THE East Lothian Indoor Bowling Club gents’ team headed for Falkirk as they looked to solidify their grasp on top spot in their Premier League group.

After a trio of wins to open their campaign, hopes were high of maintaining their 100 per cent record.

East Lothian asked most of the questions in the first hour and held a small lead at the five-end mark (18-22).

The home side responded to force a lead of their own at the halfway point (41-35) and it was momentum the home side were to carry all the way to end 15, where they held a healthy advantage (60-49).

However, a scoring run of 19 shots to 10 saw East Lothian open an opportunity to snatch the victory.

As the last remaining rink played their last end, the overall scoreboard was tied at 75-75.

But Falkirk’s internationalist Martin McCalley secured the win for his side, a last-end double proving the difference (77-75).

The result leaves East Lothian second in their group but they remain in a strong position to progress to the knockout stages.

Meanwhile, the ladies’ squad continued their difficult start to their league campaign – faced with five consecutive away fixtures, it is proving a challenge to gain any momentum.

Despite some spirited performances, the ladies suffered their third straight defeat as they lost 55-53 away at West Lothian side Balbardie.

They return to action on December 10 as they head to Capital side Bainfield, before the return fixtures provide them with five consecutive home games as they look to move themselves off the foot of the table.

Elsewhere, Danny Stevenson’s quest for a place in history fell agonisingly short at the Scottish junior singles quarter-final stage.

Comprehensive wins in the opening rounds against Stirling (21-6) and Turriff (21-3) saw Stevenson return to Arbroath to face Liam Nicholson (Tweedbank) in an expected thriller in the last 16.

Stevenson’s focus was on a place in history as he attempted to simultaneously hold both outdoor and indoor under-25 titles.

Stevenson kept his form and impressively dispatched the Borders internationalist (21-9) to seal his place in the last eight against James McDougall (Garioch).

However, it was not to be as Stevenson could not replicate his earlier form, the Garioch player relentlessly surrounding the jack to claim his place in the semi-final (21-9).