AYR CLINCH MORTON TROPHY 2024
Many congratulations to Ayr (Mara Lindsay, Lisa Mason, Eilidh Templeton, Elizabeth Shaw, Sheila Kennedy, Susan Middleton, Mary Shaw, Rachel Ireland, Gail Thomson, Ali Cunningham, Fiona McGuiness, Alison Young) who clinched the Morton Trophy, beating Borders in the finals at Greenacres.
Taking on semi-final 1 were Ayr representing South and Lanarkshire (Fiona Moffat, Lynn Kenyon, Rosemary Claxton, Caroline Morrison, Marion Craig, Audrey King, Margaret Brown, Stella Cassidy, Marion McDonald Mhairi Baird, Christine Warren, Catherine Morrison) who had prevailed in the West competition.
In the Teams 1 match, Lanarkshire came back from a disadvantage with two big steals to clinch a 12-6 win. However, in the Team 2 encounter, Ayr were in full control and secured a 10-4 win. It all came down to the Teams 3 game for a decision and Ayr confidently had it in the bag, eight points up already at halftime and 10-3 the final result.
In the second semi-final it was Borders (Judith Dixon, Lucy Tile, Valentina Walker, Alison Johnston, Marion Pate, Jo Scott, Sheila McNab, Isla Forsyth, Brenda Robertson, Nina Clancy, Debbie Higgins, Caroline McClymont) flying the flag for East and Inverness (Ann Gibb, Brenda McIntyre, Lynne Fraser, Morven Ross, Yvonne Birnie, Linda Hoskins, Fiona McLaren, Sheena Hendrie, Elaine Semple, Margaret Pottie, Sue Gardiner, Anne Jackson) representing North.
Inverness 1 had a three-points advantage over Borders 1 going into the last end, but the East side played excellently to bag four points and win the game 8-7. Next door in the Teams 2 match, Borders built their advantage early, six points up at the break, and stopped a late resurgence from Inverness to take an 8-4 win. For good measure, Borders 3 were also on top of their game, consistently outscoring Inverness 3 to chip away to an 8-4 success.
On to the finals where Ayr took on Borders in a South versus East showdown. In the Teams 1 game, Border were first on the board with a single, but Ayr took control from there. Scoring two and following it up with three steals, they created a gap of five points and forced Borders to a single in End 6. Ayr closed the game out with a score of two and a steal of three for an 11-2 win.
Ayr also looked on top of things early in the Teams 2 match, leading 6-0 after three ends. However, Borders started an incredible comeback. A single in End 4 did little to cut the gap, but they followed it up with multiple steals to equalise with one end to go. The momentum was with Borders and they closed the game out with a single steal in End 8 that earned them a 7-6 win.
The Teams 3 showdown couldn’t have been closer. The sides traded singles to start with before Ayr took the advantage with a score of two followed by a steal of one. Deuces were traded and the gap stayed consistent before Borders took a single in the penultimate end. The East side needed to steal at least two in the last end and while they did get the steal, it was only a single and the game finished 6-5 in Ayr’s favour.
Thus, with two wins versus one in the finals, Ayr clinched the Morton Trophy.
In the play-off for third, Lanarkshire 1 took a dominant 12-2 win over Inverness 1 while the 2 Teams finished their game tied on four points each. In a tight Teams 3 showdown, Lanarkshire just edged it 4-3. Thus Lanarkshire beat Inverness to third place with two wins and one draw.
