Juniors claim maximum points against Belmont

On Saturday the Braid men continued where they left off on Tuesday night when they collected another 6 points to maintain their interest in the title race.

Artie McAuley, Norman Armstrong, Ivan Lynn and John Coulter shared 14 shots over the first 8 ends against K Croy on rink 1. The remainder of the game however was a different affair as the home team took control of the match. The visitors could only score 3 more singles over the remaining ends whereas the Ballymena men scored a total of 13 shots to run out victors by 20 shots to 10.

The game on rink 2 turned out to be a one sided affair where John McFall, Neal Garrett, Alan McAuley and Roy Torrington took on D McCullough. The Belmont rink started well enough when they won 4 of the first 5 ends to open up a 4 shot lead, however Torrington’s men stunned the visitors when they picked up 2 counts of 6 shots on the 7th and 9th ends and when they added a count of 5 shots on the 11th end meant that they would only be one winner in this game. The Ballymena men kept up the tempo for the remainder of the game and in the end they were well worth their 31-13 win.

Geoff Padgett, Jimmy Larkin, Danny McCullough and Jackie Robinson lost 2 shots on the first end against G McTasney on rink 3 however they won the next 8 ends to get a grip on the game. During these ends the Braid rink scored 13 unanswered shots to open up a 9 shot lead. Shots were hard to come by over the remaining ends with a total of 11 singles scored over the remaining ends but the Ballymena men has done enough in the first part of the game to earn a good 18-8 victory.

On rink 4 Leslie Barr, Tommy Hill, and Nigel McFadden had young Chris Wilson making his debut at skip and they were drawn against W Busby. This turned out to be the closest game of the evening and at the half way stage of the contest the Braid men lead by 9 shots to 6 and with only 3 ends remaining the margin was still 3 shots. The 19th end did not build up well for the Ballymena rink however 2 good bowls from the young Ballymena skip meant that the home rink would carry a 4 shot advantage in to the final 2 ends and with each rink scoring a single it left the final score 16-12.

Ballymena Juniors (92) Mossley (69)

John McFall, Neal Garrett, Alan McAuley and Roy Torrington were in top form on rink 1 against T O’Neill and when they picked up 3 counts of 4 shots over the opening 4 ends the visitors knew that they were going to be in for a long day. The Mossley rink could only score 4 single shots over the first 14 ends and by that time the Braid men were 22 shots in front. The next few ends were closer but Torrington’s men wrapped up an excellent performance with a count of 5 shots on the final end to leave them victors by 36 shots to 12.

On rink 2 Leslie Barr, Nigel McFadden, Chris Wilson and George Graham took on M Little on after 4 ends the scores were level at 3-3. The Braid men then won 3 consecutive ends to open up a margin of 6 shots but 6 ends later the advantage had been halved with the score board reading 12-9. The decisive period of the game came over the next 5 ends when with the help of counts of 4 and 5 the Braid men increased their lead to 13 shots. There was no way back for the visitors and they eventually went down by 26 shots to 17.

Geoff Padgett, Arnold Kenny, Danny McCullough and Jackie Robinson lost 4 shots over the first 2 ends against S McTasney on rink 3 but 4 consecutive singles brought the Ballymena men back on level terms. Seven ends later the scores were still level at 9-9 but 5 shots over the next 3 ends gave the Braid rink the edge. Five shots was still the margin going in to the final end and the Ballymena men finished off in style when they collected a count of 4 shots to claim a hard fought victory by 21 shots to 12.

Artie McAuley, Norman Armstrong, Ivan Lynn and John Coulter had a day to forget on rink 4 against W Wilkinson. The visitors won the first 5 ends to open up an 8 shot lead however counts of 3 and 4 over the next 4 ends gave the Ballymena rink a little hope. With 12 ends completed the Ballymena rink were still in touch as they only trailed by 5 shots but the Mossley men could not do a thing wrong and they won the next 8 ends to extend their advantage to 20 shots. The Braid men claimed a single on the final end but in the end they were well beaten on the day with the final score 28-9.

Next week Ballymena Juniors have another home league match when they entertain high flying Pickie