East Kilbride 15 Wigtownshire 26

On a bright sunny day, ideal conditions for East Kilbride (EK)'s backs to make hay the men in yellow and black opened strongly with some blistering runs, particularly from George Fisher, to put pressure on the Wigtownshire line. Unfortunately EK did not turn that pressure into points and it was the visitors that drew first blood with a break from within their own 22 that resulted in the opening score of the game, a converted try.
EK were reduced to 14 when Ben McLean was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle but this did not stop them launching attacks on the Wigtownshire line. These again proved fruitless and it was the visitors that scored the final try of the half, converted again, to give them a 14 point lead at half time.

East Kilbride's fight back began as soon as the ref's whistle blew to set the second half in motion. Tries from Roddy Beaton 10 minutes into the half and Rory Blackwood, converted by him, 5 minutes later were followed by a successful penalty conversion, also from the boot of Rory Blackwood, to see EK take a 1 point lead with 18 minutes of the half remaining. At this stage EK looked to be in the driving seat. Did they take the foot off the pedal? The last 18 minutes, a period that should have been about consolidation by the EK XV was disastrous. Wigtownshire escaped from within their own half twice, and scored twice, leaving EK to rue another day when much promising play had failed to yield the desired result.

This was a game in which EK displayed promise, but failed to capitalise on their strengths. The forwards were dominant in the set piece and secure in the line out. Their were some promising runs from individuals in the back division and two tries went a begging, the first when Craig MacKenzie spilled the ball with the line at his mercy and the second when Evan Martin had the ball in space with his eyes set on a clear run to the line only for the final pass to be called forward. The error count, however, was EK's big failing. Handling errors turned the ball over to the opposition far too frequently and while, for most of the game, EK tackled well tackles were missed in crucial situations allowing Wigtownshire to turn defence into attack. EK player of the match? George Fisher caught the eye with his strong running to set up attacking opportunities but this weeks' EK player of the match for his work in defence, as a member of a scrum that was clearly on top of its opposition and for making effective carries in open play is David McGiven.

My strap-line for this performance was "Defeat from the jaws of victory - again!" As I look back on the season I see many examples of games, and I include this one, that could and should have been won. Had EK closed out games when they held a lead into the final quarter and beyond they could have been sitting on 48 points at this point. As it stands, with 36 points, they are just above the relegation zone. Only one team is to be relegated, so as Strathaven, in 10th place following their defeat against Annan, cannot overtake EK, the Torrance House outfit is safe. Dalziel will be our guests at Torrance House next Saturday (27th April). EK enjoyed a resounding victory when they visited Dalziel Park early in the season, but they can be sure that the visitors will be no push over. Let's support the team to finish the season with a performance worthy of their abilities.