U16 Reds come out winners in a chilly mid-week tussle with Musselburgh
Musselburgh 10 – 26 Linlithgow
Match report by Paul Junik
Reds U16s took on Musselburgh in the rearranged East Cup fixture on Wednesday night at a chilly Stoneyhills under the lights. The Reds knew it was going to be a tough night as this was the third occasion this season that the two teams had met, the Reds coming out on top on the previous two occasions.
From the off, the Reds applied some direct hard running against the Musselburgh defence which wasn’t able to cope with this. With the Musselburgh defence sucked in under the posts the ball was zipped out the left where the Reds had a 4 to 1 overlap and a strong run by Alfie Robertson saw him cross for the first try, which was unconverted (0-5 to Linlithgow).
Musselburgh’s response was relatively swift and their pressure and a couple of penalties later saw a “tap and go” 3 metres out from the Reds try line for their first score, which was unconverted. All square at 5 – 5. The Reds response immediate from the kick-off, some aerial acrobatics by Ewan Smith got the ball back for the Reds which was driven up the centre of the park. The ball went left then was brought back infield by Alex Evans on the left wing. After a few phases the ball ended up in Thomas J’s hands and from 10 metres out there was no stopping him, breaking two tackles to get to the try line. Thomas converted his own try to make it 5-12 to the Reds.
After a poor restart from Musselburgh and penalty to the Reds there was a resultant 5 metre line-out for the Reds. Unfortunately there was a knock on and Musselburgh were able to clear their lines. However, the Reds were able to secure good ball in midfield and Thomas J put in a cross between a grubber and toe-poke kick from about 30 metres out. The Musselburgh defence carried over their own line for a goal line drop out. The resultant kick was taken cleanly by Alex Evans who ran the ball straight back, after one phase the ball made it into Calum D’s hands and he took his chance running between two defenders and showing them a clean pair of heels to score under the posts. Calum’s try was just rewards for some strong ball carrying in open field play. The subsequent conversion by Thomas J sailed between the posts, over the adjacent road and into the neighbouring garden, making it 5 – 19 to the Reds. Just before half time the Reds saw the first of two yellow cards for what the referee noted were a number of high tackles!
Early possession for the Reds in the 2nd half and some strong running saw them nearly cross the line except for the last pass not going quite to hand. The second half can be summed up in one word “disjointed” – there was a number of successive penalties for Musselburgh which they failed to exploit ending in a knock forward about the 25 metres out from the Reds tryline. The resultant scrum saw the ball make its way out the back line and Ali B’s pace broke the Musselburgh line before he passed to Alex E who wasn’t stopping for anything covering the last 50 metres at a fair pace. The try was converted 5 -26 to the Reds.
Musselburgh managed a second consolation try but the result was never really in any doubt, despite a second yellow for the Reds 3 minutes from the end. The score may not have reflected Linlithgow’s dominance in most areas of the game but it was a cold night!
This was another great team performance to dig out a good win away from home. It is difficult to pick one individual from these type of games – Cammy worked hard off the ball all night, Ewan must have made the Musselburgh’s No.10 heart sink every time there was a ball in the air! In the backs Ali B’s pace and Alex E’s catch and return were impressive on what was a very cold night. However, man-of-the-match goes to Calum D for his strong running with ball in hand and commitment in the loose with a well executed individual try to top things off. Next stop in the East Cup is Selkirk on Sunday the 2nd February.