East Lothian 22/3 – Scotlawn Bowls

Following on from the recent Senior Singles success of Janet Fairnie there was more national success this week for the Garden County as our Youth Triple in the shape of Kieran Dodds, Aaron Betts and Danny Stevenson tasted national success in Ardrossan in winning the SYIBA event in a tournament that went right to the wire. Things didn’t start too well in the six team round robin format and after three rounds the triple had lost 5-6 to West of Scotland, defeated East Kilbride 5-1 and again lost 2-6 to Prestwick. However, a 7-1 win against Abbeyview gave them a lifeline and a glimmer of hope. It meant in the last set of fixtures East Lothian had to defeat Turriff and hope Prestwick slipped up, which is exactly what happened, with the East Lothian trio winning 12-1 and Prestwick losing 3-5 to West of Scotland meaning four teams tied on six points, however, Keiran, Aaron and Danny had the best shots difference and were national champions.

Melissa Penman and Lewis Betts were competing in the Pairs, however, they had a mixed bag of results with two wins and three defeats which wasn’t enough to capture their title.

The East Lothian Ladies take part in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup this Saturday when they travel to East Fife to face Stonehaven having recorded an excellent 5-3 (12 shot) win over East Fife last weekend. The following team has been selected: M Kivlin, K Hoggan, D Hoggan & Y Veitch (Skip) M Penman, M Thomson, E Logan & J Fairnie M Murray, B Riva, G Mackintosh & L Baillie-Whyte

East Lothian’s top gent players were at the Falcon IBC in Essex representing Scotland in the International Championships and Series last week. First up were our Gents Four of Jamie Higgins, Joe Mower, Scott Kennedy and Derek Oliver who were up against England in the semi-final of the British Isles Fours on Tuesday. In what was a nip and tuck game throughout, with our four leading on several occasions, however, they suffered a bad run of ends just before the finish of the game to leave them four down playing the last and despite their best efforts could only make a three to exit at the hands of the English who went on to win the title. There was more heartbreak in the Gents International Series in which Alex Marshall MBE, Scott Kennedy, Billy Mellors (Captain) and Derek Oliver were taking part and for which Mark Johnston was the Scotland Team Manager. Scotland comprehensively defeated Wales 146-101 on Thursday and Ireland by 125-101 on Friday before facing England last Saturday. The writing was on the wall early in the contest when England took a 25-9 lead after three ends of the match which Scotland spent most of the first half of the match trying to claw back. The Scots eventually caught England with six ends to go in most rinks with England holding a narrow lead of 77-76, however, the next end across the green proved decisive with Scotland conceding 16 shots across the six rinks which resulted in a deficit that they were never able to fully get back. The match finished with no more than five shots in any one rink and was a case of so near yet so far once again for the Scottish side in a five shot overall loss.

There were two games played at the Alex Marshall Arena last Wednesday in the Jock Brodie Seniors Challenge Trophy, sponsored by N T Craig, Tom Young Plumbing & Electrical Services and Colin Glen Roofing. Bainfield defeated West Lothian 8-0 to put themselves in a strong position having acquired 19 points with one game left against Headwell who have 13 points. The other game remaining in this section involves West Lothian (12 pts) against Abbeyview (11 pts) meaning second place in this section is still up for grabs. In Section B the clash between Midlothian defeated Perth 6-2 and now have 14 points with two games to play while Perth have 18 points with one game remaining against Tweedbank (14 pts). All winners and runners-up qualify for the semi-finals which are scheduled for the 10th April.

The Central District Top Six semi-final took place last Saturday when East Lothian Seniors travelled to Perth where their opponents were Falkirk. The game started of very even with Falkirk having a slight edge, however, they dominated the latter stages and eventually won all three games to secure a 6-0 victory.

This Saturday sees the East of Scotland Youth singles at Dalkeith and on Sunday the National Top Ten final stages at Abbeyview. Aaron Betts (holder), Danny Stevenson, Lewis Betts and Kieran Dodds are taking part in the singles on Saturday. On Sunday the semi in the morning is against West of Scotland and the winners go forward to the final in the afternoon against either Prestwick or Turriff. The team selected is as follows: Singles: Aaron Betts Pairs: Melissa Penman & Lewis Betts Triples: Callum Henderson, Cameron Pryde & Danny Stevenson Fours: Luke Cowan, Lennon Rafferty, Beth Riva & Kieran Dodds There is space left on the bus leaving at 8.30am, anyone interested should contact Peter Fallen, John Henderson or Colin Penman.

The Gents and Ladies Singles are now almost at the final stage which are due to be played on Friday the 12th April. In the semi-finals on Monday night reigning champion Billy Mellors defeated Willie Wood MBE 21-8 whilst Chris Fallen defeated his brother Ewan 21-9 to set up a repeat of last year’s final. The ladies semi-final between Melissa Penman and Yvonne Veitch is being re-arranged, meanwhile there was a cracking encounter in the other semi-final when young ace Beth Riva and her International opponent Emma Logan displayed some fine bowling and it was the young star from Gifford who held her nerve to take the tie 21-19 and make her debut in the final.

In the Top Club quarter finals last Friday Aberlady defeated East Linton 36-34 and Tranent defeated Longniddry 36-35 in two games which came down to the last bowls. Those two teams now meet in the semi-final on 29th March. This Friday night Pathhead play Haddington and Craigentinny face EL Co-op in the remaining quarter finals.