Stags Maximise Points

The Stags were back at home last Saturday as they faced Howe of Fife at Glensburgh. The Cupar side had edged the previous match between the two teams. With a number of regulars missing for various reasons Grangemouth made 5 changes from the previous week. Bell and Ferguson were in the front row, Taylor on the wing, Harvey at centre and there was a first outing of the season for Gemmell at stand off. On a glorious November afternoon the home side started well. An early scrum penalty gave them field position and after a spell of pressure in the Howe 22 a clever inside pass from Gemmell found White on his shoulder and the number 8 was able to force his way over for the score. Wieczorek was on target with the extras. The visitors rolled up their sleeves and dominated territory for the rest of the quarter. The Stags defence held firm until the 20th minute when they created an overlap for their winger to squeeze in at the corner for an unconverted score. Grangemouth hit back immediately. Harvey, Gardiner and White carried to take play to the Howe 22. When the ball was recycled Gemmell was dragged down just short of the line. The visitors failed to roll away resulting in a penalty and a yellow card. The Stags opted for a scrum and from a steady platform Gemmell looped his centres before feeding Ward who cut inside the defender for the score. Wieczorek added the conversion. Neither side could create any further scoring opportunities in the half with both sides failing to hold onto the ball. HT Stags 14 Howe 5.

The Stags started the second half well. They kicked to the Howe 22 and secured a lineout. Rooney carried in midfield and quick ruck ball and great handling from Gemmell and Ward released Taylor who cut inside 3 defenders to score under the sticks. Wieczorek was on target with the simple conversion. Almost immediately the visitors responded to reduce the deficit. From a scrum their stand off made an outside break to run in for a converted score. A couple of minutes later they thought they had scored again but the referee decided there was a double movement and the Stags were able to clear their lines. On 60 minutes Howe added a penalty to reduce the lead to 6 points. The closing quarter saw another yellow card for the visitors as they collapsed a driving lineout but the local side were unable to press home their advantage. Then with 10 minutes to play a good kick and chase from Christie and Ward caught the Howe fullback in his 22. He was penalised for holding on and Wieczorek stepped up to give his side a 9 point cushion. In a dramatic finale firstly Taylor was incorrectly given a yellow card for a high tackle (wrong player) and then Ward was lucky to escape with only a yellow as he was penalised for a high tackle before entering into a debate with the referee on the decision. With time running out there were a series of reset scrums in the Grangemouth 22. Finally the ball was secured and passed to Harvey to carry from deep. The move was continued by Gemmell and Fraser and for once the Stags held onto the ball through several phases.Christie then cut back on the angle and when the ball was moved to the right Harvey found himself on the outside to round the cover and dive over. Wieczorek hit the upright with the final kick of the game. FT. Stags 29 Howe 15.

This was another hard fought victory for the local side. Neither side could hold onto the ball for long periods with both sides giving away far too many penalties especially for high tackles. Gemmell had a solid game on his return while youngsters Johnston and Fraser showed up well. This week the Stags make the short trip to face Falkirk with KO 2pm.