Veterans in charge in title race

The Veterans have been of in a rich vein of form lately and claimed eight points out of a possible 10 in the last two rounds of matches to take a two point lead at the summit of the table.

This week it was Glencloy Elite who made the visit to Randalstown with the hope of taking some points and helping their stable mates Glencloy Inn in the process.

Wins on the night from Hans Kuijten, Jason Beggs Ned Murray, and Frankie Brammeld ensured the Veterans return to top spot, James Mellon however averted the whitewash for the visitors with a fine 2-0 win over Derek Lee.

Closest to the Veterans are McAuley's who sit in second place two points adrift with two wins over the Easter period ensuring that they stay in contention for league honours. T

his week McAuley's hosted Halfway B who themselves would have fancied this one after their cup victory over McAuley's earlier in this season.

However McAuley's did just enough on the night to ensure a narrow 3-2 victory, with the Halfway side making a late rally in the final two games to snatch two points with wins for Jonny Donnell and Raymond Mark. Wins for McAuley's came thanks to David Magill, Ryan Mitchell and Sean Davidson.

Reigning champions Glencloy Inn were not in action this week however they had a rare slip-up at home to Halfway A the week previous, Halfway claiming a narrow 3-2 victory, to leave the Carnlough team five points adrift of the lead. However they are by no means out of this race with a game in hand yet to play in the coming weeks they seem certain to be among the favourites to lift the title. The fourth team with a chance of walking away with the league title are Lurig A who had a strong 4-1 win over BUSC to draw them level on points with Glencloy Inn on 71 points. With any of these four teams in with a shout it all makes for a very interesting few weeks to decide the outcome of the league.

Elsewhere in the league Lurig B have been the stand-out performers in recent weeks with a run of four wins propelling them to a mid table position hot on the heels of Greenhills and Halfway A.

Heffrons 1, Lurig B 4: H McNally 0, T Crawley 2; D Crossan 0, M Crawley 2; B Taggart 2, L Cooper 0; J Glennon 0, F McAteer 2; MJ O'Boyle 1, G Shannon 2. Sportspersons - Mickey Joe O'Boyle/Gareth Shannon.

Lurig A 4, BUSC 1: M Birt 2, S Clarke 0; D Birt 2, T O'Neill 1; P McAteer 2, S Scullion 1; B Birt 2, L McClelland 0; J Mc Killop 1; J Knowles 2. Sportspersons - John Mc Killop/Linzi McClelland.

Social Chronics 2, Greenhills 3: W Wilson 0, C Reid 2; C Walsh 0, P Scullion 2; K little 2 E Darragh 0; R Campbell 2, M McAuley 0; T Hamill 0, J Larkin 2. Sportspersons - Colin Walsh/Eamon Darragh.

Randalstown Veterans 4, Glencloy Elite 1: H Kuijten 2, N Hamill 1; J Beggs 2, J Abram 0; N Murray 2, A Abram 2 0; F Brammeld 2, M J McCourt 1; D Lee 0, J Mellon 2. Sportspersons - James Mellon/Hans Kuijten.

McAuley's 3, Halfway B 2: D Magill 2, J Liddie 1; R Mitchell 2, B Fleck 1; S Davidson 2, B Feeney 0; J McAuley 0, J Donnell 2; M McConnell 1, R Mark 2. Sportspersons - David Magill/James Liddie.

Halfway A 3, Black Bull 2: S Rowan 1, T Robb 2; D O’Boyle 2, P Bloomer 0; B Hamill 2, F Robb 1; A Graham 2, B Byrne 0; M Curran 1, N Percy 2. Sportspersons - Frank Robb/Seamus Rowan.

Results for Thursday, April 1:

Lurig A 3, Greenhills 2: M Birt 1, C Reid 2; P McAteer 1, J Larkin 2; D Birt 2, JP Kane 1; B Birt 2, C Reid 1; J McKillop 2, P Scullion 1. Sportspersons - Paul Scullion/Paddy McAteer.

Glencloy Inn 2, Halfway A 3: C McCollum 2, S Rowan 0; P Bates 0, D O’Boyle 2; M Abram 1, B Hamill 2; M Curran 2, S Morgan 1; A Graham 0, J Atcheson 2. Sportspersons - Seamus Rowan/James Atcheson.

Randalstown Veterans 4, BUSC 1: G Davison 2, S Clarke 1; J Beggs 2, T O’Neill 1; J Talbot 2, L McClelland o; H Kuijten 1, J Knowles 2; F Brammeld 2, S Scullion 0. Sportspersons - Tony O’Neill/James Talbot.

McAuley’s 4, Glencloy Elite 1: D Magill 2, J Mellon 1; W Magill 2, J Abram 0; R Mitchell 2, A Bird 0; J McAuley 1, MJ McCourt 2; M McConnell 2, A Abram 0. Sportspersons - MJ McCourt/Mark McConnell.

Halfway House B 2, Lurig B 3: R Mark 2, T Crawley 0; J Donnell 2, P Duffin 0; J Liddie 1, L Cooper 2; M McSparron 1, F McAteer 2; B Fleck 0, G Shannon 2. Sportspersons - Jonny Donnell/Fergal McAteer.

Social Chronics 2, Heffrons 3: C Walsh 1, H McNally 2; K Little 0, D Crossan 2; A Fusco 1, MJ O’Boyle 2; T Hamill 2, J Glennon 0; W Wilson 2, M McVeigh 0. Sportspersons - Tam Hamill/Damien Crossan.

STANDINGS

Randalstown Veterans, played 20, points 76; McAuleys 21-74; Glencloy Inn 19-71; Lurig A 20-71; Halfway House A 20-53; Greenhills 20-51; Lurig B 21-50; BUSC 20-45; Halfway House B 18-44; Black Bull 20-41; Social Chronics 20-40; Glencloy Elite 19-34; Heffrons 20-28.

FIXTURES

Round 22 of games takes place this Thursday, April 15, with the following games: Greenhills v BUSC; Lurig Inn A v Glencloy Elite; Glencloy Inn v Lurig Inn B; Social Chronics v Randalstown Veterans; Heffrons v McAuleys; Black Bull v Halfway House B. Bye - Halfway House A.

REMINDER

Teams are reminded to have all scorecards retuned by text or post by Saturday morning at the latest in order to guarantee inclusion in the following week's paper.