Kevin McParland and Joe Murphy lift Antrim Handball titles

2006 Antrim Handball ChampionshipsJunior SinglesKev McParland took the 2006 Junior Singles title at the Antrim handball championships when he overcame Dominic Marley of Gortnamona in a three game thriller.Despite losing the first game Kevin took charge in the second game with some fine kill shots and his agility about the court helped him take the second and send the match into a tie break.The tie break was a tense affair with Kevin getting off to a good start and Dominic coming back at him. The fitness levels of both players was called into question and both should be commended for their efforts but Kevin dug deep and prevailed to take the title.Masters B SinglesJoe Murphy took the Masters B singles title with a comfortable win over clubmate Stephen Brady. He took the first game to 8 with a variety of killshots and never allowed Stephen to get into the game. The second game had Stephen up the effort and move into an 8-5 lead and there were signs that Joe was was coming under a bit of pressure. However, he hung in and found his form again to go on and win the second 21-10 and take the title.Senior SinglesOwen McKenna met Ricky McCann of Gortnamona in the show piece final. Ricky prevailed in two in a final which demonstrated shot making of the highest quality. Ricky settled into his game much the quicker and put Owen under a lot of pressure and continued probing and waiting for the opportunities to take points and the first game.The second saw Owen play more shots and he started to dominate the centre of the court, driving Ricky to the back and making things difficult for him. The game was a tight affair and when Owen went into the lead at 14 – 12 it looked as if a tie breaker was on the cards.However, with some breathtaking shots Ricky got himself back into the game and eventually proved too strong on the day.