Forres Bowling Club latest as Paul Coutts gets Scott Cup defence off to good start
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Paul Coutts got off to a great start as he attempts to defend the Scott Cup trophy which he shared with Charlie Watt last season at Forres Bowling Club.
Coutts, Lesley Mackintosh and Skibo McKenzie hit Harry Sutherland for six at the very first end, and, another six half-a-dozen ends later had them 17-4 in front. Sutherland responded with a handful of shots at the next end, but immediately surrendered a five one end later. The tournament will continue over the next 16 weeks.
After a poor initial end, Charlie Watt scored 12 shots in six ends as he took what should have been a comfortable 12-6 lead over Derek Sobey, who then went nap at the eighth end to narrow the deficit to a single shot. Watt gradually pulled away in the second half.
The opening four ends of Dean Dobbs' tie with Sandy Burgess were tight as Sandy went 3-2 up. The number eight was then to feature prominently
in their game. First, Dean won eight ends in a row as he went 15-3 ahead. Then, at the penultimate end, Sandy scored an eight to 'gift' Dobbs a box of chocolates.
Lesley Coutts seemed to be control of her match with Gary Mackie, leading 15-4 with 10 ends played. Mackie won all but one of the remaining ends to cut the gap.
Alex Porter led John Ross 7-1, and was managing to keep a step or two ahead until some skulduggery entered the game. The tie turned when Ross was gifted a five in questionable circumstances to give him a platform to see the game out.
Alana Coutts had the measure of Malcolm Swinswood as she took an 8-3 half-time lead. A five brought Swinswood back into the game, and the scoreline remained tight until the end.
Scores: P Coutts 29, H Sutherland 11; C Watt 21, D Sobey 15; D Dobbs 19, A Burgess 13; L Coutts 17, G Mackie 12; J Ross 15, A Porter 13; A Coutts
12, M Swinswood 11.
After the game, a moment's silence was observed in memory of Caitlin Dustan, as it was two years to the day that the promising young bowler lost her life.
Jack Connor is wondering why it has taken him so long to discover the sport of bowls, which he has begun playing in such a successful fashion. He, Sheena Murdoch and Robert McRitchie ran out the easy winners of the Wednesday Hat. They hit six twice and dropped just four shots as they went unbeaten all afternoon.
Sam Morrison also kept on the move, but was beaten in the final set. He did, however, hit the score of the day, a seven.
Derek Crosby came good after his initial set defeat. He won all the others. Peggy Locke did a marvellous job to recover after a first set 10-1 reverse. She lost just three further ends.
A four in the final set gave Ed Harris his only real win of the session. Charlie Watt trailed 10-2 after nine ends. A handful at the tenth end helped him narrow the score a bit.
Skibo McKenzie's only 'victory' was by way of the coin. Although he won three of his first five ends, Billy Felton couldn't get away from rink 5.
Scores: J Connor 25 up; S Morrison 13 up; D Crosby 5 up; P Locke 1 down; E Harris 3 down; C Watt 6 down; A McKenzie 11 down; W Felton 22 down.
Jack Connor came out on top once more at Thursday's Moving Hat-Night. On this occasion he helped Ann MacPherson and Malcolm Swinswood take the plaudits. The trio only lost four ends as they claimed victory in all four sets on a night when the green was almost at capacity, with 44 members taking part.
John Ross hit a seven on his way to a 12-0 first set victory. Things calmed down thereafter, and he won only three of his final ten ends.
Leading 17-3 with half a dozen ends to play, but losing eleven shots in three ends killed Dean Dobbs' hopes.
Lesley Coutts waited until the last six ends before coming good. John Matthews had a mixed evening, but a six at the penultimate end put a smile on his face.
Paul Coutts was 14-6 down at the halfway stage. He turned things around, and five ends later led 18-14. Brian Riddell won two and lost two. He finished ahead despite losing a six.
Going nap at the first end set up Charlie Watt's night. However, he only just finished in front even after being 12-2 up at half-time.
Gary Mackie came with a late run. He railed 16-2 after nine ends, but improved greatly thereafter. In a poor skipping performance, Alex Porter trailed his opposition throughout.
Alana Coutts never quite recovered from going down 9-1 in the first set. Derek Sobey was parked on Rink 2 all night. He was 18-0 down before he
picked up any shots.
Scores: M Swinswood 19 up; J Ross 8 up; D Dobbs 6 up; L Coutts 5 up; J Matthews 4 up; P Coutts 1 up; B Riddell 1 up; C Watt 1 up; G Mackie 6 down; A Porter 7 down; A Coutts 10 down; D Sobey 22 down.
Forres had a successful 94-75 result as they played St Ninian in a friendly for the first time in almost a decade. Alana Coutts led the best team of the day, winning her tie 26-3.
The David Petrie Handyman sponsored Forres Open Pairs takes place this weekend, with Aviemore's John Smith and Craig Feltham keen to retain
the trophy.
