A hitherto placid tournament ended in an atmosphere of high controversy  last night, as needing six from the last ball to force their tie against Cults into an extra over, Ellon's hit was declared to have landed inches within the boundary line, putting the Allan Park side through to a semi-final of the Press & Journal against Mannofield, and relegating Ellon to the Duncan Cup playoffs next Monday against Kintore.  With emotions running high, it  looked for a moment as though players would need to be physically separated,  before both teams eventually left the field, with Ellon still indicating the possibility of putting in a formal protest to the Grades' Management Committee,  and feelings still too inflamed to enable the probable common sense solution of playing an extra over, if necessary under protest, and deciding any  subsequent protest when tempers had cooled.

Ellon's sense of grievance will only have been heightened by the suggestion that one of their own players, acting as umpire, had earlier called "over" a ball early, which in the event might have been vital, and by their strong final  over come back, when with 30 still required, the game had looked done and dusted  in Cults' favour.