GREENOCK Wanderers slumped to their sixth defeat in a row on Saturday when Whitecraigs convincingly beat the locals in their BT National League Second Division encounter at Fort Matilda.

From Wanderers’ perspective though it was a much improved display that showed genuine spirit and appetite for the fray as opposed to the synthetic effort of some recent performances.

Up front skipper Murray MacDonald, Matt Gray, Ally Abernethy and Martin Lavelle battled bravely and in the backs Andy McDougall and Leigh Tyley were on good form and always looked to do something positive with ball in hand.

The visitors however were just too strong and Greenock boy Nicky Blamire posted another fine performance against his hometown club, ably assisted by stand-off Ryan Moffat and man-of-the-match hooker Scott Rogers.

Rogers had a field day, scoring two tries, taking two strikes against the head and enjoying a storming performance in the loose that saw him even appear on the wing on occasions.

The match as a spectacle was a slow-burner with both sides feeling each other out in the early stages.

Whitecraigs enjoyed a strong breeze that blew towards the Wood Street end in the first half and used it wisely by putting boot to ball to ensure they generally held the territorial advantage.

Wanderers though looked eager to stamp their authority on proceedings and did so by employing a quick rucking game that bore fruit and enabled them to enjoy periods of respite by taking the action into the visitors’ half.

Indeed Wanderers were first on the score board when Kenny Diffenthal converted a penalty in the 10th minute after the award went Wanderers way for a high tackle.

The lead was short-lived as the men from Newton Mearns capitalised on their superiority at the set piece and in the loose and began going through the phases with clinical efficiency.

On 13 minutes some fine continuity play involving both forwards and backs carried play deep into Greenock territory, and when the ball was moved wide, stand-off Moffat put in a deft chip over the heads of the advancing Wanderers’ defence and collected his own kick to dot down under the posts.

He converted his own try to grab the lead for Whitecraigs 7-3.

The remainder of the half was an entertaining open affair with both sides committed to playing attacking rugby. Defences were on top though and little in the way of try-scoring opportunities emerged for either side.

The half closed with two excellent opportunities for Wanderers’ goalkicker Diffenthal, firstly from a drop goal and secondly from a penalty, both in the same position about 20 metres out and bang in front of goal.

The normally reliable South African narrowly missed on each occasion, but in fairness the blustery conditions were hardly conducive to efficient goalkicking.

The second period started with another missed penalty from Diffenthal before he reduced the deficit with a further penalty on 48 minutes.

Whitecraigs thereafter seized the initiative with two excellently worked tries, both scored by hooker Rogers.

On 55 minutes quality line-out ball was delivered off the top and the visitors immediately spun the ball wide.

Several phases followed and, with the Greenock defence stretched, hooker Rogers appeared close to the left wing and audaciously put in a grubber kick through the advancing Wanderers’ rearguard then trundled through to claim the touchdown.

Five minutes later the visitors repeated the dose with another piece of precision play.

Quality lineout ball was once more secured and spun from right to left and back again as the visitors made ground and committed the Wanderers’ defence.

When the ball started its journey back across the Whitecraigs backline, it was clear that the locals had over-committed and with a four man overlap, the end result was a foregone conclusion. Rogers applied the ‘coup de grace’ and claimed his brace of tries for the afternoon.

A successful Diffenthal penalty on 66 minutes kept Wanderers in touch by pegging the deficit back to 17-9 but with the next score crucial, it always looked more likely to come from the visitors.

On 68 minutes an outstanding try saving tackle by Tyley merely delayed the inevitable as 10 minutes later Whitecraigs replacement Richard Winton took advantage of Wanderers’ defensive disarray and sped in unimpeded from 20 metres out. Moffat’s conversion sealed the victory.

The locals though had the last word and recorded a well-deserved consolation try when McDougall spread the play after an uncontested scrum close to the visitors’ line.

Speedy ball transference enabled Tyley to enter the line at pace and he cut a fine line on the scissors through the Whitecraigs’ defence.

Diffenthal converted to complete the scoring.

Wanderers head to Haddington next Saturday for what is a vital clash in the relegation battle.

Wanderers are sponsored by Texas instruments.