PERTHSHIRE 17 KIRKCALDY 16

Kirkcaldy defensive lapses late in this Championship game at the North Inch presented Perthshire with their first win against the Blues since 1986. The visitors enjoyed forward superiority for long spells without being able to translate it into points and had gone into stoppage time at the end of the first half leading by a solitary try from skipper Willie Gray. ’Shire then mounted a rare counter attack which the Kirkcaldy managed to blunt only for a weak clearance kick f7ail to make touch. The home side then swiftly moved the ball to the right where winger Matt Rae made the most of some weak tackling t race in for his side’s first try which left the score at half time 7-5 for Kirkcaldy..

The game had got off to an unfortunate start with an accidental head clash which left ’Shire lock Sam Brand suffering a suspected broken jaw and serious dental injuries. Proceedings thereafter had a subdued feeling as Perth reorganised and Kirkcaldy had the better of play territorially. However there was a lack of bite from their heavily changed back line and little threat ensued and they had to rely on their pack to create scoring chances.

There had been several close things close to the home line before Willie Gray was there to barge through for the try converted by stand off Craig Letham and a well deserved 7-0 Kirkcaldy lead. The Blues continued to boss the forward exchanges with ’Shire largely starved of the ball. As the lengthy period of stoppage time approached there were signs that the North Inch men were not out of the game. Kirkcaldy conceded several penalties which Perthshire kicked to touch but without any positive results as a result of some good Kirkcaldy line-out play

Turning 7-5 in front the Blues extended their lead with a Letham penalty They looked to be in charge when the stand off put over another second half penalty, especially with the forwards controlling the set pieces. On the hour mark ‘Shire struck back. Kirkcaldy centre Alex Raeside appeared to mark the ball following a failed penalty but referee Alex Pratt ruled he had not played the ball with his foot after the mark and awarded a penalty in front of the posts. Instead of going for goal ’Shire tapped and ran. Initially held up they continued to force play until replacement forward Dave Lewis barged over. With a successful conversion the Kirkcaldy lead was narrowed to 13-12

Into the last quarter the Blues continued to hold the upper hand and another Letham penalty extended their lead again. A four point lead was far from safe but Kirkcaldy concentration appeared to dip. Perthshire full back Keir Doe, the outstanding attacker afield, sparked a series of attacks which seriously exposed Kirkcaldy defensive weaknesses and with just a couple of minutes left the home team shocked the Blues with a match winning try from Rae.

TEAMS

Perthshire:- K Doe, D McGregor, S Imo,D O’Connor, M Rae, A Whitelaw, G Bloice, R Kelso, R Dougan, J Forrester, S Forsyth, S Brand, F Drion, R Elley, D Clow

Replacements:- R Haggart, D Lewis, F McKinnon, D Rae

Kirkcaldy:- K Littlejohn, D Welsh, S Cairns, A Raeside, J Wilson, C Letham, G McKenzie, R Girdler, G Brooksbank, W Gray, S Orr, S Oliver, L Neilson, D Guthrie, M Harvey

Replacements:- M Harper, M Anderson, D Frew

REFEREE

Ms Alex Pratt (Watsonians)

STAR CHECK

3 Matt Harvey

2 Ross Girdler

1 Willie Gray

Cumulative

13 Harvey

7 Neilson

3 Turner Mann, Littlejohn

2 Letham, Fisher, Girdler

1 Oliver, Harper, M Wallace, G Wallace, Wilson, McKenzie, Gray