SUNDERLAND’S Stuart Airey was able to reflect on a successful Commonwealth Games lawn bowls tournament, even though today’s men’s four final ended in defeat.

Airey teamed up with Jamie Chestney, John McGuiness and Andy Knapper at Kelvingrove in an all-home nations showdown with Scotland.

The English quartet made a strong start, and boasted a 5-4 lead after the opening four ends of the final.

However, it was Scotland from that point onwards, with the hosts claiming ten unanswered points to race into a 14-4 lead before successfully seeing out the game.

Airey, who was born in Sunderland and now lives in Carlisle, was disappointed at the failure to push the Scottish foursome harder, but content that his second Commonwealth Games experience had brought the reward of a silver medal.

“We’re disappointed with the result, but we’ve got a silver medal and I suppose I would have taken that at the start,” said Airey. “We put ourselves in a position to win a gold, but it just didn’t happen.

“I’m proud of the boys and I’ve had a great time with them. The venue has been fantastic, and the support has been fantastic for all countries. It’s just been really good.”