Dalziel 0 East Kilbride 34

Two weeks ago Dalziel beat Lenzie to open their league campaign. Last Saturday East Kilbride lost narrowly to Lenzie. What this result illustrates is that past results are not the predictors of future performance!

East Kilbride (EK) kicked off into a gentle breeze. Dalziel attacked from the kick off and were awarded an early penalty which they used to take them to a line-out in the EK 22. With both sides showing a willingness to attack with ball in hand it was EK that drew first blood when Evan Martin crossed in the right hand corner. Rory Blackwood converted putting EK into a 7 point lead with only 6 minutes on the clock. Dalziel's problems were extended when, 10 minutes into the half, their no. 4 was red carded for punching an EK player. Playing against 14 EK had a number of promising attacks which broke down short of the line, so it was left to Rory Blackwood, who converted penalties in the 30th and 36th minutes, to keep the scoreboard ticking along. EK continued to attack and were rewarded in the closing minute of the half when having moved the ball from left to right and back again Roddy Beaton ran in a try which Rory Blackwood converted to close the half with EK leading by 20 points.

With the wind increasing in strength, and behind them, with a 20 point lead and playing against 14 EK went into the 2nd half in confident mood. The play was, though, quite sluggish and it took a moment of inspiration from Roddy Beaton 20 minutes into the half to brighten up proceedings. From inside his own half he broke and then put in a long kick, almost too long, but with him and Lien Brown outpacing the home defence to get to the ball it was Lien that secured the touch down which, with Rory Blackwood's 5th successful kick of the day, increased the EK lead by a further 7 points. At this stage EK were pursuing the try bonus point, and it was Roddy Beaton that provided it. A side step off his right foot followed by a dummy pass opened a large gap in the Dalziel defence which he fully exploited to touch down between the uprights, giving Rory Blackwood the most straightforward conversion of the day, and he did not miss! As the final whistle beckoned Dalziel sought compensation as they attacked the EK line but this was not to come as a handling error ended their attack and brought the game to an end.

Final score - Dalziel 0 East Kilbride 34

This was an excellent result which, when the SRU corrects their records, should place EK second in the division behind Ardrossan, a team as yet unbeaten. This, of course, is based on the assumption that other results have been recorded correctly!

While the game overall lacked fluency EK players caught the eye on a number of occasions. Lucas Aitken had a superb break in the first half that took the game close to the opposition line and Roddy Beaton, in addition to actions mentioned above, had a similar break. In the opening minutes tackling by both forward and backs, with Lewis Macfie particularly prominent, stymied attempts by Dalziel to trouble the scorers. Both Alex Irvine and Richie Murray won ball for EK with effective jackles and the latter put in some telling kicks to take the game to Dalziel. Both wingers got on to the scoresheet and George Fisher made some useful incursions into the line from full back. Ri Murphy, when he joined the game late in the second half, showed that he has great handling skills; certainly one for the future. The scrum functioned quite well, but line-out wins on our own put in could have been better. The forwards performed very well in the loose. Counter rucking was impressive and in maul situations EK forwards effectively wrestled the ball from the opposition, winning a number of penalties as Dalziel forwards held on.

In truth, though, EK's lead could have been greater as a number of promising attacks petered out short of the opposition line, so EK is not yet the completed article, but if the little things - e.g. support play, the final pass - that make the difference between a good result and a great one can be worked on, prospects for the remainder of the season are good.

Man of the match - Roddy Beaton, not only for his two tries but also for the way in which his overall play with ball in hand threatened the opposition defence throughout the match.

There is no league game next week. In two week's time EK travel to Strathaven, newly promoted to SRU Tennent's West Regional Division 1, for their first league encounter with near neighbours.