Reds endure a tough loss in season opener

Linlithgow  12 – 14  Whitecraigs

Saturday 30 August 2025

Report by David Mitchell

Whitecraigs provided the opposition in the opening fixture in the Arnold Clark National League Division 4 for season 2025/26 at Mains Park. Having won both fixtures last season, the visitors were going to be a tough proposition against an under-strength home team. The weather was predicted to worsen throughout the afternoon and for once the forecast was accurate.

New skipper Fraser Mochrie led his team on to the field with 2 young players making their 1^st XV debuts from the bench, namely Scott Aitchison and Euan McCartney. Alfie Muir made his 2^nd appearance in the team, but his first as a starter, having made his debut from the bench at Greenock Wanderers last season. 17 year old Lewis McGill, another of last season’s Reds u18s also started. There were a few regular starters missing and this allied to a disrupted pre-season made the contest a challenging one as it proved to be.

Whitecraigs dominated both territory and possession in the first half but were unable to trouble the scoreboard mainly due to some excellent defensive work by the home side as they showed real aggression in the tackle and very good organisation throughout the team. Both teams coped well at the lineout with only a few squint throws and overthrows in such difficult conditions and neither pack gained clear domination in the scrums.

The home side rarely made it out of their own half as Whitecraigs continued to press for the opening score and they came close on 3 or 4 occasions, but super efforts were made to deny tries including twice forcing a goal line drop out. Even the loss of Euan Mochrie and Cammy Murrie being yellow carded in the latter stages of the half did not result in a score for the visitors as the heroic defensive effort was maintained.

Half time 0-0

The weather continued to deteriorate in the 2^nd half with the slippery ball being dropped or dislodged in the tackle on a regular basis making for a disjointed spectacle but still an intriguing match. The visitors finally breached the home goal line twice when the Reds were still playing with reduced numbers and the 0-14 scoreline made it look like there was only going to be one winner with 20 minutes to go.

Whitecraigs score their two tries while the Reds had players in the bin

However, a combination of factors changed in the Reds’ favour with fresh legs being provided by the 4 replacements (namely Kieran Cochrane, Eioan Magee, Scott Aitchison and Euan McCartney), Whitecraigs receiving a number of yellow cards, and the home side beginning to operate effectively in their opponent’s half of the field as they camped in the 22 metre area for long spells. The home side also improved their ball retention and eventually this resulted in a try from a penalty move. Deploying a forwards move involving dummy runners, Fraser Mochrie charged towards the line, and the recycled ball was shipped to Euan Mochrie who was not going to be stopped as he drove over for a fine well worked try.

Great positioning by the ref to confirm Euan Mochrie’s try

The Reds continued the comeback as Whitecraigs faded as an attacking force. It was no real surprise when the home side scored again after good work out wide involving Ewan Curran and Ross Plenderleith led to the ball being moved through the hands with Euan Mochrie giving the final pass to Luke O’Hara who beat his man on the outside to score the try wide out on the right. Murray Johnstone kicked an excellent conversion to make it 12-14 with only a few minutes to play.

The game ended with the Reds in the ascendency but unable to claim any more points despite a much improved attacking performance in the last 20 minutes of the game.

Final score – Linlithgow Reds 12 – 14  Whitecraigs

Reds Team

Front row: Calum McKeown, Kyle Ormond, Colin Devlin
Second row: Lewis McGill, Fraser Mochrie (captain)
Back row: Euan Mochrie, Jamie Tulloch, Oscar Davies

Half-backs: Archie Rusack, Alfie Muir
Centres: Murray Johnstone, Ewan Curran
Back three: Cammy Murie, Luke O’Hara, Ross Plenderleith

Subs (all played):
Kieran Cochrane, Eoian Magee, Scott Aitchison, Euan McCartney

Reds full-back Ross Plenderleith was named by Whitecraigs as their Reds MoTM

Comment

Whitecraigs, with dominance of territory and possession for the first 60 minutes probably just deserved the victory, but the Reds finished strongly and will hopefully carry that 4^th quarter attacking play into the rest of the fixtures.

The big positives for the home side were aggressive and committed defence, improving their ball retention as the game progressed, and the ongoing involvement of new young players. The lack of penetration in attack was a bit of a worry, but hopefully will be resolved by next week when the team visits Dunfermline. Areas such as ball retention, remaining patient when in possession and more accuracy in ball distribution need some attention.

On Saturday the Reds travel to McKane Park in Dunfermline, which was the scene of a thrilling 29-29 draw last season – so hoping for another cracker.