Kingsknowe win one of the best, says Buchan

Published on Monday 27 July 2009 11:55

KINGSKNOWE delivered the loudest message of the season so far by storming into the semi-finals of the Edinburgh Summer League with a big win at Bruntsfield Links, a result hailed by team manager Bill Buchan as "one of the best" in the club's history.

Having topped a section that included Duddingston, Glencorse, Murrayfield, Newbattle and Silverknowes, Bruntsfield must surely have fancied their chances of going all the way in this year's event, particularly as team manager John Cropper's options had been strengthened by the return of former Lothians champion Zander Culverwell for the second half of the campaign.

They certainly don't lose very often at home but, by the looks of things, Kingsknowe are men on a mission this year as they bid to make amends for a heavy defeat at the hands of Royal Burgess in last year's final at Glencorse.

Buchan's boys performed well in the group phase yet still had to settle for second spot behind Royal Burgess, leaving them with the toughest of tasks in the quarter-finals but, boy, did they rise to the occasion.

Andy Rowe led the way by taking an early lead against Culverwell in the top match, the Kingsknowe man never really letting his opponent back into it before closing out the game at the 16th for a 3 and 2 win.

Like Culverwell, Charlie Simpson had been unbeaten for Bruntsfield in the group phase but he also found his match on the night, losing by 4 and 3 to Allyn Dick, who has been an outstanding addition to the Kingsknowe ranks this season after making it his home club ahead of Shotts.

Having got off to the perfect start, Kingsknowe then delivered three killer blows as they won the next three games in the batting order by the narrowest of margins. Steve McCulloch held off a spirited fightback to get the better of Alan Anderson, Mike Foley edged a victory against Kevin Cattanach and Greg Richards came out on top in a tremendous tussle with John Liddel.

Those five wins were enough to secure Kingsknowe's spot in the last four but Gary Malone piled on the misery for Bruntsfield as he then beat Dougie Livingstone by 3 and 2.

Ally Ritchie, who took full advantage of a below-par putting performance by his opponent, beat Scott Knowles by 6 and 5 to eventually put the first point on the board for the home side, with David Donaldson doubling their tally with a hard-earned 2 and 1 win over Graeme Fraser.

In the anchor match, Kingsknowe's Charlie Kivlin established an early lead, gave it away against Keith MacKenzie then fought back to secure a deserved half.

"This was a truly outstanding performance against a very good side," beamed Buchan. "Without fear of contradiction, this was the best result by the team since I took over as manager and, if there have been better displays at any time in our history, they must have been truly frightening performances."

Not surprisingly, opposite number Cropper was disappointed with the outcome but insists the Bruntsfield boys have given themselves something to build on for next season.

Kingsknowe's semi-final opponents will be the winners of tomorrow night's match between Swanston and West Linton, meaning there's a chance of them meeting Royal Burgess again in the final.

The Barnton side are scheduled to entertain Glencorse in their quarter-final a week tonight, with Dalmahoy facing Torphin Hill in the remaining match this Thursday.

Dalmahoy, the winners two years ago, have four players competing in this week's Scottish Amateur Championship and, with Kevin Messer unavailable as well, they could well be understrength.

"However, I do have some good players to call on, all of who, have played some part in what has been a successful campaign, especially given the group we were in," said team manager David Marshall.

He'll be looking for Dougie Hunter to keep up the form that saw him take 6 points from a possible eight in the qualifying phase, while Robert Carson's return to form will also be a comfort to his Dalmahoy team-mates.

Match details:

Bruntsfield Links 2, Kingsknowe 6: Z Culverwell lost to A Rowe 3 and 2; C Simpson lost to A Dick 4 and 3; A Anderson lost to S McCulloch one hole; K Cattanach lost to M Foley one hole; J Liddel lost to G Richards one hole; D Livingstone lost to G Malone 3 and 2; A Ritchie bt S Knowles 6 and 5; D Donaldson bt G Fraser 2 and 1; K MacKenzie halved with C Kivlin.