Fumble in Fours as county fail to sparkle

West Lothian IBC’s challenge in the play-down stage of the gents’Scottish Fours Championship came to grief with a last-hurdle fall after the rink of Blair Mackie, Raymond Logan, Cameron Greer and Calum Logan had built up momentum from three wins in a row.

The 23-15 defeat by Falkirk in the section final played in East Lothian was a major disappointment but judged to be a fair outcome given that West Lothian had failed to sparkle.

“We played good stuff to win our first three games but failed to fly out of the traps in the section final”, reflected Calum Logan, the West Lothian skip.

Logan and his front-three launched their campaign at Midlothian IBC and their 21-16 win over Headwell was followed by a narrow 22-21 success over Tweedbank before they dealt a 20-13 exit to Coatbridge.

The rink comprising of Davie Ross, Jimmy Mallon, Jim Speirs and Walter McDougall represented the Balbardie IBC banner and a strong first round performance saw them convincingly defeat Berwickshire, 29-10.

The move from Midlothian to East Lothian for their second round clash against Falkirk set the scene for an epic battle that ended in a dramatic 18-17 defeat for Balbardie.

The ladies version of the national fours championship ended in the failure of both West Lothian and Balbardie to qualify for the final stage.

The WL rink of Sandra Purdie, Irene Wright, Carole Clarkson, and Margaret Russell did show promise with good opening wins over Tweedbank (26-14) and West of Scotland (21-16).

However, the East Fife rink of Lesley Doig, Havanna Clark, Julie Sword, and Lynn Stein always had the measure of their opponents in their second round clash and dealt WL a 24-8 exit.

The Balbardie rink of Betty Johnston, Angie Uttley, Helen Wilson, and Margo Duff had a bye into the first round where any further progress was halted by a narrow 16-14 defeat from Falkirk.

Balbardie gents resume their Premier League campaign at home with a battle against Lanarkshire. Their team lines up as follows:

Rink 1: Duncan Smith, John Ellis, Mark Bonar, and Sandy McDougall.

Rink 2: Tam Whitfield, Jimmy Mallon, Jim Speirs, and Walter McDougall.

Rink 3: Calum Black, Lindsay Forrest, Davie Ross, and Ewan Shearer.

Rink 4: Graham Keery, Scott McMaster, Brian Craig, and Gary Orr.

The gents team from West Lothian IBC are bidding to make it six wins out of six when they visit bottom of the table side Arbroath in Division 1 North.

Ace figure Neil Speirs is ruled out by injury and the team lines up as follows:

Rink 1: James Greenock, Ian Drysdale, Craig Moss, and Thomas Mann.

Rink 2: Jamie Gracie, Ray Logan, Cameron Greer, and Mark Allison.

Rink 3: Paul Lynas, Blair Mackie, Des Hagart, and Calum Logan.

Rink 4: Bryan Cooper, Connor McKendrick, Stuart Johnston, and James Speirs.

The ladies of Balbardie face a tough visit to Midlothian in the East Premier League while their West Lothian counterparts parade their skills at Livingston against Teviotdale in Division 1 East with a 12 noon start.