Emphatic victory for locals in Senior Cowdy

Ardglass have an impressive record in the Senior Cowdy and a close match was anticipated. That did not materialise.

The first leg was at Ardglass and this is how the eight games panned out:

Kenny Stevenson (3) met Raymond Madine (3) in the top game. I spoke to Raymond afterwards and he was in awe of Kenny’s performance.

“He hit every green in regulation”, said Raymond, “and that gave him a birdie chance at every hole. I was lucky enough that he only got six of them.” Kenny won one up and got all four points.

Jonathan Ward (3) was hit with a birdie barrage over the second nine but he managed to birdie the 18th to beat Martin Rourke (3) one up. Jonathan got three points.

Paul Magennis (4) played beautifully throughout and he beat Gerard Copeland (3)

2 and 1. Paul got three and a half points.

Banbridge had made an unbelievable start to the match but could they keep it going?

The answer is “Yes”.

Luke Woods (5) was mighty impressive against Johnny Feenan (4). Luke came from two down at the turn to get a half match and two points for the team.

Jonathan Shannon (5) was up against it right from the start and he lost all four points.

Back came Banbridge in the form of Rory Madeley and Jonathan Burns.

Rory (5) took three points off Declan Purlock (5) and Jonathan (5) raced to a 6 and 4 win over Alastair Duff (5) and got the maximum four points.

In the final game, Ross McCandless (5) lost to Peter Kelly and came away empty handed.

This was one of the best away performances ever by a Banbridge team. To get 19 and a half points away from home is the stuff of dreams. For a team like Ardglass to only get 12 and a half points at home is, for them, a nightmare.

THE SECOND LEG - The second leg was played at Banbridge last Friday evening. Kieran Magennis was quietly confident that he had the players good enough to get the 13 points needed for outright victory. And he was right!

Kenny Stevenson, once again, went out first and that was no bother to him. His play and demeanour were sublime and he took all four points in his game against David Vaughan.

If any young up-and-coming player wants to see how to prepare for a match and how to conduct himself during the game, just go out and watch Kenny in action. He is the ultimate role model.

Paul Magennis beat Ciaran Fitzsimmons one up and took three and a half points. This was an excellent result for Paul because Ciaran is probably the best player from Ardglass.

Jonathan Ward was in top form and he beat Kieran Sharvin by 3 and 2. Jonathan also got three and a half points.

Colin Wilton proved too strong for Raymond Madine. He won 2 and 1 and that was another three and a half points for Banbridge.

Before the match could be declared over, the Madeley brothers landed in with two more good results.

Neil beat Peter Kelly 6 and 5 and took the maximum four points.

Brother Rory, what a player, was dormie two up against Declan Murdock and he had three points in the bag.

Jonathan Burns (level after 14) and Ross McCandless (4 up after 14) were called in.

This was a emphatic victory for Banbridge, totally unexpected against a side as talented as Ardglass. It’s the quarterfinal next and we can’t wait.