Banbridge bowlers batter Bessbrook to take top spot

On rink 1 for the Bann men we had Ken Stevenson, Willy Steenson, Seamus Skelton and James Kelly taking on the Bessbrook rink skipped by Noel Mackin. The home rink started off strong, picking up counts of 5 on the 5th and 6th ends to leave them out of sight, 18-1 up after 6 ends. Even though Bessbrook got 2 shots on the next end, the visitors only won another 2 ends in the game leaving the final score a resounding 42-5 in favour of the home team.

On rink 2 for Banbridge we had the foursome of Matthew Cromie, Adam Cromie, Brendan Davis and Philip Cromie facing off against the Brook rink skipped by former Banbridge player James Feehan. Again the home side here picked up a big count on this rink early on, claiming 7 shots in the 5th end, leaving them 11-2 up after 5 ends. The visitors would go onto score 1 shot in ends 7 and 9 but this failed to bridge the gap as the Bann rink powered onto win the next 8 ends leaving them out of sight at 36-4 ahead after 17 ends. On end 18 Bessbrook got 2 shots but Cromie's rink finished strong winning 46-6 by the end of the game.

On rink 3 we had the Banbridge rink made up of Mervyn Jess, Ian Wright, Pete Haughey and Kyle Blakely up against the Bessbrook rink skipped by Davy Paul. This was a tighter affair in the opening exchanges with the Bann 4 taking the initiative after 5 ends, out pointing the visitors 7-5 by virtue of a count of 5 shots on the 4th end. The home side won the next 7 ends, getting 2 more counts of 5 shots along the way, leaving them well clear of the visitors 27-5 ahead after 12 ends. The Bessbrook rink did hold their own until the end of the game but the lead the Banbridge 4 had built up would prove too big to overcome, with Banbridge recording a comprehensive 33-14 victory here. On rink 4 we had the had the Banbridge foursome of Alex Cromie, Martin Nelson, Gareth McCloughlin and Gavan Blakely lining up against the Bessbrook rink skipped by Mick Tyrell. The Bann men started well here, going 8-2 up after 6 ends. The visitors dug in though and reduced their arrears to 4 shots after 11 ends of play, trailing the home outfit 13-9. This though would prove to be as close as they got as the Bann men only lost 3 of the remaining 10 ends, running out easy 26-12 winners to complete a full house of home rink victories, catapulting Banbridge to the head of NIBA Division 1.

This was a big performance from the Senior team as they had to make 5 changes from the team that won in Carrickfergus last week, with those who came in acquitting themselves very well. If the Senior team is to push for honours this season it's going to be about more than 16 players and it's great to see the top performances from all who have played so far for the Senior team, giving selectors a good problem in the weeks ahead. Next week the Senior team will travel to Sydenham which will no doubt prove to be a tough assignment away from home but one that the team will meet head on.

Our Junior team travelled to neighbours Markethill for their 3rd league game of the season, losing out 111-62 but still coming away with a valuable 1.5 points to keep the scoreboard ticking over and I'm sure their first elusive win isn't far away. The rink scores are as follows:-

Markethill VS Banbridge

Ray Hunter 21 vs 25 Jim Major

Joe Beattie 16 vs 16 Ben McArdle

Alan Cassells 35 vs 8 Paul Chambers

Stevie McCall 40 vs 13 Mark Campbell