Masters defeat for seeds
Five seeds bit the dust over the first two rounds of the Johnston Oils West Lothian Masters with sixth seeded John Aitken of Kirkliston the highest ranked to lose sight of the £1000 title and the signature Green Jacket.
Aitken made a second round exit to 2013 finalist Alec Allan of Newbridge, being soundly defeated 21-7 by a former long-serving Hamilton Trophy team-mate anxious no doubt to signal that at 55 he is no spent force in county circles.
Four seeds bit the dust on Monday night’s Round One action with the ninth seeded Brian Craig of Glenmavis, crashing out to a 21-9 defeat from the highly competitive and motivated Brian Saunders of Bathgate, who was a finalist in 2000.
The exit of 28-year-old Kirkliston star Calum Logan (10th seed) was a major shock as he had shaped up well to lead Andy Mitchell 14-10 but a surprising loss of both line and length caused his dramatic collapse to a 21-15 defeat.
Bathgate’s Brian Cooper (13th seed), a finalist in 2008, made an early exit at the hands of Rab Shaw Jnr of East Calder, being edged out 21-19 in a thrilling contest.
Teenager Darren Pearce (16th seed) of Kirkliston was pipped at the post 21-20 by Jim McKinnon of Armadale.
Elsewhere, second seed Grant Logan was hard pushed as he bids for a fifth Masters title. He was forced to conjure up a finishing run of 1, 2, 3, 4 to score a 21-15 win over Ian McFarlane of Kinneil at Newbridge.
Logan’s father Gordon was unable to cope with Derek Kerr of Armadale in their first round clash while Grant’s 10-year-old son Kyle lost to a former Champion of Champion in the shape of Walter McDougall of Glenmavis.
The West Lothian Masters was hit and concerned by the news that Grant’s younger brother Greg, the top seed and defending champion from Uphall Station, had been forced to withdraw on Tuesday night.
A close 21-20 outcome in Round One saw Ruary Love of Bellsburn nip Alan Robertson of Blackburn; while George Sneddon of Broxburn was a big name casualty in losing to Andy Jenkins of East Calder.
A major second round drama saw eighth seed Thomas Mann survive by the skin of his teeth in a 21-20 thriller against Andy White of Armadale while another 21-20 nail biter saw Walter McDougall edge out Stevie Pettigrew of Bathgate.
Adam Gilliland of Bankton Mains was a 21-20 winner over Nathan Davies of Pumpherston while Ratho’s Brian Campbell was a similar victor over 2003 finalist Simon Lamb of Bellsburn.
Frazer Muirhead of Uphall Station lost a close 21-20 battle against Paul Sweeney of Newbridge while a double at the last saw Davy Brown of Kirkliston defeat Bellsburn’s Jack Murphy.
Kevin Norris of Bankton Mains progressed at the 21-20 expense of Linlithgow challenger Robert Wilson.
The venues for tonight’s (Thursday) last-32 games are East Calder, West Calder, Linlithgow, Middleton Hall and Bathgate with Friday’s sectional final venues are Deans and Broxburn with Sunday’s Final Day being at Kirkliston when 90-year-old Peter Ball of Blackburn into the WLBA Hall of Fame.
The seeds still standing are: Grant Logan (2), Andy Dunnett (3), Neil Speirs (4), Ewan Shearer (5), Gary Smith (7), Thomas Mann (8), Cameron Greer (11), Mark Allison (12), Raymond Logan (14), Sandy McDougall (15).