No surprises in League Cup

Many of the ties had been all but settled after the first instalments, by which stage several teams had built up commanding shots advantages.

Much of the attention was on events at Raceview, where Golf Club started the second leg of their tie against cup holders BUSC just six shots adrift on their home mats.

But any notion of an upset was dashed by the interval, by which stage Social Club had stretched their lead to 29 shots against a somewhat depleted Golf Club outfit.

Bryan Magrath had an 11-shot win against David McCullough, while Uel Fleming's BUSC rinks was 12 better than John Jamieson.

Golf Club had the better of the second half, even despite Johnny Lynn's rink going down by a shot, but Kevin McGarry's foursome outscored Andy Bonnar by six shots to give the home team a little cheer.

Elsewhere, Services 'B' – beaten semi-finalists in this competition last season – had their interest ended at the first hurdle this time around when they were eliminated by third division Golf Seniors.

Already down from the first leg, Services were further up against it by having to give up 10 shots on handicap to their lower-ranked opponents and they rarely looked like turning the situation around.

The Trostan Avenue team were three shots ahead at the break thanks to Greta Coulter's win over Sammy Small, while namesakes Eric and Donald Smyth could not be separated, scoring 11 shots each.

The second half saw the golfers drive on to victory with Charlie Law, standing in for Campbell Wade, leading his rink to an eight shot win over Roy Dickson, while John Nichols put the cream on the cake with a nine shot win over Sheila Smith.

Michelin had a clear passage into the second round as they added another 36 shots to their 20 from the first leg against Broughshane Playing Fields 'B'.

Wesley Caldwell, Grant Robinson, Matthew Boyd and Graham Wilson guided their rinks to clear wins against Alan McCombe, Terry McClintock, Joe Campbell and James Wasson respectively, to set up a second round tie against JTI.

Old Bleach were also convincing winners against third division St Mary's Glenravel, for whom Gerry Sands' rink put up a good performance to restrict Sammy Hall's foursome to a four-shot win.

However the other Bleach rinks skipped by Brian Trimble, Mervyn McDonald and particularly David Burrowes – who beat Daniel Higgins by 20 shots to two – ran out winners with plenty to spare.

All Saints' bright start to the season continued when they beat Round Tower by four shots, to add to their 12-shot first leg lead, to set up a second round meeting with Enkalon.

The opening pair of games did not favour the Cushendall Road side as they found themselves 10 shots down, the result of a 10 shot win for Kevin McLarnon against Nicholas Mitchell, while Gilmore Campbell shared 16 shots with Jock McKay.The teabreak team talk did wonders for Saints as Eugene McReynolds came up with a 14-shot victory over John O'Neill, while Paddy Martin held Michael Teer to a 9-9 draw.

One 'first' leg tie was played as when Dunclug PTA took on Harryville Community Centre and a close contest ended with a four shot advantage for the Wakehurst-based team.

Harryville had been unable to field a team for the first leg, which has been rearranged for October 27.

The game at Dunclug school saw three very close rinks where only one shot separated the sides, with wins for the home rinks skipped by George Davidson, Alan Heron and Chris Ramsey. The Harryville rink skipped by Wilson Burgess was responsible for the Community Centre's four-shot lead as they outscored Noel Clarke by seven shots.

The Eaton Park v Moneyglass game was postponed owing to the death of Anthony Kearney, of Moneyglass, while no details were received from the Clough Rangers v Maine game.

RESULTS

Golf Club 26, BUSC 44: D McCullough 4, B Magrath 15; J Jamieson 4, U Fleming 16; J Lynn 6, R Fleming 7; K McGarry 12, A Bonnar 6. Aggregate – Golf Club 65, BUSC 89.

Michelin 57, BPFA 'B' 21: W Caldwell 12, A McCombe 7; G Robinson 13, T McClintock 7; M Boyd 15, J Campbell 4; G Wilson 17, J Wasson 3. Aggregate – Michelin 102, BPFA 'B' 46.

Services 'B' 31, Golf Seniors (+10) 55: G Coulter 11, S Small 8; E Smyth 11, D Smyth 11; R Dickson 4, C Law 12; S Smith 5, J Nichols 14. Aggregate – Services 'B' 60, Golf Seniors 105.

Glenravel (+20) 31, Old Bleach 56: G Sands 4, S Hall 8; D Higgins 2, D Burrowes 20; M O'Neill 2, B Trimble 16; S McKeown 3, M McDonald 12. Aggregate – Glenravel 71, Old Bleach 111.

All Saints 45, Round Tower 41: J McKay 8, G Campbell 8; N Mitchell 8, K McLarnon 18; E McReynolds 20, J O'Neill 6; P Martin 9, M Teer 9. Aggregate – All Saints 90, Round Tower 74.

FIRST LEG RESULT

Dunclug PTA 35, Harryville CC 39: N Clarke 7, W Burgess 14; G Davidson 9, H Smyth 8; A Heron 9, B McBride 8; C Ramsey 10, S Wilson 9.

LEAGUE FEES

A final reminder to club treasurers that league fees must be paid before Novermber 1. Failure to do so will result in the loss of all points gained to date.