Stags Make Bowl Final

The Stags were back in cup action last Saturday as Harris made the trip to Glensburgh for the semi final of the Midland Bowl. For the second week in a row the weather had threatened to cause the match to be cancelled but once again a terrific effort by club members on Saturday morning saw the pitch playable. Grangemouth made three changes in personnel and one positional change from the starting line up the previous week. Keighan was back in the front row, Ward and Sangster teamed up at half back with Johnstone dropping back to full back to replace the injured Parsons.

Harris made the better start as Grangemouth failed to deal with the opening kick off and were pinned back inside their 22. The defence held firm until the 8th minute when the backs were caught offside allowing Harris to kick an easy penalty from in front of the posts. Harris continued to press but their attacks were halted by solid tackling in midfield and gradually Grangemouth began to work their way into the game. Dempsey had a good run to the 22 and Harris were penalised at the breakdown. Unfortunately Innes was unsuccessful with the kick. The centre made up for his miss a few minutes later as he collected a loose clearing kick and skipped through some tackles before feeding on to McInally. Again the visitors were penalised at the breakdown and this time the ball was kicked into the corner. Connor McFarlane took a clean lineout ball and the forwards drove over with Craig at the back collecting the touchdown. The conversion from Innes was wide. Having just taken the lead Grangemouth immediately conceded another score. They again failed to deal with the kick off and from the resultant scrum the visitors full back broke the initial defence before being brought down just short of the line. The Stags were penalised at the ruck and Harris kicked a second simple penalty. As the game entered the second quarter Grangemouth began to dominate territory and possession. The forwards worked a clever lineout move and only a last gasp interception prevented a home score. Soon after Herron had a couple of good runs and was held only just short of the line. The score was only delayed as the Stags forwards drove and turned a five metre scrum and flanker Curran was able to charge down the attempted clearance kick and fall on the loose ball over the line for the try. Again the conversion was missed. The visitors finished the half strongly but were unable to turn pressure into points. HT 10 – 6

The local side started the second half on top and had the chance to increase their lead on 48 minutes. The McFarlane twins combined to make the initial surge from a lineout and Harris conceded the penalty at the breakdown. However Sangster pushed the penalty attempt wide. The one way traffic continued as Sangster and Neill combined to release Innes who was grounded just short. Again the visitors infringed at the breakdown and this time the yellow card was issued. The Stags decided to take the scrum and after the initial push Davy McFarlane picked up and drove over from short range. The kick from Sangster was again pushed wide of the posts. Harris were having difficulty clearing their lines as the Stags stepped up the pressure. Dempsey had a good run but the break came to nothing as he slipped as he tried to step the final defender. On 65 minutes Neill picked up from a scrum in the visitors 22. The initial clearout was good and Curran carried the ball up to the line. The ball was quickly recycled to Sangster who burst through the tackle to score. This time, to ironic cheers from the supporters, Sangster’s kick was successful. In the closing minutes Harris tried to run the ball from deep but the ball was turned over by Innes who fed his fellow centre Dempsey for the score. Again the conversion was missed. FT 27 – 6

This was a good win for the Stags who after a fairly even first half completely dominated the second period and should have added more points. They missed a number of kicks at goal and the lineout was not as effective as in previous weeks. The scrum was well on top and this allowed Davy McFarlane the platform for several strong runs. The halfbacks linked well and out wide Innes and Herron were impressive in attack. Grangemouth will now face either Fife Southern or Panmure in the final of the bowl on 23 February with the venue still to be decided. The Stags now have an important few weeks ahead as the play 3 vital league games and the bowl final in February. Next Saturday the Stags travel to play Carnoustie in the league with KO 1.30pm. Once again a huge thanks to all the club members who turned up on Saturday morning to make sure the game went ahead