Stags Bow out of Caley Shield

After a break of 7 weeks the Stags were finally back in action last Saturday as they made the short trip to take on Alloa in the Caledonia Shield semi final. Grangemouth were able to field a strong side with Gemmell back from injury at fullback , Binnie at second row and Scott slotting in at wing forward. Conditions were far from ideal with a very heavy pitch and a strong wind blowing down the field. The Stags played against the wind in the first half and opened strongly. The forwards were on top in the scrums and made good ground with drives around the fringes. However the Alloa defence remained strong and Grangemouth were unable to convert the early possession and territory into points. After 15 minutes Alloa lifted the siege and with their first attack opened the scoring. They secured a set piece on the Stags 22 and after a missed tackle the home centre crashed through for a converted try under the posts. The game continued with the Grangemouth forwards probing for a weakness in the home defence. Once again the Stags came away with nothing and with 5 minutes left in the half the home side increased their lead. They moved the ball to the left from a tap penalty on halfway. The ball was quickly recycled and good handling created just enough space for the right winger to score in the corner. The difficult conversion was narrowly wide. Just on half time a burst up the touchline from Allan saw the winger kick ahead over the try line. However he was just beaten to the ball by the covering player to prevent a score. HT Alloa 12 Stags 0

The second half continued in a similar fashion with both sides struggling to make ground in the difficult conditions. Grangemouth were unable to take advantage of the wind and the home forwards began to take control in the scrums. After 65 minutes Ward was given a yellow card following a series of repeated penalties and this allowed Alloa to camp on the Stags line. This time it was the Grangemouth defence which held its ground to somehow prevent a further score. With just a few minutes left Grangemouth kicked a penalty to the corner and secured the lineout. The initial drive was held up but Roach peeled round the front to run in for the score. Skelton nailed the difficult conversion from out wide. However there was to be no grandstand finish as the Stags were unable to escape from their half in the closing minutes and Alloa held on for the narrow victory. FT Alloa 12 Stags 7.

This was a disappointing loss for the Stags. Coach Deacons was happy with the performance after such a long lay off. The side certainly had lots of possession especially in the first half but were unable to break down the solid home defence. This week the Grangemouth touring side make their biannual trip to Wales to take on old rivals Llandybie for the Alban Jenkins Shield. The next home game for the Stags is on the 10th February when they take on Glenrothes at Glensburgh with a 3pm KO.