League semis go down to the wire

THE semi-finals in the Peader Callan Summer League took place in the Commercial Club last Wednesday night and they proved to be a fantastic advertisement for snooker in the town.

On table 2 the action began with James Coburn (Team Ralph) against Stephen McBride (Team O’Hanlon) and it was McBride who gave his side the lead despite a late Coburn fightback.

Dominic O’Connor looked like making it 2-0 to O’Hanlon’s team, but a fantastic clearance from Glen Duffy brought proceedings level on the night. Then in the third frame O’Hanlon himself beat an unlucky Patrick McArdle to put O’Hanlon’s men one frame from victory going into the doubles matches.

Ralph/Duffy needed to win the next frame to force a decider and they did just that, beating O’Hanlon/McBride.

O’Hanlon brought in Dominic O’Connor to partner him, but Ralph kept the same partnership that had levelled the match and with the momentum in their favour they made very few errors and closed out the match 3-2 to end Team O’Hanlon’s double aspirations.

Over on table 1 the other semi-final between Team McArdle and Team Thompson also went the distance.

In the opener Ciaran McShane made it three from three for the season against Aaron Callan to put Thompson’s men in charge. And it got better for Thompson’s team in frame two as Thompson himself produced a fine performance to beat Tony Fee.

In the next frame JJ McArdle needed to win to keep his side’s hopes alive and he duly produced the quality of snooker that has seen him reach the semi-finals in the individual competition.

Now trailing 2-1 going into the doubles, Team McArdle had McArdle/Callan facing Thompson/McShane in frame 4 and the match looked all but over when Thompson’s men went 26 points ahead, with 27 on the table. However, fine safety from Callan and a loose shot from Thompson saw JJ clear up to send the match to a decider.

The final frame was virtually all square when McShane capatilised on a stroke of fortune to make a fine 21 break which left McArdle and Callan needing two snookers. The Team McArdle pair tried but failed and Thompson’s team completed a 3-2 victory to secure a place in the league final against Team Ralph.

Thompson’s men are now in the league and cup final and they go in search of the first of those trophies - the cup - this week when they take on Team O’Hanlon, with the break-off at 8pm in the Commercial Club.