There were few positives EK could take out of their match with the league leaders Dalziel on Saturday. Perhaps the most important issue is that they positively need a qualified bag man. There were a series of injuries to EK players throughout the match and the absence of someone with a reasonable knowledge and capability to tend a variety of bumps and cuts was noticeable. EK played the last 15 minutes with only 14 players, such was the carnage amongst the team, and in other circumstances, a number of other players would also have come off with their injuries. Alas, all the subs had been used so they struggled on.

EK struggled to cope with a rampant Dalziel side. They fell off first time tackles, kicked poorly, took wrong options, got drawn out of position and struggled with their passing and handling. That it was not EK's best team meant little; the mass of EK youngsters struggled to cope with the slick passing and support of the Motherwell side. No one had time or was able to provide any leadership against the flood of blue shirts.

Everything seemed to come off for Dalziel while nothing much bounced or went EK's way. Even if the referee had been more consistent in penalising Dalziel more strongly for their regular infingements, while he immediately sin binned Calum Aitken for one infringement in the first half, it would have made no difference to the outcome.

EK were under pressure in the scrum, with rookie prop David McLellan struggling manfully at tight head before he had to come off after 50 minutes and the game went to uncontested scrums.

It was 36-0 at half time. A number of players did their best to quell the tide but it was largely individual endeavour, while Dalziel played as a team. Dalziel were more mature and it showed up particularly in the forward exchanges. Special mention perhaps is due for the Rosie brothers in the engine room, particularly David, before he too suffered an injury right at the end of the match.

One of the few rays of light was the welcome return to the bench of Calum Simpson in the backs. He may well have been thinking he chose the wrong game to return.

It is uncertain how many of the EK players will be fit for next week, when they have the rather unenviable task of taking on second placed Whitecraigs at Torrance House with the visitors still hunting promotion. Let's hope we can at least have a decent platform in the forwards.