No joy for Greenhills on their visit to Corduff

THERE were no new year gifts given to Greenhills last week as their visit to Corduff BC last week ended in defeat.

The format for this Oriel Zone League is three teams playing 11 ends in each match, with eight points on offer under IIBA rules.

The first trips match was played at a very fast pace, with the host skip Jim Fox’s team turning in a hugely encouraging performance, taking three ends on the bounce to go five up.

The hosts were unable to sustain that effort, letting in Greenhills in the fifth end to close the gap, although they were still two down at that stage. However, Greenhills skip Claire Woods stepped up to the pace and grabbed the next two ends in quick succession, taking the lead three up.

Corduff were not about to see their good work in the earlier ends go undone, and they fought back to level the score in the ninth end.

The Greenhills team continued to spurn gilt-edged chances and the hosts took full advantage in the last two ends, going into overdrive as they ran out comfortable winners by eight shots. The Greenhills team were Val Maguire, Jimmy Flood and Claire Woods.

In the second match Greenhills were against a very strong team featuring two Irish players. The visitors were very nervous and struggled to settle into the game, finding it very hard to adapt to the fast mat.

Not surprisingly the home team went ahead by six shots after four ends, leaving Greenhills with a mountain to climb. However, they did just that in the next two ends, cutting the deficit down to two shots.

The visitors’ skip Anna Farrell rallied the troops and sustained pressure on their opponents helped close the gap to one, with two ends remaining. The host skip Niall Hand’s team were getting frustrated, but they showed their creative skills in the latter stages and eventually ran out winners by seven shots in a tough encounter. The Greenhills team were Alan Thornberry, Jack Howell and Anna Farrell.

In the last match of the night Greenhills were expecting a tough game, and that is exactly what they got, going down by four shots after three ends.

Skip Eugene Mc Kenna’s team had to modify their game in the fifth end by firing into the head to compensate for the obstructing bowls around the jack and that approach bore dividends as they cut the the deficit down to one.

However, Corduff skip Jason Hand’s team showed great determination and took the next three ends on the trot to go five up.

Greenhills got back to within two shots with two ends to play, but it was too little too late and Corduff finished strongly to take the win in fine style by five shots and the overall eight points on offer. The Greenhills team were Andy Mac Grane, Tom Devin and Eugene McKenna.

The next league match is away to Louth.

Times of play this week are Juniors Tuesday 7 to 8.15pm, Seniors 8 to 10.30pm, and Thursday Seniors 8 to 10.30pm.