The East Lothian senior side of 2018 dream of etching their name on the prestigious Matt Purdie Trophy for a third time ended in disappointment and although it was a close call the heartbreak defeat by 4 shots (72-68) left the garden county ‘auld yins’ feeling they had blew it against West Lothian in the final of the Inter-County Senior League Cup played at Abbeyview BC in Dunfermline on Monday.
Read MoreEast Lothian made a fantastic start to the match to lead by 23 shots, but they failed to capitalise on the lead and West Lothian hit back finally drawing on level terms at 53-53. Then disaster struck for East Lothian when the rink skipped by Andy Burt lost a full house count of 8 shots on the last end of their clash with legendary footballer Colin Stein and that put West Lothian ahead for the first time in the match and their remaining four rinks held on for victory despite a late East Lothian onslaught.
“I can’t fault the great spirit and gallant effort put in by my players but at the end of day we fell short again and the inconsistency in our play over the last few ends of the match was punished by our opposition”, reflected a disappointed team convenor Tom Young.
A big travelling East Lothian support cheered a great win on the rink skipped by Young (+12) but it was not enough to cover the setbacks, albeit all single figure ones, suffered by Andy Burt (-2), Alan Morgan (-2), George Cowan (-4) and Alistair Russell (-8). Meanwhile an end of season game for the side has been planned for Sunday September 2nd at Haddington Bowling Club from 10am. All squad members are requested to attend and anyone unable to do so is requested to contact Andy Burt immediately on 07783323079.
Huge congratulations to the East Lothian youth side on winning the regional qualifier of the Andy Houston Trophy at Sighthill BC in Edinburgh last Sunday. They now play in the national finals at Shettleston BC on Sunday September 2. They won against Edinburgh 43-31 with team captain Robbie Shields rink winning 10-5 against the talented Aaron Betts, Kieran Dodds and his rink won 10-6, Danny Stevenson and his rink were highest up winning 16-7 and the only defeat was for Robbie Buchanan and his rink against Lewis Betts 13-7. Midlothian won against Edinburgh in the first session of play, so it was a winner takes all scenario in the final game. East Lothian came out on top 44-31. Danny Stevenson and his rink suffered the only defeat 10-6, Robbie Buchanan’s Rink Finished peels at 10, Kieran Dodds and his rink had a good 11-6 win and captain Robbie Shields and his rink put in a great performance winning 17-5.
Members of Cockenzie & Port Seton are in seventh heaven after they were confirmed the 2018 supreme club of the East Coast Carpets sponsored East Lothian Leagues having won the Division 1 title for a second consecutive year after an enthralling and dramatic finish to the title race last Friday night.
The outcome of the 2018 campaign had gone right down to wire with Cockenzie & Port Seton going into the final match trailing co-leaders Haddington and EL-Coop by 1 point. The seasiders entertained already relegated Haddington A knowing they needed a maximum point win to have any chance of retaining the title and they duly delivered with wins on the rinks skipped by Derek Oliver, Steven Morgan and Scott Kennedy ensuring they got the result they wanted. That left both Haddington and EL-Coop with it all to do in their home fixtures against Castlepark and Dunbar respectively. For the second successive year Haddington just fell short as a 7-1 victory was not enough to overtake Cockenzie & Port Seton while EL-Coop were denied living the dream of an 8-0 winning result by a superb jack trail from Dunbar skip Steven Anderson to stop the EL-Coop rink skipped by Steven Mackie registering what would have been a title winning victory. When the all the dust settled ELBA officials confirmed Cockenzie & Port had retained the title with a shots aggregate of +164 compared to Haddington’s +160 with EL-Coop finishing a point behind in third place.
“What a memorable finish to a long hard season for everyone. The only people to miss out on last Friday night’s unbelievable scenes throughout the county was Sky Sports, it would have been fantastic viewing”, said a jubilant club president Steven Morgan.
