ANDERS AND TECTOR SECURE FINAL SLOT FOR YMCA

When YMCA left Castle Aveue on Saturday after a chastening defeat, Clontarf will have known that when they returned on Sunday that they would be a whole lot more competitive.

And so it turned out. Batting first, they got off to a great start thanks to Rory Anders who used the pace of Michael Granger and David Delany to his advantage, easing the ball into the gaps and finding the boundary throughout the power play.

The first wicket fell on the introduction of Fionn Hand into the attack with the departure of Jack Tector but younger brother Tim settled in with Anders initially playing second fiddle to the senior player. However he came into his own marshalling the setting of a target after Anders fell to an outstanding catch behind the wicket by PJ Moor.

Both Anders (65) and Tector (51) got to raise their bat and did so at similar scoring rates in the 130 region. David Delany took 2 wickets for the home side but it was not their best performance in the field throughout and the target of 158 was certainly a testing one.

A good start was what they wanted but unfortunately was not what they got. Moor and Forrest fell in the power play and YMCA tightened the screws as Eoghan and David Delany tried to set he platform for the chase.  That platform never really materialised as tidy bowling and excellent fielding stopped the flow of boundaries in the middle period of the game.

Unable to break free meant chances where taken and a couple of run outs was the result.  While David Delany made 68 off 55, the flurry of boundaries in the last few overs was too little too late for the home side.YMCA's jurney back over the toll bridge this time was a happier journey than Saturday's.