Sutherland Province curling league title all but sealed as chasing pack slips up
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Two results in Monday night's fifth round of the Sutherland Province curling league have almost decided the championship when the two nearest challengers to league leader Richard Mackenzie (Locheye 1) were beaten.
In the top of the table clash between the Locheye first rink and Loch Fleet (Helen Lyon), Mackenzie was facing defeat to the 2012/13 champion when Lyon went into the last end with a two shot 6-4 lead.
After a tiring weekend in Inverness, MacKenzie had fresh legs out on the ice with his league rink of Ash Sinclair, Mike Sangster and Alan Sangster who contrived to make a final end triple from a 12ft raise to win 7-6 and maintain their unbeaten run remaining top of the table with ten points.
Meanwhile early season table topper Alness's John McHarg, sitting second in the table, came a cropper at the hands of Neil Gillies and the Highland Trust second rinkwho began with four shots and ended up with ten in the 10-5 winning score to leave McHarg and Lyon now trailing by four points.
Also moving up to six points is Brora's Roy Watson who was up against the defending champion Alan MacKenzie (Locheye 2). Still struggling to find last season's form, Mackenzie went under to a 9-1 rout from Brora.
Meanwhile the biggest win of the season went to the struggling Dornoch curlers, Iain Mackay Sue Gardiner, John Gunn and Stuart Gardiner who with only one win so far crushed previous fourth placed Duncan Clark with the NHCT first choice rink 16-1, after racing to a 9-0 through the opening four ends.
Rogart celebrated a season's second winning result 6-4 against Alan Munro's Young Farmers. Munro kept the result close with a triple count in end four after Rogart skip Nigel Murray with Hamish MacRae, Kathleen Mackenzie and Julia Maclennan won the first three ends to lead 4-0.
Round 5 Results: NHCT (2) 10, Alness 5; Loch Fleet 6, Locheye (1) 7; NHCT (1) 1, Dornoch 16; Locheye (2)1, Brora 9; Rogart 6, Ross/Sutherland Young Farmers 4.
