Last week as the days got longer and the temperature got higher we all felt that finally real bowling weather was arriving. And so it did, On Saturday morning the ladies game was cancelled 15 minutes before the start due to the rain. Thankfully for the men’s 1st it had stopped by the time their match away to Shankill started. Away wins on the astro in Shankill for any club are as rare as hens teeth but with the rain slowing the green down we felt we had a better chance than normal. We started well and after 6 ends there was only 2 shots in the overall match.With 5 ends to go we were 4 down and it finish 63 – 72 a loss by 9 shots.
Jerry’s rink of John Higgins, Paddy and Tadgh had a titanic struggle with neither team able to get control of the rink. And with 4 ends to play they were only 2 shots down 10 – 12. But one unlucky end where they lost a 5 made the task to great. The final score score ended up 10 – 21. Not a true reflection on the tightness of the game.
Derek’s rink of Paul, Fiachra and Zach found a skipper on the top of his game and were always struggling to stay in the game. They were 3 – 6 after 6 ends but ended up 9 – 21 down at the end.
Adam’s rink of Ian, Tim and Carrick had another tight match. The were 4 down after three ends but fought on and were 14 – 10 up with 5 to play. But then as is so easy to do on these surfaces lost a 5. Going into the final end they were one down but managed to win a shot on a measure to tie the game 17 – 17.
Nigel’s rink of Bryan, Frank and Dave always looked to be in control but were struggling to get away from their opponents. They were 7 – 5 up after 4 ends, 10 – 6 up after 7 ends but only 16 – 13 up with 5 to play before they won the final 5 ends to win 27 – 13.
So a 93 shots to 72 shots total and a 1.5 points to 5.5 Loss. A great start to the season. The next game is on Tuesday 17th of May in Railway against Bray.
The second teams match was at home to Kenilworth. Railway start slow and after 3 ends the score was 6 – 6 and after 7 ends they lead by only 5 (16 – 11). But by the end they were in full control with 59 – 23 win. 6 points to 0. Their next game is on the 16th of May in Railway against St Games Gate.
Paddy’s rink of Paul K, Brendan C and John M got off to a great start and were 9 – 0 up after 6 ends before their opposition got their first point. A share of the last 12 ends saw them comfortably winning 18 – 8.
Nigel’s ring of Brian, Viv and Tony had the toughest game of the night. Started slowly they lost the first 3 ends before gaining their first shot. After 7 ends they were 2 – 5 down before 4 shots on the 8 gave them the lead which they kept until the end. Kenilworth won 8 ends and only got 8 shots as the team made sure they did not give up a big score. The final score was 14 – 8.
Drew’s new rink of Chis, Phillip and Joe also started slowly and lost the first 3 ends before gaining their first shot. For 7 ends it was a very tight match with the score at 5 – 4. But a run of 4, 2, 4, 4, 5 shots in the next 5 ends killed the game and match as a contest. They ended up with a 27 – 7 win.
Last Wednesday was a good day for Railway in the BLI pairs competition (Boyd Cup). The Irene pair who were to play Derek and Paul L saw sense late in the afternoon and decided that it was not worth the effort of going to Railway and gave the lads a walkover. Nigel & Billy have a 1 shot win against the Browns of Dun Laoghaire and Adam and Carrick saw off Ian Gillan and friend by 8 shots. A very impressive set of results for a Division 2 club.
On Thursday night in the Marper cup Ultan had a very difficult assignment away to a very good Blackrock player. Ultan fought hard but came up short and will not be featuring with his brother Nigel in the next round.
On Sunday afternoon in the CYM rinks competition our rink of Derek, Adam, Carrick and Paul L had a tough 15 – 14 win. They play the Smiths in the next round on Wednesday.
