Firsts round off season with win and fifth in league.

By Malcolm MacDonald

EK 1s notched a 25-0 victory over Waysider/Drumpellier, with 3 tries. The
win hoisted them to fifth in the league. Overall a disappointing season but
let’s hope we are building for the future.

EK welcomed South Lanarkshire neighbours Waysiders/Drumpellier to Torrance
House on Saturday. As many predicted, after the heights of last week’s draw
with GHK, our performance levels dropped several levels below last week. Yet
we still emerged with the victory.

It was a curate’s egg of a performance – partly good and partly bad. We
survived an early WD onslaught - for 20 minutes there was only one team in
it. But stern defence, and their limited capability outside a stuffy set of
forwards, held them out.

And in the 21st minute, EK ventured in to the WD half allowing Scott Shankie
to notch the first score of the match, a penalty. EK leading 3-0. There was
lots of endeavour but little creativity until Ian Brown blasted his way on a
diagonal run in the WD 22 only to be held up on the try line.

This led to a period of scrum pressure with EK just denied, but stand off
Robbie Greenfield used the scrum threat to put in a clever kick to the right
wing where Ian Brown had an easy touch down,with no WD player near him.
Shankie converted to give EK a 10-0 lead after 34 minutes.

Just on half time, following more EK pressure, flanker Gareth Jones seized
on a loose ball on the right wing and powered over for the try from 5
metres. Shankie converted for a half time lead of 17-0. The EK support
expected the four try bonus point to come in the second half. Fraser Little
replaced Kenny McDermott on the wing at the break.

Scott Shankie kicked a penalty shortly after the restart. It must ranked as
the worst successful penalty he has kicked in a long time – he was 25 metres
out, in front of the posts and the ball just managed to scrape over the bar.
Certainly not stylish but they all count. Score: 20-0.

Not a lot happened until the 50th minute when lock Craig Ferguson Junior
lost his cool and reacted to a WD punch with a number of his own, in front
of the referee. The Waysiders’ flanker got a yellow card (deserved overall
for his general play) while Ferguson got a red. The ref had no choice and
Craig was left to rue his immaturity.

Quality play was rare. One moment however was Fraser Stott fielding a WD
clearance kick. A shimmy and well timed pass gave the ball to winger Brown
who blasted through the WD defence for some 40 metres, only just being
stopped short of the line. Every time Brown gets the ball, a ripple of
anticipation runs through the EK support.

EK recorded their third try after 70 minutes. A period of possession in the
WD half saw them win a lineout some 5 metres out from the try line. Flanker
Jones soared for the ball and his mates drove for the line. His fellow
flanker, Calum Aitken, got his hands on the ball and claimed the score. A
good try for the forwards. If only we had a few more of them.

The match seemed to be dribbling to a mundane conclusion when something set
the forward packs at each other. The first infringement looked like a WD
offence, it got a bit wild for a few moments. The result was the visitor’s
No 8 was red carded. A couple of his colleagues could easily have joined
him.

It was disappointing, but not unexpected, that EK failed to record the try
bonus point. WD were a limited team and given our aspirations, and given our
forward strength, we really should be capable of putting such sides away. A
problem we have encountered in a number of matches this year.

Man of the Match – most of EK’s best moments came when Ian Brown was
involved, so he gains the MoM for the 2nd week in a row.

Team: 15 Fraser Stott, 14 Ian Brown, 13 Scott Shankie, 12 Graeme Blackwood,
11 Kenny McDermott, 10 Robbie Greenfield, 9 Ian Stevenson, 8 Calum Aitken, 7
JB Timmons, 6 Gareth Jones, 5 Paul Rosie (Captain), 4. Craig Ferguson
Junior, 3 Stephen Millar, 2 Rian Anderson, 1 Chris Mclellan. Replacements:
Euan Perry, Gary Thornton, Fraser Little (all used)