Last end heartache for Armagh

It was an advert for the game of short mat bowls and with 2 bowls of the 2010 Mens Interzone final left to play Armagh and Mid Ulster were level. With 3 shots against Armagh skip Joe Beattie struck the head, but the jack went to a Mid Ulster bowl, and as a result Armagh failed to retain their title by the narrowest possible margin.

 

Armagh had been behind for most of the game. They were 5 down at half time and with 3 ends left in the second half were 10 down. All looked lost at that stage but a great effort over those last 3 ends set up the grandstand finish. Sadly it wasn' t to be but the locals played their part in the best final for some time.

 

Rink scores were as follows:

A Roberts 8 v M Wilson 8
D McDonald 7 v D McStravock 8
A Leckey 5 v A Paul 9

HALF TIME - Armagh 20 Mid Ulster 25

M Trainor 10 v C McHugh 7
J Beattie 14 v D McElroy 7
A Hughes 4 v S Quinn 10

 

FINAL SCORE - Armagh 48 Mid Ulster 49

 

Congratulations to Mid Ulster on their 9th Interzone title.

Local winners at St. Anthony's

St Anthony's tournament due to a close on Friday 26 February with local players claiming both the singles and pairs titles. In the singles final, Waringstown's Ian Perry had a narrow 7-6 over St. Anthony's Sean Conroy snr. However the home club did have success in the pairs with Martin Trainor teaming up with Armagh Golf Club's Derek Wright to score a 9-5 victory Calum Comiskey and Oliver Donaldson from Cullyhanna in the final.

Mens Interzone Final

St. Anne's Dungannon is the place to be on Saturday (27 Feb) as Armagh men
try to retain their Interzone title against Mid Ulster. Armagh are bidding
to be only the 4th team in the competition's 40 year history to retain the
title - Northern, Lisburn and Saturday's opponents Mid Ulster being the
other 3.

Armagh have named an unchanged side in their bid for 5th Interzone title,
while Mid Ulster include 2 St. Saviour's players in their line-up.

All's set for a cracking game. The action starts at 2.00pm.

More tournament success for local pairs

Pairs from Armagh Zone have won 2 more tournaments recently. St. Saviour's Jack Moffett and Andrew Hughes won Ballygowan pairs while Cyril Leckey (St. Mark's) and Robert Kidd (Armagh GC) teamed up to win the Madden tournament in south Armagh.

St Anthony's Tournament in full swing

The pairs sections of St. Anthony's tournament have been completed. The following are through to the finals night on Friday 26 February:

Derek Wright & Martin Trainor, St Anthony's

Gareth & Stephen McMahon, Carrickmacross

Madge & James McKenny, Dromara

Calum Comiskey & Oliver Donaldson, Cullyhanna

John O'Brien & Kieran Trainor, St Anthony's

Ann & Eddie Patterson Killiany, Boardmills

A N Other & Sean McCrilly St Marys Killyman

The singles sections are now also complete. Through to the finals are:

Stephen McMahon, Carrickmacross
Stephen Mulholland, St Joesphs Lisburn
Fra Dillion, Redeemer
Ian Perry, Waringstown
Derek Shanks, Dromore NS
Sean Trainor, St Anthony's
Kevin McConville, St Anthony's
Dairmuid McMahon, Carrickmacross
John O'Brien, St. Anthony's
Francie Tennyson, St. Malachy's
Paul Moore, St. Anthony's
Sean Conroy Snr, St. Anthony's

All's set for a great finals night on Friday.

All to play for in Fane Valley Leagues

With over 2 thirds of the season gone it's all to play for in both divisions of the Fane Valley League. In Division 1 reigning champions St. Anthony's have a battle on their hands to retain their title. The champions are currently top of the table but St. Mark's are only 1½ points behind with a game in hand. St Saviour's are a further 5½ points behind, but all could change on Thursday evening when they host St. Mark's. St Anthony's have also play both these teams before the end of the season, so there may be a few twists and turns yet.

 

At the bottom, Queen Street's precarious existence in Division 1 looks as if it's coming to an end. The Lurgan club have only collected 6 points in their last 8 games and require at least 2 victories in their last 5 games if they are to stand any chance of staying up. The second relegation spot looks to be between Kilmore and St Pat's Maralin. Both have the same number of points but Kilmore have 3 games in hand which could be enough to see them stay up.

 

Portadown Golf Club seem to be heading back to Division 1 after a couple of years absence. The lead Division 2 by 10 points. However any one of about 6 or 7 clubs could grab the second promotion spot. Indeed, Mullavilly are currently in 8th spot, but if they win their game in hand on the teams above they could go joint 2nd with St. Malachy's. So its all to play for!