Kelly Mallon and Carmel Ryan to contest final

Kelly Mallon and Carmel Ryan will contest tomorrow’s Global Catering Queen of the Roads final after impressive wins at Ballincurrig yesterday.

Ryan beat Munster champion Catriona O’Farrell Kidney and Germany’s Anke Klöpper. Mallon dominated the second half of her semi-final in which Claire O’Sullivan gave a great display, but Dutch champion Silke Tulk never got into her stride. Klöpper played and won the first shot of the festival, but just a metre separated her from O’Farrell-Kidney in third with Ryan sandwiched between them.

All three were at the sycamores in three with O’Farrell-Kidney leading. Both Ryan and Klöpper missed sight at the top of the short straight and O’Farrell-Kidney got a big shot to go a bowl clear. Both Ryan and O’Farrell Kidney missed the big corner as Klöpper made it to draw level, with Ryan a bowl behind. Ryan closed the gap past Leahy’s, but it was her brilliant bowl to O’Riordan’s that put her back in contention.

She won the lead with her next. Klöpper fought back to regain the lead at the creamery, but her next shot was poor.

O’Farrell Kidney finished strongly and all three were in the frame for the last shot, although Ryan had a big lead. O’Farrell Kidney beat the line, Klöpper missed, and Ryan managed to close it out.

Silke Tulk won the opening shot of the second semi-final. O’Sullivan won the second and had a nice lead at the top of the short straight, where she led Tulk by almost a bowl.

She kept ahead of Mallon to the big corner and increased her lead past Leahy’s. Mallon took the lead with a great bowl down the long straight. She turned the screws with a beautiful bowl, which twisted around the bend at O’Riordan’s. She raised a bowl on O’Sullivan at Hegarty’s. Tulk briefly pushed O’Sullivan into third but O’Sullivan secured second with a sensational bowl to the creamery.

Michael Bohane beat Wayne Callanan and Dave Fitzgerald in the Jim O’Driscoll Cup and will face Paul O’Reilly in tomorrow’s final.