Lasswade 19 Glasgow Accies 0


Accies Outthought by Fiery Lasswade


Hawthornden


Saturday 14th November 2009


After six good victories in a row unfortunately the winning wheels came off for an under strength Accies in windy conditions at Lasswade’s excellent new facility at Hawthornden, Bonnyrigg.

In the end Accies could have no real complaint about the result although the final margin probably flattered the home side.

A combination of a stuffy and powerful defence from the home side and a certain naiveté in Accies attacking play proved to be their undoing. There was no questioning of Accies commitment throughout the game but some choices proved to be disappointing in an extremely hard fought match in which little or no quarter was given or taken.

Playing with a stiff breeze at their backs Accies spurned a number of scoring chances especially when their opponents were reduced to 13 players at one stage due to two quick yellow cards for illegal use of an elbow and a punch respectively.

In the first quarter Lasswade proved to be highly adept at retaining possession of the ball. Their continuity and the pace at which their players hit the gaps were most impressive.

On the few occasions when Accies did get the ball they looked dangerous as an attacking force. Firstly Brad Bell, playing centre instead of his usual place at full back, made a clean break and burst through the centre of the field. Unfortunately there was insufficient support and the chance was lost. Alan Wilson too had a chance but failed to see the overlap outside him and was surrounded by the defence before he could release the ball.

However it was in the spell after the 25th and 28th minute that Accies will look back on with some disappointment, as this was the timing of the yellow cards for the Lasswade second row and prop. Accies failed to make the numerical advantage tell, despite two five-metre scrums on the Lasswade line. At the second one the Lasswade scrum half kicked the ball out of the Accies back row. Accies waited in vain for the referee to award the penalty try but he let it go.

During this period Lasswade defended frantically and heroically to keep their line intact.

Accies needed to change tactics and move the ball away quickly from the breakdown point. However the delivery was slow and the backs are still waiting for a chance.

On a positive note Accies had defended stoutly throughout the half and their line was not under any real pressure.

Ominously the halftime whistle blew with still no scores on the board and the Accies support looked more anxious with the wind against them in the second half.

Accies had lost Jack Walker after half an hour, as he had to leave the field feeling decidedly under the weather. Then to make matters worse the captain Jamie Doig got a knock on the head and was replaced by Jamie Wright. He did return later but was still pretty groggy.

It took Lasswade ten minutes into the second half to score. A five-metre scrum was poorly defended on the blind side and the left-winger nipped in for an unconverted try. It looked as if Accies might cave in but they stepped up a gear and held their opponents out for another ten minutes. Sadly it was a simple one-on-one missed tackle that allowed one of their threequarters to cruise in for an easy try under the posts. It was converted and Lasswade lead 12-0

It was at this stage that Accies had their best period of the game. They dug deep and following a succession of penalties and another yellow card, this time for a high tackle on Richard McKnight, they drove Lasswade back to their line. Wave after wave of drives for the line using mainly Steve Begley and Cruz were held up and thwarted. If only that had looked wide they would have realised that they had sucked in the defence and quick hands would have released their backs on an overlap. Eventually Accies were penalised for holding on and Lasswade’s line was intact.

In the dying minutes Lasswade were awarded a lineout on halfway and took it quickly. The Accies defenders were left standing as the winger cantered off for an easy try under the posts. The touchline pundits all said that the ball had not gone five metres but that did not convince the referee who shortly blew the final whistle.

Accies can take some positives from the game. The lineout and scrummaging were greatly improved from the first time they played Lasswade and the defence was pretty solid despite the absence of Stewart Smith. However his loss was felt mainly in attack, as he is so good at creating a platform in the centre of the field from which to launch offensives.

Steve Begley, fifteen defensive tackles, and Cruz put themselves around the field to good effect. Also Andy Jackson and hooker Matteo Giovanazzi gave a good account of themselves in the loose. In the backs both wingers Dougie Horne and Mike Hermes looked lively despite the limited amount of ball they received.

Although this result is a setback it is not a disaster as there are still 10 games to play.

The only long distance away game is the return trip to Hawick YM. All the other away games are local derbies. Hopefully other teams in the league will help out by beating the leading contenders.

Accies need to retain their confidence and stay focussed and they can still get promotion.

After 12 successive games since the end of August Accies have a week off next Saturday due to the Murrayfield International. This is probably a good thing as the bodies need time to recover and it also gives injured players a further week to shake off the problem.

The next game is against Newton Stewart at New Anniesland on Saturday 28th November, kick-off 2-00pm

This article was posted on 15-Nov-2009, 13:13 by Hugh Barrow.