Opening round of League Cup ties go largely with formbook

While some ties will remain ‘alive’ in the second leg by virtue of the shots handicap allocated to the lower-ranked sides, the likelihood is that the seven favourites ahead of the first round games will take their place in the second stage.

The team with possibly most to worry about is Services ‘B’ who, although they beat All Saints by one shot on the mats, were giving their opponents 10 shots on handicap and so ended up losing by nine on the night.

With another 10 shots to come, it means Services - who by-passed All Saints on their way to Division Two last season - will have to win by more than 19 shots at the Cushendall Road clubrooms.

Saints actually won three of the four rinks, with Sean Haveron, Paddy Martin and Eugene McReynolds edging close contests against Greta Coulter, Sheila Smith and Roy Dickson.

Eric Smyth’s Services rink beat Tony Dillon by seven shots but Services are going to have to step up their performance significantly if they are to progress.

The meeting of the two Broughshane Playing Fields Association sides went the way of the ‘A’ team by some 22 shots.