The final score from Saturday’s clash in the second round of the BT Cup shows a win in favour of the side two divisions higher in the leagues.

There are no surprises there, but cup ties can be strange affairs and this one was no exception, the score not saying anything about how the game actually panned out.

Perfect, although misty, conditions at Poynder Park set things up nicely as National 1 outfit Kelso took on National 3 Preston Lodge. The early kick-off obviously suited the home side better and they raced into a 10-point lead after only eight minutes, when firstly a lineout move set up good ball for winger Tony Wichary to score a try near the posts and then Andrew Skeen added a penalty to his conversion after PL were caught offside.

PL needed to up their game quickly and show some of their league form. In the 12th minute, winger Paul McLung was first to show what he could do. A burst of speed set him clear for a great run up the left wing and he offloaded well when he was eventually tackled. Quick hands and good passes through the backs eventually got the ball to Nathan Ross on the other wing and he looked like he might be able to get to the try line until some good defensive play from Kelso saw him bundled into touch just five metres short. From the lineout, Kelso cleared the danger but at least that passage of play had brought PL into the game.

PL also showed some good defensive skills in the 16th minute after Kelso had kicked to touch on the five-metre line but that was only a temporary respite because, just two minutes later, Kelso increased their lead when another good lineout provided quality ball for the backs and Wilkinson was able to round the defence and score in the corner. Skeen converted and PL’s afternoon looked to be over with the scoreboard showing 17-0.

Captain Chris Dixon needed to rally his troops and make sure their heads didn’t go down. They duly got the perfect pick-me-up in the 21st minute when Gavin Hume took advantage of some weak defensive tackling down the right and charged over for a great try to get PL on the board at 17-5.

There would be no further scoring in the half but it seemed that the tide had turned and PL were in the ascendancy, giving Kelso plenty of problems up front and especially in the scrum. Hooker Raymond Mackie tested the defence several times with good line breaks but, despite their best efforts, they couldn’t find a way through to the line.

If PL had a slow start to the first half then exactly the opposite could be said as they kicked off the second. Within a minute of the restart, good ball had been won and Ross was the man to put it to good use by storming through for a try in the corner. Graeme Patterson slotted the difficult conversion and the score was now a much more interesting 17-12.

It got even better in the 46th minute when Blair Cowan safely gathered the ball at a lineout before setting it back to Mackie, who charged down the left wing and was unstoppable as he dived over for a great try. Suddenly the scores were level and there was just a chance that an upset was on the cards.

Two minutes later, the PL pack were in charge again, this time at a scrum and a great push forced Kelso to stand up so the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty. Patterson grabbed the chance to turn the match on its head and PL were in front for the first time at 17-20.

As the clock ticked on to 60 minutes, the lead was increased to 17-23 through another Patterson penalty; however, Kelso immediately came back with a penalty of their own to reduce the gap to three points again.

When Kelso’s Buckley was yellow carded it seemed that the advantage lay with PL if they could make use of the extra man to get some points on the board but in fact it was the signal for Kelso to up their game and put pressure on the visitors.

It was going to be a long 20 minutes as Kelso threw everything into attack but the PL defence stood strong until the 74th minute. At that point, a loose kick was charged down in the PL 22 and Mark Wilson won the race to touch down for the try. Skeen converted to give his side a 27-23 lead with five minutes to go.

For most of the remainder of the game it was PL who were back on the attack but, despite their best efforts, there was just no way through and time eventually ran out.

This had been a big test for PL and, although they came up just short, it lets them know that they can compete with teams higher up the leagues than themselves and should boost their confidence for their next match away to Perthshire next Saturday (November 29).

Preston Lodge: J Brash, N Ross, B Robertson, H Munro, P McLung; G Patterson, D Gordon; P Dixon, R Mackie, G Hume, B Cowan, B Stoddart, R Runciman, C Dixon, J Riley.