JAMES O’Donovan and Martin Coppinger saved the best until last in the second semi-final of the Bold Thady Quill Cup at Ballinagree.
Playing for a total stake of €20,000, the start wasn’t great but the finish was a cracker. Three each out and around the first bend, Bandon bowler O’Donovan had a ten-metre advantage. O’Donovan took advantage of a poor fifth from Coppinger and rose 80 metres. Up through An Capailin Ban Cross, Coppinger got a super bowl and had the odds down to 40 metres again.
Coppinger followed on with two more great bowls to Horgans double gates, and after his next to the cattle crossing sign, the odds that O’Donovan had was still only 30 metres. A poor bowl to the pink cottage looked to have Coppinger in trouble again as O’Donovan rose 80 metres on this.
At the Post Office Coppinger had the odds back to ten metres, and out to the Quay Wall, O’Donovan still had only ten metres, and it was from here going to be a ding-dong finish.
With four shots to go Coppinger regained the lead by one metre, but O’Donovan had the lead back after the next to the white wall before the final bend, and for the last shot O’Donovan still had only ten metres.
Coppinger let rip a serious last shot that made the Ploughman’s entrance, O’Donovan had to get everything to beat this, his bowl hopped the kerbing, ran the footpath and beat the tip by the narrowest of margins to set up a final encounter with Aidan Murphy. Preceding this score Denis Wilmot beat Edmund Sexton by the last shot for €2,400 a-side.
***
At Lyre in a junior tournament, Conor Creedon and David Hegarty went to battle for €2,600 a-side.
Creedon started in a blaze, reaching the forest entrance in two great bowls. Hegarty got a poor third in right and Creedon was back of the tunnel in two more, still only 60 metres fore bowl. Creedon got a big fifth to the start of Crowley’s Wall and Hegarty followed this to keep the odds well under the bowl. Hegarty got a good seventh but was a bit unlucky not to rub cleaner.
Creedon gave away an unexpected lead when he misplaced his bowl in right to give Hegarty his first lead. Up to Crowley’s bend and across, Creedon was back in front again. Hegarty made McCarthy’s bend and Creedon missed up but got a massive rub off the right ditch with his 12th shot to the start of McCarthy’s high wall, Hegarty was very right and missed this tip but recovered well with a good bowl up past the big tree that Creedon missed by 25 metres. After two more heading for the line Hegarty had a 40-metre advantage for the last shot and beat Creedon’s tip easily.
