Stoneywood- Dyce’s troubles on the road continued at Broughty Ferry where they were outplayed by Forfarshire.
The hosts swept to a nine wicket win after bowling out the People’s Park side for 116.
The only consolation the understrength visitors could have taken from the game was that their fellow strugglers in the Eastern Premier League – Meigle and Stewart’s Melville – also tasted defeat.
Meigle lost by 172 runs to Arbroath United while Stewart’s Melville failing to hunt down the 402 set by Heriots, falling 333 runs short on a day when the top of the league sides demonstrated the gulf between themselves and the bottom sides.
Stoneywood-Dyce captain Jamie King said: “We will just have to make the best of the games we have coming up against the lesser lights of the league, including games against Stewart’s Melville and RH Corstorphine, although they are both in Edinburgh.
“There are very few positives I can take from the game in which we were missing key players like George Ninan and Jan Stander.
“These are tough times but we won’t be relegated, of that I am sure.”
King won the toss and elected to bat, but apart from Tim Boviard and Lennard Bester, who scored 31 and 30 respectively, had no answer to the home attack in which Fraser Duncan was the most prominent, claiming four Stoneywood-Dyce wickets for a mere 10 runs, as the visitors crumbled to 116 all out.
LIVE: ion8 Forfarshire v Stoneywood-Dyce – Saturday 24th July 2021 https://t.co/v2KcuZpGTf
— ion8 Forfarshire CC (@the_forfs) July 24, 2021
It was never going to be enough against a Forfarshire side bristling with talented batsmen, including Craig Wallace who stroked a splendid unbeaten 48, most of it in the company of Michael Leask.
Former Stoneywood-Dyce player Leask enjoyed his brief stay at the crease, hitting 27 not out after coming in when King took the only home wicket to fall as they cruised to victory in their 16 over of the innings.
King added: “It was a bad day at the office but with a home game against Arbroath United, I will back us to bounce back.”