Bon Accord travelled up to Inverness for our penultimate match in the North Section knowing that 1 point would be enough to secure a quarter final place and 2 points would secure the North Section Trophy for the 6th consecutive competition dating back to 2018 when the first of this run was achieved.

A tough task lay await as on our last visit to The Inverness BC, the match ended in a draw!
Dry weather greeted both sets of players at just before 2pm. It was a momentous occasion with our Roy Henry becoming the first player to attain 200 caps……more on that later!

The rink draws produced the following line-up for this afternoon (Bon Accord names first followed by Northern Counties skip)

Rink 1 – Owen Jack, Colin Clark, David Cobban-Shaw & Paul Hay v Michael Junor
Rink 2 – Ben Inglis, Keith Morrison, Neil Anderson & Callum Work v Duncan Farmer
Rink 3 – Jim Shea, Cameron Millar, Kevin Harper & Scott Murray v Andrew Adamson,
Rink 4 – Craig Burnett, Willie Stewart, Derek McNicol & Eric Gallan v Keith Mackay
Rink 5 – Rory Thomson, Billy Grant, Martyn Orchard & Roy Henry v Ian Penwright
Rink 6 – Zander Main, John Mackay, Ross Stewart & Jak Miller v Kyle Ross

It was Northern Counties, who had the bounce in their step, as they dominated proceedings to lead 38-21 having lead by over 20 shots at one stage. To date, Bon Accord haven’t had to make up such a deficit at this stage so this situation was going to prove a real test for the boys. With 5 ends played across all the rinks, the individual rink scores read:

Paul Hay 3, Michael Junor 2
Callum Work 7, Duncan Farmer 8
Scott Murray 2, Andrew Adamson 5
Eric Gallan 3, Keith Mackay 10
Roy Henry 3, Ian Penwright 7
Jak Miller 3, Kyle Ross 6

Moving into the 2nd quarter of the match, the Bon Accord team began to make inroads into the deficit as the deficit reduced to 10 shots at 49-59 after 10 ends played across all rinks. During this quarter Callum Work’s rink scored a 4 and Scott Murray’s rink won all 5 ends! The individual rink scores were:

Paul Hay 8, Michael Junor 6
Callum Work 16, Duncan Farmer 10
Scott Murray 8, Andrew Adamson 5
Eric Gallan 4, Keith Mackay 17
Roy Henry 5, Ian Penwright 12
Jak Miller 8, Kyle Ross 9

A big second half was required from the boys in red to maintain the 100% record and clinch the North Section.

Quarter 3 continued in the same vain as the 2nd quarter with Bon Accord continuing to assert pressure and Northern Counties maintaining their lead however this had now reduced to only 6 shots (79-85) with 15 ends played across all matches. During this section Paul Hay’s team had two counts of 4, Callum Work’s rink scored an impressive 6 and Jak Miller’s rink won 4 of the 5 ends! The individual rink scores were:

Paul Hay 18, Michael Junor 7
Callum Work 24, Duncan Farmer 14
Scott Murray 8, Andrew Adamson 17
Eric Gallan 6, Keith Mackay 23
Roy Henry 10, Ian Penwright 14
Jak Miller 13, Kyle Ross 10

A big last quarter was required and over the next 18 ends the Northern Counties lead was reduced to only 1 shot (94-95). Bon Accord highlights during this spell were Paul Hay’s rink scoring their third 4 count and Callum Work and Jak Miller’s rinks winning all 3 ends. The individual rink scores were:

Paul Hay 22, Michael Junor 9
Callum Work 28, Duncan Farmer 14
Scott Murray 9, Andrew Adamson 18
Eric Gallan 8, Keith Mackay 24
Roy Henry 10, Ian Penwright 20
Jak Miller 17, Kyle Ross 10

Into the final 18 ends and the noise levels began to rise from both teams as encouragement was given to both sets of players. It was on the 19th ends that Bon Accord took the lead in the match for the first time aided by a 5 count from Callum Work’s rink. Could the hosts reply? A second consecutive 5 from Callum’s rink along with 3’s scored by Scott Murray and Roy Henry’s rinks extended the Bon Accord advantage. A 4 count from Eric Gallan’s rink on the final end of their match secured the 6th successive win for the Bon Accord by a final score of 119-109. The final rink scores read:

Paul Hay 24, Michael Junor 11
Callum Work 39, Duncan Farmer 14
Scott Murray 12, Andrew Adamson 22
Eric Gallan 12, Keith Mackay 26
Roy Henry 14, Ian Penwright 23
Jak Miller 18, Kyle Ross 13

What a brilliant comeback win for the team especially when things looked bleak during the first quarter. Great determination, fighting qualities and passion were in full evidence especially in the last quarter!

And talking of these qualities brings us on to the man of the day….one Roy Henry who today attained his 200th cap and is the first player to do so for the Bon Accord.

Over the years, since making his debut in 1989, Roy has shown the qualities shown by the team today in abundance. Bon Accord, red and white through and through, Roy has witnessed many barren years where we have not qualified for the second stage as well as during the last 6 competitions where we have and with the highlight being the national runners-up in 2018. For many years he also captained the squad until stepping aside at the end of the 2023 campaign.

The Bon Accord Association presented Roy with a bottle of one of his favourite whiskies along with a crystal decanter and glasses to commemorate the occasion, whilst his teammates had their Roy Henry masks to the fore when he boarded the bus and during his presentation!

Well done and congratulations Roy on an incredible achievement of being the very first Bon Accord player to represent the County on 200 occasions!

Next week we play Angus at Montrose BC before the quarter-final on Saturday 19th July at Arbroath BC, as winners of the North Section for the 6th consecutive time!