Moray Province Curling fixtures curtailed as wintry weather affects travel to Moray Leisure Centre - but Division 2 still goes ahead
Rather ironically, the wintry weather curtailed the first Moray Province curling fixtures of the New Year.
In a sport dependant on ice, the poor road conditions prevented several of the teams from travelling to Moray Leisure Centre and thus all the Division 1 fixtures will require rearranging.
Division 2 teams are clearly made of sterner stuff however and in the division’s top two teams’ clash it was Ben Rankin’s juniors that came out on top.
Dave McPherson’s seasoned veterans, albeit playing with one man short were the latest victims of the ruthless Rankin rink. Scores of four shots book-ended the youngsters latest big win, blowing away their opponents in the final two ends after McPherson and co had pulled level at 6-6 after five ends.
Andrew Allardyce was an even bigger winner with a 15-2 demolition of Mike Watt’s Fochabers team skipped by Tony Duncan. The wily retired dominie chalked up every number from 1 to 5 in his five winning ends to send Watt and his team home chastened, with only a couple of single shot scores in their homework book.
Jim Gault also racked up double figures in what was for the most part, a tightly-contested game against Mike McDonald. In a cagey opening, the Forres team were a nose ahead at 3-2 after four ends before Gault and his Aberlour rink picked up four shots at the fifth and a further five shots at the last end to race away with an 11-4 victory.
In an East Province Open Knockout preliminary round, Sandy Howie deputising for regular skip Steve Rankin, had a come from behind win against Andrew Allardyce.
A four-shot count at the fifth end gave Allardyce what looked to be a decisive lead of 7-2, but Howie narrowed the deficit to a single shot with a four-shot count of his own at the sixth and then conjured up a steal of three at the last to pull a rabbit out of the his hat and progress to the quarter finals.
Moray Province Open Knockout
East Preliminary Round
S. Rankin 9 A. Allardyce 7
Moray Province League East
Division 2
A. Allardyce (Elgin) 15 M. Watt (Fochabers) 2
D. McPherson (Elgin Tennis Club) 6 B. Rankin (Moray Juniors) 13
J. Gault (Aberlour) 11 M. MacDonald (Forres) 4
