Lurgan A clinches Division 2 Title in two shot win at the seaside

After 10 ends it was not looking good for Lurgan A with only one rink up and 11 shots down across the green but at 15 ends the gap had narrowed to six shots thanks to Alan Roberts rink who were winning by 11 shots.

Over the next five ends Lurgan A managed to outscore Newcastle 20-13 to take the lead by one shot going into the last end. Thankfully Lurgan scored three to Newcastle’s two to secure the overall score by two shots to take three points.

With Alan Roberts four coasted to victory to give the Lurgan side the extra point required to lift the title and a return to Division One next season.

On Rink 1 Richard McClune, Peter Dew, Alan Briggs and Ronan Cregan had a ding dong battle with Ian McKeown with never more than 3 shots in it over the 21 ends.

Going into the last end it was all square and with all the games off the green Newcastle needed four to secure the overall score. The home side scored a double only giving them the rink win.

Over on Rink 2 Luke Donaldson, Jeff McCullough, Eileen Robson and Sam McCombes faced Dessie O’Neill. Although they got off to a reasonable start the Lurgan four found themselves down by 9 shots at 16-7. Over the last 6 ends the tide started to turn with McCombes getting a few good results to bring the final score back to 18-14.

Ivor Mitchell, Doreen Wheelan, Harry Cosgrove and Alan Roberts on Rink 3 picked a great time to return to form against Damien Scarlett. Over the first half of the game it was close but with all four on the rink playing great bowls the second half was all one way with Lurgan scoring 14 shots to Newcastle’s five to win 26-12.

On rink 4 Neil Sloan, Peter Ruffold, Nigel Hamilton and John Gilliland were up against Aidan McHugh. The home side took advantage of a tricky rink and stormed to a 19-9 lead after 15 ends. Over the last six ends the Lurgan four buckled down winning five ends and scoring six shots. Although they ended up losing 21-15, those scores over the last few ends made a big difference to the overall score.

Next Saturday the last game of the season is against Lisnagarvey at home. Lurgan can go out to enjoy the game knowing they have already been crowned Division 2 Champions 2024.