Michelin looking for fourth straight League Cup triumph

Michelin will bid for a fourth successive Ballymena & District League triumph later this month.
Indoor bowls.Indoor bowls.
Indoor bowls.

They will attempt to win the knockout competition for an amazing seventh time in the last 10 years when they face Broughshane Playing Fields Association ‘A’ in a repeat of last year’s final, which the Woodside Road team won by a single shot.

Michelin advanced to the decider despite a rare defeat on their own mats as they lost by a shot against Golf Club.

However, Michelin had done the hard part in the first leg and advanced to the final with some 20 shots to spare overall.

Sean McGarry and John Jamieson tried their best to haul the golfers back into the contest but the first leg deficit was too much to overcome, especially as Graham Wilson and Grant Robinson won for Michelin.

There were parallels with Broughshane’s semi-final as they, too, lost at home, but again, had enough in reserve from the first leg of their clash with BIBC ‘A’ to progress.

With nothing to lose, the former Social Club side gave it a good go, with wins from James Gaston and Andy Duncan, while Bryan Magrath’s rink had a 10-10 tie with David Morrison,

However, Alan Cahoon’s rink won to ensure that Broughshane reached the final by eight shots overall.

Michelin 37, Golf Club 38: W Caldwell 6, S McGarry 13; G Wilson 11, J Lynn 8; M Boyd 8, J Jamieson 13; G Robinson 12, D McCullough 4. Aggregate - Michelin 85, Golf Club 65.

BPFA ‘A’ 29, BIBC ‘A’ 33: A Morrison 5, J Gaston 8; A Cahoon 10, A Hunter 6; D Morrison 10, B Magrath 10; W Morrison 4, A Duncan 9. Aggregate BPFA ‘A’ 73, BIBC ‘A’ 65.

LEAGUE PLATE

Golf Seniors sprang something of a surprise to reach the League Plate final.

The Raceview side, who have enjoyed a fine season in Division Two, knocked out first division JTI by nine shots, as they made good use of their 10-shot handicap allowance.

Campbell Wade and Donald Smyth steered the golfers to victory and although Brian Russell and Billy Lynn’s rinks won for JTI, it wasn’t enough to overcome the 10-shot obstacle.

In the other semi-final, Old Bleach, despite having to give away 20-shots on handicap, had too much know-how for third division West Church, as they cantered to victory.

Willie Fullerton’s rink were in particularly impressive form for the Randalstown side as they ‘shut out’ Jim Rainey’s foursome, while Andrew Booth, Mervyn McDonald and William Scott’s rinks also won for Bleach.

Golf Seniors (+10) 45, JTI 36: I McMaster 4, B Russell 8; C Wade 10, T Rock 5; J Nichols 8, B Lynn 15; D Smyth 13, G Maybin 8.

West Church (+20) 36, Old Bleach 58: D Aicken 6, A Booth 16; J Rainey 0, W Fullerton 19; T Wilson 5, M McDonald 10, R Wilson 5, W Scott 13.

LEAGUE

There was a significant development in the race for the District League title last week as BIBC ‘A’ grabbed top spot after taking full points from their meeting with club-mates BIBC, in a rearranged league match.

That victory - BIBC ‘A’s 11th in a row - takes them half a point clear of Michelin at the top of the table with two rounds of fixtures left.

The former Social Club side’s winning rinks were skipped by James Gaston, David Elliott, Adam Hunter and Bryan Magrath, while the result did nothing to ease BIBC’s relegation worries.

BIBC 27 (0), BIBC ‘A’ 44 (5): J Coulter 8, J Gaston 12; R Torrington 7, D Elliott 11; D Torrington 6, A Hunter 14; N Robinson 6, B Magrath 7.

DIVISION ONE

P W D L Pts

BIBC ‘A’ 12 11 0 1 46.0

Michelin 12 9 1 2 45.5

BPFA ‘A’ 12 9 1 2 42.5

Golf Club 12 7 0 5 33.5

JTI 12 2 2 8 20.0

Old Bleach 12 3 1 8 20.0

Clough Rangers 12 2 0 10 16.5

BIBC 12 2 1 9 16.0

Meanwhile, in Division Two, Portglenone Community Centre are on the verge of clinching the title after whitewashing one of their main rivals, BPFA ‘B’, in a rearranged game.

The Broughshane side remain on course to finish second after they took four points from a trip to Harryville Community Centre, as they completed another outstanding fixture.

Portglenone CC 53 (5), BPFA ‘B’ 17 (0): E Cassley 12, J Wasson 3; J McErlean 11, H McCullough 4; G McLarnon 16, D Kernohan 8; J Gaul 14, D Rea 2.

Harryville Community Centre 32 (1), BPFA ‘B’ 37 (4): H Smyth 12, H McCullough 2; W Burgess 4, J Wasson 11; S Wilson 9, D Kernohan 12; J Patterson 7, N Graham 12.

DIVISION TWO

P W D L Pts

Portglenone CC 12 11 0 1 45.0

BPFA ‘B’ 12 7 1 4 36.0

Services ‘A’ 12 6 1 5 32.5

Moneyglass 12 7 0 5 31.0

Golf Seniors 12 6 0 6 30.0

Services ‘B’ 12 5 0 7 24.5

Antrim IBC 12 3 0 9 20.5

Harryville CC 12 2 0 10 20.5

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