Wanderers dreams are shattered

Published 26 Apr 2010 14:00 0 Comments

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ACTION: Wanderers couldn't grab win.

GREENOCK Wanderers were denied a sugar coating to their terrific season when they were defeated in the Scottish Hydro Shield Final 17-7 by league rivals Lasswade at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The scene was set for a tense clash between the two National 2 league teams.

Going into the final, the season's tally between the sides was one win apiece (Lasswade are the only team to have beaten Greenock) and both were buoyed from having ousted top National 1 opposition in their respective semi-finals.

Wanderers' coach David McVey said: "Lasswade played well and were strong on the break down.

"We did not threaten at all and are very disappointed."

The match opened with Lasswade bursting into Greenock's territory and within the first minute they had opened the scoring with a penalty kick.

At the 15 minute mark, Greenock took advantage of a failed Lasswade clearance to win possession and fluid play between Antony Devlin, David Murray saw the ball reach David Watson, whose chip-and-run resulted in a Wanderers' line-out.

Wanderers were rewarded two minutes later when Devlin positioned himself well and broke through the Lasswade defence to score by the posts. The stand-off converted his own try to secure a 7-3 lead.

Kicks from McWilliam, either side of half-time, saw Lasswade edge into the lead 9-7, only for Greenock to retaliate with a break from Sean Connolly, an attempt foiled by the interception of a critical pass.

Not deterred by this, the Wanderers surged forward again into Lasswade's 22 but were denied once more.

Fortune was kind to Lasswade's Kyle Smith, the man of the match, when the ball bounced favourably and he powered over the line to claim his side's only try of the match.

The conversion was missed, but McWilliam added a further three points to Lasswade's score 20 minutes later.

Wanderers surged towards the try-line but they were unable to break through.

Wanderers President Dougie Swan said: "I am very proud of the way Wanderers played.

"It wasn't to be our day today and respect to Lasswade, they were better than us."

David McVey expressed on behalf of the team how grateful he was for all the support from Greenock fans. He said: "The support has been fantastic."

WANDERERS: David Watson (capt), Brendan McGroarty, Kieran Smith, David Murray, Lee Tyley, Antony Devlin, Andrew McDougall, Douglas Smith, Alan McMichael, Martin Lavelle, Mathew Gray, Alister Abernethy, Mathew Duncan, Grahame Mooney, Callum Robb.

Substitutes: James McArthur, Robert Lavelle, Christopher Clark, John Stewart, Sean Connolly, Gregor Fletcher, Kevin Murray.

This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 26 Apr 10

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