Bowls: Portobello turn tables to top group

Portobello ladies have made a big splash in the national indoor bowls league system by finishing top of Division 1C and sinking hot favourites East Lothian in the process with a commanding 22-shot victory in their head-to-head clash at the seaside venue.

The final match of the 
section campaign was set up as an exciting winner-takes -all situation, but for Portobello to come out on top, the home side had to turn the tables on an incredible 72-shot thumping when the two teams met at 
Tranent in November.

Portobello did come into the match with the confidence of being undefeated at home, but still lined up as underdogs against an East Lothian team boosted by the return to action of three top skips in Janet 
Fairnie, Yvonne Veitch and Emma Brown.

“To win 98-76 was a margin beyond our wildest dreams, but the stadium is jumping at the result and a performance that lifts our hearts and hopes ahead of taking the next step to win promotion to the Premier League,” said a spokeswoman for Portobello.

East Lothian did make 
winning impressions on two rinks, with Veitch staging a strong fightback to beat Nicola Barclay and Brown always 
doing enough to stay ahead of Barbara Kay.

The visitors did find themselves being overwhelmed on the other two rinks, with Rita Reid and May Brownlee emerging the hero figures for Portobello at the expense of Fairnie and Rose McAinsh.

The phase-scoring paints an exciting picture of a Portobello team hitting the ground running – on three rinks – to capture the first seven ends, 31-21 then dominate the second, 37-24 before staying solid to be pipped by only 31-30 on the third.

Bainfield finished second bottom of the section after ending their eight-match campaign with a 71-61 defeat at home to Teviotdale.