Wanderers go out of cup competition
Published 12 Dec 2011 12:00
0 Comments
Greenock Wanderers tumbled out of the Royal Bank of Scotland West Regional Cup on Saturday when a sterling performance, full of grit and determination, proved insufficient to defeat Premiership Two side Whitecraigs.
The narrow scoreline is indicative of a tight encounter which could have gone either way, but the visitors just about edged the contest.
In defeat, Wanderers had heroes aplenty and once more skipper Matt Gray rose to the occasion, ably assisted by his entire pack with Calum Robb, John Stewart and Murray MacDonald catching the eye.
The locals' back division had a tough afternoon but gave as good as they got throughout and showed there really is little difference in quality between the two sides.
For Whitecraigs, former Wanderers age group players, Nick and Ben Blamire, had a fine game in the blue shirt and the twins' contribution at the breakdown was a significant factor in the Newton Mearns side taking the spoils.
The opening exchanges were tentative and nervous with defences very much on top.
Referee Damien Timpson was quick to penalise ruck and offside offences and within the opening quarter of an hour, Kenny Diffenthal had slotted two penalties and Ryan Moffat for Whitecraigs had responded with one effort to take the score to 6-3 for Wanderers.
On 20 minutes though, the visitors made the breakthrough when a fine sweeping backs move down the right flank found winger Graham Fisher in space and he sped in at the corner.
Moffat judged his touchline conversion to perfection to give Whitecraigs the lead 10-6.
Wanderers responded positively and enjoyed a period of possession and territorial advantage.
On 25 minutes, scrum ball was won just inside the Whitecraigs half.
Quickly recycled possession gave Calum Robb the chance to make ground through the centre channel and when tackled, he fed David Watson.
Watson sped on, and when closed down by Whitecraigs defenders he unselfishly passed to Alan Knox who outstripped the cover defence to touch down in the corner.
Now one point ahead, Wanderers looked to consolidate but it was the men from East Renfrewshire who seized the initiative.
On 34 minutes, another infringement at the ruck gave Moffat the chance to regain the 13-11 lead which he gratefully accepted. A few moments later, visiting scrum-half Biel Farrell manufactured some space down the right flank.
Fine continuity play and passing between forwards and backs took play close to Wanderers line and when centre Moffat was snared just short, his pop pass found Farrell who breezed over in the corner.
Moffat's conversion was accurate and increased the visitor's lead to 20-11.
On the stroke of half time Wanderers found a lifeline.
Some sloppy play from the Whitecraigs attack gifted possession to Kieren Smith close to his own line.
Smith set off at pace and carried the ball 80-metres before offloading in the tackle to support runner David Watson who cantered over the line to reduce the deficit to 20-18.
The second half was a nail-biting affair with both defences once more on top.
Chances were few and far between but with tension rising the penalty count also started to grow.
On 43 minutes and again on 70 minutes, Moffat punished Wanderers from the tee after the locals infringed at the ruck to stretch the lead to 26-18.
Seven minutes later, the tension finally boiled over and a mass brawl erupted just inside the Whitecraigs half.
Referee Timpson adopted a pragmatic approach and kept his red and yellow cards in his pocket but warned both captains to keep their players under control.
Diffenthal set up a dramatic last few minutes by knocking over the resulting penalty to bring the scores to within five points.
As Wanderers looked for the winning score, it was Whitecraigs - and that man Moffat - who had the final word with another finely struck penalty deep into stoppage time.
President Graeme Alexander said: "I can't fault the effort of our boys today and I thought we did ourselves proud.
"It was a tight game and as always in matches like that if we got a wee rub of the green at the right time it could have been a different story.
"But we have no complaints and we wish Whitecraigs well for the next round."
Wanderers currently have no match arranged for next weekend but are actively trying to arrange a fixture for Fort Matilda.
If a match is arranged, a preview will appear in next Friday's Telegraph.
Wanderers: D Watson, J Smith, K Smith, L Tyley, A Knox, K Diffenthal, A McDougall, D Smith, S Alexander, J McArthur, M Gray (C), M MacDonald, J Stewart, A Abernethy, C Robb.
Replacements: Y Young, M Lavelle, E Middleton.
l Wanderers are sponsored by National Semiconductor (UK) Ltd.
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 12 Dec 11
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Sport archives.
