by Paul Fisher

AYRSHIRE North put one foot into the quarter-finals of the Andrew Hamilton Trophy with another convincing win at the weekend.

The team, captained by Ardrossan BC's Ewan Sloan and lead by Dreghorn's George Adrain, went in to Saturday's fixture against Clackmannan and Kinross knowing that only a win would do in terms of qualification to the knockout stages of the prestigious competition.

Played at a sunny Dundonald BC, the game got off to a slow start with no team really taking control in the early ends and but Ayrshire North always looked to be the strongest of the two sides.

The home side huffed and puffed to try and get a decent lead but every time they pulled to 20 in front, their opponents held on to their coattails and dragged the score back to single figures.

Ayrshire opened up around the 12th end and it fast became unassailable with counts of four and five becoming the norm as they looked to claw back the shot difference on section leaders Lanarkshire West.

As the final ends were played it was clear that this Ayrshire side were not going to let up and they pushed until the last with an eventual winning scoreline of 155-89 resulting in their second 50-plus shot victory in as many weeks.

Going into the final game next week at Bellahouston BC against Glasgow West, Ayrshire North sit second just 14 shots behind their Lanarkshire rivals.

Both sides have played six games and lost only one.

Ayrshire North know a win guarantees them a a quarter-final berth and if things fall their way that they could top the section.