[<<] [>>] by Robert Fulford
12th August 2004 (International)

I'm just back from Ireland where Mark McInerney played one of the best matches I have ever had played against me to win the Championship.

The best game of the match was game 3 (of 5). Mark laid a supershot ball and then missed me in corner 2 third turn. I went to 1-back. Mark hit the tea lady shot and went to 4 back with an NSL with the 1-back ball hidden from A-baulk. I hit the 1-back ball from where my hoop 1 ball lay - about a 24 yarder with some potential to hit off hoop 4, and embarked on a sextuple. Sextuple was always behind after longish go at peeling 2-back before 4 bounced off and spun a couple of yards towards corner 1. End up peeling penult straight from a severe angle and then running penult into the peelee. Made contact leave with Mark's 4-back ball in corner 2, my rover ball in corner 3, the peg ball in corner 4 and Mark's hoop 1 ball somewhere in the middle of the court.

Mark took contact with his hoop 1 ball in corner 3, split to corner 2 sending my rover ball to 3 yards from rover towards hoop 2. Took off to hoop 1 (actually went passed the back of the hoop on the East side). Ran 4 yard 20 degree hoop cleanly off the North boundary. Hit 5 yarder at partner near corner 2. Played a fantastic shot splitting partner to 3 obtaining a 4 feet rush on the ball near rover back to hoop 2. Went out with a delayed triple, peeling 4-back before 6, penult rolling to 2-back, and rover with a nine inch Irish peel.

Mark completed another smooth delayed triple to take the fifth. Congratulations to Mark on winning his first Irish Championship.

Full results below (the statisticians out there can tell us if Dennis Bulloch's -22 net point match victory over Andrew Hobbs is a record)

Results

Round 1

R.Fulford (1) beat J.Guest +16sxp +26sxp
C.Patmore beat A.McInerney +4 -26 +25
G.Healy beat P.Fitzgerald +16 -17tp +5
S.Williams (4) beat C.Von Schmieder +15 +3tpo
D.Bulloch (3) beat J.Wicks +6 -7 +4tp
A.Hobbs beat E.Cunningham +19 +21
E.Newell beat F.Rogerson -4 +17 +4
M.McInerney (2) beat M.O'Shaughnessy +25tp +8

Quarter-Finals

R.Fulford beat C.Patmore +24sxp -18 +16
S.Williams beat G.Healy +17 +2
D.Bulloch beat A.Hobbs +1 -26 +3
M.McInerney beat E.Newell +22tp +15

Semi-Finals

R.Fulford beat S.Williams -24tp +26sxp +1sxp
M.McInerney beat D.Bulloch -11 +24tp +26tp

Final

M.McInerney beat R.Fulford +26tp -26tp +3tp -25sxp +22tp