The senior brigade at East Lothian Bowling Association recovered from a stuttering start to clinch a place in the final of the Inter-County Senior League Cup for the Matt Purdie Trophy, having finished winners of the highly competitive East section.

The 2010 and 2011 winners seemed to be in a serious nosedive when losing two of their three opening games but pulled themselves out of a disastrous scenario in great style with successive wins in their final three fixtures.

The 13-shot away win over West Fife in match number five put East Lothian in the driving seat going into their final match against West Lothian at Dunbar on Monday and the home side rose to the occasion with a magnificent 25-shot triumph (71-46).

“We play as a squad, lose as a squad and win as a squad,” said team manager Andy Burt.

“The team has gelled well since our stuttering start to the campaign and, with the introduction of new players, the consistency of play has improved, as can be seen by the shots we have scored.” Wins on the rinks skipped by George Cowan (+18), Alan Morgan (+7) and Tommy Young (+6) tipped the match scales in favour of the Garden County ‘Auld Oaks’ and the small-margin defeat of George Smith made the overall team performance a very good one.

Confidence is very high going into this Monday’s final against Fife at Loanhead Private BC (noon). Team manager Burt has announced no changes to his line-up for the final.

Team: B. Scott (Mac), J. Holmes (ELLC), D. Kennedy (W/B), G. Cowan (E/L) skip. J. P. Hamilton (W/B), G. Gray (ELLC), G. Blyth (ELLC), A. Morgan (C&PS) skip. B. Brunton (Dun), S. Delaney (Hadd), D. Hogg (ELCO), G. Smith (ELCO) skip. P. Fallen (Elph), W. Fotheringham (Long), R. Strang (Elph), T. Young (Dun) skip. Reserve pool: J. Smith (ELLC), M. Hunter (Giff), K. Morgan (C&PS), K. Boyd (ELCO), T. Morrison (Dun), A. Jamieson (C&PS).

All players are requested to report at Loanhead Private BC by no later than 11.15am. Any player selected who is unable to play or unsure of travel arrangements is requested to contact Andy Burt immediately on 07783 323079.

Tranent didn’t manage to fire on all cylinders but last Friday night’s hard-fought 6-2 away win at Castlepark was good enough for them to keep their healthy-looking eight-point lead intact at the top of Division 1 in the East Coast Carpets-sponsored East Lothian Leagues.

But title challengers Haddington continue to pose a threat after they turned in a great performance away to West Barns and their 6-2 victory keeps their hopes of retaining the title very much alive.

The escape hatch in the relegation zone was closed on Dunbar, whose fate was finally sealed after losing 8-0 at Cockenzie & Port Seton, but the battle to avoid the second relegation spot remains in the balance after contenders Gifford and Castlepark A produced an epic relegation scrap before a 4-4 draw was declared.

East Linton needed a big performance at home against EL-Coop to ease any fears of being dragged into the relegation dogfight and they duly delivered by registering a colossal 8-0 triumph.

In tonight’s (Friday) Division 1 action, leaders Tranent are at home against West Barns, while Haddington also have home advantage over relegation-threatened Castlepark A, but the ‘Hi Hi’s’ will be missing several key players due to them attending the wedding ceremony of their team member Jamie Blair.

Gifford need to find a much-needed win from somewhere but face a tough task on away terrority against EL-Coop. Elsewhere, Castlepark entertain Cockenzie & Port Seton and East Linton visit relegated Dunbar.

All club secretaries are requested to ensure that all league and cup results, including shots aggregate score, are phoned into ELBA match secretary Keith Fender on 01620 860217 or via text message 07786 110416 immediately after each match.

The champagne corks were popping in the Haddington Bowling Club clubhouse on Saturday evening after they captured the ELBA Brown Trophy with a strong display to beat host club Cockenzie & Port Seton in a thrilling final.

Former national singles champion John McCrorie is celebrating etching his name on the championship singles board for a record-breaking ninth time at Tranent Bowling Club, having served up a strong performance to beat Alister Russell 21-8 in the final played on Monday evening. McCrorie surpassed the previous eight title successes held by club legends Robert Small and Graham Robertson.

John Hogg ended a barren 14-year spell as he captured the singles title at his beloved Castlepark for a second time with a 21-17 win over Gordon McNeil, while in the ladies’ final Nicola Thomson defeated Margaret Thompson 21-19.

A new name is on the championship singles trophy at Aberlady after Gary Swan defeated George McLeod 21-9. John Carpenter Jnr is celebrating etching his name on the championship board at Athelstaneford for a second successive year when defeating Sam Newlands in the final, while Brian Beeton is the new champion at North Berwick after he beat Kevin Blackie in the final.

The final of the West Barns gents’ championship singles will be staged tomorrow (Saturday) and will feature former champion Gary Landells against Scott Thorburn.

The final at EL-Coop will be staged on Tuesday and will be contested between Steven Mackie and Craig Cochrane, while at Gifford it’s new boy John White against club stalwart Brian Bissett.

Rising young star Reece Cochrane has made it through to the final at Prestongrange and now awaits the winner of the semi-final clash between Robert Cochrane and Steven Clark, while Kenny Donaldson has battled his way through to the final at Macmerry and standing between him and a first ever title success is Brian Maynard or Graham Hogg.

Scotland cap Leanne Baillie won the Cockenzie & Port Seton Ladies’ Championship singles title for a fourth time following a hard-fought 21-19 win over older sister Lauren in a high-quality final on Monday evening.

The draw for Cockenzie & Port Seton Open Pairs (3 Bowl), sponsored by Belhaven Brewery, tomorrow (Saturday) is as follows: 10am: D. Logan, R. Hutcheon, C. Leishman, T. Flockhart, T. Thomson, T. Kirkwood, W. Doran C. Shaw, H. Cunningham, M. Munro, B. Lumsden, R. Davidson.

10.35am: K. Cunningham, Late Entry, S. Cochrane, P. Thomson, G. Fairgrieve, L. Baillie, B. Bingham, I. Malcolm, A. McDougal, J. Weatherhead, D. Oliver, C. Cunningham.

11.10am: A. Martin, A. Jamieson, W. McFarlane, D. D. Fraser, J. Gearty, S. Morgan, B. Gearty, G. Baillie.

Late entry can be obtained by contacting tournament organiser Steven Morgan on 07861 672123.