Surprise win for Frank Maddock marks the start of the 2020 county championship

Report by AOB

The 2020 county 4-wall championship is now underway and already a shock or two has occurred. None was greater than the victory of Frank Maddock, Taghmon over the hot favourite Pechelli English, Davidstown in the opening round of the Golden Masters A Singles.

Maddock took a sabbatical from the game for the past couple of years but maintained his fitness through a strong commitment to cycling, his other passion. Despite that activity however he was not expected to trouble the talented English in this tie, but it didn’t turn out like that at all. The former All Ireland winner was competitive right from the start and he matched English stroke for stroke on his way to a well earned 21-15 first game win.  The second was hotly contested throughout and when English took it by the minimum margin of 21-20 the scene was set for a closely fought deciding set. It was not to be however as Maddock left his more fancied opponent in his wake as he ran out an impressive 21-2 winner.

Another surprise result came in the Golden Masters B Singles where the recently crowned division 9 league winner Tomás O’Shea, Davidstown again showed he could compete at a higher level when he overcame the loss of the opening game against Padraig Devereux, Castlebridge to come home a convincing winner on a scoreline of 8-21, 21-11, 21-10