Stags through to Caledonia Shield Final

The Stags were at home for the first time in 2019 last Saturday as they welcomed Midland 2 league leaders Blairgowrie to Glensburgh for the Caledonia Shield semi final. The Perthshire side had only lost 1 game all season and had already claimed the scalp of Caley 1 side Ellon in the previous round so a close game was expected. Grangemouth made a few changes from the previous week with Gemmell, Kerry and McNiff returning to the starting lineup while McNab switched to hooker. They were forced into a further late change when Harvey pulled out due to illness in the warm up and was replaced by Scott. The game had been in doubt during the week but a thaw on Friday night and some hard work by the groundstaff resulted in perfect ground conditions for the game. On a cold and grey afternoon it was the home side who made the better start. They had much of the early territory and possession as they stole a couple of lineouts and had the nudge on at the scrums. Unfortunately they made a number of handling errors and the scoreline remained blank. On 10 minutes Skelton was wide with an ambitious long range penalty attempt. A few minutes later Grangemouth were able to capitalise on the early pressure with the opening try. Stangoe made the initial burst into the 22. The ball was recycled in an untidy fashion and this allowed the Stags to attack down the blindside. The ball was moved to Allan who rounded his man and run in at the corner. Skelton was unable to add the extras. The home side continued to dominate possession but on 20 minutes and against the run of play Blairgowrie opened their account. A Stags attack broke down midway inside the visitors half. Blair launched a swift counter attack and good handling released the winger to run in at the corner. The conversion attempt was off target. Grangemouth continued to push for scores but a combination of good defence, handling errors and frequent penalties allowed Blairgowrie to clear their lines. The closing minutes of the half saw the visitors create a couple of chances of their own. First their left winger was hauled down just short of the line after a fine run and then another backline move saw the same player being bundled into touch just short of the line. HT Stags 5 Blairgowrie 5.

The second half remained tight in the opening few minutes. On 50 minutes a neck injury to one of the Blairgowrie players resulted in the game being stopped and an ambulance was called. The game was moved to the 2nd team pitch for the closing 30 minutes. On 55 minutes Blair were awarded a penalty and the kick was moved 10 metres forward after dissent from the home side. The easier kick was successful to give the visitors the lead. The Stags responded well and they pinned Blairgowrie back into their 22. A secure lineout from the Stags saw the pack drive up to the line. Kerry peeled off the back of the maul to dive over but somehow the ball was held up over the line. From the resultant 5 metre scrum the forwards drove over the line before the scrum was collapsed and the visitors were lucky to escape with just a penalty. Once again the visitors defence held firm and Blair were able to clear to beyond their 22. However from the lineout Dempsey darted up the narrow side before cutting inside the fullback for the score. Skelton was unable to add the conversion. This set up a very tense final 10 minutes. Blairgowrie were just short with a long rand penalty attempt on 70 minutes before the decisive score followed a few minutes later. The visitors backs floated a pass in midfield and Skelton went for the interception. From the sidelines it appeared he had knocked the ball on but in fact the ball bounced off his leg before he hacked upfield and collected a kindly bounce to run in under the sticks. The stand off converted his own score. Grangemouth failed to clear the ball from the kick off and this allowed the visitors a final spell of pressure. They decided to run a couple of kickable penalties before a final series of drives by their pack almost produced a score but the referee was unsighted and the try disallowed. Grangemouth were awarded a final penalty and the kick to touch was followed by the final whistle. FT Stags 17 Blairgowrie 8

The Stags now progress to the final of the Shield and will take on Strathmore on the 16th February. The venue will be decided in the next few days. This was a hard fought victory by the home side. The forwards were on top at the set pieces with Hugh and Kerry having strong performances. The backs were unable to carve out clear openings and were let down at times by some handling errors. Credit to Blairgowrie who competed well throughout and will no doubt go on to clinch their league title in the coming weeks. A special mention to the groundstaff of Chris, Jim and Gary for their hard work on Friday and Saturday to make sure the game went ahead. This week the 1sts and 2nds are both at home. The 1sts take on Aberdeen Wanderers while the 2nds take on Arbroath with KO at 2pm