Bowls Europe- European Championships 2024- Day Four Report
A positive start to the new round of fixtures at the 2024 Bowls Europe- European Championships stands Scotland in good stead to reach the knockout rounds in all four disciplines.
Session One
Gents Singles
Aaron Betts started the day in fine form, with a 21-15 victory over his Israeli opponent. The young Scot started slowly however, finding himself behind in the early proceedings, trailing 10-8. He held his nerve, and clawed back to level the score, before picking up a massive three shots sending him on his way. He rattled off a further three shots unanswered, leading 16-10, before Israel started mount a comeback. The two players were then trading blows, with Aaron struggling to find that crucial 21st shot. That was until he drew a lovely front toucher, which his opponent could not compete with, handing three points to Scotland.
Ladies Pairs
A rather routine opening fixture for Carla Banks and Rachel Sinclair saw an emphatic 39-2 victory over Switzerland. Starting quickly, the Scots rattled off 31 shots unanswered over 11 ends, before the Swiss got themselves on the card with a double scored. That was the only time that Switzerland would score in the game, as Scotland would cruise through the final six ends, scoring eight shots.
Ladies Triples
Emma McIntyre, Megan Grantham and Gail Notman eased past Türkiye 30-12 in the opening game of their group campaign. A fast start saw the ladies lead 11-3 after six ends, which set the tone for proceedings. They fired through to 23-3, before Türkiye tried to mount a late comeback. It was not enough though, and the two teams traded shots until the conclusion of the game.
Gents Fours
Blair Davidson, Darren Gualtieri, Darren Weir and Dean Riva were in a game, when they played Spain this morning, as the Spaniards made it difficult for the Scots to make large counts. They led by eight shots to three after eight, though a three from the Spanish made it look tricky for the Scots. All four chipped in, in what became a bumper three ends, as they rattled off ten shots consecutively, to lead 18-6 after twelve ends played. From there it was about game management, and the Scots pulled through, for a 19-10 win.
Session Two
Gents Singles
Following on from his win over Israel, Aaron Betts was back in action in the second session of the day and was well up against it when he played Switzerland. Aaron trailed throughout the whole game, with the Swiss able to nick in with one bowl, whilst Aaron lay multiple shots, though when behind 7-2, he managed to fight back to 12-12. From there, Switzerland pulled away again, until Betts crossed him to lead 17-16. He held his nerve there on out and chipped away at his opponent as he started to struggle. This led to him grabbing the crucial shots, to win 21-17.
Ladies Pairs
Coming off the high of their superb victory over Switzerland in the morning, Carla Banks and Rachel Sinclair found themselves in bother early doors in their second group game against Cyprus. A slow start saw them trail by five shots to nine. They cracked on however and secured a huge five in the eleventh end to cross the Cypriots. From there they never looked back, controlling the game until it eventually came to a close at 19-13 in favour of the Scots.
Session Three
Ladies Pairs
The third game did not go quite to plan for Carla and Rachel, who despite a valiant effort, fell to an 18-14 defeat against England. A sluggish start saw England lead 15-5 with just five ends to go. The Scots showed their resilience though and nipped back to 15-13 with still three ends to play. An agonisingly close measure saw the Scots lose the jack in the 16th end, and from there England managed to hold firm and claim all three points. Despite the loss, Scotland remain top of Ladies Pairs Group B, on shot difference, though have their work cut out for them tomorrow with tough games against Guernsey and Wales.
Session Four
Gents Singles
Aaron picked up his third win of the day over Cyprus in this evening’s later session. He flew into an early lead, before being pegged back to six shots a piece. He then cracked on once more, holding his lead through the entire game. Betts found himself stuck at nineteen for a number of ends, allowing the Cypriot to pick up a couple of shots, leaving the scoreline to read 19-14. From there he started peppering the jack once more, killing the contest just two ends later, rounding off his day with a 21-14 win.
Gents Fours
Blair Davidson, Darren Gualtieri, Darren Weir and Dean Riva cruised past Türkiye 23-7 in their second and final group game of the day. The Scots flew out of the traps, picking up a massive seven in the first end, setting the tone for the evening. After five ends, they led by 14-1, and continued controlling the heads. Türkiye found a spell of success when their second elected to run the jack into the ditch on three separate occasions, however, Dean and the team shortened the length of the jack, to take the shot away from the Turks, which allowed them to kick on once more.
After their fast start, it was all about game management, and they managed it to perfection. The Scots led 21-7 playing the last end, and scooped up a bonus two, leading to a 23-7 scoreline.
Report by Oliver Anderson.