Sport

Murphy dethrones county senior champion Bohane

May 24th, 2023 1:30 PM

By Southern Star Team

Defending champion Michael Bohane relinquished his grip on the county senior men's title with a loss to Aidan Murphy.

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DAVID Murphy produced some top-class bowling as he saw off defending champion Michael Bohane in their senior championship clash at Lyre recently.

The eagerly anticipated first-round clash, carrying a stake of €5,640, drew a large crowd. While it may not have fully lived up to its billing, it was nevertheless an engaging duel that stayed in the balance until close to the end. A good start can be important at Lyre – Bohane had shown this in his final win over Séamus Sexton last year and this time the Caheragh native was on the receiving end as Murphy opened well.

A brilliantly tracked opener gave the Brinny man a full bowl lead after Bohane’s brace away from the start line went left off the play. The catch-up game that followed was intriguing and there were moments when Bohane looked like he might close the gap.

Murphy still had the bones of a bowl in eight and nine to Crowley’s corner before Bohane came sight at McCarthy’s bend with a fine 11th. Murphy compensated with a huge 11th past the wall that raised the shot of odds in full for the second time. Bohane did not relinquish easily and two big ones on the rise past the junior line brought the odds well under the bowl. Murphy needed a well-directed 16th to consolidate his advantage. That effort sealed his victory and a quarter-final clash with Gary Daly beckons at Whitechurch.

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