East Lothian land national title in stunning fashion
The partnership from the Garden County made a triumphant return to the Meadowmill Stadium in Tranent having clinched the national crown with victories over Prestwick in the semi-finals then Stirling in the final.
The Prestwick duo of Craig Lindsay and defending champion Paul Foster were the notional favourites to land the title due to Foster’s standing as a giant of the world stage so the initial challenge facing East Lothian was a daunting one.
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Hide AdThe early stages of the semi-final saw Higgins and Oliver immediately against the collar at 5-2 down but their own aggressive determination came into play with a purple patch run of 2, 1, 1, 2, 1 that thrust them into an encouraging 9-5 lead.
Prestwick crossed 10-9 with a 3, 1, 1 reply then, in a tremendous ding-dong battle, peels were called at 13-13 before the scales tipped in favour of the Ayrshire duo with a single to 14.
The time-bell signalled that the penultimate end would in fact be the last, setting up a pulsating climax that saw Higgins/Oliver send their travelling support into raptures with a magic count of 4 to snatch a 17-14 victory.
It was seen by most as the final before the final and that sentiment looked accurate when Oliver skipped Higgins on a spectacular early run of 3, (1), 1, 4, 4, 2, 1 to have Danny McCormick and Brian Stillie of Stirling at their mercy by 15-1 after seven ends. The outcome and destination of the title remained predictable at 18-5 but a stunning six-end transformation saw Stirling card nine shots without reply to bring East Lothian under growing pressure at 18-14.
It needed something special from East Lothian to stop their alarming slide and they produced it in the shape of a magic 3 that inspired further counts of 1, 2, 1 to lead 25-14 before winning 25-18.
“We were hard pressed on occasions in both our games so it is immensely pleasing that we had the bottle and the ability to come up with the answers that, as national champions, earns us a crack at the British Isles title,” said Oliver.
West Lothian IBC suffered two disappointments in the national finals showcase with the Gents Triple and Gents Four returning to Livingston empty handed. It started well with Neil Speirs skipping Calum Logan and Thomas Mann into the final of the Triples with an amazing 17-3 lead converted into a 21-10 victory over Kevin Nibloe, David Gass and Paul Boyd of Prestwick.
The WL trio lined up as title favourites in the final but were soon chasing shadows at 11-3 down and never quite got to grips in a disappointing 18-12 defeat to Alex Fleming, John Candlish and Gary Johnstone of Auchinleck.
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Hide AdIt was an even more dismal story in the Fours with the rink of Bryan Cooper, James Speirs, Thomas Mann and Neil Speirs making a 23-17 exit in the semi-final to Joe McGinlay, Paul Boyd, Craig Lindsay and Paul Foster of Prestwick.
Ardrossan then upset the odds with a 27-5 demolition of Prestwick in the final.
Final results: Ladies: Pairs: Auchinleck 23 East Fife 15. Triples: Garioch 15 Bainfield 11. Fours: Coatbridge 17 Galleon 8.