Bann boys beaten by strong Lurgan

Banbridge bowed out of the Fred Daly last week, losing to a strong Lurgan side after a heavy away defeat.

The young Banbridge team had performed heroically to reach this stage and their management team were very hopeful that they could progress into the semi-finals.

Lurgan were a strong side so it was a case of who made the fewest errors. The first leg was played at Lurgan on Tuesday and, sad to relate, things did not go Banbridge’s way. The Banbridge boys could easily have won three of the seven games but in the end, only got half a point. All they needed was a little bit of luck and some good decision-making.

Here’s how the first leg finished:

Josh Lockhart lost two and one to Caolan McCann, Josh Crory lost three and two to Peter Cummins, Callum Barnes lost by one hole to Ronan McGivern, Jonathan Brush lost four and three to Conal Patterson, Patrick Magennis lost to Nathan McCann, Luke Crory lost by one hole to Conor McDonald and Jamie Thompson halved with Aidan Murphy.

The second leg was played at Banbridge last Thursday. Lurgan needed only one point for victory. It was mission impossible for Kieran Magennis’ team but, all credit to them, they fought to the very end.

Jamie Thompson beat Ronan McCrory eight and seven, Callum Barnes beat Jason McCann five and three and Josh Lockhart halved with Peter Cummins.

Josh Crory was one up against Ronan McGivern after 16 holes, Luke Crory was level against Nathan McCann after 14 holes, Michael Young was two down against Conor McDonald after 14 holes and Jonathan Brush was four down against Conal Patterson after 14 holes.

Lurgan were assured of the point they needed and the match was over.

Congratulations to Lurgan and we hope that they go on to reach the final.

As for Banbridge, they are a very young team and most of them are eligible for the U18 competition next year. Maybe it’s too much to hope for but they could go all the way in 2015, you never know.

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