Elsewhere in Division 1, Elphinstone rounded off their encouraging campaign back in the top flight with a 5-3 away win at East Linton while the clash between Tranent and West Barns ended 4-4. Its congratulations to Prestongrange after they captured the Division 2 title honours with an 8-0 win at home against Gifford and joining them in Division 1 next season will be Winton after their 6-2 away win at Macmerry confirmed them as runners-up. At the other end of the table Gifford and Athelstaneford were sentenced to life in Division 3. East Lothian Labour won the title honours in Division 3 a few weeks ago and following them into Division 2 next season is East Linton A. Falling through the dreaded relegation trap door was Aberlady A and Cockenzie & Port Seton B. North Berwick was crowned Division 4 champions an eternity ago with Macmerry A finishing a very distant second but gained promotion all the same.
Meanwhile, East Lothian champions Tranent is in quarter-final action in the Inter-County Top 5 singles on Sunday when they face a stern away test at Perthshire champions Glencarse (2pm). The talented mob of Kevin Jones, David Whitson, Matt Osborne, Adam Martin and club talisman John McCrorie are the players given the responsibility of trying to book a place in semi-final. The club is running a minibus and there are still a limited number of seats available for anyone wishing to go.
The ELBA County Championships are now up and running with the semi-finals due to be played on Wednesday evening at Dunbar, West Barns and Haddington bowling green’s respectively while the finals day will be staged at East Linton Bowling Club on Saturday. The finals of the gent’s singles, pairs, triples and fours will all be down for decision at 2.30pm and a day of anticipated action-packed drama gets underway at 12.30pm with the finals of youth singles and fours along with the gent’s junior singles and senior fours. Meanwhile ELBA Match Secretary Keith Fender is calling on all 2017 winners to hand back their respective trophies to him or hand them into East Linton BC before Saturday.
The East Lothian Under 25 side return to competitive action on Sunday when they head to Sighthill BC in Edinburgh to compete for the prestigious Calder Cup. Team manager Gordon Pryde has announced the following team:- Pairs: M.Kivlin (ELCO) & D.French (Elph) skip Triples: R.French (Elph), M.Martin (Tra), R.Thomson skip Fours: C.Brock (Hadd), D.French (Elph), J.Ferguson (Long), K.Simants (Dun) skip Any player selected who is unable to play is requested to contact Gordon Pryde immediately on 07712 277681. All players report at EL-Coop BC for 10am.
The champagne corks were popping at Elphinstone Bowling Club last Saturday evening after they captured the ELBA Brown Trophy after putting up a strong display to beat newly crowned Division 1 champions Cockenzie & Port Seton in the final played at Polson Park. There were also scenes of jubilation at Castlepark Bowling Club after they captured the ELBA East Lothian News Trophy following victory over host club Macmerry in last Saturday’s final.
East Linton BC is holding an Open Fours tournament on Saturday September 8 in memory of long standing member Ewart Pirie who sadly passed away recently. Entry fee is £20.00 with all proceeds raised on the day going to local charities that Ewart was involved with. To enter email Keith Fender keithfender20@gmail.com or via text or phone 07786110416.
Turning attention to the fast approaching indoor season and officials at East Lothian IBC are requesting that any existing or new teams wishing to enter the leagues that haven’t already done so should contact them via the club website (www.elibc.co.uk) or Facebook page by no later than 31st August. Anyone requiring further information should email development@bowlseastlothian.uk
Draw for Gifford Bowling & Sports Club Senior Open Triples, sponsored by Belhaven Brewery & Johnston Oils Ltd, on Wednesday August 29 is as follows –
9.30am Dirleton 2, J.Kerr, J.Forbes, J.Stephen, C.Edmond, W.Fortheringham, J.Bain, A.Brown, R.Skea, B.Mitchell, S.Neish, Dirleton 3, E.Beavers, E.Denholm, B.Davidson, N.Buchanan
10.30am A.Pirrie, Dirleton 1, J.Carpenter, P.Fallen, R.Allan, J.Stevenson, T.Kerr, Bellsburn 2, E.Bisset, M.McLeod, I.Gibson, Bellsburn 1, T.Moffat, W.W.Wood MBE, C.Kennedy, T.Taylor
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