Bowls: East Lothian edge Ayrshire South to regain trophy

Published on Sunday 24 July 2011 13:44

East Lothian won a thrilling Scottish Cities & Counties title decider against Ayrshire South to regain the Andrew Hamilton Trophy at Townholm in Kilmarnock yesterday.

East Lothian held a 16-shot lead at the halfway stage, when the score stood at 64-48, before Ayrshire mounted a strong fightback that saw them edge into the lead in the last quarter.

There was nothing to separate both camps over the closing stages, but disaster struck for Ayrshire with the finishing line in sight when Gary Johnstone's rink dropped a count of six on the third last end. East Lothian then held the lead until the end of the 21-end match to take the title 118-113.

Scott Dodds, Steven Morgan, Alistair Kennedy and Derek Oliver did the business for the Garden County against Derek McClue, Gary Johnston, Colin Smith and Dougie Watson respectively. Ayrshire's winning rinks were skipped by Jim Hopkins and Graeme Campbell - 27-10 and 21-15 winners ahead of Willie Dunleavey and Willie Wood.

Meanwhile, Scotland whitewashed Ireland 98-39 in their opening match of the Women's under-25 Junior International Series at Bainfield yesterday.

Michelle Cooper was their top scorer beating Sile Garvey 30-7 while the host club's Mandy O'Donnell weighed in with a 24-11 win ahead of Cloindha Eadie. Becky Campbell beat Erin Smith 25-19 and Kelly McDougall added a 19-12 victory over Samantha Smyth.