PROVINCE KNOCK OUT SEMI FINAL - MON 4 MAR

 " What a result!  Gangrels (R Peat (S), D Hope, B Cherry, P Galloway) took to the ice at Greenacres late on the evening of Mon 4 Mar to play Fairywell (S Rennie (S), A Sloan, S Sutherland, K Rennie) in the semi-final of the Province Knock Out.  On the adjacent sheet, Stewarton Heather and Sorn were loudly proclaiming their presence and prowess! 

Undeterred by the white noise distraction,  the Gangrels stepped up to the hack having lost the toss and promptly stole a 2 on the first end.  Fairywell responded in proficient style to do the same in the next end, peeling 2-2.  And then the wheel came off their wagon as Gangrels got the better of somewhat fickle pace and swing ice with Skip Ronnie making life very difficult for Fairwell with skillfully placed scoring stones which were then protected from the inevitable barrier/strike weight onslaught.

By the close of the 5^th end, Gangrels had moved ahead to lead 6-3 but there was little room for complacency and every effort was then made to at least secure the lead advantage and at best increase it.  This they did by stealing another 2 on the 6^th end and then repeatedly guarding a close group of scoring stones to take another 4 in the 7^th and last end.  At the bell, hands were shaken with Gangrels winning 12-3.  This was a hard fought and well-deserved victory with sound team play and application throughout.

The final will take place at Greenacres on Tue 25 Mar at 1800 against Stewarton Heather with supporters very welcome and encouraged to attend."

Thanks to Secretary Peter for the above report and all his excellent reports from this year's games.

GCC v A&A MINI LEAGUE FINAL ROUND 6 RESULTS 3 MAR

 The final round of the mini league at Greenacres on Mon 3 Mar was a cracker with A&A1 v A&A2 on Sheet A and Gangrels 1 v Gangrels 2 on Sheet B with all 4 Rinks closely matched in capability and competitiveness.  Gangrels 2 were in the lead with 2 Points ahead of Gangrels 1 and A&A 2 just behind Gangrels 1 on Ends up.  So it was all to play for!

On Sheet A, A&A were in close competition end for end throughout the 8 ends played but A&A 2 edged ahead with a 3 in the 5^th end to lead 6-3.  A&A 1 took single shots in the  6^th and 8^th ends but A&A 2 kept their nose in the lead to win 7-5 at the bell.

On Sheet B, both Gangrels Rinks were to give no quarter and were peeling 3-3 at the close of the 4^th end.  Thereafter, Gangrels 2 won the next 3 ends to go in to the final end leading 6-3 but with Gangrels1 determined to achieve a good score to redress the difference but try as they may and thwarted by A&A2's defensive play, they were only able to secure a single shot to leave Gangrels 2 winning 6-4.

The results were close on both sheets with Gangrels 2 winning 6-4 and A&A 2 winning 7-5 but when added to the overall results table, Gangrels 2 won with 10 Points, Gangrels 2 came second with 6 Points and +21 ends, A&A 2 third with 6 Points and +20 ends and A&A 1 fourth with 2 Points.  The full details of the series is shown here.

This trial run of a mini league is considered to have been a commendable success and has set an impressive benchmark for next season should it be decided to continue and possibly expand the series.