Moray Province East curling mixed knockout final will be a family affair as the Cameron and Rankin clans do battle

Clan Cameron and the Rankin Family will contest this year’s Moray Province Mixed Knockout final.

Father-and-son Andy and Gavin Cameron, well-supported by Louise Marshall and Susan Mackenzie, came from behind to beat Wilson Burnett in a game that was closer than the final score might suggest.

Burnett’s team steadily collected single shots and a fourth end deuce to lead 5-3 after six ends but there was always a feeling that they were tampering with a time bomb.

Sure enough, in the seventh end the bomb exploded with Cameron counting four to take a two-shot lead into the last end. Finding a way to a locked-in opposition counter proved to be an impossible task and Burnett had to shake hands on an 8-5 loss.

It was a different story on the adjoining sheet as a full hand of Rankins blanked an unfortunate Linda Hardie.

With dad Steve and mum Janice calling the shots and siblings Ben and Zoe paddling the canoe, the contest was virtually decided by the third end after counts of four then three propelled them to a 12-0 victory.

In Moray East League Division 1, Aberlour’s Andy Cameron has climbed to the top of the league following a 12-7 win over Elgin Tennis Club.

Despite winning only three of the eight ends played, a ruthless Speyside team scored heavily with a four and a six to effectively put the match beyond McPherson’s ball boys and raced to a 12-2 lead after five ends.

The tennis club, with skip Roy Thomson resplendent in red, won the last three ends to put a more respectable sheen on the final scoreboard.

Kenny Oswald finally picked up his first win of the season with a 9-4 victory over Bill Jaffrey.

An opening end loss of three apart, the Elgin team of Susan Mackenzie, Jim Barron, Louise Marshall and skip OswaId never looked in any danger, scoring at all of the next four ends to extinguish any lingering Fochabers’ hopes.

OswaId himself was in particularly fine form, nominating and successfully playing several terrific shots on ice that seemed to change a bit in the second half of the match.

In Moray Province West Division 2, Nairn’s Mike McInnes scored a comprehensive victory over Dalcross’s Ian Thomson to reach the joint division lead. Locked at two apiece after three ends, McInnes and co. powered away, winning the last three ends to ensure a solid win.

Results

Mixed knockout semi-finals:

L. Hardie 0 S. Rankin 12

A. Cameron 8 W. Burnett 5

Moray East Province League

Division 1:

W. Jaffrey (Fochabers) 4 K. OswaId (Elgin) 9

A. Cameron (Aberlour) 12 D. McPherson (Elgin Tennis Club) 7

Moray West Province League

Division 2:

M. McInnes (Nairn) 10 I. Thomson (Dalcross) 2