Scotland beat Wales but England take title

Scotland finished the women’s under-25 international series in style in Bridgend yesterday, but their 90-70 win over the hosts was not enough to give them the British team title.

Losing to England in the opening session on Saturday morning proved to be Scotland’s downfall, and it is to their credit that they pulled themselves together so well that they pulled off a 54-shots win over Ireland and added that 20-shots win over an unbeaten Welsh side.

Ironically, Scotland’s victory over Wales opened the door for England to retain the title, after England, Scotland and Wales had tied for first place on points with two wins apiece, and it was England who took the honours thanks to their superior shots difference.

Scotland, who fielded Strathmiglo’s Lesley Doig, Gemma Forrester from Abbeyview and awarded a new cap to Dalgety Bay’s Mahri McCall, finished second, while overnight favourites Wales were bitterly disappointed to trail in third, ahead of pointless Ireland.

Doig returned to the green yesterday afternoon to play England’s Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sophie Tolchard in the semi-finals of the British women’s under-25 singles championship.

Heavy rain had made the green treacherous but the two stars showed their resilience and competitive nature, and produced a no-holds-barred contest that entertained a large crowd.

Doig scored a good treble on the fourth end, and a full house count of four shots on the 13th actually put her in the lead at 10-9, before a single and a treble from Tolchard saw her leading 13-10 after 15 ends.

The Fifer replied defiantly with a single to trail 11-13 and the game was hotting up but these British junior championships restrict the singles discipline to 15-up, and a Tolchard double on the 17th end brought the clash to a close.

Lesley Doig: edged out in the singles semi-finals.