QUEENSBERRY and visitors Brunstane renewed rivalry in last night's first round of the Edinburgh and Leith Top Five Bowls Singles Championship and the recent result in the Edinburgh Cup was confirmed with a resounding 5-0 win for the home side.
Alan Watson set the scene for a Queensberry rout as he bolted to a 21-4 win over a luckless Jim Gunn in just 13 ends having accelerated from 6 to 19-2 with a run of 1, 3, 3, 1, 4, 1.
Colin McKenzie added win No.2 in 19 ends but was much harder pu
shed having been under severe pressure at 14-7 down before crossing to 15 with two magic 4s then battling on to a 21-17 success over George Johnston.
John Kidd also finished his game in 19 ends but with less drama as he added 1, 2, 4, to lead 11-6 then battled on to stand 17-12 up on Colin Bell before hitting 21 with a 1, 3 finish.
Yet another 19 ender saw Brian Larkin card 1, 1, 4, 1 to lead 7-1 then beat Alan McKenzie 21-8 but the thriller of the night saw Frank O'Reilly blow a 17-11 lead before answering pressure at 19-17 down to pip Bruce Young 21-20 in 25 ends.
Dean had home green advantage in their 4-1 win over Mayfield. Kevin McNab was first off with a good 21-14 win over Gavin Thomson then Robert White corrected a wobble from 13-4 to 19-16 to beat Mark Welsh 21-16.
Bob Linton clinched win No.3 at the 21-16 expense of Scott Kearsley then Andy McNab made it 4-0 with a 21-15 win over Bob Manson, but Davy Wiseman made a 21-18 mark for Mayfield against Keith Mitchell.
Liberton deserve a big mention for their shock 3-2 win over defending champions Craigentinny in the preliminary round late last week and it came with a sensational climax with the match poised at 2-2.
Kevin McFarlane romped to a 21-6 win over John Urquhart to give Craigentinny the perfect start, however, Bob Cardwell levelled the score with an excellent 21-13 success over Gordon Bold.
That was the first sign of an upset and the second came when John Lawrence captured the 21-12 scalp of junior cap Andrew Caldwell to put the home side 2-1 ahead but Andrew Jeffrey made it 2-2 with a 21-10 triumph over George Blaikie.
The holders now looked to be well in control as Craig McCall led Andrew Main 20-14 in the deciding game, however, Main staged an amazing fight back to steal a 21-20 victory.
Liberton continue their campaign against Niddrie, who beat Portobello, on Thursday night.
The full article contains 474 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
