DOWNPATRICK suffered a disappointing home defeat to Lurgan in the opening fixture of the NCU Senior League Section 1 on Saturday.
In a low scoring game, the men from the Strangford Road fell nine runs short of victory against the reigning league champions.
Leading up to Saturday, Downpatrick’s ground staff had to work tirelessly to ensure the game went ahead as scheduled. Unfortunately, however, the previous week’s heavy downpours had a lasting effect on the wicket and it was soft underfoot, meaning tough batting conditions.
It was surprising then that upon winning the toss, Lurgan captain Stephen Johnson opted to put his side in to bat.
It didn’t take long for the first wicket to fall and Justin Rea removed opener Stephen Johnson with only the second ball of the innings. Overseas professional Niranjan Godbole, and opener James McCollum helped to steady the ship for the visitors, with Lurgan reaching 42 before McCollum became the first victim of Dale Mullan’s bowling.
Lurgan then lost five wickets for just 15 runs. Dale Mullan claimed two further wickets, while Colin Magowan chipped in with a wicket of his own. There were also two run outs, brought about by some impressive fielding by Dan Carson and Gavin Ringland.
Downpatrick kept the pressure on, and the final three wickets fell before the 35th over, with Lurgan all out for just 94 runs. Dale Mullan, the pick of Downpatrick’s bowlers, attributed to two of these wickets, leaving him with final figures of 5-22 from his 10 overs.
The Strangford Road men’s response was disrupted early when opener Paul Tate was removed by Godbole in the 4th over. James Magowan, who had been very impressive with the bat in pre-season, could only manage 9 runs before being trapped LBW.
Mohammed Ashraf, making his debut for Downpatrick, arrived at the crease and he and Dale Mullan scored quick runs to push Downpatrick to 40-2, before Ashraf was also dismissed via LBW for 10 runs.
Mullan soon followed back to the pavilion for 12, leaving Justin Rea and Gavin Ringland to face a rejuvenated Lurgan bowling attack. Rea and Ringland pushed Downpatrick past the 60 run mark, before Ringland was clean bowled by Godbole. Rea was then bowled in the next over leaving Downpatrick reeling on 68-6.
Another wicket followed soon after when Colin Magowan was run out off an excellent direct hit. John Wheeler and Dan Carson steadied the ship momentarily, moving Downpatrick to 80-7 before Carson was dismissed for 4.
Phil Moreland’s wicket fell soon after and Downpatrick were on the verge of defeat on 80-9. Wheeler rallied and batted with purpose, remaining unbeaten on 15 runs. Unfortunately, he ran out of batting partners when young Jordan Adey was caught and bowled by Anderson in the 35th over, leaving Downpatrick all out for 85.
This was a hugely disappointing end to a game which showed great initial promise for Downpatrick. This result will need to be forgotten immediately, however, as Magowan’s men will look to bounce back with victories when they host Cliftonville on Saturday and Woodvale on Bank Holiday Monday.
• The club’s second string will have to wait another week to get their league campaign up and running, after last weekend’s scheduled fixture with Saintfield at the Demesne was postponed due to the adverse weather conditions.
They now travel to Carrick this weekend for their first game of the NCU Junior League Section 2.