Dunbarton have it all to do now

Dunbarton A 69 (1pt)

HAVING lost just one game all of last season the Dunbarton A team will have to produce some performance for the rest of the season if they are to equal last season’s record.

It was all due to a horrible opening day defeat at the hands of a much improved Willowfield side in the first round of fixtures for the 2010 Private Greens Senior Division One.

At this stage of the season, greens are always tricky and while this was undoubtedly the case at the East Belfast venue the locals can have no excuse as it was the same for both teams and they simply did not play well enough.

Surprisingly the locals did start well and three of the four rinks led by three shots at the five ends mark. However this was as good as it got as the Gilford men played second fiddle for the remainder of the game.

Time and time again the home lead was narrowed to single figures and just when it looked as though the locals would put their foot on the accelerator and get in front, the opposite happened.

Despite losing by 19 shots at the close, Dunbarton could have gained anything from no points to seven points as all four games were close going into the final few ends.

Conor McCartan’s four led from start to finish but with four ends to play only led by two shots, only to hold their nerve over the final few ends to score five unanswered shots.

Next door Myles Greenfield’s four were having a titanic battle with their rivals and thanks to some marvellous bowls by home skip J McMullan trailed by three shots going into the final end. Although Myles was holding one shot, he had no chance of scoring a treble and by trying to drive the jack off the rink for a replayed end, ended up losing a count of five instead.

On the other middle rink Clifford Dennison’s four had a close battle with their opponents and with three ends to play and trailing by four shots, Clifford turned the jack to lie four shots with one bowl remaining. The home skip had played well all day but with his last bowl, was way off target only to flick an outside bowl and run across the head for shot - this effectively killed off Clifford’s hopes of a point.

And last but not least came DJ Wilson’s four on rink four who started brightly but then fell behind. Despite bouncing back on two or three occasions, they could never get their noses in front and with four ends to play trailed by two shots. However a dreadful 18th end saw the loss of a count of six and that was game over.

The Dunbarton A Team have not been used to losing games over the last few years and this Saturday’s game at home to Pickie will prove a point as to whether or not they have the hunger and determination to succeed once again this season. A really good team will bounce back quickly from adversity - this Saturday’s game is crucial. One thing is for sure, the performance cannot be any worse than last weekend’s.

Rink 1: D McElroy, J Magennis, G McElroy, C McCartan - up 22-15.

Rink 2: M Higgins, E Campbell, T Mulholland, M Greenfield - down 15-23.

Rink 3: D Pedan, P Adamson, A Hughes, C Dennison - down 14-20.

Rink 4: David Copeland, Peter Convery, Tony Bell, DJ Wilson - down 18-30.

If Dunbarton are to make it five league titles in succession, they cannot afford any more performances like the Willowfield defeat.