Ross High 22 - 20 Preston Lodge
Match-Reports
No-one could have asked for more commitment or excitement as Ross High and Preston Lodge served up a cracker of a local derby cup tie under the lights last Thursday evening and it was the hosts from the lower division that caused the upset as they sent the Panners from National League Division 1, crashing out of the cup.
Both sides set out their stall right from the kick off and showed that there was to be no love lost as some fierce tackles were put in during the opening exchanges. PL in fact showed themselves to be just a bit over eager when they were caught offside after two minutes but Dean Jones was just wide with his kick at goal from 40 metres. The home stand off got a second chance two minutes later when once again PL were penalised - this time for holding on - and compounded their error by talking back to the Referee, thus giving Jones the kick 10m closer from where he made no mistake. Penalties against PL were to feature regularly during the game as the Referee was to show that he wouldn’t tolerate even a hint of offside or other offences.
The visitors were soon back on level terms when Patterson slotted penalty from 25m and a magnificent take by Paul Voy from the restart gave an indication that they were starting to settle and looking to dominate the game. This was highlighted a few minutes later when they won a scrum against the head on the Ross High five-metre line but a poor kick gave away possession and the ball was cleared down field. This error was immediately punished when once again, Jones kicked a penalty as PL were caught offside on their own 22.
The big crowd was by now starting to warm to the cup-tie atmosphere as the excitement started to build and PL used this to their advantage as they raised their game for the remainder of the half. Patterson levelled the scores again with a penalty awarded for a deliberate knock on and as the half hour approached, a clever box kick from Forbes Connor led to a chase for Ali Wood. The Ross High defence failed to deal with the bouncing ball and Wood kept a cool head as he gathered and forced his way over in the corner to give PL the lead for the first time. Patterson kicked the difficult conversion to make the score 6-13. The visiting crowd thought that they were cheering home another try two minutes later when PL centre Andrew Clark looked to have intercepted a pass on his own 22 and then cleverly slipped the ball to his midfield partner Greg Kinross who had a clear 50m run to score. The Referee had a different idea though as he hauled them back for another offside penalty that Jones was able to strike between the posts.
The two centres refused to let the setback affect their play and they showed off their skills again five minutes later when Clark sold a superb dummy and passed to Kinross who had a clear run through the defence from 30m to score under the posts. This time, the Referee was happy and the score was 9-20.
Ross High refused to lie down though and they were to score the last points of the half right on 40 minutes when PL were penalised for not rolling away, making the score at the interval 12-20. The question now was whether this would be a big enough lead for PL to take into the second half playing up the slope.
The intensity of the play continued as before with no quarter being asked or given by either side and few scoring chances occurring in the early part of the half. There was a lengthy stoppage after 10 minutes as PL’s Stu McLean was treated after a collision with Dean Jones; the prop having to retire injured thus forcing a reshuffle in the PL pack.
The Ross High forwards, led by Stoddart and Welch in the engine room, were beginning to gain confidence as the majority of the play was now taking place in or around the PL 22, due to astute kicking down the slope by Jones and McDonald. The PL pack then found themselves in more trouble when Cowan was yellow carded while trying to clear players lying on the ball - a view not shared by the Referee or the vociferous home crowd. When PL were eventually awarded a penalty, it seemed that the pressure might be relieved but Patterson’s kick failed to find touch. He was given the ball right back though as Ross High put an up and under into the 22 but once again the clearance kick failed to find safety and went straight to Paul Davies. The substitute needed no second invitation as the PL defence were posted missing and he had a clear run to score under the posts. The easy conversion narrowed the score to 19-20 with clearly everything to play for in the last 20 minutes.
Before PL were restored to their full complement of 15 players, a further blow was to be struck as Ross High’s McDonald regained the lead for his side with an excellent long range drop goal to make the score 22-20.
The action or the excitement was far from over for the evening as PL battled to gain field position to give themselves a chance of scoring. The forwards worked hard to drive the ball into the home half and a Patterson penalty was missed from 35m as this time the Ross High defence were caught offside. As the clock ticked on towards injury time, seemingly each of the forwards in turn were driving towards the line. When the ball was eventually released to the backs, a drop goal attempt by Andrew Clark just drifted past the post but the clearance from Ross High failed to find touch and was gathered safely 40m out. A penalty was awarded to PL from the ensuing maul, which captain John Morrison elected to kick to touch in the corner - a tactic that has proved fruitful for PL in the past but left the visiting crowd wondering if the difficult kick at goal might have been a better option on this particular occasion. Unfortunately, the line out failed and Ross High were able to clear the ball down field.
There was still time for one more play and the PL backs knew that this would be their last opportunity as they surged towards the half way line at pace. Quick passing seemed to have created space up the right side of the field but the Referee disagreed as he adjudged that a pass from Clark had drifted forward. Pure frustration from the PL players saw the scrum being upgraded into a penalty as they argued the point and the Referee’s patience finally ran out as Clark continued the chat and he was shown the red card.
The penalty was kicked to touch to bring a thriller of a game to an end and make the final score 22-20, earning the Tranent boys the bragging rights for the rest of the season, as well as the Billy McNeil Trophy and a home tie against Premiership 2 strugglers Cartha Queens Park in the next round of the Cup.
For PL, the defeat means another tasty local derby as they drop into the Bowl and will travel down the coast to face North Berwick.
Both ties are due to be played next Saturday 16th February.
Ross High Team:
S McDonald, G McCran, M Patterson, C Hutchison, R Bailey, D Jones, J Evans,
S Ketchin, S Henderson, R Strachan, B Stoddart, M Welch, L Welch, C Tinlin, I Clark
Replacements:
P Cribbes, A Hook, P Davies, M Irwin
Preston Lodge team:
S Dixon, D Thomson, G Kinross, A Clark, A Wood, G Patterson, F Connor,
S McLean, C Wilson, C McLean, B Cowan, P Voy, C Guyatt, C Dixon, J Morrison (Capt).
Replacements:
D Scott, E Thayne, R Anderson, N MacDonald (all used).
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