Ports' shock defeat is 'Maine' talking point

But bottom-of-the-table Maine had other ideas when they travelled to Division Two title-chasing Portglenone Community Centre, producing one of the shocks of the season to win by two shots and claim four points.

It was a case of ‘perfect 10s’ for the three winning Maine rinks, who all notched that figure of shots.

Laurence McQuillan and Matt O’Neill each had 10-6 first half wins over Tom McCart and Jim Gaul respectively and Pat O’Neill made it three points for the visitors with a 10-7 success over Joe McErlean.

Kevin O’Kane made a bold stab at overturning the shots deficit facing the Ports with a 13-4 win over Brian Kerr but the Randalstown side held on to claim a famous victory - only their second of the current campaign.

That setback enabled Broughshane Playing Fields ‘B’ to leap-frog them at the top of the table, thanks to an impressive four-and-a-half point haul from their trip to West Church ‘A’.

Broughshane effectively had three points wrapped up by the tea-break, by which stage they were 25-6 to the good.

Terry McClintock had routed Matt McPeake 14-1 - Matt’s solitary shot coming on the ninth end - while Noel Graham produced a ‘5’ on the last end to win an otherwise closely-fought tussle with Maurice Livingstone 11-5.

Jim Rainey stemmed the flow with a ‘4’ on the last end to earn a 10-10 draw with James Wasson but Joe Campbell had the final say for Broughshane by beating Graham Wilson.

The battle for third place remains as closely-contested as ever, with several teams furthering their cause last week.

Services ‘A’ kept up the chase with a comfortable 41-28 over Enkalon, who are now marooned to the foot of the table.

Mark Shaw had given Services a flying start with a 17-5 success over J Greenaway, but Chris Murray had notched a point for the Antrim side before the break, beating Billy Scullion.

Pauline Wilson shaded a win over Basil Johnston and George Beattie wrapped up the win by beating Brian Mackle, as the Trostan Avenue side continue to tick along nicely ahead of their forthcoming League Cup final.

The other Division Two match saw two of the sides chasing third spot in direct competition and it was visitors Clough Rangers who claimed the lion’s share of the spoils from their trip to Harryville Community Centre.

Again, it was a point apiece at ‘half-time’ but Denis McClurkin’s 10-shot winning margin over Wilson Burgess meant that Clough carried a seven-shot lead into the second half, after Harold Smyth’s 13-10 win for Harryville over Andy Armstrong.

Both sides won another rink apiece - Stewart Wilson for Harryville and David Shaw for Clough - but McClurkin’s winning margin in the first half was enough to see Clough claim the point for overall shots total.