We travelled to Arbroath for our 6th consecutive quarter final following winning the North Section. After having great weather for the last week or two, today’s weather was overcast when we left Aberdeen and the forecast for Arbroath was not good with heavy rain expected.

Our opponents East Lothian had qualified as runners-up in the East Section, which is probably the strongest section in the country and from where last year’s winners emerged from. Therefore, a tough encounter was expected.

The rink draws produced the following line-ups (Bon Accord names followed by East Lothian skip)

Rink 1 – Ben Inglis, John Mackay, Neil Anderson & Andy Thomson v Alister Kennedy
Rink 2 – Jim Shea, Steve Buchanan, Kevin Harper & Derek McNicol v Alex Marshall MBE
Rink 3 – Zander Main, Keith Morrison, Ross Stewart & Jak Miller v Sam Gray
Rink 4 – Craig Burnett, Willie Stewart, Callum Work & Eric Gallan v Steven Mackie
Rink 5 – Rory Thomson, Billy Grant, Martyn Orchard & Roy Henry v Steven Morgan
Rink 6 – Owen Jack, Colin Clark, David Cobban-Shaw & Paul Hay v Scott Kennedy

Both sets of players were piped on to the green just as the rain started to fall although lightly. Over the first ends of each rink it was Bon Accord who edged ahead 6-4 and then 12-11 up after 12 ends. It was on the 3rd ends that the first significant move came as East Lothian scored 10 shots to Bon Accord’s 2 to lead 21-14. At the end of the 1st quarter (30 ends), we trailed 24-30 and the individual rink scores were:

A Thomson 3, A Kennedy 4
D McNicol 5, A Marshall 6
J Miller 8, S Gray 5
E Gallan 1, S Mackie 8
R Henry 5, S Morgan 3
P Hay 2, S Kennedy 4

Into the 2nd quarter and again there was very little to separate the teams with Bon Accord winning the quarter 22-20 to cut the deficit to only 5 shots at 46-51 with 60 ends played. Highlight for Bon Accord during this spell was a count of 4 for Andy Thomson’s rink. The individual rink scores read:

A Thomson 10, A Kennedy 9
D McNicol 9, A Marshall 8
J Miller 11, S Gray 9
E Gallan 3, S Mackie 12
R Henry 8, S Morgan 5
P Hay 5, S Kennedy 8

Into the 3rd quarter and the weather had worsened as the rain got heavier and now questions were being asked as to whether the green could cope and would the match complete? It was during this spell that East Lothian ‘put the foot down’ and made a significant move towards victory as they won the quarter 40-18 to lead by 27 shots at 91-64. The individual rink scores now showed:

A Thomson 11, A Kennedy 16
D McNicol 12, A Marshall 18
J Miller 15, S Gray 15
E Gallan 8, S Mackie 18
R Henry 9, S Morgan 11
P Hay 9, S Kennedy 13

If Bon Accord wanted to reach their 2nd semi-final in three years, a massive effort / turnaround was required, however over the next 18 ends, East Lothian continued to match the Bon Accord shots to lead 106-78 with only 18 ends remaining.

First off was Paul Hay v Scott Kennedy with Paul’s team closing the deficit to only one shot at 16-17. Shortly afterwards the rinks of Roy Henry, Eric Gallan and Jak Miller finished and then Andy Thomson’s rink signed off with another 4 count to win their game. With Derek McNicol’s rink still having two ends remaining and with East Lothian assured of the win, the remaining two ends were not played.

A defeat for the Bon Accord 90-120 with the spirits feeling as damp as the weather! 🥲

The final rink scores were:

Andy Thomson 21, Alister Kennedy 19
Derek McNicol 12, Alex Marshall 25
Jak Miller 18, Sam Gray 23
Eric Gallan 12, Steven Mackie 20
Roy Henry 11, Steven Morgan 16
Paul Hay 16, Scott Kennedy 17

Congratulations to East Lothian on their win and all the best for the semi-final next month.

A big thanks to Arbroath BC members on the rink and big scoreboards in appalling conditions and to those inside working ij the bar and in the kitchen.

Also thanks to our supporters who travelled to day and during the whole season to support the squad. We very much appreciate your support which your provide.

Thanks to Team Manager John Miller and the selectors Mike Reid and Alex Gauld.

We will dust the disappointment down and go again next season as we aim to qualify for the 7th successive time.

Today sees the end of the Bon Accord AHT journey however, we do have the privilege of hosting this year’s final at Newhills BC on Saturday 23rd August (2pm) and we look forward to hosting a successful event and hope many of our supporters and others in our neighbouring counties will come along to make the atmosphere a great occasion.

Additional photos from today can be viewed in the Gallery section – click on more and tyhen click Gallery.