Seniors into PGL final

This was always going to be a tough game as Dunbarton were the holders of the Cup and they presently sit at the top of the NIPGL Senior League Division 1, however the Ballymena men put in an excellent performance to progress in to the final with an 88-65 win.

Steven Falls, JJ Robinson, Sammy Allen and Steven Coleman made a horrible start to their match against M Greenfield on rink 2.

The Ballymena men scored a single on the first end, however Dunbarton then scored 13 shots over the next four ends and appeared to be running away with the game. The experienced Braid rink however did not panic and over the next 6 ends they scored 9 unanswered shots to reduce the deficit to 3 shots.

The remainder of the game was nip and tuck and even though the Ballymena men eventually lost by 20 shots to 17, this was an excellent recovery especially when in a cup match every shot counts.

On rink 3 James Gaston, Graham Wilson, Andrew Morrison and Nigel Robinson won the first 4 ends of their game against D J Wilson to open up a 9 shot lead.

The Dunbarton rink then hit back to win the next 8 ends to lead by 4. Three shots on the 13th end got the Ballymena men going again and an excellent bowl from the Braid skip on the next end added a further 2 shots to get the Braid rink back in front.

The remainder of the game was close and a count of 4 shots on the final end saw the Ballymena men score a hard fought 21-19 victory.

David Torrington, Andrew Bonnar, Jonathan Millar and Jim Baker were drawn against the Dunbarton rink skipped by C McCartan on rink 4.

In the early stages of the match the Ballymena men found the Dunbarton skip in inspired form and this enabled the Dunbarton rink to open up a 6 shot lead after 5 ends. The Braid men continued to play the better bowls and 5 ends later they had opened up a 2 shot lead.

Counts of 4 shots on the 13th end and 3 shots on the 16th end saw Baker's men take control of the game with the Braid rink eventually claiming a deserved 20-15 victory.

Steven Shields, David Duncan, Mark Torrington and Andrew Duncan were in inspired form on rink 4 against T Bell. They raced in to a 12 shot lead after only 4 ends and even though the Dunbarton rink scored 8 shots over the next 3 ends they were never really in the game.

The 'kindergarten rink' turned on the style and totally dominated the remainder of the game allowing the Dunbarton rink to score on only 2 more ends and they went on to register an impressive 30-11 victory.

LEAGUE DEFEAT

Ballymena Seniors 60 (1) Belmont 102 (6): Last Saturday brought the teams sitting in second and third places in the NIPGL Senior League Division 1 together when Belmont were the visitors to the Old Ballymoney green.

With only a couple of points separating the two teams it was important that the Ballymena men did not slip up however in a disappointing display the Braid team could only claim a single point. This result now leaves Ballymena in fourth place 7.5 points behind Dunbarton with only 3 matches remaining.

On rink 1 Steven Falls, Jimmy Hodges, Sammy Allen and Steven Coleman took on R Horner. The home rink settled down well and after 11 ends they held a 12 shot lead.

The visitors came back in to the game over the second half of the game, but the Ballymena men had done enough in the early part of the game to claim Ballymena’s only point of the day by 22 shots to 15.

David Torrington, Andrew Bonnar, Jonathan Millar and Jim Baker were drawn against R Battersby on rink 2 and found themselves trailing by 21 shots to 0 after 9 ends. The remainder of the game was closer but the damage had been done in the early ends as the Braid men went down by 29 shots to 13.

It was a similar picture on rink 3 where James Gaston, Graham Wilson, Andrew Morrison and Nigel Robinson lost the first 4 ends against S Bennett to trail by 11 shots to 0. The Ballymena men never really recovered from their poor start and eventually were beaten by 27 shots to 13.

Things were not much better on rink 4 where Steven Shields, David Duncan, Mark Torrington and Duncan lost the first 6 ends against D Hamilton as the Belmont rink raced in to a 16 shot lead. Again there was not much in the remainder of the game with the visitors going on to record a 31-11 victory.

The Seniors are next back in action this Saturday when they take on top Provincial team Portrush in the semi-final of the IBA Senior Cup which is being played at Ballymoney.