Bowls Europe- European Championships 2024- Day Two Report
A mixed bag of results today saw Scotland notch up six wins from a possible nine, as we qualified for three of the four medal day competitions.
Session One
Gents Pairs:
Aaron Betts and Darren Weir were back in action this morning, against the Isle of Man, and they continued their rich vein of form that they were in yesterday. Looking comfortable from the off, the Scots were always ahead, leading 13-6 at the halfway mark. However, they ploughed through the gears in the second half of the game, racking up shots, including a maximum in the thirteenth end, en-route to securing a healthy 32-10 win over the Manx.
Gents Triples:
Blair Davidson, Darren Gualtieri and Dean Riva found themselves in a tricky opening game of the day against Türkiye, running out eventual 20-13 winners. A slow start from the Scottish trio saw them 6-0 behind after three ends played, although they eventually found their feet in the contest and began to kick on. Eventually leading by 17 shots to ten, with just four ends to play, the two sides traded blows, reaching the eventual final scoreline of 20-13.
Ladies Fours:
The team of Emma McIntyre, Carla Banks, Megan Grantham and Gail Notman continued their winning run, beating Swiss opposition 20-10. Gail played a cracker early doors, trailing the white for a bundle, opening a gap between the two sides, which Switzerland could not claw back. The Scots built their lead, finding themselves 20-7 up playing the final end, dropping three shots in the last, though it was them who claimed the three points.
Ladies Singles:
Rachel Sinclair was beaten by the Isle of Man this morning, handing Scotland their first defeat of the competition, in spite of a valiant performance. The game was nip and tuck the whole way through, though Rachel found herself 17-11 in front. The Manx lady however, held her nerve, pulling back to 17-16, and eventually crossed Sinclair to lead 20-19. Rachel was hard lines not to win the game herself in the last end, as she was faced with an opportunity to make the necessary pair. Alas, it was not to be, and the points went the way of the Isle of Man.
Session Two
Ladies Singles:
The sole game of the second session saw Rachel Sinclair engage in a tough battle with the Netherlands. The game was close throughout, with the two players always within two shots of each other throughout the contest. Rachel’s Dutch adversary managed to pull away in the later stages, to sit 18-17 in front when the buzzer went. Standing on the mat three down with just her last bowl to play, Rachel was unlucky not to convert the head, losing the three shots in the final end, allowing the scoreline to read 21-17.
Session Three
Gents Pairs
Aaron and Darren overcame France in their final group game this afternoon, winning 20-14. The win ensured that the youthful pair remained undefeated, and topped their group with all 12 available points, securing a place in tomorrow’s semi-final.
Despite the win, the Scots never had it all their own way, and found themselves trailing by eight shots to six after nine ends. This did not panic Betts and Weir however, and they produced a strong team display to notch up 13 shots across five ends, to lead 19-8 with just four ends to play. Dumont and Fauré of France chipped back at Team Scotland, though it was not enough, and we held on for victory by a margin of six shots.
Ladies Fours
Emma McIntyre, Carla Banks, Megan Grantham and Gail Notman had a hard-fought win over Ireland this afternoon too, claiming a 14-9 victory to guarantee qualification from their group, handing them a place in tomorrow’s medal matches. A further win tomorrow at 8:30am will secure top of the group for the Scots.
The game was very close in the beginning, as has been the case for most of the team’s games so far this week. The two sides were inseparable through the opening ten ends, with the score tied up at seven all. From there, Emma, Carla, Megan and Gail all found a second wind, and strung together three singles, a double and a treble consecutively, to hold a seven shot lead playing the last end. From there it was all about game management, and Scotland done their jobs, meaning that the Irish could only score two shots in the last.
Session Four
Gents Triples
Blair Davidson, Darren Gualtieri and Dean Riva survived a scare against Jersey, holding on to finish top of their section, guaranteeing a place in the semi-finals of the European Championships for the Scots. Starting slowly, the Scots found themselves 4-0 down, before crossing the Channel Islanders at 8-4. Skip Dean Riva then played a hugely important bowl, ditching the jack to secure a three, opening up a gap between the two sides. The Jerseymen held firm however and managed to creep back into the game with two huge scores, going from 15-8 to all square in just two ends. With three ends to go, it was the Jersey skip’s turn to play a great running bowl, making a four to lead 19-17 at the death. Scotland fought back however, winning both of the final two ends to recover the deficit and win the game 21-20.
Ladies Singles
It was not to be today for Rachel Sinclair, who fought valiantly in all three appearances, though ended up with three defeats. The last of which today was against Lynsey Greechan of Jersey. As has been the trend in Sinclair’s games, it went right down to the wire, with nothing between the players. Rachel picked up a great four while she trailed 13-10, to cross her opponent, though both players kept trading blows eventually landed at 19-all. Rachel was close to lifting out her opponent’s bowl to lie game, though her narrow miss handed an opportunity to the Jerseyite who capitalised, sealing the game, and a place in the final four of the ladies singles.
Despite four very strong performances, Rachel finished bottom of Group C, with 3 points, and a shot difference of just -2.
Up next
Tomorrow morning sees our ladies fours face Israel in their final group game at 08:30, before they, along with our gents pair and triple will take to the green for the semi-finals at 11:15.
‘Mon Scotland!
Report by Oliver Anderson.