East Lothian Courier | Sport | PL go west to waltz past Greenock at Fort Matilda

Tuesday, 7th October, 2008

Published: Thursday, 3rd April, 2008 10:05

PL go west to waltz past Greenock at Fort Matilda

Comments (0)

Print Article

Greenock Wanderers 3 v 10 Preston Lodge

A strong wind, driving rain and a heavy pitch all contributed to very testing conditions at Fort Matilda on Saturday.

But Preston Lodge put in a gutsy performance to finish off their National League Division One campaign with a win over already relegated Greenock Wanderers.

PL travelled west with seven changes to their 18 man-squad from the previous week.

The visitors had plenty of territorial advantage in the early stages, but struggled to retain possession.

Good defence from the home side kept the backs in check, although PL’s midfield of Clark, Kinross and Wood took every opportunity to test it to the limit.

After 26 minutes, the pack won ball and they chose the more direct option of driving to the line.

The home side could not hold out and it was prop Stuart McLean who continued his Spring purple patch by touching down for his fourth try in the three games that PL have played in March.

The conversion was missed, but PL were straight into the attack from the kick-off.

Clark looked to have set up another try scoring opportunity, but the referee unnecessarily stopped the play to award a penalty.

The visitors were unable to take advantage of this. But two minutes later, when a Greenock clearance failed to find touch, Ali Wood was on hand to receive a pass and he eased through the mud and the defence to score his 17th try of the season.

It was not clear at this stage whether the 10–0 lead would be enough for the visitors, as the wind and rain seemed to be even stronger as the teams turned round at half-time.

This became even more of a problem when a penalty was conceded in the first minute after the re-start.

Greenock’s full-back Murray made no mistake with his kick to reduce the deficit.

This gave the home side confidence and they started to use their back division to try to unlock the PL defence and keep up the pressure inside the 22.

The PL back three of Dixon, Thomson and Harris coped well with the aerial onslaught and a change in the style of play saw the pack opt for the safety of tight, driving mauls to force the ball back upfield.

Scrum half Connor and, later MacDonald, encouraged the forwards to protect the ball and run down the clock, as any mistakes were heavily punished by a simple kick back into the 22.

But despite the home pressure, PL allowed the lively Greenock attack few real scoring opportunities and when Cameron and Todd came on to replace Morgan and Blair there was little disruption in the style or effectiveness of PL’s play.

As full-time approached, it was the visitors who were on the attack as the home side desperately defended their 22.

But despite the best efforts and breaks by Euan Thayne and Cammy McLean, the Greenock defence held them out before the referee’s final whistle allowed both sides some respite from the elements.

The result means that PL finished fifth in National League One.

Comments