Cambuslang 7 Glasgow Accies 30

Saturday 5th December 2009

Coates Park, Cambuslang


Accies Overcome Dangerous Opponents with Bonus Point Win

At this stage in the season playing against sides that are struggling to avoid relegation is always a dangerous proposition especially when the game is away from home. On a muddy Coates Park this proved to be true assumption. For 50 minutes the Cambuslang players scrapped as if their lives depended on it. Urged on by their new coach, Jim Barrie, formerly of Glasgow Hawks, they gave Accies a fairly torrid time in the first half.

For the first ten minutes the Accies plan to run the ball at every opportunity was fairly obvious but it kept coming apart by some sloppy handling and a run of six penalties in a row against them. Most of these seemed to be for holding onto the ball in the tackle. This encouraged Cambuslang to take the initiative and they did not look like a side at the bottom of the table. Their backs ran the ball with confidence and the forwards retained possession for long periods. It was therefore no surprise when they took the lead after 15 minutes through a penalty. They continued to dominate for the next 7 minutes and were awarded with a converted try when Accies finally ran out of defenders. 10-0 and Accies were not looking like promotion contenders. However 3 minutes later it was Accies captain Jamie Doig that came to the rescue. Cambuslang were a little slow in getting the ball across their backline and Jamie read it to perfection by intercepting near the halfway line to score near the posts for Richard McKnight to convert. 10-7 and Accies were right back in the game.

For the remaining 15 minutes the game ebbed and flowed except for a five-minute spell when Accies were camped on the Cambuslang line.

Richard McKnight put them to a lineout 5 metre of the line with two successive penalties. Accies first drive was clearly a score but the referee had awarded a penalty at the lineout and decided rather late not to play the advantage. Accies again won the lineout and their big pack drove for the line. This time the referee decided it had been held up. At the next scrum Cambuslang were again penalised but Accies could make nothing of it and Cambuslang cleared the danger and took play deep into Accies half from where they kicked another penalty.

Half Time: Cambuslang 13 Glasgow Accies 7

The second half proved to be much more profitable for Accies. Their handling was much sharper and the link between Ben Wilkinson at stand off and Alan Wilson began to be very effective especially when Alan began to use the miss move to bring his wingers and fullback into the line.

Five minutes into the half Richard McKnight kicked Accies into a line out close to the line from where they drove for the line and after a few attempts Graeme Simpson the No.8 crashed over for an unconverted try. 13-12.

By this stage Cambuslang had lost both their centres to injury and looked much more vulnerable in the middle of the field.

In the 56th minute Accies scored what was probably their best try of the season. From a scrum on the right side around half way Accies won quick ball. Ben Wilkinson speedily transferred it to Alan Wilson who used miss pass to find Mike Hermes, who had come across at speed from his right wing berth; Mike surged forward and made space for Dougie Horne on the right wing to finish the move. However the Cambuslang defence had spotted the danger and their was no way through until Brad Bell appeared on Dougie’s inside to take his little pop pass and score the try. A truly classic try that demonstrated what this Accies back division are capable of when they get quick ball. It was too far out for Richard McKnight to convert from the muddy ground. 13-17

Accies were beginning to dictate the set scrums and Hooker Matteo Giovanazzi took several scrums against the head. Matt Franklin came on at prop to replace David Calder and looked very solid in the dominant scrum.

In the 68th minute Accies finally nailed the bonus point. Perhaps it was a little fortuitous but Accies will accept it thankfully. A Cambuslang back move broke down under pressure on the half way line and Accies were able to hack it upfield. Alan Wilson got to the bouncing ball first and used his footballing skills to control it all the way to the line for a touch down. Richard McKnight converted and Accies were looking fairly safe at 13-24.

In the remaining 12 minutes Richard McKnight kicked two penalties to boost the score to 13-30.

Cambuslang never gave up and in the dying minutes were camped on Accies line in an attempt to boost their point’s tally. Accies held out and the game ended when they kicked yet another penalty off the field. This was one of the most penalty-strewn games of the season and there is an urgent need to revisit the tackle situation to see if there is a way that it can be improved.

Accies could be well pleased with their performance in what could have been a banana-skin of a game played on a wet and muddy pitch and dreich weather conditions.

Next week they are at home to Caithness. Please note that the kick off is at 1-00pm.

Unfortunately for Accies Lasswade beat Greenock Wanderers in what was Wanderers first loss of the season. Accies are in third place one point behind Lasswade but they have a game in hand. It is still all there to play for

Accies 2nd XV continued their excellent season with a comprehensive 47-5 win against Cambuslang 2nd XV. Accies have now won 12 games in a row and a number of their players are creating competition for places in the 1st XV

This article was originally posted on 6-Dec-2009, 11:05 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 6-Dec-2009, 11:18.