Seniors vs Larne

Last match of the season saw Larne journey to Stormont. Both teams entered the match on 50.5 points in joint 7th.

Rink 2 had Derek Forsythe, Albert Preston, Mansel Montgomery and Alan Montgomery take on J Patton, B Smyth, J McRandal and Simon Bell. Al's men got off to a good start leading 7-3 after 5 ends. The next 5 ends were tight but the lead grew to 10-5 at 5 ends. A 4 in the 11th end got Simon back into the game and the Larne 4 were back on terms at 12-12 at 15 ends and were leading 14-12 after 17 ends. Al's rink finished strongly and avoided the 20th end hoodoo to win 17-14.

Rink 3 saw John Mooney, Michael Bell, Artie Rice and Freddie Murdock face H Millar, B McConnell, G Johnston, A McLean. Another fast start saw the home rink lead 6-2 after 5 ends. The lead was cut to 8-6 at 10 ends and the game was all square at 11-11 at 15 ends. Freddies rink responded by winning 4 out of the 6 remaining ends to win 16-13.

Rink 4 had Norman Shields, Francis Bell, JJ Leonard and Stanley Hegan take on A Crooks, G Neill, E Wilson and Davy McRandal. Honours were even at 4-4 after 5 ends. A 7 in the 9th end saw a big deficit open up and Foxy's fellas trailed 15-5 at 10 ends. The gap grew over the next 5 ends as the score went to 20-8 at 15 ends. Foxy's rink fought to the end and lost 13-23.

Rink 5 saw Chris Graham, Derek Brown, Ian Hutton and Brian Leonard face R Lyness, G Woods, M Murphy and Paul Robinson. A slow sart saw Brian trail 5-2 after 5. The home rink got going and were back on terms at 7-7 at 10 ends. Brian's boys had a lead of 2 shots when they dropped a 5 in the 15 end to trail 13-10. Things continued to go badly as the deficit grew to 16-10 at 18 ends. The Larne front end put 3 bowls on the jack in the 19th end only for Ian Hutton to open the head perfectly setting up 4 precious shots. With the momentum Brian converted the 20th end to lift 2 and get on terms going into the final end. The home rink lifted a 3 in the final end to win 19-16.

Overall the game was lost by 1 shot. 2 shots difference was the difference between finishing 7th, 1 shot would have taken 8th place, but as it was the Senior team finished 9th on 53.5 points.

The season has been a success with 17 points more gained than last season. Sights are firmly set on improving on this haul next season