| JOHN MOORE WINS KILDARE OPEN - April 9th 2011 |
This season's Irish Circuit is developing into quite a battle, with the four events to date having produced four different winners, an indication of the improvement in the standard of play. The 13 entrants were drawn into three groups, with the top 3 players per group qualifying for the 2nd Round. John Moore, Barry Spence & Nicky Moore just ousted out the Morrison brothers in a very tight Group 1. Gary Moore, Mark Farrell & Alistair Morrison qualified from Group 2 at the expense of Lewis Jones, while Paul Beggs was eliminated from Group 3 by Kenny Beggs, Dean Jones & Shane Butler, who was playing in his first tournament for 15 years. The 2nd Round also consisted of three groups, with the group winners and the best runner-up qualifying for semi- finals. This added an interesting twist as players had to be aware of what was happening in the other groups. Group B was straightforward, Barry Spence topping it with 6 points and Gary Moore 2nd with 3 points. Groups A and C, however, were tied with the top two players in each group on 4 points. Alistair Morrison's superior goal-difference meant that he beat John Moore to top spot in Group C, although John still qualified as best runner-up. Kenny Beggs & Mark Farrell could not be separated in Group A, having identical records, so a tense shoot-out was required, which Kenny won 3-2. In the semi-finals, John Moore recovered from conceeding an early goal to record his first ever victory over Kenny Beggs, while Alistair Morrison, playing in his first tournament semi-final, pushed Barry Spence all the way but eventually lost out on shots. John continued his good form into the final and took a two-goal lead, with goals either side of half-time. Although Barry pulled one back, it was too late and John held on to complete a memorable victory. |