Bainfield put up a strong show against table-toppers West Lothian at Livingston but suffered a 10 shot defeat (76-66) that keeps the Edinburgh Elite anchored in the automatic relegation zone of the A section in the indoor bowls premier league.
It was a gallant effort from the foot of the table travellers especially as team manager Alan Brown was hit by three late call-offs in the shape of Stephen Pringle, Craig Aitken, and ace skip Gavin Smith. Junior Cap Daniel Gormley stepped up to the plate and experienced campaigners Brian Stoddart and Colin Gilchrist also came to the rescue of Bainfield and play their part in the club’s critical penultimate match “Our pre-match build up was a disaster area with these three late call-ups made in desperate circumstances however the guys that responded to my SOS signal did a great job in a team performance that came close to causing an upset”, reflected Brown.
“We did hit the front at one time and just faded over the last few ends and it was super-class conversion bowls from Neil Speirs on ends 19 and 20 that sealed our fate” he added.However it was a big two-fold consolation for Brown and Bainfield that their automatic relegation rivals Coatbridge lost by a hefty 29 shots at home to Blantyre and that their own margin of defeat was contained to a level that gives them a 47 shot advantage – albeit two points less – going into the final fixtures.Bainfield faced a West Lothian team desperate for a win that would keep their four-in-row title ambitions alive and kicking and it seemed that the visitors had a tiger by the tail when the defending champions zipped into a 16 shot lead (33-17) on the first 7-end phase.But the makeshift Bainfield team refused to cave in and instead showed great quality and spirit to stage a fight-back that driven by a 12-4 input from Colin Hutchison and an 8-2 assist from Craig Paterson resulted in a 28-18 turnaround on the second phase.It was all to play for with the WL match lead reduced to six shots, and a third phase contribution of 10-4 from Barry Hill did raise Bainfield hopes however in a thrilling climax the home team clawed their way to a 25-21 match clincher.Paterson – the team captain – made a terrific start to skip Adam Brock, Danny McCourt, and Kevin Tennant into a 14-6 lead after 11-ends against Blair Mackie, Raymond Logan, Craig Moss, and Calum Logan.End 15 was a bit of a game-changer with Logan carding 4 shots to close to 15-12 and it became a close call in the battle to the line with Paterson edging it 20-18.Hutchinson (Colin) came under heavy pressure to trail Richard Mark, Stuart Johnston, Jamie Gracie, and Mark Allison, 15-7 after 11-ends but lit a fuse that sparked a 5, 1, 4 revival to skip Josh Spalding, Mark McIntosh, and John McDermott into a 17-15 lead.Their revival couldn’t be sustained however with Hutchison piped 21-19 by the stronger finishing home rink.Hill and his rink of Graeme McIntosh, Colin Gilchrist, and Brian Stoddart were always against the collar but from 15-5 down showed great tenacity to close to 15-11 then 17-16 before losing 19-16 to Cameron Greer, Ian Drysdale, James Speirs, and Thomas Mann.Hogg (James) had Daniel Gormley, Alan Brown, and Jamie Reid in touch at 14-11 down to Bryan Cooper, Dougie Mitchell, Paul O’Donnell, and Neil Speirs after 18-ends but succumbing to some late Speirs magic lost 18-11.