BACK ON TRACK WITH WIN AT INVERLEITH

Going into this game, Stewart’s Melville had high hopes of making it three wins from three. Sadly, this was not to be, as a disappointing Stew Mel performance saw GHA capitalise and record a 19-10 win.

It was, however, Stewart’s Melville who had an almost perfect start soon after Marsh kicked off. The forwards put GHA under pressure and won a penalty with only seconds on the clock. Sam Hendry knocked over the three points and Stew Mel were up and running.

Stew Mel then started to concede penalty after penalty as GHA bossed the physical exchanges. After 20 minutes, Dalgy was yellow carded and the visitors continued to dictate the game. Two penalties from stand off James Noonan saw GHA lead 6-3 after 20 minutes.

Many chances were squandered by GHA in the first half after the Stew Mel defence was repeatedly breached. Handling errors also came into play as Stew Mel tried to force the game with the rare possession that they had. Despite GHA being on top, they didn’t extend their lead until the final play, deep into stoppage time, of an error ridden first half. A break out up the blind side from their own half led to the game’s first try. The conversion was unsuccessful as Jed Gordon managed to get the charge down, leaving the half time score at 3-11.

The early exchanges in the second half saw more basic errors from both sides in a scrappy affair. GHA recorded the first score after the break as they extended their lead through another Noonan penalty. A try mid-way through the half then almost put the visitors out of sight. Missed first up tackles were to blame as Stew Mel’s defence was, once again, opened up.

It wasn’t until the last 10 minutes of the game that Stewart’s Melville showed glimpses of what they were capable of. After good work from both forwards and backs, the GHA defence was stretched and Rob Patterson, on as a replacement for Stu Ker, saw the gap and sniped through for a good try.

A delayed pass by Shaun on the half way line then put Dalgy through; he drew the defender and released Pete McLean, who carried up the touch line. An inside ball put Clarky in for what would have been an excellent score under the posts if Pete’s foot wasn’t deemed to have been in touch. The last play of the game saw a penalty kick by Sam fall short as we sought to salvage a losing bonus point.

This was a poor performance by the home side off the back of an excellent win in Gala last week. Far too many basic errors were made, and we were unable to adapt to the physical challenge presented by the visiting side. After saying that, a win was not out of reach, and we were unfortunate at the end not to take any points from the match.

Source: Stewart’s Melville FP RFC, Sunday 14th September 2008