West Lothian IBC produced a tremendous performance to scale the heights and conquer reigning national champions East Lothian in a crucial battle for supremacy in the B section of the gents Premier League.
Read MoreThe stakes were high in a penultimate match pitching the joint leaders in a head to head conflict at The Inveralmond Stadium and although home environment was a plus it was still a tough test for a WL team that had spent the previous season in Division 1.
The final outcome saw a hard earned West Lothian victory of 18 shots (85-67) cheered enthusiastically by a well-populated home banking that had been fired up by winning performances on the rinks skipped by Craig Moss and Neil Speirs.
The pre-match mindset was that a strong team performance would be required to keep the defending champions at bay and that was duly delivered across the carpet with the defeat of Calum Logan and Mark Allison contained to single figure margins. Craig Moss was a late elevation to skip in place of enforced absentee James Speirs and the former Bainfield star stepped up to the plate in magnificent fashion by giving a master class display against Scotland’s second most capped player in the shape of Graham Robertson.
Moss dominated the scoring at 15 of his 20 completed ends and was inspirational as he skipped Richard Mark, George Sneddon, and Alan McCormick to a massively influential 25-8 win over Ewan Fallen, Kevin Cunningham, Willie Wood MBE and Robertson. Much is expected of icon figure Neil Speirs on his home carpet and the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medal star duly delivered against another strongly formed East Lothian rink. Speirs and his front-three of Scott Logan, Dougie Mitchell, and Stuart Johnston were still under pressure at 14-13 up after 17-ends against Lessel Middler, Dean Riva, Scott Kennedy, and Billy Mellors. It was match-changing period when Speirs and Co accelerated to a 24-14 victory with a powerful finishing run of 2, 5, (1), 3.
Logan (Calum) added 3, 2 to kip Blair Mackie, Raymond Logan, and Bryan Cooper into an 11-9 lead after 12-ends but in a long battle to the line the home rink was piped 18-16, on the post, by Lewis Betts, David Sked, Jamie Higgins, and Derek Oliver. Allison and his rink of Ian Drysdale, Connor McKendrick, and Cameron Greer were mostly against the collar in a 27-20 defeat from Mark Yuill, Dougie Berwick, Stuart Thomson, and Alex Marshall MBE; but had hung in well until dropping a seven at the second last.
West Lothian hold the driving seat going into this Saturdays final section match and are firm favourites to defeat foot of the table Paisley however they are on away territory and can’t afford to lose.
East Lothian are just two points and 30 shots adrift and will be fired up in their attempts to deliver a deliver a massive home carpet victory over far travelled Elgin.
Balbardie gents continued their late revival in scoring an impressive 92-74 away win over third placed East Kilbride in Division 1 South and have at least the glimmer of a hope of avoiding automatic relegation if completing a hat trick of wins with a home triumph over Inverclyde.
West Lothian ladies slipped up with a disappointing 20 shot defeat (87-67) in their final match away to Tweedbank in Division 1 East and will be piped at the post by Balbardie if their neighbours win their final fixture away to Teviotdale.
The sudden passing of Linda Brennan at the age of 51 has put the vast bowls community of Scotland and beyond into a state of shock. Known around the world for her infectious personality, humour, warmth knowledge and passion for the sport her contribution to bowls at all levels is incalculable. Linda – the generous and supportive proprietor of David Gourlay Bowls – played 15 Outdoor and 14 Indoor international series for Scotland under The Middleton Hall and WLIBC banner’s and also raised the profile of her native West Lothian as a member of the Scotland Team in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.