Stags Go Down at Howe

Grangemouth were on the road again last Saturday as they headed to Cupar to take on Howe of Fife. The Stags made 5 changes from the previous week. Christie and Rooney returned while Ward and McGregor had their first starts. There was also a senior debut for Robbie Hamilton on the wing. On another very hot afternoon the hosts played up the slope and into the breeze and they made a dream start. Straight from the kick off they moved the ball wide. The pass was wayward and went to ground but the ball bounced up perfectly for the onrushing player to break the line before passing inside to his support to race in from 50 metres for the converted score. Grangemouth regrouped and started to control possession. The home side conceded a few penalties and the Stags kicked to the 22. From the lineout Harvey made the initial burst and when the ball was switched back to the right Clark was on hand to collect the pass and drive over for the score. Wieczorek was on target with the conversion to tie the scores. For much of the rest of the half Grangemouth dominated possession but were unable to break down the tight home defence. On 35 minutes Howe had a man sent to the bin for an off the ball incident. The Stags kicked to the 22 and although the ball was overthrown Bell tidied up and make ground. The ball was moved wide and White burst through the attempted tackle to score. Once again Wieczorek added the extras. The Stags failed to clear their lines from the kick off and this gave Howe some possession in the Grangemouth 22. The initial drives were stopped but a quickly taken tap penalty resulted in a short range drive and score. The conversion was off target.
HT Howe 12 Stags 14.

The home side were pinned in their 22 at the start of the second period. Once again they gave away numerous penalties at the breakdown and lineouts and were given 2 further yellow cards on 45 and 48 minutes. Despite their numerical advantage the Stags were unable to cross the line with their only reward being a Wieczorek penalty. As the game entered the final quarter Grangemouth continued to attack without being able to break the stubborn Howe defence. With 15 minutes to play another Stags attack broke down near halfway and the Howe centre picked up the loose ball to run in from 55 metres for the score. The conversion took the home side to a 2 point lead. In a frantic finish Christie and Kerry combined to take play deep into the home 22. The ball was recycled and the forwards were driven over the line. McNiff felt he had scored but the ref was unsighted and decided the ball was held up over the line. From the goal line dropout Howe conceded a penalty on their 22. However the kick was off target and the chance was lost. FT Howe 19 Stags 17.

This was a disappointing result for the Stags. They had much of the possession and territory but had no cutting edge to break down the Howe defence. Harvey and Clark carried well in the loose while the scrums and lineouts were fairly solid. In the end they were undone by a couple of long range scores and their own failure to move the ball wide after the initial carries. This week the Stags are back at home with Falkirk making the short journey to Glensburgh for a 3pm KO