Bowls: Portobello turn tables to top group
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.
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Hide Ad“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.