Stags Win with Stuttering Performance

The Stags were back in league action last Saturday as Blairgowrie travelled to Grangemouth for week 4 of the campaign. The Perthshire side had made a good start to their season winning 2 out of 3 so a tricky match was expected. Grangemouth welcomed back Gemmell, Skelton and Howie to the team and there were also starts for Cunningham and Gibson. The overnight rain had largely cleared but the wet ball made handling difficult for both sides. The visitors started brightly and had the early pressure with their centre showing up well in attack. After 3 minutes the Stags gave away a penalty for offside and the visitors kicked an easy 3 points. Grangemouth hit back and an Allan run took play into the Blairgowrie 22. They gave away a penalty at the breakdown and Fisher tied the scores with the kick. The Stags were beginning to dominate possession with the forwards well on top at the scrum. On 15 minutes a burst by Gibson took play close to the line but when the ball was moved wide from the breakdown somehow the Stags managed to mess up an overlap and the chance was lost. The game entered the second quarter and at last Grangemouth managed to score a try. A huge surge by the pack from a 5 metre scrum took play to the line to allow number 8 Hind to control the ball and dive over for the touchdown. Fisher added the conversion. Grangemouth continued to press but a combination of good defence, wrong options and poor handling prevented further scores until the last couple of minutes of the half. Allan was held up over the line and from the resultant scrum another drive from the pack destroyed the visitors scrum. The ball squirted loose and Gibson was first to react to dive on the ball for the score. This time the kick was wide. HT Stags 15 Blairgowrie 3

There were strong words from the coach at the interval and the Stags started the second period on the attack. Fisher kicked an early penalty to increase the lead. A few minutes later a long kick from Gemmell rolled into touch close to the Blairgowrie line. Grangemouth put pressure on at the lineout. Forsyth tidied up and slipped the ball to Jamieson. The pack joined in the drive to the line and it was Christie who crashed over for the try. Fisher added the extras. Another long kick from Gemmell pinned the visitors back in their 22. Blairgowrie were reduced to 14 men after a player was penalised for a deliberate knock on close to the line. The Stags elected to go for the scrum and again the pack drove over the line with Hind collecting his second try. The conversion attempt was wide. The closing quarter was a forgettable affair. Grangemouth made several changes and this disrupted the continuity of their play. In addition Binnie was given a red card after an incident at a maul. It was left to Fisher to complete the scoring with a penalty with the last kick of the game. FT Stags 33 Blairgowrie 3

This was a comfortable but very frustrating and scrappy victory for the Stags. The forwards completely dominated the scrums but the lineouts were more even and the brakdown was messy. As a result the backs had limited front foot ball to attack with. The coaches will be looking for an improved performance over the next few weeks. This Saturday the Stags are again at home as they meet Kinross with KO 3pm.

The Stags have also been given a difficult tie in the next round of the Caledonia Shield. They travel to Aberdeen to take on Gordonians on 12 November. The Caley 1 side narrowly missed out on promotion last year and are so far unbeaten this season. Interested supporters who wish to travel should keep an eye on the website in the next few weeks for further details.