Kristofor has them all at sea in Bangor Open triumph

In a thrilling final he played David Black of Bangor and was in peak form for the occasion. Matchett did not disappoint his supporters in what was a hotly contested encounter and kept his nerve throughout even when he was trailing B8-4 after the eighth end. The next was a crucial end for Matchett. He kept his cool and bowled three excellent bowls to narrow the gap to 8–7 and then removed Black’s lying bowl at the 11th end to take 2 shots and square the match at 9–9.

Black responded well and it was all square at 11–11 after the 14th end and 12–12 after 16th end.

Matchett rose to the occasion in pursuit of a win. He calmly took the shot on the penultimate end to lead by just one shot.

The last end was the ultimate in what was an exciting match. He delivered two superb bowls one of which turned over his own to claim two excellent shots and win the Open Singles by two shots.

“I’m thrilled,” said Kristofor. “This is one of the most prestigious bowls tournaments in the calendar and I’m delighted to have joined a long list of international bowlers who have won the title previously.”

Kristofor also won the Young Player of the Year award for his outstanding performance throughout the tournament.

The other young Lurgan player, Reece Millar played exceptionally well during the Triples competition along with Simon Cavan, Shaftsbury and Jamie Watson, Comber and fought off stern opposition to reach a super final last Saturday afternoon when they met a Willowfield rink skipped by experienced bowler, Jim Millar.

Reece Millar’s rink made a confident start to lead 4–0 after three ends but the Willowfield rink responded vigorously to take the next 3 ends to go 7-4 ahead. Reece’s rink delivered some brilliant bowls, claiming a shot an end to lead 10–7 after the 11th end.

After the 13th end Reece’s rink had increased the Willowfield deficit to 4 shots but by the 15th end the opposition had pulled back to all square at 12–12.

The match was heading for a tight finish but the Willowfield men grasped the initiative and finished the match 15-13.