The final score, Oban Lorne (OL) 40 East Kilbride (EK) 26, does not truly reflect how evenly this match was contested. Scores were level into time added on, of which there was at least 12 minutes, and it was two late tries that secured the result for the home side.
The game opened brightly for EK. OL kicked off into the clutches of Roddy Beaton who carried the ball to the home line where further progress was only prevented by an unlawful intervention which led to the award of a penalty try. 5 minutes later, when EK lost possession in their own half of the field, OL responded to score an unconverted try. The play swung backwards and forwards for the next 15 minutes. With EK attacking their line OL won line ball and their centre ran the length of the field, virtually untouched, to claim their second, converted this time, try. A third OL try took the half-time score to OL 19, EK 7.

EK went on to the ascendency as the second half opened. Chris (Thunders) McLellan, touched down twice, 3 and 7 minutes into the half, with Grant Dryburgh slotting the extras after the first. With the scores level at 19-19 the referee fell to the ground following an accidental collision with a player. As he lay there everyone on the touchline checked the time to establish what the outcome would be were he unable to continue - i.e. would the the score stand as final or would the game have to be replayed? In the event the referee did continue as did the end to end play. OL scored a converted try on the cusp of normal time and EK responded when Ben McLean touched down 3 minutes into time added on. Both tries were converted, so with the contest continuing for a further 7 minutes a draw looked a likely outcome. This was not, however, to be as EK let OL back into the game. Stout defending saw EK holding OL up when they went for a try, but the consequent goal line drop out went directly into touch giving OL a five metre scrum from which they scored. For EK worse was to come as OL attacked from the kick off and touched down again to secure the victory and reduce EK's take from the match to a single, try bonus, point.

This was a game in which EK were looking for more than a single point to help lift them further away from the drop zone. It was a game that they could have won and a draw would have been a fair result. On the day it was small errors, spilled passes, missed tackles, losing line-out ball on own throw-in and inaccurate kicking from hand, that cost them dear. The young guns, Logan Cairney Paul (LCP) and Matthew McGill both put in sound performances while the more senior members of the squad used their experience to good effect. On the day, for his ball carrying and jackling the EK player of the match is Evan Middleton.

With league rugby on hold during the six nations EK will not take the field again in a serious contest until February 28th when high flying Strathaven will make the short journey up the A726 to Torrance House. EK will have to be on top form to claim a victory on this day, so hard work at training on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays is what is needed to maintain appropriate levels of strength and fitness, hone skills to improve handling and tackling and work on team tactics.