West Lothian prepares for Masters magic as 12th event nears

Jul 15 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

THE 12th West Lothian Masters swings into its week-long action this Monday with a field of 221 chasing the title held by Grant Logan of Kirkliston.

The final day’s play takes place at Uphall Station on Sunday, July 25.

The prestigious WLM title and coveted green jacket have gone to Kirkliston six times in-a-row and the club have three seeds in the top five of 16 bidding to extend that record to a magnificent seven.

Logan – also the WLM in 2005 – is the No.1 seed while record three-times winner John Aitken is No.2 and Neil Speirs – a winner when with Ratho in 2002 – is No.5.

Andrew Dunnett – the inaugural Master in 1999 with Queensferry then again in 2007 under the Kirkliston banner – is back at Queensferry and is seeded No.3 while Graeme Archer of Uphall Station is the No.4.

The other seeds are: No.6 Ewan Shearer of Bo’ness, No.7 Gary Smith of Linlithgow, No.8 George Sneddon of Broxburn, No.9 Mark Allison of Broxburn, No.10 Steven Fleming of Linlithgow, No.11 Brian Edwards of Broxburn, No.12 Bryan Cooper of Bathgate, No.13 Sandy McDougall of Glenmavis, No.14 Walter McDougall of Glenmavis, No.15 Alec Allan of Newbridge and finally No.16 Frazer Muirhead of Uphall Station.

It’s a strong and competitive field even beyond the 16 seeds so attempting to pick the winner is more akin to the Grand National than the Derby but if it stimulates interest or adds to the debate then,

Smith has the class and focus to go the distance, Archer can deliver but is yet to deliver, Logan has the form but the Masters has never been won back-to-back, Aitken’s wins came in 04, 06, and 08 so 10 fits, while Speirs is overdue a return to the winners enclosure.

Fleming, Muirhead, Dunnett and Shearer usually show up well while among the dark horses Mark Graham has flair, Mark Thorburn has ability yet to mature and be harnessed, Calum Logan and Kenny Miller are highly thought of and should be progressive in the individual aspect of the sport

Jimmy Mallon and George Sneddon have to re-emerge while Brian Edwards and Kenny Black need to step their game up a level.

Meanwhile, West Lothian’s bid to win back-to-back titles for the first time in the Cities and Counties Championship came to grief with a 119-107 defeat from Lanarkshire South in Sunday’s quarter-final match at Gorebridge.

Defeat for the defending champions came as a major disappointment as they are recognised as being the strongest team in the land on paper, but it has to be proved in combat and they failed to put dangerous opposition to the sword.

Indeed the holders lost on three of the six rinks to a fiercely competitive Lanarkshire South team who fully deserved their success and having taken the scalp of the favourites so the champions of 2006 and 2008 will fancy their chances for more success in 2010.

That sequence will be challenged by semi-final opponents Renfrewshire West and if reaching the final by Midlothian or Ayrshire but Gorebridge was being hailed as the final before the final and having gained momentum the South express will take all the stopping.

West Lothian were best served by winning performances on the rinks skipped by Grant Logan, John Aitken and Thomas Mann but colleagues Gary Smith, Neil Speirs, and Graeme Archer failed to hold their respective oppositions. The early exchanges showed why Lanarkshire South had to be treated with loads of respect as they charged into battle with a 27-16 onslaught over the first five ends however WL responded to that wake up call with a 27-20 reply over the next five.

The third five-end phase was fought out on a tightrope but a 38-36 edge for Lanarkshire South gave them a six-shot advantage (85-79) going into the business end of the match but WL did show resistance to draw level at 95-95 after 18-ends.

The short run in of 3-ends was heavily influenced by a 9-0 against Archer and an 8-0 against Speirs leading to a matchwinning 24-12 effort by Lanarkshire South.

Logan made a good start to lead 11-3 then skipped Mark Allison, Andrew Dunnett and Blair Mackie to a 26-17 win over Stuart Harrison.

Aitken did his best work from 14-12 down to skip Bryan Cooper, Gerry Duggan and Calum Logan to a 21-15 win over Alex Kelly.

Mann conceded a six from a mis-hit that was inspirational to the Lanarkshire South effort but otherwise skipped Frazer Muirhead, Walter McDougall and Alec Allan to a 19-17 win over Ian Campbell.

Smith and his rink of Stewart McMaster, James Speirs and George Sneddon were engaged in a dour low-scoring battle with Jim Meikle and lost 16-11.

Speirs and his rink of Cameron Greer, Steven Forrest and Sandy McDougall led 17-15 but slipped to a costly 23-17 defeat from David Gardner.

Archer skipped Ewan Shearer, Ian Laverie and Raymond Logan into a 12-9 lead after 10 ends then suffered a 22-1 drubbing to collapse to a disastrous 31-13 defeat from Robert Grant.