Jim Fergus rolls back the years in Dundalk Snooker League

Headline: Fergus rolls back the years in Dundalk Snooker League

A magnificent win for Jim ‘No Fear’ Fergus, at the impressive age of 85 was sadly in vain as Charlies Barbers beat the table toppers GM Valeting in the Dundalk Snooker League by 3-1.

After his side lost the opening two frames, it came down to the veteran in Fergus to keep his team in the contest. However, despite his stunning win, a loss in the doubles saw Charlies record a valuable win.

In Frame one Ken Byrne, returning from a visit to the Alexander Palace in London where he was attending the Masters, took on Charlies Barbers Dominic O’Connor. 

O’Connor looked out of sorts at the beginning of the match, reverting to playing some safety shots where the pot may have normally been his choice of action.

This could also have been put down to some tip issues he has had of late, but it didn't take him long to gain some confidence and run out a convincing winner.

In frame 2 Fintan Dullaghan, who also attended the Masters, took on JJ McArdle in a much closer contest. It was Dullaghan who came out strongest and looked to continue his fine form which has saw him placed top of the league’s individual rankings.

However, his opponent dug deep by playing a clever safety on the final black and forcing the mistake from Dullaghan when he saw the white going in off when attempting a safety of his own. It led to Charlies Barbers grabbing another frame.

Frame 3 began with GM Valeting having their backs against the wall, only for Jim Fergus to roll back the years as the 85-year-old took the win in a closely fought match against James Coburn to reduce the arrears to 2-1 in favour of Charlies.

Jim is someone the younger players in the league look up to and his win last week drew a smile on everyone's faces, including his opponent James Coburn. 

In the final frame of the night GM Valeting needed to grab it to secure a point, but a fine display from Coburn and O’Connor saw the impressive Charlies Barbers beat the league leaders and put themselves very much into contention as we began the second of three rounds of fixtures.

The night’s other match saw The Embassy and The Commercial clubs play out a 2-2 draw. David J McArdle (Embassy) beat Tiernan Mallon (Commercial) before Aaron Callan then levelled matters by defeating Mark Laverty. The Embassy restored their advantage when Davey Moran defeated Gary McNally.

In the doubles, the Commercial pairing of Mickey Ralph and Paddy Hayes proved too strong for the Embassy’s McArdle and Laverty, leaving the tie all square. The night’s other match was postponed between Callan’s and Mallon Property.