THE indoor bowls Scottish Cup is now the proud centrepiece of the impressive trophy cabinet at Bainfield as a result of the Edinburgh elite defeating Blantyre in the final at Cumbernauld on Saturday.
The clash between two teams fired up by the prospect of etching their name on the much-coveted silverware for the first time produced a battle of epic proportions that raged for 83 pulsating ends and finished with Bainfield celebrating an 88-73 vic
tory.
The 15-shot margin may suggest a comfortable win but with 18 of the 21 ends completed the destination of the title was balanced on a knife-edge with Bainfield desperately defending a vulnerable seven-shot lead.
But in a tension-packed climax the nerve of the Bainfield team held strong enough to deliver a 4-3, 6-4, 6-1 blow to the hopes of a hungry Blantyre opposition.
Paul O'Donnell and Robert Marshall suffered narrow defeats however wins for the rinks skipped by Gavin Smith and Chris Steven managed to carry the day.
"This is the proudest day of my career as the team produced an immense performance and the major reward is that it puts Bainfield back in the frame as a major force in the sport," said 23-year-old captain Craig Moss.
Blantyre gave early notice of their serious intent by edging the first seven-end phase 28-24 but Bainfield produced a tremendous 36-17 reply on the second then slugged it out to gain a 28-28 share on the third. The ebb and flow of the match was greatly influenced by the strong contribution made by the rink of Alan Trotter, Graeme McIntosh, Alan Brown and Gavin Smith.
Smith gave Bainfield an early lift with a mighty 5 at the second end then made a major impression from 5-6 to 26-8 with a sizzling spell of 3, 1, 4, 2, 2, 6, (2) and 3 before going on to clinch a 29-15 win over Tom Wallace.
Chris Steven also had a spell of going great guns and thrilled the Bainfield support by skipping Willie McIntosh, Neil Butters, and Craig Moss from 4-6 to 19-7 with counts of 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, (1), 1, 1 and 3 against Gerry Sullivan.
Sullivan is a great campaigner however and he inspired Blantyre back into the match with a furious fight back to cross 21-20 before Steven cushioned the damage with a mighty 5 at the last to win 25-21.
Meanwhile, Robert Marshall and his rink of Jamie Gracie, Daren Grant, and Colin Hutchison were being nailed 19-8 by carpet fitter Jim McCann but staged a wonderful 2, 1, 5, (1), 2 and 1 recovery to just lose 21-20.
Life was also tough for the rink of Chris Downie, Stuart Patterson, Stevie McLeod and Paul O'Donnell who trailed Scott Bishop 13-5 after 12-ends however they rode out the storm and a good fight back saw them lose 17-15.
"The team had a battle on its hands across the carpet and we showed great courage and ability to keep a strong Blantyre challenge at bay," summed up O'Donnell.
The full article contains 538 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
