Midlothian gents cashed in on a lightning start to storm to a thundering 8-2 points victory over Edinburgh challengers Bainfield in their quarterfinal clash of the indoor bowls Scottish Cup played at The Alex Marshall Stadium in East Lothian.
Read MoreWins on the rinks skipped by Colin Walker, Graeme Archer and team captain David Peacock were double figure triumphs that inspired a commanding team performance and kept alive the Midlothian dream of capturing the coveted trophy for a fifth time. The destination of the shot aggregate points was never in doubt entering the final seven-end straight with Midlothian operating in a comfort zone that saw them end the match with a 30 shot superiority (89-59).
Bainfield pre-match hopes of staying alive were positive and rightly so with a strong team formation fired up by memories of the club 2008-cup triumph; but their only winning blow was delivered by icon figure Robert Marshall at the expense of Billy Peacock.
The early exchanges proved to be significant with Colin Walker explosive start to blitz Gavin Smith, 14-4, the highlight contribution to Midlothian 32-19 dominance of the first seven-end phase.
The Midlothian momentum continued in the second phase with Graeme Archer spectacular 13-1 punishment of Paul O’onnell the main driving force in a 33-16 supremacy that accelerated the stars from The Dalkeith Stadium into a sparkling 30 shot lead.
The third and final phase saw Midlothian switch into a cautious defensive mode that thanks to a 10-2 input from the suffering Billy Peacock paid them the dividend of a 24-24 share.
Walker made a greased lightning start to skip Jack Macnab, John Stevenson, and Lindsay Plenderleith into a 17-4 lead after eight ends then went on to convert a 23-7 lead into a 28-14 win over Ewan Craig, Alan Brown, John McDermott, and Gavin Smith.
Archer produced a purple patch spell of 3, (1), 1, 1, 2, 5, 1 that gave him a 21-7 ascendancy after 14 ends then he skipped Scott Runciman, Craig Hodge, and Andrew Caldwell to a 27-17 win over Alex Hurry, Danny McCourt, Daniel Gormley, and Paul O’onnell.
Peacock (David) stretched from 7-0 to 17-3 with a masterful performance then stayed on strongly to skip Ian Forbes, Ian Fleming, and Scott Briggs to an 18-8 win over Mark McIntosh, Colin Gilchrist, Steven Pilley, and Craig Paterson.
Peacock (Billy) and his rink of Jamie Macnab, Jim Cullen, and AJ Knight were in the doldrums at 18-5 down to Kevin Tennant, Steven Rennie, James Hogg, and Robert Marshall; but rallied well in a 20-16 defeat. World stage star Ronnie Duncan was an absentee from the Midlothian line up.