INDOOR BOWLS

Kildare West Wicklow Indoor Bowling Association (KWWIBA)

Exciting Atmosphere in Allen Finals - The conclusion of the Tom Boland Memorial Tournament (Allen) provided great entertainment and a very exciting atmosphere in both the Cup and Shield deciders, with a very good attendance of spectators to add to the occasion.

Kill Tops in Shield - The Shield final was contested between Kill and Allen. As both teams had accounted for some very good teams on the path to this final we were expecting this match to serve up a very good game of bowls.

This game started off very well for the hosts as they were first off the mark and settled into the game very quickly whereas their opponents were that little bit slower getting into their stride.

But once the Kill side got going they slowly and surely started to pull away. At the half way stage Kill had moved seven clear and the signs didn’t look good at all for the Allen team. But credit to them for a very good fight back they had closed the margin to just three scores by the twelfth end. After such a great effort to get back into the game they completely faltered on the last three ends and allowed the Kill side to run out easy winners on a score of 18/9.

This was a good game of bowls even though the scoreline might suggest otherwise. Unfortunately for Allen their opponents were in tip-top form in this final and deserved their win.

Kill: Elizabeth McGarr, Tom Quigley, Des Beatty and Lar McGarr.

Allen: Mary Brennan, Concepta Mullally, Doreen Wiltshire and Kevin McCormack.

Poor Start Rathangan’s Downfall - The Cup final featured Kildare Town against near neighbours Rathangan. With Kildare Town Cup runners-up in their own tournament and Rathangan Shield winner in the same tournament the prospect of a great game was envisaged. Both teams had carried that consistency of form right through all their games thus far.

In contrast to Rathangan the Kildare team got off to the perfect start, scoring three on the first end, scoring two on the second end and again scoring two on the third. Seven ahead after just three ends it looked as if Kildare would just sweep aside their opponents and canter to an easy victory.

Once Rathangan settled, they were soon on the scoreboard and started the process of hauling in their opponents and by the seventh end had narrowed the gap to just two scores. Kildare on the next end pushed the gap to four. But again their opponents brought it back to three.

We were really seeing a great battle and brilliant bowling from both sides at this stage. But suddenly on the next couple of ends the Kildare side had put a whopping nine scores between the sides. With only five ends to left play it looked game, set and match for Kildare. Again the fighting spirit of Rathangan shone through as they slowly clawed their way back by reducing the margin to five scores. Two ends to go and still all to play for, but Kildare prevailed and went on to win on a final score of 17/10.

One was left wondering if it wasn’t for Rathangan’s bad start, which ultimately was their downfall, what the outcome would have been as it was those early seven scores that was the difference between the sides at the finish. But lets not take from this superb Kildare team who have now made it two in a row in this tournament.

Kildare Town: Fintan Downey, Mick Keirin, Anne Gleeson and John Gleeson. Rathangan: Josie Deegan, Austin Neylan, Eileen Smullen and Pian Neylan.

Mary Boland wife of the late Tom presented the Tom Boland Memorial Trophy to Tommy Martin (Kildare).

The Allen club would like to thank all clubs that took part in this tournament to make it such a success.

Also to John Gleeson (Kildare) who put in a lot of time and effort in helping with the draw and fixtures, and to Eileen Smullen (Rathangan) who helped out each night during the events.

A big thank you must go to all members of the Allen club (too numerous to mention all names) whose work ethic and commitment throughout the tournament was tremendous.