CROSSGAR 325
QUEEN’S HALL 295
HAVING lost out in successive cup finals already this year, Queen’s Hall were hoping it would be third time lucky when they faced Crossgar in the McAllister Cup final.
Crossgar were conceding 160 points on handicap, so needed key players Kenny Campbell and John Weston to be at their best. Campbell didn’t disappoint in a 200–49 demolition over a luckless Chris Scantlebury, bagging breaks of 56 and 40 along the way. Weston was playing catch-up early on against Keith Lemon as both men registered 24 breaks in the first quarter.
However, when Weston nailed a nice 50 break to take the lead, Lemon’s form deserted him. Further late breaks of 28 and 27 saw Weston home on a 200–79 scoreline.
The last match saw Robert Pollock take a handy 112 point lead into his game with Alastair McDonald, needing to score only 89 to complete the victory — advantage Crossgar.
The match started slowly, with Pollock happy to chip away with minor scores and 38/36 ahead as he eyed his target. McDonald then found his groove and breaks of 19 and 28 saw him halfway home leading 100 points to 61.
A further 23 break took the scores to 135-75 in his favour as Pollock’s nerve started to jangle. However, as McDonald’s consistent scoring took him to within 28 points of the finishing line, a grateful Pollock accepted an easy opener to get to 90 points on the board and the cup was heading to Crossgar.
St Patrick’s club host Oliver McGuigan congratulated Crossgar on their win, commiserating with Queen’s Hall on coming up just short yet again.