Gullane gallop away with title as defending champs drop

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Gullane turned out for their final match in the East Lothian Winter League knowing anything but a 5-0 home defeat would be enough to secure the title.
That thought may have given some hope to opponents Haddington, themselves in need of a couple of league points to make sure of avoiding relegation.However, the match was more of a victory march for Jeff Aitken's side, with the hosts quickly taking control of all but the top tie, and in the end, there was some doubt as to which pairing secured the vital first point that won the title for Gullane.
Whether that claim fell to Fraser Syme and Murray Saunders on the 15th green in match 2, to Rob Jack and Mike Corrie on the 14th in match 3, or to Stuart Menzies and George Paterson on the 13th in match 5, nobody is quite sure.
What is certain is that Gullane secured their first Winter League title for 29 years, and Duncan Low and Scott Walker completed the day's work with a victory on the last green over Keith Nicholson and David Warner in the top tie.
Last year's Division 2 champions, Longniddry, completed their campaign with a win on the road at Kilspindie, and in so doing claimed runners-up spot.
However, there were more twists and turns in the race to avoid relegation and Dunbar completed their struggle for survival with a solid win away to Craigielaw. That was enough to preserve their top-flight credentials for another season and, at the same time, send the defending champions down.
Royal Musselburgh, the champions 11 times, suffered defeats at Haddington on Saturday and at Tantallon on Sunday and that leaves them vulnerable to the drop.
Tantallon's emphatic home win went some way to restoring confidence in a side that has been inconsistent this term, though they travel to Haddington next Saturday in the knowledge that they still need a draw to avoid the third automatic relegation spot.
And, should they win that match, they will move up to third place and send Royal Musselburgh into the play-off. Haddington will take heart from the 5-0 thrashing they handed out when they travelled to the coast in October, and have their sights set on a home win that will earn them the right to contest Sunday's play-off at Tantallon's expense.
Kilspindie return to Division 2 and will be joined in the drop by last year's champions, Craigielaw.
Glen have been on top of the Division 2 table all season, and duly finished off the job with a 4-1 win on the road against Musselburgh Old.
With just one defeat all season, Innes Christie's side can now look forward to competing in an elite six-team Division 1 next year.
Whitekirk have kept up the pressure all the way, and started the day just a point in arrears. Their match at Gifford was postponed due to snow and, with the title decided, that fixture cannot now have any bearing on the final placings.
As Division 2 runners up, Andy Ovens' men will have a second shot at promotion in the play-off match at Gullane next Sunday.

Lothians warm up with match at Kingsknowe
Lothians are to face a club side in Edinburgh as part of their preparations for the new season.
Keith Nicholson has indicated he'll be trying to field his strongest side possible for the friendly at Kingsknowe on Saturday week.
"This is a real feather in our cap as I don't think it's something the Lothians have done before," said Kingsknowe team captain Bill Buchan.
"We were delighted that Keith liked the idea straight away when we made the approach."
The following weekend – on 27 March – a Lothians Select will face a Lothians Boys/Youths Select at Craigielaw, giving Nicholson another chance to run the rule over players.