DRUMANESS - 397
QUEEN’S HALL - 218
HAVING made their respective ways through the preliminary round and semi-finals, Drumaness faced defending holders Queen’s Hall in the final of the prestigious Rodgers Cup.
The draw was duly made, pitching Seamus McGivern against Keith Lemon and Marty Singh against Alastair McDonald in the first two matches.
Lemon got the first few points on the board and, with some great red ball potting, gradually built up a 75-52 point lead.
After some frustrating near misses, McGivern eventually got going and successive breaks of 16,17 and 22 saw him into the lead at 97-77 as Lemon’s form seemed to desert him.
Further breaks of 17, 18 and 23 in the second part of the match saw McGivern home on a 200-105 scoreline.
On the other table, Singh and McDonald weren’t exactly firing on all cylinders either, but in a close contest the scores reached 83-80 in McDonald’s favour.
Just as in the first match, Singh found a bit of rhythm in the latter stages as breaks of 20 and 21 saw him head for the finishing line. McDonald battled to the end to get 148 on the board as Singh broke the 200 mark, helped by another 20 break.
The combined scores from the first two matches, plus the overall team handicap advantage meant that with Drumaness more than 200 points in front, the match was over as a contest.
Nevertheless, Drumaness captain and cup sponsor Gary Rodgers played a short exhibition with Queen’s last man Tommy Hunter.
With the snooker on the TV next door and a table full of delights to be had, league treasurer Robert Pollock quickly presented the cup to a smiling Rodgers, who commiserated with the losing Queen’s players and thanked his own team for leaving him nothing to do against the in-form Hunter. Gary first presented this magnificent cup to the league in 2012 in memory of his late father Gerry — no mean billiards player in his day.
While a Drumaness team had won the cup previously, this was the first time in six years that Gary had got his hands on the trophy as a player.