Stags Back to Winning Ways

After the opening day defeat the Stags were at home last Saturday with Morgan the visitors to Glensburgh. The Dundee side had been relegated last season and so another tough match was expected. Grangemouth made several changes with Howie and Stirling in the front row, Scott replacing the injured Hind at number 8, McPherson at scrum half and Allan at centre. From the kick off Grangemouth were on the attack and opened the scoring after just 2 minutes. Morgan were turned over in midfield and the ball moved along the backs to Parsons who kicked ahead. Pedyo outpaced the cover to dive on the ball in the in-goal area for the opening score. Denny was wide with the conversion. Grangemouth continued to dominate with the forwards on top at scrum and lineout. They should have increased their lead on 11 minutes after a drive from a lineout but the ball was knocked on over the line. From the resultant scrum the visitors were penalised but Denny missed the fairly easy kick. Morgan did have a spell of pressure but were unable to break down the solid home defence. As the game entered the second quarter Grangemouth were back on the attack. From another lineout drive Jamieson peeled off the maul and squeezed home in the corner for the second score. Once again Denny was unsuccessful with the kick. The visitors did reduce the deficit on 30 minutes with a penalty before the Stags collected try number 3. An up and under from McPherson was dropped by the Morgan fullback inside his 22. From the scrum Scott made the initial drive and when the ball was recycled Jamieson was on hand to drive over from short range to collect his second score. Denny was again off target with the kick. Ht Stags 15 Morgan 3

Grangemouth made a poor start to the second period and conceded a score after just 2 minutes. Some poor tackling allowed the Morgan wing to cut back infield and outpace the cover to score under the posts. The conversion closed the gap to just 5 points. Grangemouth were soon back on the attack and following another lineout drive Jamieson was denied his hat trick as he was held up over the line. The Stags continued to dominate up front but were unable to press home their advantage. On 60 minutes a burst from Jamieson was carried on into the visitors 22 by skipper Binnie. Morgan gave away a penalty at the breakdown and Denny slotted home the kick. The closing 10 minutes saw the Stags press for the bonus point score. Allan was tackled just short of the line before Denny and McNiff were also denied. Finally from a ruck close to the line Allan picked up and dived over in the corner for the bonus point score. Denny, with the hardest kick of the day, converted from the right touchline. FT Stags 25 Morgan 10.

This was a well deserved win for the home side who should have won by a much bigger margin. Coach Sandy Gow was delighted by the performance which reflected the hard work at training during the week. New dad James Howie had a good game in the scrums while Kyle Shaw dominated the lineouts. The seconds also had a good win as they defeated Fife Southern 34 – 19 in a friendly. This week the Stags are again at home as they take on Panmure while the seconds open their league programme by making the short trip to take on Falkirk 2nds. Both games kick off at 3pm