NI regain title without injured skipper Wallace

NORTHERN Ireland regained the International Challenge Cup title after a dominant weekend at the Pot Black Snooker Club in Cookstown where they beat Scotland and France before thumping reigning champions Republic of Ireland to seal the coveted trophy,

The hosts previously won the competition in 2014 and then again in 2016, the latter event also being held at the Tyrone venue, but every other running of the tournament since it started in 2012 has seen the Republic triumph.

So, having seen off Scotland 24-12 and then France 21-15, Northern Ireland went into what was essentially a decider with the Republic, who eased past the French 27-9 and then battled to a 19-17 win over the Scots, with a point to prove.

However, with just one frame between the teams going into the match, the home side, who trailed 46-45, knew they couldn’t afford any slip-ups.

Not that they needed to worry as the sped out of the blocks and raced into a 20-9 lead that led to the match ending early as even if the Republic won the remaining frames, they still couldn’t have won.

“It’s absolutely fantastic to have won it, especially with the time and effort put in to hosting it,” beamed Northern Ireland captain, Dungannon’s Patrick Wallace.

“Going into the last day against the Republic we were one frame behind which meant if we drew 18-18 we lost, but if we won by any margin we were going to win and the guys just performed just out of their skin.

“It was fantastic, the lads were absolutely brilliant.”

While the on-table element of the tournament went as well as could have been hoped for Northern Ireland, the build-up couldn’t have gone any worse for skipper Wallace, who after a fall at his home just two days before the event started, suffered a fractured knee cap.

As well as excruciating pain, the injury meant Wallace was unable to play, so Northern Ireland had to find a replacement at very short notice. Fortunately, Lurgan’s Paul Sweeney was available and what a super sub he proved to be.

“He won eight out of 11 frames, so he probably did better than I would have done,” joked Wallace, who was delighted for his colleagues rather than disappointed at not being able to play a part in the victory.

He added: “I’m happy now. If we hadn’t won with all the time and effort that had been put into it, it would have been disappointing and if we had lost with me not playing then I might have thought I could have made a difference.

“But the fact they won it, I’m perfectly happy with how everything has turned out and it was a great distraction for me for three days after such an unfortunate incident just days before, which was not the way to prepare for a tournament!

“The guys did me proud, they were absolutely brilliant, I’m thrilled for them.”

At the time of writing it was unknown how long his injury was going to keep Wallace out of action, but the former World Championship quarter-finalist is determined to play in the next NI ranking tournament, which gets underway in the Pot Black Club on Saturday.

However, as Wallace is one of the top 16 seeds, he goes straight into the last-32 of the event and that doesn’t take place until the following week, which may give him the chance to recover enough to play.

“At the minute it’s difficult to do anything but it’s only sore when I move!,” explained the Dungannon man. “I can get around on crutches, but I have to be very careful.

“The next NI ranking tournament is in two weeks in the Pot Black with all the tables newly recovered so I’m going to be absolutely devastated if I have to miss it.

“But because it’s my right leg and I have to keep it straight, which I have to do when I’m playing snooker anyway, I can get down to take a shot.

“The problem is it takes me so long to get around the table, I don’t know if it’s going to be worth it. But two weeks might make a difference.”