TRANENT Bowling Club claimed the first silverware of the season as they won the County Cup at West Barns on Saturday, writes Matt Osborne.

In the morning session at Dunbar, Tranent won their semi-final against Elphinstone (6-2).

Ormiston won their semi-final against Dunbar with the same scoreline to set up the final at West Barns.

A strong start in the triples for Ormiston had them in front early.

However, Tranent had a good start in the pairs as they looked to match their opponents in the other disciplines.

There was little to separate the two across the afternoon before a strong two-end spell looked to have Tranent with one hand on the trophy, holding a lead in three of the four rinks and a healthy 12-shot lead in the overall.

Tranent wrapped up the first two points of the final with a win in the triples.

With the pairs locked at 14-14, playing the last end an unfortunate promotion of a bowl by the Ormiston skip saw Tranent claim the second two points of the day – but the drama was yet to unfold.

Tranent knew a win in either of the remaining pairs or triples would be enough to claim the win but Ormiston scored a five in the second-last end of the pairs and scored in the triples to put the overall result in doubt.

The Ormiston triple lay a huge six shots in the triples and at least three shots in the pairs, a cumulative effort that would have been enough to see them claim the win in spectacular fashion.

Tranent failed with their last attempt to beat any of the counting shots in the triples as they faced the last bowl against with the prospect of losing a seven.

But in a heartbreaking similar end to the pairs, Ormiston promoted a Tranent bowl into the head and conceded the tie.

League action

Meanwhile, Tranent and Port Seton are level on points at the top of East Lothian’s Division One following fixture week 10.

Tranent hold a slender 16-shot advantage over the Port Seton side.

Both sides won last Friday, with Tranent completing the derby double over close neighbours EL Co-op with a 6-2 win, while Port Seton claimed a 6-2 win of their own over West Barns.

Dunbar pulled themselves off the foot of table with an impressive 6-2 win away at Ormiston.

Aberlady dropped to the bottom of the table following their 8-0 home loss to Haddington.

Port Seton and Haddington meet tomorrow (Friday) in a clash that has settled the destination of the league trophy in previous seasons.

Meanwhile, Tranent head to Dunbar and West Barns welcome Prestongrange in a week which could determine what half of the table they will compete in over the second half of the season.

East Linton host Aberlady and EL Co-op take on Ormiston.

Division Two

Elphinstone’s march towards the Division Two title now looks inevitable following their 8-0 win over Port Seton A.

They currently sit a whopping 15 points and 150+ shots ahead of next-best-placed Castlepark.

In stark contrast, Haddington A look doomed for relegation as they remain winless and are already 18 points adrift from safety.

EL Co-op A have moved to within three points of a promotion place with their 7-1 derby win over Tranent A.

Winton could force their name into contention for a return to Division One but will require consecutive wins over the coming weeks. They tackle third-placed EL Co-op A this week in the pick of the Division Two fixtures.

East Linton A continue to lead the way in Division Three but are closely followed by Cockburnspath, who trail by just two points.

Longniddry and Port Seton B are level in third and fourth places but do not want to see the five-point gap to the promotion places increase any more as they look to remain in contention.

Ormiston A do remain in the peripheral but face the league leaders this week.

The bottom two sides meet this week, with a win likely more important to Prestongrange B, who could be well adrift at the bottom of the table if Dunbar A were to claim the win.

Gifford, Pathhead and Athelstaneford know that any further defeats could ensure they finish in the bottom half of the Division Three table.

Finally, Gullane and West Barns A have a comfortable lead at the top of Division Four – they sit 14 and eight points respectively ahead of third place as they look for promotion.

Aberlady A and Haddington B remain close enough to force their way into promotion contention.

Macmerry A, Dirleton and Prestongrange C look to be confined to the bottom three with a 16-point gap opened between them and the next-closest team, and some tough-looking fixtures this week.

Macmerry A face second-placed West Barns A, Dirleton play Castlepark B away and Prestongrange C meet Aberlady A. Tranent B welcome Gullane A and Gullane look to remain top as they host Haddington B.