EAST Lothian bowlers tasted double defeat as Edinburgh and Midlothian were celebrating, writes Matt Osborne.

The gents lost out in the capital against Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon and the under-25s squad then fell to defeat against Midlothian the following day.

The gents headed to Parkside Bowling Club on a high following their away win in Fife.

However, they were brought back down to earth as the home side blew them away in the first two ends and led 16-3.

East Lothian began to find their feet in the game and levelled the overall board 16-16 before edging in front 46-41 around the seventh end mark.

The most significant period in the game then unfolded as the home side once again won successive ends across the green and forced an insurmountable 96-66 lead into the closing five ends.

James Burnett and Gordon White both claimed wins against Josh Spalding and James Hogg respectively but saw the team miss out 133-106.

They now face Stirling County on Saturday at West Barns.

Under-25s

The under-25 squad had to quickly regather their thoughts, after initially having their tie with Midlothian cancelled due to a flooded green.

Organisers secured Eskmills Bowling Club and managed to rescue the fixture.

The two sides knew that they would need a win and hope that Edinburgh slipped up against a youth packed Fife squad.

East Lothian started the stronger of the two sides and held an early 20-shot lead.

Lack of officials at the game meant the overall scoreboard was not being updated end by end, rather in five-end increments.

On the next update, East Lothian had seen their lead reduced to just two shots and Midlothian continued to push home the momentum and claimed the bragging rights 105-89.

League action

In domestic action, the inclement weather took centre stage on Friday night as the first disruption to the outdoor season.

Games across the county suffered with varying outcomes.

League leaders Port Seton registered a 6-2 win over East Linton but only completed 11 ends before surrendering to the rain.

Tranent versus Ormiston fell victim with just four ends played to add further headache for the match secretary.

West Barns beat Aberlady 7-1 while Haddington and Prestongrange shared a 4-4 draw.

EL Co-op’s struggles continued as they lost out 6-2 away at Dunbar.

Elphinstone remain top of Division Two following their 4-4 draw with Winton on Friday night but they are closely followed by Castlepark as they claimed an 8-0 win against Prestongrange.

Tranent A jumped to fourth in the table with their 8-0 win against bottom side Haddington while Port Seton took a 6-2 win on the road at EL Co-op.

Macmerry and Castlepark A finished prematurely after nine ends with the Prestonpans club claiming an 8-0 win.

In Division Three, East Linton A head the standings but have played a game more than Longniddry following their fixture loss to the weather.

Cockburnspath continued their impressive start to the season, an 8-0 win away at Athelstaneford pushing them second in the table.

Prestongrange’s tough start in the league sees them rock bottom with just a single win so far while Pathhead remain winless in their first season since promotion.

Finally, Gullane continue to dominate Division Four as the side sit on 34 of a possible 40 points.

Their closest rivals, ironically, are Gullane A who trail them by six points.

West Barns A are closely following in third.

Prestongrange, Dirleton and Macmerry all adrift at the foot of the table.