Bowls: Porty win on umpire’s measure

The derby between Portobello and Bainfield in the ladies’ indoor bowls Scottish Cup at Tranent went right down to the wire.

Portobello edged an 80-79 victory in nail-biting circumstances that saw them survive on an umpire’s measure and a time-bell that saw two rinks only complete 20 of the regulation 21 ends in this preliminary round contest.

The major drama focused on the decision of Portobello skip Isabel Anderson to gamble by not playing the final bowl when faced with a possible three shots against her that would have forced a deciding extra end. However, the umpire declared that young Bainfield skip Kathryn O’Donnell could only be credited with two shots and not the three she had hoped for.

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“We were showing ten shots ahead after 18 ends but Bainfield whittled that down to a knife-edge situation that produced a match atmosphere that was tension filled,” said an observer for Portobello.

Bainfield made a terrific start to lead by 18 after eight ends (38-20) but just five ends later a revival from Portobello saw the match tied at 50-50. Bainfield captured the first seven ends, 30-20 and edged the third 28-26, however Portobello were rampant on the second, winning 34-21 that proved decisive.

Wins for the rinks skipped by May Brownlee, Rita Reid and Isabel Anderson were all single-figure affairs but just good enough for Portobello to cover the heavy defeat suffered by Harriet Munro at the hands of Anna Anderson.

Brownlee skipped Helen Dougall, Allison McDougall and Barbara Kay to a 25-17 win over Karen Tumblety, Cathie Falconer, Dorothy Barclay and Kathleen Barr. Reid skipped Cathy McLeod, Margaret Keenan and Nicola Barclay to an 18-12 win over Jeanette Crawford, Sheila Grigor, Hazel Crombie and Marion Dixon.

Anderson was 11-5 down but skipped Jackie McFarlane, Zandra Kinnear and Margaret Murray to a 26-24 win over Eleanor Campbell, Ann Matthew, Susan Allan, and O’Donnell.

Bainfield were kept in the picture by the rink of Aimee Robertson, Kate McVey, Theresa Blair and Anderson who included a mighty 5 at the 17th as they swept to a 26-11 win over Izzy Dixon, Liz Parfinowski, Cathy Ward, and Munro.

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