Win for St Mary’s A in Vivo Cup final

Win for St Mary’s A in Vivo Cup final

5 February 2025

ST Mary’s A claimed their first silverware of the season with victory over Crossgar in the Vivo Cup final John Magee managed to catch Michael Pollock early in the opening frame, despite his opponent receiving 35 through his handicap. 

With one red remaining on the table, Michael failed in his attempt for the middle pocket and Magee cleared 31 to win the frame by 43 points and give St Mary’s an early lead.

The second tie saw Robert Pollock pitted against Colly Hughes in what turned out to be an epic frame.

With the scores almost locked together, a 10-minute hustle on the black ensued and it was Robert that prevailed when Hughes found a pocket with the cue ball.

With the overall deficit cut to 35 points, Crossgar’s Sean Burns met Gerard Travers in the third frame. 

Burns, receiving 42 points on handicap, came up trumps when’s side needed a win to remain in the contest. 

Despite Travers wiping out the handicap early on, Burns got the better of the latter part of the frame and took out most of the colours to secure a 32-point win and reduce the overall margin to three.

Momentum changed in the favour of the Newcastle side after the interval, and they began to kick on towards the cup. 

Travers took on Michael Pollock and this time, he did not make any mistakes as he rolled in breaks of 22, 32 and 54 clearance to put St Mary’s in a commanding position, with two frames remaining. 

Crossgar really needed Robert Pollock to redeem some points against Magee in the penultimate frame, but it was not to be.

Both players started the frame eagerly and were level on points with three reds remaining. 

However, the final started to slip away from Crossgar, with Robert coming up short on the blue.

Magee took control and managed to amass a lead at the end of the frame, storming to an 84-52 win. 

Magee’s victory left Crossgar and Burns too far behind as they entered the final frame with Hughes.

Burns tried to get the required points, but his efforts were in vein and Hughes kicked on to pot the balls required for the match.

Thank you to Ballykinlar’s Gareth Magorrian for hosting the final, Danny Murray for supplying the refreshments and those that travelled out to support both teams.