Bainfield’s prospects of staying clear of the dreaded relegation zone in the B division of the gents indoor bowls Premier League have taken a nosedive after suffering a sizeable 92-58 defeat away to Ayr.
And it is a major disappointment that The Edinburgh Elite failed to deliver any sort of commendable challenge to an opposition that are new faces in the premier league but acquitting themselves well and showing a strong spirit to stay up. Ayr at home did look a tough challenge but a Bainfield team that has a strong backbone on paper and fighting for survival in the top echelon should be doing better than losing on all four rinks and outgunned on all three phases of the match.
“The nature of our defeat is a blow to our chin and the price paid is to drop into second from bottom so the danger signals are now flashing however we are not dead and buried as Aberdeen share the six point mark with us while East Lothian and Ayr are just two points ahead”, reflected player manager Gavin Smith. Smith is right to see an escape route to safety starting with an away visit to foot of the table Abbeyview; but that becomes a must win fixture as the final two games are at home to leaders Falkirk and away to East Lothian.
The carpet at Ayr was an unfamiliar one to the Bainfield visitors and the unfolding picture of a team forced to operate against the collar ended in defeat for all four rinks – skipped by Smith, James Hogg, Craig Paterson, and Robert Marshall. Bainfield new that the stakes were high for both teams and made an encouraging enough start on the first seven-end phase being just slightly off the pace with the master scoreboard showing a five shot deficit, (28-23).
It became a darker picture on the second phase with Bainfield suffering a 30-17 blow that set them a mountain to climb in attempting to fight back from a match deficit of 18 shots, against a home team whose confidence was on the rise. Hopes of a Bainfield recovery soon faded as Ayr continued in the ascendancy and confirmed their overall supremacy with all four home rinks making a positive contribution to a 34-18 domination. Smith got closest to a win having skipped Josh Spalding, Steven Rennie, and Colin Hutchison into an 11-2 lead after seven ends and still looking good at 18-11 however a late collapse of 1, 2, 1, 4 cost him a 19-18 defeat at the hands of Stuart Wyllie.
Hogg and his rink of Mark McIntosh, Brian Stoddart, and John McDermott slipped from 5-5 to 15-9 down and although producing a battling performance never quite got to grips with Colin Smith in a 19-15 defeat. Paterson and his front-three of Jamie Reid, Danny McCourt, and Daniel Gormley dropped a seven at end six to trail 10-3 and lean times followed in a 25-11 defeat from Jim Seaton. A miserable experience for Marshall and his rink of Graeme McIntosh, Tam Ebbs, and Kevin Tennant saw them face a 14-3 deficit after eight ends then a rally to 14-9 was killed by the loss of 3, 4, 4, 1, 1, 2 that led to a 29-14 defeat from Jim Cuthbertson.