Local duo in action as NI claim a top three finish

TWO local snooker players represented Northern Ireland A and B in the Under-21 Home Internationals, which took place in England.

Dunamanagh’s Jamie Gardiner was part of the A team, which included Robbie McGuigan, Joel Connolly and Christopher Clifford, while Castlederg’s Darragh Arkinson was amongst the B team of debutants that included Shea Valentine, Conor Kelly and Conor Murphy.

The A team got off to an encouraging start with a 6-6 draw with Republic of Ireland as McGuigan and Connolly both sealed 2-1 victories, while Clifford and Gardiner bother suffered defeat by the same margin.

The lads stepped up a gear in their next match, defeating Scotland 8-4 as young Connolly and Gardiner both picked up a 3-0 win apiece, while Clifford won 2-1. Unfortunately McGuigan had a 0-3 defeat.

Gardiner and co continued their good form against Wales, winning 7-5, with the Tyrone man and McGuigan both sealing emphatic 3-0 victories, while Connolly and Clifford fell 2-1 and 3-0 respectively.

Northern Ireland A suffered a reality check in their next game, however, falling 9-3 to the in-form England A as McGuigan won 2-1, Connolly lost 2-1 and both Gardiner and Clifford lost 3-0, with the latter coming up against Paul Deauville, who recorded a 92 and 84 clearance in their match.

Next as the battle of the Northern Ireland A and B teams, with the former winning 12-0 thanks to 3-0 victories all around, with Gardiner defeating Kelly, while Arkinson fell to Connolly.

In their final group game, Northern Ireland A fell 7-5 to the undefeated England B, who had won every game they played, with McGuigan and Connolly winning 2-1, while Gardiner suffered a 3-0 loss and Clifford fell 2-1 to his opponent.

Despite that reverse, Northern Ireland A had done enough to claim third place overall in the tournament.

There were plenty of highlights for the lads, including Connolly’s break of 109, which was the highest of the tournament, while Gardiner impressed with 10 frame wins out of 18 played.

Arkinson and his B team colleagues had a more difficult time in Yorkshire, however, but they will learn from the experience.
They lost 12-0 to Republic of Ireland, England B, Northern Ireland A and Wales, and fell 10-2 to Scotland.