Sport

Bowls: Dunbarton win tight battle against holders Belmont

WHEN Belmont hosted Dunbarton in the PGL Senior Division One last weekend the home side, holders of the title, were anticipating a stern battle with last season's runners-up - and that's exactly what transpired.

Dunbarton took the initiative and, at the 15-end mark, were 12 shots ahead before their opponents came right back into contention. Robin Horner, Stuart Bennett and Roy Battersby finished ahead against Conor McCartan, Marty Trainor and Andrew Hughes respectively to raise the spirits of the home side.

However, DJ Wilson's rink of David Copeland, Jack Moffett and Peter Convery hadn't put a foot wrong throughout the game and their 32-16 defeat of Chris Allan saw Dunbarton secure victory by two shots and claim four points.

Afterwards, Copeland said: "We anticipated a hard battle and that's exactly what we got. We can't recall the last time we won at Belmont, but we've now won our opening three games against tough opposition and we're very happy with that".

Larne collected 6.5 points against NICS, while Larne, Pickie and Mossley each secured six points. NIBA champions Whitehead got back on the winning track with a maximum points win against Banbridge, while Balmoral continued their winning ways with a 6-1 victory against Portadown. Divis could only manage a half-point at home to Bangor.

Cookstown head the PBA Senior Division following a 6.5 win at Limavady, while Coleraine are in second spot after they broke the ton barrier at Ballycastle. Defending champions Ballymoney are in third after their six-point haul against Portrush.