Bowls: Portobello lose top spot after failing in Border raid

It WAS a tough ask for 
Portobello to beat Tweedbank at Galashiels and so it proved with the indoor bowls Division 1C leaders toppled by an 87-61 defeat to the Borders team.

Tweedbank leapfrogged their victims to top the table by a single point (eight from six games) but Portobello have a game in hand so remain well placed.

Defeat on the rinks skipped by Andrew Caldwell, Stuart Betts and Chris Steven blunted the challenge of the visitors and the rink skipped by George Johnston delivered the only sharp performance for Portobello.

The seven-end phase scoring paints an accurate picture of the pressure Tweedbank exerted on the league leaders with the home team in the ascendancy on all three, the first 27-23, the second 30-20 and the third 30-18.

Johnston skipped Wood, Barry Smythe and Kevin Hunter into a narrow 10-9 lead after 13 ends then showed strong spirit in a battling finish to beat Kenny Johnstone 21-13.

But Caldwell and his rink of Ross Thomson, David Brown and Ian Fleming were never at the races from 10-7 down after nine ends and collapsed to a 
27-13 defeat to Ross Nichol.

Betts and his front three of David McLeod, Scott Rogers and Jamie Reid picked up a 5 at the seventh to look good at 12-4 up but only managed to add one single over the remaining 14 ends resulting in a 26-13 defeat to Neil McNally.

Steven and his rink of Euan Murray, Dean Mackintosh and Gordon Bold were soon in the doldrums at 10-2 down after seven ends and they lost 21-14 to Robert Crawford.

A good day for Borders teams saw Teviotdale register their first success of the campaign with a surprise 86-75 win over Headwell at Hawick.

Meanwhile, the ladies of Portobello IBC scored a spectacular 110-46 victory at home to Tweedbank in Division 1C of the national leagues.

Nicola Barclay – a former national junior singles champion – topped the bill to skip Marie Glasgow, Helen Dougall and Catherine Jones to a 
42-11 win over the luckless Jackie Ormiston having made a sensational 6, 5, 1, 1, 4, 4 opening to lead 21-0.

Rita Reid included a magnificent count of 7 in her 24-11 win over Gayle Lindores while Barbara Kay led 15-4 and beat Pat Houston 24-12 then May Brownlee picked up from 5-4 to beat Ella Brydon 20-12.

Portobello are joint second with Teviotdale in the table, two points adrift of East Lothian but with a game in hand.