Rhys McLaughlin gave the Cubs an early lead before the Galacticos had a stroke of luck when Riley Patterson magnificently developed a safe black only to watch, aghast, as it trickled into the middle pocket giving the Greenisland men a fortunate frame. Ryan Marcus, making his seasonal debut, potted an exquisite black to put his team ahead before Kyzler Todd capitalised on an uncharacteristic miss to draw level again. Paul 'Old Man' Harris reverse dished the next before Marcus completed his double with a pinpoint clearance. A break and finish from Ali Wilson gave the Greenisland men a generous half time lead.
The second half started with Rhys McLaughlin giving the Cubs hope with a tidy finish, only for Wilson to register his second break and dish of the evening to restore the Galactico's three frame lead.
Joel Quinn was up next with a win and the Galacticos were finding it difficult to shake the dogged youngsters.
Gary Wallace guaranteed a point with the third break and dish of the evening before Harris guaranteed the win for the league leaders.
Cubs still knew they had the bonus point to play for and showed maturity beyond their years as Gerard Heaney Jr took out a seemingly impossible finish, before Kyzler Todd secured a bonus point for the Cubs with a composed finish in the last frame.
The Cubs were entitled to the bonus point and, perhaps, a draw but the experience of the Galacticos just got them over the line in a fantastic match.
The Spartans started well with wins for Billy Pawson and Mark Millar to put them 2 ahead. Last years Champions soon settled and took the next 7 frames before Kenny English stopped their charge with a trademark break and finish. The Scorpions soon took the match with Chris Carson winning his second frame of the night. Trevor Whiteside won the next frame to keep the home side in contention for a bonus point, but it proved only to be a consolation as the Scorpions won the last 2 frames. Player of the match was Chris Carson with 3 wins from 3 frames.
The Tigers welcomed Bay City Bowlers to the Times Bar, getting off to the best possible start with wins for John Fulton over Aaron Reid, Tom McGurk over Rab Carson and Johnny Eccles over Glen Colwell.
The fourth frame provided another learning experience for both teams, a dry break by Ian Riley left Steven McWhirter with an open table, and after potting a yellow ball with his first shot, Steven
mistakenly thought he still had an open table and then potted a red ball!! The referee called deliberate foul and loss of frame, and even though Ian offered to continue to play the frame out and not
take the deliberate foul (it was agreed it was just an honest mistake), the 2 captains agreed to adhere by the rules and the frame was awarded to the Bowlers. 3-1
Johnny Eccles beat Tommy Hutton and Tom McGurk beat Benny Booysen to leave the score 5-1 to the Tigers, before Glen Colwell notched a win over captain Davey Montgomery with a nice double on the black to leave the score 5-2 at half time.
Rab Carson got the second half off to a good start for the Bay City Bowlers with a win over Steven McWhirter, before 3 wins on the spin for the Tigers secured the win, Davey Montgomery beating Ian Riley,
John Fulton beating Glen Colwell and Johnny Eccles completing his hat-trick of wins on the night by again beating Tommy Hutton. Score 8-3
Benny Booysen got some revenge over Tom McGurk to give the Bowlers hope of maybe getting a losing bonus point, however this was short lived with the Tigers winning the final 2 frames of the night with Davey Montgomery beating Aaron Reid in a battle of the captains, and John Fulton completing his own hat-trick of wins with a win over Rab Carson.
Final Score 10 -4 for the Tigers, an enjoyable night and we look forward to the return leg down in Carrick later in the season.
Railway Blues hosted Rab and Big T's Rockets.
The Rockets took an early 4 frame lead, wins from Deano, Stephen, Davey and Rab. Graham Cahoon made it 4-1 with a debut win! 6-1 at the break after wins from Stephen and Warren.
Darren Hill won the first frame of the second session to give the Blues a bit of hope. Unfortunately it was short lived as The Rockets went on a rampage, winning the last 6 frames. Wins from Tristan x2 Rab x2 and Deano x2.
With an ongoing security alert in Larne the QClub and Colts game had to be postponed.
Rockets to Be 4 Trojans 10