Ireland made it two from two to set up a showdown with hosts and holders Spain at the Men’s Octagonal Matches in Cadiz.
Ireland continued their 100% record with a hard fought 5.5-3.5 win over France, losing just one of the five singles matches with the winners of Friday’s clash with Spain facing the winners of Netherlands vs England with all four sides boasting two wins.
The vomiting bug which disrupted the Ireland and Germany fixture continued to wreak havoc meaning Royal Dublin’s Hugh Foley sat out both the foursomes and singles matches.
In a tight contest, honours were even at 1.5 points apiece after the morning foursomes which saw Peter O’Keeffe and Liam Nolan continue their 100% record as a pair with a dominant 4&2 win over highly rated Frenchman Martin Cougar and Louis Anceaux.
Irish Mid-Am champion O’Keeffe and South American Amateur champion Nolan are both part of the provisional Walker Cup squad and have done their chances no harm with an impressive showing as a foursomes pair.
Galgorm Castle’s Joshua Hill had to sit out the morning session after Foley was unable to take to the tee meaning the match with Nathan Legendre and Rafeal Bobo Lloret was halved.
US Mid-Amateur champion Matthew McClean and Connacht Strokeplay winner Robert Brazill were beaten on the 18th by Hugo Le Goff and Oscar Couilleau as the French drew level.
France then edged in front as Couvra extracted revenge on Galway’s Nolan and give him his first defeat of the week with a thumping 6&4 win.
O’Keeffe came away from day two with two wins as he eased by Anceaux 4&3 to level the tie.
Mullingar Scratch Cup winner Hill dug out a half point against Bobo Lloret before Brazill and McClean avenged their foursomes defeat with crucial points in the final two singles matches to turn the tide in Ireland’s favour.
First, McClean of Malone cruised to a 4&3 win over Le Goff before Brazill battled hard to edge by Couilleau by the minimum.
Scoring HERE
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