We made the short trip to Kintore BC today to start our 2024 campaign against our local rivals Aberdeen & Kincardine BA.

The Bon Accord team showed only 2 changes from the core team last year with Duncan Nicolson returning to the squad after a year out as a selector and new cap Bradley Buchan of Kittybrewster BC.

The weather was fantastic and a great many spectators were in attendance to await an intriguing match.

The rink draws produced the following draw (Bon Accord names first):

Rink 1 - Jak Miller v Colin Banks
Rink 2 - Scott Murray v James Harper
Rink 3 - Roy Henry v Michael Presly
Rink 4 - Kevin Pirie v David Keith
Rink 5 - Eric Gallan v Andy Duncan and
Rink 6 - Kevin Harper v Jason Banks

New Team Captain Derek McNicol gave his first speech to the squad and congratulated Martyn Orchard on reaching the fantastic milestone of 100 appearances....however the best way to celebrate would be with a win!

And taking heed of the talk it was Bon Accord who made the better start in the first quarter as a lead of 12 shots was built with last season’s most successful rink of Jim Shea, Cameron Millar, Ross Stewart and Scott Murray leading the way 8-1 up!

Scores after 5 ends played - Bon Accord 30, A&K 18

Jak Miller up 6-1
Scott Murray up 8-1
Roy Henry down 3-5
Kevin Pirie up 6-3
Eric Gallan down 3-4
Kevin Harper level 4-4

Into the second quarter and A&K showed just how dangerous they could be by dominating matters to turn the deficit around to lead 57-43.

Scores after 10 ends played - Bon Accord 43, A&K 57

Jak Miller down 6-11
Scott Murray up 15-3
Roy Henry down 4-12
Kevin Pirie up 12-7
Eric Gallan down 6-10
Kevin Harper down 4-14

Here was the first test of the new season for Bon Accord and they responded superbly by turning round the deficit to lead 83-77 after 15 ends played across all rinks.

Scores after 15 ends played - Bon Accord 83, A&K 77

Jak Miller down 13-14
Scott Murray up 23-8
Roy Henry down 7-16
Kevin Pirie up 19-7
Eric Gallan down 12-13
Kevin Harper down 9-16

A crucial final quarter lay ahead and as we know, Bon Accord have managed these situations extremely well in the past.

Over the next 3 ends played on each rink, Bon Accord extended their lead to 101-82. Nineteen shots over 18 ends was going to be tough for A&K.

First off was Kevin Pirie who secured a convincing 22-11 win over David Keith.

Next off was Roy Henry who pulled back a couple of shots to see a 13-20 loss. Following shortly after was Kevin Harper who had a great second half to only lose by 4 shots 15-19.

Jak Miller's rink were next off who won the last 3 ends to secure a 18-16 win. They were followed by the biggest winners of the day Scott Murray's rink who won 32-10.

Last off was Eric Gallan who came back to win 18-16.

Final score - Bon Accord 118, A&K 92

Rink scores:

Jak Miller 18, Colin Banks 16
Scott Murray 32, James Harper 10
Roy Henry 13, Michael Presly 20
Kevin Pirie 22, David Keith 11
Eric Gallan 18, Andy Duncan 16
Kevin Harper 15, Jason Banks 19

Congratulations on a great team effort and again to Martyn Orchard who was presented with a 100 cap badge by Bon Accord President Stuart Robison post match.

All the best to A&K for the remainder of the season and congratulations to Kintore BC for being a great host today. Also thanks to the umpires Graham Senff and Gordon Brown.

We now look forward to travelling to Blairgowrie next Saturday to face Perthshire BA.

Cmon the Bon Accord! 🔴 ⚪🔴⚪