A happy new year for Ballynafeigh 1

Division 1

Ballynafeigh 1 4-1 Bangor

Leaders Ballynafeigh 1 rested David Houston and Steve Scannell yet still ran out 4-1 winners against Bangor. Soren Jensen, Brendan Jamison, Stephen Rush and Damien Lavery all won as expected, although Chris Black suffered a surprise defeat to unrated Michael Sheeran on board 5.

Ballynafeigh 2 0-5 Muldoons 1

Muldoons 1 (Annesley/Mallaghan/Moreland/S. Wood/McGuckin) kept pace with the leaders with this result against Ballynafeigh 2 (Cunningham/Woodfield/O'Doherty/Donaldson/C. Kelly). Based on his league form, Thomas Donaldson might have seemed like a good bet to salvage something for the home team, even against an opponent 100 points above him, but Stephen Wood handed him only his second league defeat of the season.

Belfast South 1 2.5-2.5 Fruithill

Bottom side Fruithill improved their survival chances with this draw against Belfast South 1. On the top two boards, Tony Parker and Frank Carrothers overcame significan rating differences - well over 200 points in Carrothers' case - to defeat Sam Flanagan and Bruce MacLean respectively, while John Monaghan earned a fine draw against Martin Kelly. John McKenna and Robert McDonald won for the hosts.

Standings

Division 2

Muldoons 2 0-5 Ballynafeigh 3

Ballynafeigh 3 closed the gap on the leaders with this whitewash of Muldoons 2. On the lower boards, Pat McKillen, Rodney Orr and Paddy Maguire were dispatched in short order by Eoin Carey, Gerard Bannon and Tyrone Winter respectively, while John Wood put up stiffer resistance on board 1 against WFM Karina Kruk before eventually succumbing. Stephen Downes looked well-placed, however, to defeat Robert Lavery after a poor opening from the latter - that was until he neglected his bank rank, allowing Lavery's queen to penetrate with devastating effect.

QUB 5-0 Ballynafeigh 5

Bottom side Ballynafeigh 5 thought they had picked up their first points since week 5 thanks to wins from Suraj Tirupati and Liam Ferris, but the presence of the ineligible Mark Hewitt (registered as part of the Ballynafeigh 4 squad) on board 1 meant this match was ruled a 5-0 win to the hosts.

Lindores 2 2-3 Belfast South 2

"Kelly's Heroes" extended their lead at the top of the division with this win over second-placed Lindores 2. The hosts had the higher-rated player on the top three boards, but while Paul McNaughton and Ian Kilpatrick duly defeated Bernard Jaffa and Chris Armstrong, Neil Green defeated Jim McLean. William Storey and Cathal Murphy claimed the bottom two boards and the win for the visitors.

NI Civil Service 5-0 Ballynafeigh 4

NICS (Newman/May/Jackson/Ferguson/Hindley) whitewashed Ballynafeigh 4 (Seaby/McEvoy/McGahan/Rainey/Barbour), but the scoreline did not reflect the manner of the victory - certainly not for Geoff Hindley, who had the worse position for almost the entire game against James Barbour before Barbour blundered into a mate in one.

Standings