends. By fifteen ends Michael and the boys had levelled the scores at 14 – 14 and were looking good to take control of the game. Sure enough, a big finish from the Curran four over the closing ends seen them run out 26 – 16. Another fine performance from Michael and the boys who have shown great consistency throughout the season.

Geoff Falconer with Eddie Duffy at lead, Eddie McCartney at second and Nigel Todd at third, started slowly and trailed the home side 6–3 at five ends.

Falconer’s four then got themselves into gear and started racking up the shots over the next five ends taking a convincing 17 – 6 lead. The Curran boys had their tails up now and they continued to romp away from the opposition who had no answer to the questions the Curran four posed. A 39 -10 score line emphasised the difference in class between the two rinks.

Chris McCullough had Colin Linton at lead, Ernie Culbert at second and Rodney Newell at third as his rink. The Curran four found it hard to get to grips with the weight of the green over the opening ends and trailed 6 – 2 after five ends. By fifteen ends McCullough’s boys were 16 – 9 down with the home skip in fine form putting in telling bowls end after end. Over the closing ends the visitors managed to hit form and closed the score to 17 – 17 at twenty ends. The home skip lifted the jack out of the head to give the advantage to the home side. McCullough then drew shot with his last bowl, only to see the home skip draw a foot closer with his last bowl and win 18 – 17 to take the point.

Result Rathfriland 65 (2 points) – Curran 91 (5 Points)

Curran managed to move up a couple of places in the league with this win to finish in twelfth which is one position worse than last year.

Chris McCullough (Sen. Match Sec) said: “I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to a number of people for their hard work and support during the season at the Curran Bowling Club.

“Thanks to Paul Alexander the green keeper for his efforts to produce a good playing surface for the bowlers and to Colin and Philip Linton the green attendants who looked after the facilities and for their help in booking rinks and marking ties.

Our gratitude also goes to Sammy Mills transporting the teams throughout the season to their various venues with his usual good humour and to Elizabeth Beggs and her assistants for all their hard work in providing catering for both teams throughout the season. This certainly adds to the social occasion of bowls.

“Finally, my thanks to all the bowlers who turned out for the teams’ week in week out throughout the season, for without their enthusiasm and dedication there would be no Curran Bowling Club.”