Aberdeen fightback earns first ever championship

BOWLS: Aberdeen staged a storming finish to claim the Scottish Team Championship title for the first time against Dumbarton at Midlothian yesterday.

Dumbarton were the first on the board when Graeme Sloan beat Eric Gallan in the singles 21-14 and they added the fours when Keith Tait skipped Michelle Keenan, Ann Jardine and John Gilles to a 24-17 win.

However, Aberdeen won the pairs and triples to square the points at 4-4. They won the Gordon Dunwoodie Trophy thanks to Kathleen Birnie and George Milne scoring 17 shots over eight of the last 10 ends to win 28-16, while in the triples Derek McNicol skipped Margaret Duthie and Willie Lumsden to a 20-11 win – reeling off 11 shots over five of the last 16 ends to take the title 79-72.

In the previous day's Scottish Cup semi-finals, Aberdeen beat Galleon 95-62 at Cumbernauld and their opponents in next week's final at Prestwick will be East Lothian. The Meadowmill men beat Falkirk 83-67 in a tough tussle at Coatbridge.