The Ulster Transport A team coasted to victory against Limavady B by 61 shots (107 - 46) in the Connected Health IBA Intermediate Cup Final at Belmont Bowling Club on Saturday 26th August 2023 with a magnificent performance by all the players.
Match Videos
Rink 1: Jim Young, Tommy Brown, Colin ...
Rink 3: Bryn Rea, Colin Montgomery, Simon ...
Scoreboard
The final score. A 61 shot victory. A tremendous result.
Champions
Roberta Tinsley receiving the IBA Intermediate Cup from IBA President Bill Galloway with the Ulster Transport A team and the club flag.
Supporters
There was a large group of travelling supporters at the match who were cheering on the Ulster Transport A team to victory.
Team Selection
Player Cup Statistics - A Team
Ready for the Match
The Match - Early Stage
Ulster Transport A got off to a flying start, opening up a six shot lead on the first end (7 - 1), holding on at 10 - 5 after two and extending the lead to ten shots (17 - 7) after three ends.
The back green at Belmont is a good surface for bowling (a massive improvement on last year) and all the UTBC players adapted quickly to the pace of the green, putting continuous pressure on Limavady and gradually increasing the lead to over 20 shots by the eighth/ninth ends (34 of 84).
The Match - Middle Stage
Limavady had no response to the constant pressure and with Mark Devlin's rink leading the charge at 15 shots up, Davy McCartney's rink (closest to the stand) rolling in a feast of great shots for the supporters, Joel Shannon's rink having one of their best games of the season and Mark Trew's rink easing ahead like a well oiled machine, the lead continued to grow and was over thirty shots by the half way stage.
The Match - Closing Stage
It was one way traffic as the Ulster Transport A team, roared on by the large group of travelling supporters, rolled in shot after shot across the green to increase the lead to 40, then 50 shots by the 18th end.
Mark Devlin's rink, playing at great speed, were three ends ahead and had already finished, 33 - 10 up, with Mark already changed and pointing out the score.........
The Match - The Finish
The gap continued to widen and reached 60 shots shortly after Ulster Transport passed 100 with three ends to go in the match, before the last bowl was played and the Ulster Transport A team were the 2023 IBA Intermediate Cup Champions with a 107 - 46 victory against Limavady B.
Players
Gallery
There is a collection of all images for the 2023 IBA Intermediate Cup Final in the Gallery Menu on the Ulster Transport website (click on IBA Intermediate Cup Final in the category dropdown filter to see all the relevant photos).
Simon McCartney also has an album collection at Irish Cup Winners 2023.
Summary
A glorious day for Ulster Transport Bowling Club, well done to all the players and a big thank you to all the travelling supporters.
After all the celebrations it is time for the 2023 IBA Intermediate Cup Champions to focus on the match against Old Bleach on Tuesday night, where a win will keep everything on track for promotion and a possible League and Cup double.
