Away day to Fife is a poor bonus

Grangemouth travelled across the Queensferry Crossing last Saturday to take on old rivals Glenrothes at Carleton Park. The Stags were forced into a number of changes especially up front with Polland back at prop, Moreno and Nesbitt in the back row and an unlikely second row combination of Sloan and Deacons. In the backs Allan was back on the wing with Shannon switching to fullback. Grangemouth had the advantage of the breeze and the slope in the first half and made a positive start. After 3 minutes Skelton was just wide with a long range penalty attempt. The Stags continued to attack but unfortunately soon after a pass was intercepted by the Glens centre who ran in unopposed from 65 metres for a converted score. Moreno was then taken off injured with Clark switching to the back row and Stirling coming on in the front row. Grangemouth had a further spell of pressure but against the run of play it was Glenrothes who scored next. They won a scrum inside their 22 and a crossfield kick was collected by their pacy winger who raced upfield. He was tackled just short of the line but was able to pop the ball to his supporting player for the score. On 20 minutes the Stags finally gained some reward for their efforts. Glens turned the ball over just outside their 22. Quick hands in the backs released Allan who pulled in the final defender before passing back inside to Gemmell for the score. Skelton added the extras. Grangemouth continued to look dangerous with ball in hand and Allan had another good run before being bundled into touch. However all their good work was soon undone as the Stags lost possession in their own half. Good handling by the home backs created space for the winger and altough he was tackled short of the line he rolled the ball back to the supporting player for the score. The home stand off slotted the difficult conversion. Just before the half hour mark Glenrothes collected their bonus point try. They secured a lineout close to the line and the pack drove over for the score. Once again the conversion was on target. The scoring spree continued as the home team lost possession and a quick counter attack saw Skelton sell a couple of dummies to slice through the defence and score under the posts. The skipper converted his own try. With half time approaching Glenrothes launched an attack from deep. Good handling by their backs released the winger who had enough pace to beat the cover and score. Just on half time Dempsey took a quick tap penalty to take play into the home 22. The ball was recycled and Polland slipped the pass to Gemmell for his second score. Skelton added the extras. HT Glens 35 Stags 21

The second half had an explosive start. The Stags drove a lineout up to the Glens line. The home pack pulled down the driving maul and in the ensuing melee Sloan was given a red card and a Glens player received a yellow. Grangemouth continued to press and added their bonus point score. The ball was moved wide along the back line to release Forsyth and the winger outpaced the cover to run round under the posts to leave Skelton the simple conversion. A dangerous tackle saw another Glens player collect a yellow card before the home side stretched their lead to 10 points with a penalty. Glens should have lost another player to the bin after Skelton was taken out in the air but the referee decided on a stern warning rather than a deserved yellow. The closing 15 minutes saw Glenrothes restored to their full complement and take advantage of the extra man. First the home winger was given enough space to step inside his man and score under the posts. Then a planned move saw the same player come into the line to create the extra man for the score. Both conversions were successful. With 5 minutes to go Glens worked a blindside move from an attacking scrum to squeeze in at the corner. There was just time for the Stags to collect their 5th try. The pack drove a lineout over the line with McNiff collecting the touchdown. Skelton slotted the conversion. FT Glens 57 Stags 35

This was a frustrating day for the Stags. Despite all the changes the side competed well, looked dangerous with ball in hand and scored some very good trys. Unfortunately the team gifted some soft scores, made too many basic errors and at times defended poorly. The red card was also a major factor in the loss. . Coach Deacons will certainly hope to have some more of his regulars avaiable this week as his side look to bounce back this Saturday as they welcome Harris to Glensburgh with KO 3pm