Stags Back to Winning Ways

After the disappointment of the previous week Grangemouth were back in action with previously unbeaten Glenrothes the visitors to Glensburgh last Saturday. The Stags made a number of changes with McNab moving to hooker and starts in the forwards for Fulton, Neill and McNiff. In the backs Denny switched to centre with Herron and Serafini coming in on the wings. Glenrothes had the early pressure and ran a very kickable penalty after just a couple of minutes. However the home defence held firm and the chance for points was lost. Grangemouth moved on to the attack and opened the scoring after 7 minutes, The forwards drove a lineout on the Glens 22 and when the ball was moved along the backs Skipper popped the pass to Denny who split the defence before timing his pass perfectly for Innes to score under the posts. McInally kicked the easy conversion. Five minutes later the Stags added try number 2. Again it was set up by a drive from a lineout inside the visitors 22. The ball was moved wide with Denny making the half break and two passes later Herron was able to power over in the corner. The conversion was missed. On 15 minutes Grangemouth collected their third try. The forwards made the initial yards with a series of drives before releasing the ball to the backs. This time Innes was put through the gap and the centre was able to slip the ball to Denny who ran in from 20 metres. McInally added the extra points. Glenrothes hit back and almost scored after a tap penalty but were just in touch near the corner flag. The try was only delayed as further pressure resulted in a good handling move with the right winger over in the corner for an unconverted score. As half time approached Grangemouth grabbed the important bonus point score. Neill made 30 metres from a tap penalty to pin the visitors back inside their half. Skipper then kicked to the corner where the Glens fullback dropped the ball close to his line and Parsons followed up for the try. As the game entered the closing minutes of the half Grangemouth received a triple blow. First Parsons and then Wieczerek were sent to the sin bin for infringements at the breakdown and Glenrothes were able to use their numerical advantage to move the ball wide for an unconverted score in the corner. HT Stags 24 Glens 10.

Despite being two men down at the start of the second half Grangemouth defended well and Glenrothes were unable to add to their score. In fact just as the Stags were restored to 15 men it was the home side that increased their lead when McInally kicked a penalty. Unfortunately soon after Wieczerek received a second yellow card for stamping and then the Stags were again reduced to 13 with Binnie sent to the bin for tackling a man off the ball. Glenrothes again made the extra men count as they scored from close range after a period of pressure on the home line. Glenrothes were unable to add to their score with the two extra men and Binnie was able to return to the field. With 10 minutes to go the visitors again messed up a huge overlap and Innes was able to prevent the score with a great cover tackle. However from a quickly taken lineout Glens moved the ball wide to beat the cover for a converted score to narrow the lead to 5 points. Grangemouth were to have the final say as they exerted pressure on the Glenrothes line. The ball was moved wide and Herron was stopped just short before passing inside to Farrell. The young winger picked the ball up off his toes and managed to dive over the line for the try. The game ended in farce as on the last play Glens attempted a long range penalty to try and gain a second bonus point. The kick drifted wide and was touched down as the crowd waited for the expected final whistle. Instead the referee awarded a defensive scrum to the Stags and then penalised Glens at the set piece. Neill’s attempt at a touch kick just about limped out of play to finally end the match.
FT Stags 32 Glens 22

This was a much improved performance by the Stags who dug deep for the victory despite playing for 20minutes with 14 men and 20 minutes with 13 men. Neill had a fine game in the loose while Innes and Denny combined well in the centre especially in the first half. Out wide Herron, Serafini and Farrell played well in attack and defence. The Stags clearly have still to work on first up tackles, closing down the space for the opposition and avoid penalties at the breakdown. Next up Grangemouth face Kinross at home with KO 3pm.