Two wins from Ashley Robinson against Scotland, on Thursday 17th December, gave Northern Ireland, a major chance of clinching a medal in the Men’s Team event at the 20th Commonwealth Championships in Surat, India.
In the second stage of proceedings, with a top two finish required to secure a semi-final place and thus a minimum bronze medal, Northern Ireland, the no.6 seeds, beat Scotland, the no.4 seeds, by three matches to two.
Sensational Win
Man of the moment was Ashley Robinson, he beat Craig Howieson in the second match of the contest in a full distance five games duel (9-11, 11-9, 3-11, 12-10, 11-5), before in an even closer duel, recovering from a two games to nil deficit and the very precipice of defeat to beat Gavin Rumgay in the fourth contest (7-11, 4-11, 19-17, 11-8, 11-9).
A quite sensational win, a win that set the scene for Paul McCreery to be Northern Ireland’s hero; in the vital concluding match of the engagement he accounted for Craig Howieson in four games (11-6, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9).
Similarly Impressive was Northern Irelands 3-0 victory over Sri Lanka guaranteeing them a hard earned bronze medal, this is a fantastic achievement for this hard working young team.
Full story to follow………
The Men’s Team event concludes on Friday 18th December.