Last shotwin for Murphy
Coppinger got the better of the opening shots by 40m and was just fore after the second to light. Murphy then got two poor shots to fall almost a bowl behind. Coppinger held that lead to O’Donoghue’s bend. Murphy cut the odds with a great bowl past Cnoc an Úir cross, but Coppinger was almost a bowl clear again at the slippery rock. He got a poor shot there though and Murphy took his first lead at the following tip.
There was nothing between them at Murphy’s. Coppinger then beat Murphy’s brilliant bowl towards the novice line by 30m. Murphy’s next was poor and Coppinger punished him with a big bowl to Ullanes bridge to raise almost a bowl again. Murphy kept the lead under a bowl by beating Coppinger’s massive bowl to the junior line.
Things looked to be going Coppinger’s way till he played two poor shots in succession—the latter one left him with just 30m odds facing the line. Murphy took his chance with a brilliant last shot that beat the line well. Coppinger’s reply was good but it veered right and missed the tip by nine metres.
Eamon Bowen Snr bowled impressively to beat Paddy O’Donoghue by almost a bowl in the opening score of Pool C at Templemichael on Sunday.
O’Donoghue bowled brilliantly against James Buckley the previous week at Templemichael, but this time it was Bowen’s turn to shine. He reached O’Riordan’s in two while O’Donoghue only made the old hall in two and was already 50m behind. Bowen made Murphy’s in two more to go almost a bowl in front.
O’Donoghue got two poor shots on the straight, but Bowen did not exploit them. He was still almost a bowl in front approaching Roche’s cross and he held it to the following bend. He got three good bowls to Cooney’s to hold his advantage. He made light with his next and was just short of the line in two more to complete a very solid performance.
Patrick O’Donoghue had a very easy win in the Round Robin stages of the North East Junior A championship at Glanworth. Bowen never got going in this one, despite having had a good win over Martin Daly in his first outing at Carraig na bhFear. Veteran Ger Fitzpatrick beat John-Joe Crean in the South West Junior A at Fisher’s Cross. Crean looked a winner till he missed the line and he then missed a big last shot from Fitzpatrick
Donal Riordan had to produce a big last bowl to beat Killian Kingston at Kealkill. Kingston won the opening bowl to light, but it was all level after three more to the creamery. Riordan played a huge bowl past O’Sullivan’s to go almost a bowl clear. Kingston fought back to cut the lead to five metres at the B&B. Riordan got the better of the next three to lead by 70m at the graveyard.
He was 100m in front facing the line and it looked over. Kingston then played a great last bowl, but Riordan kept his focus and beat it by 40m.
Jerry Gibbons ran out a very easy winner against Ian Callanan in the Kilbrittain semi-final. He won the opening tip by ten metres. He went well past the corner with his second and Callanan missed that with his third to fall a bowl behind. Gibbons was through the cross in seven, while Callanan just made peeping light in eight.
Callanan knocked the bowl on the straight and looked set to make a real battle of it in the next few shots. Gibbons broke that trend with a brilliant 11th shot, which put almost two bowls between them. Callanan closed the gap with his following shot, but Gibbons produced another massive bowl to take his lead to almost two again.
James Cooney and Denise Murphy won the Tadhg O’Driscoll Cup final by almost two bowls at Drimoleague. They beat Denis O’Driscoll and Sharon Russell, son and daughter of Tadhg O’Driscoll. They made light in two to go almost a bowl in front and increased their lead from there to the line.
Jimmy Cowhig beat DJ Holland in a gripping Junior B championship tie at Béal na mBláth. Holland had almost a bowl after two and was still 100m fore at Shorten’s cross. He lost ground to Long’s lane and Cowhig led at the farmhouse. They were locked together from there to the finish. Cowhig got an incredible last shot, but Holland made a brave effort to follow it and missed by just 20m.
At Ballinacurra Thomas Boyle made the Junior C line in 11 throws to beat Denis Wilmot and David O’Mahony by close to two bowls. O’Mahony beat Wilmot in the return. Brendan O’Neill and Kieran Murphy shared the spoils at the same venue. O’Neill won the first in the last shot, but Murphy took the second by almost a bowl.
In the Northern Builders at Knappagh Frank Nugent caused a shock when he easily beat Adrian O’Reilly Snr. Oisín McGready beat Johnny Rafferty in the last shot of the Grade 3 semi-final. Other winners were Malachy Lappin over Paul Grimley and Martin Lyttle against Joe McVeigh.
