No stopping the Murray rink
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NIGEL MURRAY, Rogart’s top curler and current leader in the Province League Championship for the Sutherland Cup, went half way to completing the double last week when his rink of Joan Fraser, Colin Wilson and Hamish Fraser won the Province Knock-Out Cup after a comprehensive win in the final played in the Inverness Ice Rink.
Although the league leaders won the opening two ends it was not until the 6th end they broke the spirit of the North Highland Curling Trust’s second rink skipped by Richard Mackenzie of the Locheye Club.
Mackenzie’s curlers, Duncan Clark (Ross-shire), David de Boer (Kinlochbervie) and at lead Kathleen Mackenzie (Dornoch), got into the game with a single in the third end and were a sixteenth of an inch away from drawing level before the measure on the shot stone went Rogart’s way and give them a 3-1 lead.
The Trust rink enjoyed their best end in the next when after De Boer cleared early danger with his first stone, leaving his second stone too close to his first, which allowed Colin Wilson to come off it and lie two shots.
Joan Fraser nudged the shot stone nearer to the button but when Duncan Clark put his stone through the house, the advantage swung back to Murray and the skip drew in to lie two shots again.
The NHCT skip saved the end when he removed one Rogart stone then drew in with his final stone for two shots and peel the tie at three shots each.
Rogart ended the contest in end six when a Wilson tap back put one of their earlier guards onto the four foot and then Joan Fraser split the house. Mackenzie nosed the first shot stone, Murray took it out and ran to the back wing to lie two and, when Mackenzie’s last stone ran wide, Murray had the simple draw on the same hand for three and take a three shot lead.
Murray stretched his lead with a steal in the next end and with 14 of the 16 stones in the house in the final end, after last stones were played, Murray owned the two closest to the button to raise his winning score to 9-3.
AS THE final progressed, several other Province members were on the ice playing in a points competition, and emerging to win with 26 points from the various disciplines was Dornoch’s Ian Mackay. In second place was Scot Lyon (Loch Fleet) with 22 points, and joint third with 20 points were Roy Watson and Neil Murray.
FOLLOWING the Sutherland final, Nigel Murray and Richard Mackenzie were back on the ice to play matches in the quarter finals of the Ross-shire knock out competition for the Ross Province President’s Cup. Both helped their second club, Invergordon Academy, to semi final places, Mackenzie with three other Locheye curlers – Tony Watson, Andrew Deeth and Heather McRae – beating the cup holders, from Belmaduthy, while a win for Murray, playing with Allan MacLennan, set Maclennan’s sights on a memorable Ross-shire double.
For the previous week Maclennan’s Invergordon rink played out their eighth round game in the Ross Province A League without defeat to become uncatchable and so win the championship for the first time, breaking a long run of Belmaduthy Club triumphs.
Maclennan’s triumphant success was achieved with Nigel Murray playing third stones, Brian Batchen second and George MacWilliam at lead. Playing as a substitute for MacWilliam in last week’s cup tie was Murray’s wife Val.
