Four wins sees Mark storn into semi-finals
Richard Mark has made a major impression on the early season playdown action of the Scottish Indoor Bowls Singles Championship with the West Lothian Indoor Bowling Club champion conjuring up four magic winning performances to reach the semi-final stage.
Mark will next parade his range of skills in the full glare of the national finals showcase occasion at Blantyre IBC on the weekend of January 6 and 7 and shares the limelight with three giants of the sport in the shape of Paul Foster MBE, Stewart Anderson and Billy Mellors.
His opening match at Perth IBC last weekend pitched the 60-year-old into a prelim battle with Michael Stevenson of Inverclyde, and having led all the way he answered menacing pressure at 19-17 with a double to 21 on the 21 st end to seal the win.
Mark returned to the carpet to face a first round test from David Auld of Elgin and buoyed up by a whirlwind start to lead 10-3 then 17-6 the WL champion stormed to a 21-9 win in 17-ends.
Day two of the playdowns saw Mark line-up against his West of Scotland IBC counterpart Graeme McDougall in the second round and having hit the lids to race into an 11-2 lead then 17-6, a pause for breath saw him closed to 18-15 before answering that pressure with a magnificent three to seal the 21-15 win on end 19.
One major hurdle remained for Mark to negotiate and earn a place in the glamour stage of the national championships and it came in the shape of Galleon challenger John McCabe Jr.
Mark perked up his support with yet another strong start having registered a count of three on the opening end then making steady headway to lead 12-6 then 16-10, however anxious times lay ahead.
A five end stumble cost Mark four counts of two to be crossed 18-17 and his place in the next round appeared to be in serious jeopardy.
However, the West Lothian champ champion was in no mood to be denied and thrilled his vocal support with a grandstand style finish of 2, 1, 1 that swept him past the finishing post a glorious 21-18 winner in 24-ends.
Hopes that Bathgate club Balbardie IBC would join their West Lothian counterparts and mount a challenge in the quest for national title glory were dashed in the very early stages with Mark Bonar failing to find his touch in a disappointing 21-5 first round defeat from Stuart Pagan of Abbeyview.
The line-up in the semi-finals in the new year pitches Mark of West Lothian against Mellors of East Lothian and Foster of Prestwick against Anderson of Blantyre in what is sure to be a great weekend of action.
Elsewhere, the indoor league season gets up and running at the weekend as West Lothian IBC launch their Premier League Section B campaign on Saturday with a tough test against a very decent Falkirk outfit, but they do have home rink advantage at the Inveralmond Stadium in Livingston.
Meanwhile, in Division 1B, Balbardie also have home advantage as their bid for promotion starts against a West of Scotland side who were playing at a lower level last term.
There’s also action of local interest on Sunday as Ian Drysdale and David Anderson are set to parade their skills for Balbardie and West Lothian respectively in the first round action of the Gents Seniors Singles.