GHK 56-19 Loch Lomond

GHK were hoping to continue their good early season form and stay top of the league with the visit Loch Lomond to Old Anniesland on Saturday.

Stuart Pollok returned to GHK after a week in the Hawks 1st XV and Dave Fearnley and Chuck McIllroy came into the back divison. Chas McFarlance and Neil Gilmartin came back from injury onto the bench to make it the strongest 18 GHK have put out this season.

From the kick off, a spilt catch by GHK allowed Lomond the ball and they shipped it wide and a defensive error allowed their winger to sprint in from the 10m line for a shock opening score which was converted by their flyhalf. This was the wake up call that the players needed and it shocked them into action with immediate effect with some strong runs by Stuart Pollok, Olly Jones and Chuck McIllroy.

Into a strong wind, GHK kept the ball in hand and were looking dangerous every time they had the ball and a good platform laid on by the forwards allowed the exciting backline to use the width of the 1st XV pitch at Anniesland.

Tries in the first half came from Olly Jones, Chuck McIllroy, Andy McTavish and Gillon Rand scored from a perfectly executed training ground move which he himself had come up with.

The second half started with the words of the referee ringing in the players ears that any back chat would result in a yellow card and it was evident that the GHK players took note unlike their opponents when a perfectly executed backline move close to the Lomond line was run in by McTavish that one of the Lomond players was put in the sinbin for a comment on how the game was being refereed.

McIllroy got on the score sheet again with some great counter attacking play by the home side when he supported Rory Love to score in the corner. It was then the turn of Ali Smeaton to score after some good work by the forward pack and some good offloading in the tackle. Loch Lomond went on the attack but good GHK defence kept them at bay until an instinctive intercept by Olly Jones put the home skipper with a free run to the line, he was supported by Dave Fearnley who was keen for the sprint in and Jones fired a 20m pass to his team who sped into the posts.

The Lomond heads were going down and their frustration started to show when Fraser McKinven (man of the match) collected the ball in midfield and was clothes-lined by the opposing centre in a move that would not have been out of place in World Wrestling Entertainment. He was shown straight to the sin bin. McTavish got his double and McIllroy his hatrick until the game turned nasty with GHK still playing all the rugby when a Lomond player wanted to go a couple of rounds with some GHK players and was straight red carded by the referee and a GHK player was sinbinned for defending himself.

This seemed to spark Lomond into life and they rumbled up the field for 2 scores which flattered them slightly as it was the first two times they were in the home territory in the second half.

GHK's performance was their best of the season to date, but they were disappointed to give away two soft tries near the end of the match. This result still leaves them top of the league with Marr still hot on their heels after a 101-0 thrashing of Bishopton.

This Saturday sees a break from league action when GHK take on Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh at Balgray with a 3pm Kick off.


Team: McIllroy, Love, Smeaton, Fearnley, McTavish, Jones, Rand, Wallace, McKinven, Pollok, Cram, Ferguson, Welsh, Forbes, McDonald, Reid, Gilmartin, McFarlane

This article was posted on 5-Oct-2005, 08:25 by Hugh Barrow.