We face mammoth task to shatter Whitehead’s unbeaten streak: Kane
DUNLUCE’S Barry Kane admits his team drew the short straw when they were paired with Whitehead in round three of the Irish Bowling Association’s Senior Cup.
NIBA lads Whitehead have been in invincible form and are pushing for a triple trophy haul.
They go into today’s game in the best possible shape having dumped Bangor out of the NIBA Senior Cup in midweek.
It’s now down to Dunluce, the 2011 IBA Cup winners, to achieve what no other team has managed this season.
“It’s a big test,” stressed Ireland international Kane. “We’ll go into the game as massive underdogs because our form hasn’t been near good enough this season, we’ve been inconsistent.
“We’ve managed to pick up only 16 points from six league starts. We had to play our first five games away from home because of work being carried out on our green, which didn’t help.
“Not a lot is expected of us in this game, so there’ll be no pressure — we’ve nothing to lose.
“We produced probably our best form in the last round to defeat Portrush, but the pressure is all on Whitehead. They are the form team who have yet to taste defeat. Perhaps that can work in our favour.
“Bowls is so unpredictable. We’ll give it our best shot.”
Meanwhile, Coleraine will have their eyes on a quarter-final slot when they roll out the welcome mat at Lodge for Bowling League of Ireland side Blackrock.
Although they’ll be favourites, Coleraine will certainly be taking nothing for granted.
Coleraine’s Jordan Dallas said: “We played them in the mid-1990s and beat them at our place, so hopefully that’s a good omen. We know Blackrock are packed with experience, so we’ll have to be at our best.
“But we’ve had a good start to the season, we are sitting second behind Ballymoney in the league table. We know that home advantage is vital in cup games, so it’s important we make that count. It would be a great boost if we could reach the last eight.”