East Lothian ladies waltz into last eight of Scottish Cup

Janet Fairnie was on top form for East Lothian

Inspired double-figure wins on three rinks – skipped by Janet Fairnie, Yvonne Veitch and recent World Bowls bronze medallist Lauren Baillie – were supported by a massive 126-53 shot-margin supremacy.

Stirling did put up a show on the fourth rink but their narrow two-shot defeat of Gillian Mackintosh was a finely-balanced affair that could have tipped either way.

Having launched their cup campaign with a surprise 9-1 demolishing of Premier League play-off finalists Midlothian, the route into the semi-finals on Saturday, March 18 stands blocked by Bathgate-based Balbardie at a venue yet to be determined.

Baillie produced the headline performance against Stirling, skipping Margaret Murray, Jean Russell and Megan Kivlin to a brilliant 40-11 win over Jane Dowell.

Fairnie was also in great form to skip debutant Hazel Fender, Cathy Ward and Alicia Irvine to a whopping 39-10 win over Margaret Holden while the rink of Melissa Penman, Muriel Hamilton, Nancy McNeil and Veitch crushed Shona Neaves 28-11.

Mackintosh and her front three of Pat Turner, Rosemary Mackintosh and Irene Gray came close to making it an EL clean sweep but were pipped 21-19 by Rose Smith.

Balbardie followed up their wins over Tweedbank and East Fife with an impressive 9-1 victory over Falkirk at Dalkeith.

• BELLSBURN bowler Gary Clelland has been selected to represent Scotland in the Para Bowls Home Nations Championship at Newport, Wales, over the weekend of Friday, April 21.

England and Wales make up the three-nation event and team members will be keen to impress ahead of selection for the 2018 Commonwealth Games being staged on Australia’s Gold Coast.