The East Lothian senior brigade continue to be high flyers in Section 2 of Inter County Senior League Cup for the Matt Purdie Trophy having completed a hat trick of opening wins with their latest success an impressive 19 shot victory (75-56) away to Borders at Kelso BC on Monday.
Read MoreTeam convenor Tom Young was delighted with a performance that produced wins on the rinks skipped by Andy Burt (+8), Alistair Russell (+7), Tom Young (+3) and Dougie Kennedy (+3) while the defeat inflicted on Alan Morgan was a single digit affair. The win sees the garden county as the only unbeaten side in a highly competitive section and in a great position with the reverse fixtures to come after the national finals. “The win puts us in a commanding position and two points clear of our nearest challengers going into the second phase of fixtures”, said a delighted team convenor Tom Young. The side now has a short break and not back in action until Monday July 30th when they tackle West Fife at EL-Coop in Tranent. The team will be announced via social media in the coming days.
The biggest week of the Scottish outdoor bowling calendar gets underway on Monday with the Bowls Scotland National Championships being staged at Ayr Northfield right through until Saturday. Billy Dunleavey from Aberlady starts off first in the gent’s disciplines when he tackles John Breen of Greenfaulds in the opening round of the Senior Singles at 9.30am. At 12 noon the EL-Coop Senior Four of Derek Stein, Jim Bonner, Dougie Berwick and Willie Auld play Inverkeithing in the opening round of the Senior Fours. Closely following them onto the green at Ayr Northfield at 12.30pm is the Castlepark duo of Margaret Thomson and Jamie Frame and the tackle Dunning in the first round of the Mixed Pairs. Sean Mackie of EL-Coop should have been the player carrying local hopes in the Junior Singles but due to footballing commitments with his club Hibernian FC he is unable to participate. Deputising for him will be Kieran Dodds and he will enter the fray at 1.30pm when he tackles Jordan Baptie of Glencarse. In the ladies disciplines, both Janet Fairnie of Castlepark in the Senior Singles and the Dunbar Senior Four are in action at 9.30am. On Tuesday at 1.30pm Megan Kivlin of EL-Coop starts her bid to win the Junior Singles title again when she faces Lauren McShane of Crookston in the opening round action. Further news on other local contenders who play later next week will feature next week.
Before the mainstream national bowls action gets underway the youth have the chance to grab the spotlight on Sunday as Ayr Northfield host the Scottish Young Bowlers Association national finals. Cockenzie & Port Seton’s Robbie Buchanan spearheads the garden county challenge in the blue riband singles event while the Aberlady duo of Luke Cowan and Melissa Penman carry local hopes in the Pairs. The challenge in the Triples comes from the EL-Coop trio of Beth Riva, Kieran Dodds and Robbie Shields.
The champagne corks were popping at their Polson Park base last Sunday evening after Tranent Bowling Club served up a strong display to win the ELBA Top Five Singles championship for a remarkable third consecutive year. Cockenzie & Port Seton played the bridesmaid role with Tranent claiming a commanding 3-0 victory in the final played at East Linton BC. Adam Martin, John McCrorie, Matt Osborne, Mathew Martin and Kevin Cunningham were the players who done their club proud by inflicting pain and misery on their victims Michael Greenan, Craig Valentine, Derek Oliver, Harvey Cunningham and Colin Leishman. Tranent now go forward and represent East Lothian in the inter-county event next season.
EL-Coop continue to stamp their authority in Division 1 of the East Coast Carpets sponsored East Lothian Leagues and their 8-0 licking of close rivals opened Haddington opened a sizeable ten-point gap between first and third in the table raising serious hopes of them being crowned champions. Defending champions Cockenzie & Port Seton moved into second place but are nine points off the pace following their 6-2 win at home against Castlepark. East Linton moved clear of the immediate relegation zone with a 6-2 away win at Tranent to intensify their relegation worries. West Barns 6-2 defeat at home to local rivals Dunbar is a setback for their survival hopes while Haddington A remain at the foot of the table but only two points from safety following their 6-2 defeat at home against Elphinstone.
Friday night’s Division 1 fixtures sees leaders EL-Coop enjoy home advantage against near neighbours Tranent in probably one the most important Tranent derby in years, with the home side going for league title glory while the visitors are involved in a serious battle to avoid the relegation trapdoor. Second placed Cockenzie & Port Seton welcome back an array of first team regulars as they face a testing visit to East Linton. Haddington will be confident of bouncing back to winning ways when they host Dunbar. Elsewhere foot of the table Haddington A visit Castlepark and fellow strugglers West Barns make the trip to Elphinstone.
All club secretaries are requested to ensure that all league and cup results, including shots aggregate score, are phoned into ELBA Match Secretary Keith Fender on 01620 860217 or via text message 07786 110416 immediately after each match.
Officials at East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club have confirmed that the club is open daily over the summer months from 10am-4pm. For more information contact the clubs catering staff on 01875-614166 then dial extension 303. If coaching required please contact Development Officer Billy Mellors on 07930 716073 to arrange a suitable day and time for a lesson.
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