Slateford king pin Robert Marshall reigns as Edinburgh & Leiths much lauded Champion of Champions for a magnificent record extending seventh time having captured the Holy Grail Tait Trophy Singles Crown (1888) with scintillating wins in the semi finals and final played at Parkside.
Read MoreMarshall the 54 year old older brother of world stage figure Tattie iced the cake of an awesome 21st triumph in his club championship at Slateford by dwarfing fellow capital city champions Scott Mackintosh of London Road Foundry and Scott Purvis of Gorgie Mills. Mackintosh a highly rated twice champion of The Tait made a strong start to lead Marshall, 10-4, in their semi final clash then answered the abrupt loss of a 4 with two singles to still look in good shape at 12-8 after 11 ends. However the next six ends saw Marshall explode on the scene in dynamic fashion with the resulting run of 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 3 rocketing him into a 17-12 lead then unshaken by the loss of a 2 he hit 21 with a 2, 1, 1 response.
Purvis had booked his place in the final with a brilliant display of peppering the jack with his opening two bowls that put Craig Ramsay of Leith under constant pressure and his reward was a 21-6 victory. The opening exchanges in the final saw Marshall quickest into his stride to lead 7-1 then when pressed at 7-5 he answered the menace with a purple patch spell of 2, 2, 1, 1, 2 that thrust him to 15-5 and superbly placed to go on and clinch a 21-9 win in 20-ends.
Todays capital city highlight in the world of bowls is the final of the LNER Edinburgh Top Ten featuring the clash of two super giants in the shape of Carrick Knowe versus Craigentinny at Goldenacre. The sparks are expected to fly with the head to head confrontations as follows;
Singles, Paul ODonnell v David Brown.
Pairs, Richard Tough and Colin Mitchell v Craig England and Andrew Caldwell.
Triples, Craig Aitken, Stephen Pringle, James Hogg v Josh Spalding, Andy Jeffrey, Daniel Gormley.
Fours, Kevin Tennent, Graham Pringle, John Ramsay, Darren Hush v Kevin Hunter, Kevin McFarlane, Gordon Bold, Willie McDonald.
Carrick Knowe are continuing to make a significant impression on the history of The EBL having emulated their 2016 triumph by stamping their authority in the final of the showpiece spectacle of the Specsavers Edinburgh Cup to defeat Parkside, 8-4.
Wins on the rinks skipped by Paul ODonnell (+20); Richard Tough (+15); Darren Hush (+11); and John Ramsay (+4); delivered the silverware into a jubilant Carrick Knowe team. Scores: P ODonnell 25 Neil Watson 5; R Tough 30 Brian Salvona 15; D Hush 24 Colin Hairs 13; J Ramsay 23 Kevin Boyd 19; Colin Mitchell 17 Robert Donaldson 21; James Hogg 9 Paul Veitch 23.
Football legend Colin Stein remains in contention for the Weslo Housing Management sponsored WLBA Seniors Open Title and lines up against his Linlithgow clubmate Alister Wilson in Tuesdays quarterfinals play at Winchburgh (11-30am. Gordon Logan who back in the day was signed, in Kirkliston, by Sir Stanley Matthews for Port Vale reigned as champion in 2014 and clashes with 2015 winner Stuart Smith of Ratho..
Past champuion Gordon Scott (2012) of Armadale lines up against Stan Gardiner of Mid Calder while Mike Forde of Kinneil faces Robert Jones of Watson Memorial. The semi finals (11am) and Final (2pm) are hosted by Glenmavis (Bathgate) on Thursday.
Armadale BC plays host to todays final of the WLBA Top Five Singles featuring Kirkliston against fierce rivals Linlithgow the highlight clash is 4 times WLMaster Grant Logan c 3 times WLM Andy Dunnett. The full draw reads; Robbie Cuthill v Gary Orr; Grant Logan V Andy Dunnett; Scott Logan v Ewan Shearer; Darren Pearce v Graeme Byrne; Steven Forrest v Steven Fleming.
The 2018 finals of the West Lothian BA County Championships were played at Bathgate BC.
Sponsors Fred Winter of Jack High Club Insurance (Singles/Triples/Junior Open); Mark Feeney of Glenmavis BC (Pairs), and Kirkliston BC (Fours) were warmly welcomed by WLBA President Ian McGill of East Calder. Jim Speirs of Ratho father of world stage star Neil and Hamilton Trophy ace James caused a form upset to capture the coveted Singles crown with a 21-10 win over the much titled Ewan Shearer of Linlithgow
The final of the Junior Open for The Fred Meikle Trophy (1975) was contested by Jamie Aitken of Newbridge and Mark Thorburn of East Calder. Aitken nosed an 11-10 lead after 14 hard fought ends; but the game-changing highlight came with Thorburn storming to 17 with a whirlwind run of 3, 2, 1, 1 then answering the loss of a 2 with a grandstand finish of 1, 3 to 21. Pairs, Linlithgow 14 Whitburn 10; Triples, Kirkliston 27 Bankton Mains 7; Fours, Winchburgh 19 Middleton Hall 5.