Dromore reach NIBA Senior Cup semis

LAST week was a very busy one for Dromore Bowling Club with the highlight of the senior team reaching the semi-final of the NIBA Senior Cup at home to Newtownabbey.

They now meets Divis at Lurgan Green tomorrow evening (Wednesday) at 6pm.

Rink 1: S Jess, H Hylands, SG Malcomson, A Johnston.

Rink 2: T Wilson, R Greer, D McCandless, J Mc Kenny.

Rink 3: K Aiken, S Malcomson, D Burns, F Cranney.

Rink 4: R Wills, G Dawson, D Graham, G Clinghan.

A nice lead of seven shots by the locals at the five end mark with Clinghan off the mark quickly to lead by six, McKenny was four to the good, Johnston was in front by one with Cranney four in the red.

The home team was in for a shock at the halfway stage with the visitors in front by six with two Dromore rinks ahead. McKenny was five up and Clinghan was two ahead, Johnston’s rink was all square and Cranney was in deep trouble at 13 down.

The visitors were still taking the honours at three quarter stage with two rinks up and Johnston the only Dromore rink ahead by six. McKenny was a single down with Cranney showing a slight improvement at seven in arrears and Clinghan all square.

A good finish by the home team saw them through by 10 shots. Johnston and Clinghan took the honours. A good win was had by Johnston by 11 shots and Clinghan scored seven without reply to win by seven. McKenny fell short by a single with Cranney seven in arrears at the finish.

There was a fruitless journey for the Dromore senior team away to Portadown last Tuesday evening, going down by 31 shots and no points in a league game.

Rink 1: SG Malcomson, H Hylands, R Greer, A Johnston.

Rink 2: W Clinghan, T Wilson, D McCandless, J McKenny.

Rink 3: K Aiken, D Shanks, D Burns, F Cranney.

Rink 4: R Wills, G Dawson, D Graham, G Clinghan.

A very poor start for Dromore saw them in a no hope position after five ends, down by 31 shots and no rinks ahead. Cranney was three behind, Johnston and Clinghan both trailed by seven and McKenny had not scored and was at 14 down.

There was a slight improvement at the halfway stage with Portadown still in the lead by 20. Cranney was head by four, McKenny was getting into the game and was now six down, Johnston was seven behind and Clinghan was down by 11.

Twenty four was the margin at three quarter stage. Cranney was still holding his own at four ahead, Johnston and Clinghan were now eight down with McKenny 12 in arrears.

Dromore’s position did not get any better in the last six ends. For Cranney a bad six ends saw him slide to a nine shot defeat. Clinghan on the other hand came back to just lose by one shot. Johnston was still down by eight and McKenny finished down by 13 at the end.

In their home game Dromore seniors took five points against Lurgan winning by 23 shots.

Rink 1: K Aiken, D Shanks, D Burns, F Cranney.

Rink 2: R Wills, G Dawson, D Graham, G Clinghan.

Rink 3: T Wilson, D McCandless, R Greer, J McKenny.

Rink 4: W Clinghan, G McDowell, SG Malcomson, A Johnston.

The seniors had built a good platform after five ends with a lead of 23 shots. Johnston got off to flyer, leading by 12. Cranney had a good start to be ahead by eight, McKenny was in the lead by six and Clinghan was down by three.

At the halfway stage the seniors were still calling the tune at 32 ahead with Johnston up by 11. A purple patch for McKenny saw him leading by 19, Cranney’s lead was eight with Clinghan down by six.

The seniors were still holding the whip hand at three quarter stage. Johnston had blown up and was now down by a single, McKenny was still ahead by 19, Cranney was now in top gear to be 15 to the good with Clinghan still three in arrears.

The only question to be answered was how many points the seniors could win. Johnston was down by four Clinghan and lost by nine, McKenny a big winner by 17 shots with Cranney 19 to the good.

Next Saturday the seniors are away to Rathfriland and the juniors at home to Lurgan, both league games. Meanwhile Scott Jess has been invited to play in a trial match for the NIBA U25 team.

The junior team was in a quarter final tie away to Banbridge but made no impression as they went down 24 shots.

Rink 1: G Beggs, T Hewitt, I Houston, A Sudlow.

Rink 2: A Clinghan, G McDowell, H Maxwell, T Sudlow.

Rink 3: J Topping, G Harvey, T Gribben, G Ervine.

Rink 4: N Lindsay, R McCandless, T Ledlie, J Noddings.

Bann had a lead of eight after five ends. Sudlow and Ervine were both all square, T Sudlow was one ahead with Noddings in arrears of nine.

The visitors were not going well after 10 ends as they were down by 17 with G Ervine the only rink ahead by seven. A Sudlow was six down, T Sudlow was three behind with Noddings 15 in the red.

At the three quarter stage 15 was he margin in favour of the home team. G Ervine was still going strongly at 14 ahead, A Sudlow was up by a single, T Sudlow was three down while Noddings was still in trouble at 17 behind.

Bann finished strongly to win the game by 24 with Ervine the only rink up by five. A Sudlow was all square, T Sudlow lost a seven on end 19 and was eleven in the red while a bad evening for Noddings saw him down by 18 at the finish.

The Dromore junior team took on league leaders Portadown in a league game away on Saturday last.

Portadown had only dropped one point in their first six games so the juniors were aware that they had to be on top form to take any points. After 21 ends were played they came home with two points, only losing the overall by six shots.

Rink 1: N Lindsay, T Ledlie, J Noddings, S Malcomson.

Rink 2: A Matthews, J Topping, T Gribben, G Ervine.

Rink 3: G Beggs, A Clinghan, H Maxwell, T Sudlow.

Rink 4: R McCandless, T Hewitt, I Houston, A Sudlow.

With good weather for the match this game was very tight and at five ends the Ports were four ahead. Malcomson started where he left off last week to lead by 10, A Sudlow was two up, Ervine was three down and T Sudlow trailed by 13.

When the halfway stage was reached there was one shot in favour of the home team with Malcomson still going well at 13, A Sudlow was leading by 10, Ervine was down by 14 with T Sudlow behind by 10.

The visitors were giving the home team some problems and were showing a three lead at three quarters stage. Malcomson was still holding his lead of 13, A Sudlow was ahead by eight, Ervine was now in the red by 13 while T Sudlow was five in arrears.

In the final six ends the home team held their nerve to score a six shot victory. It was another good day for Malcomson as he won by 15, A Sudlow finished up by six, Ervine was down by 15 and T Sudlow finished 11 down.

In an exciting game Dromore progressed to the last 16 of the Hatch Cup with a five shot win over Cloughey.

Rink 1: G Beggs, T Gribben, K Aiken, S Malcomson, V T Thompson - with skip Sammy Malcomson in scintillating form the rink cruised to a 20-10 result.

Rink 2: C Wilson, T Wilson, D Shanks, D McCandless - After a slow start a six on end 10 the rink narrowed their deficit to two. They kept things tight in the run in to finish 12-17 down.

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