Draw between top two sides suits Michelin better

There’s no doubt that the Woodside Road side will be the happier with the outcome as it meant that Broughshane - the leaders’ nearest challengers - didn’t close the gap at the summit.

Broughshane were actually in the ascendancy on the mats with rink wins for Andy Morrison and William Morrison, while David Morrison and Matthew Boyd shared the spoils in a 10-10 tie.

But the decisive blow had been struck in the first half where Grant Robinson’s 20-9 win over Alan Cahoon was effectively worth two points for Michelin as they ended up winning by four shots overall.

BIBC ‘A’ made slight inroads into their deficit behind Michelin by taking three-and-a-half points against Golf Club ,thanks to rink wins from James Gaston and Bryan Magrath.

Sean McGarry clinched a point for the golfers with a last-end win over David Elliott, while the meeting of Adam Hunter and David McCullough finished deadlocked at seven shots apiece.

In the other Division One games, Old Bleach added to BIBC’s relegation worries by taking four points from the sides’ meeting in Randalstown Willie Fullerton, William Scott and Mervyn McDonald won for Bleach, with BI’s response coming from John Coulter.

JTI also gained ground on their rivals at the foot of the table by beating Clough Rangers, although the two points the visitors gained keep them just above the Lisnafillan side in the standings.

It was a close game with three of the matches being decided by one-shot margins, with Brian Russell’s six shot win over Jimmy Gilchrist proving the difference overall. Timothy Rock was JTI’s other winner, while Willie Patton and Raymond Aitcheson earned Clough’s points.

DIVISION TWO

Portglenone Community Centre continue to blaze a trail at the top of the second division after an impressive win at one of their promotion rivals, Services ‘A’.

The Bannsiders had just half a point - earned by Gerry McLarnon in a 7-7 tie with Bill Kitson - to show for their first half efforts at Trostan Avenue, where Mark Shaw’s rink had earned Services a point.

But Portglenone stepped it up after the interval with impressive wins from Eamon Cassley and Joe McErlean to earn three-and-a-half points overall.

Portglenone’s nearest challengers BPFA ‘B’ weren’t in action - their game against Harryville was postponed due to the Broughshane club’s tournament - and another would-be contender, Moneyglass, suffered a hammer blow when they took just half-a-point from their trip to Golf Seniors.

Ivan McMaster, Ian Lecky and John Nichols all won for the Raceview side, with Brendan McCusker’s tie with George McCrea the only solace for ‘MG’.

Services ‘B’ pulled further away from Antrim Indoor Bowling Club by beating them by a single shot in Ballymena.

Eric Smyth and Sheila Smith won for Services, while Antrim’s points came from Robert McCullough and Tom Evans.

DIVISION THREE

With leaders Maine on a bye week, there were more fascinating twists and turns in the third tier as All Saints missed out on the chance to return to the summit when they lost at home to Round Tower.

Gilmore Campbell, Michael Teer and John O’Neill steered the Antrim side to four points, with Saints’ lone response coming from Sean Haveron.

West Church also missed the chance to close the gap on the leaders when they too, gained just a point from a home game with Glenravel.

It came from Jim Rainey, while the visitors’ points thanks to wins from Turlough McKeegan, Martin O’Neill and Mary McAuley.

In the other game, First Ballymena halted Eaton Park’s recent revival by taking three-and-a-half points from the sides’ meeting.

Jim Lilley and David McQuitty were ‘First’s winning skips, while Lyle McQuitty earned another half point from a tie with Gary Shaw.

Bonar Hill was the rugby club’s only outright winner but they still finished seven shots adrift overall.