It’s seven out of seven for EK
Sun shines on comfortable victory
East Kilbride ...... 51 Irvine ................. 14
Richard Beaton Table toppers East Kilbride made it seven from seven on Saturday with a comfortable victory against an overmatched Irvine at a sunny Torrance House.
The Ayrshire side had been relegated alongside EK from Premiership Three at the end of last season but have not responded in a similarly positive fashion.
Thus, as the teams kicked off on Saturday, as when they retired for a post-match pint, this was a top against bottom contest.
Faced with one or two fresh injuries, coach Fraser Watt was still able to pick from a position of relative strength, rotating a chunk of the starting 15 from last week’s game at Allan Glens.
In came Bill Anderson, Ally Dalgleish, James McLaren, Robbie Greenfield, Craig Ferguson and Jordan Green, while James McKinnon moved back to his preferred standoff slot.
Whilst this controlled carnage in the selection room allows Watt to preserve mental and physical freshness amongst his squad, it does not necessarily promote the same consistency one would get were the same tired and sore 15 to play week after week.
Thus, EK struggled a little in the early stages to impose themselves.
To be clear, they did not struggle with the opposition per se, rather, with themselves in that errors were unforced.
Gradually though, and aided by Irvine’s chunky side tiring as the sun warmed everyone’s backs, EK increasingly got on top.
But for a couple of soft tries conceded, one when everyone slept as Irvine were awarded a penalty five metres from the EK line, the Strong runningEK EAST KILBRIDE Carrick Newton Stewart Garnock Allan Glens Annan Kilmarnock Oban Lorne Helensburgh Irvine scoreline would have looked even more impressive.
Saturday’s game was very similar to the game day two fixture against Helensburgh, who are also finding life tough this season, in that EK played pretty well for most of the game, very well for small parts and went to sleep for the wee bits that let Irvine retain possession, albeit not helped by a rake of soft yellow cards.
Tries went to McLaren (3), Aidan Stott (2), Anderson, Green, Ferguson and Greenfield.
This Saturday East Kilbride will look to maintain their 100 per cent start when they travel to mid-table Kilmarnock. Kick-off is 3pm.
TEAM: 1. Mclellan, 2. Anderson, 3. Beaton, 4. Rosie (captain), 5. Dalgleish, 6. McLaren, 7. O’Neil, 8. Middleton, 9. Stott, 10. McKinnon, 11. C. Ferguson Snr, 12. Greenfield, 13. Green, 14. McFie, 15. Ellison.
Replacements: Quinn, S. Ferguson, P 7 7 6 7 7 7 7 6 7 7 W 7 5 5 5 3 2 3 2 1 0 L 0 1 0 2 4 5 4 4 6 7 D DIF PT 0 12834 1 93 26 1 14425 0 59 24 0 -26 16 0 -15 13 0 -75 13 0 3 10 0 -174 7 0 -137 4 McGibbon & Dixon.
Meanwhile, EK’s under-18s played out a friendly as Greenock’s island-based players missed the ferry, forcing EK to loan players to ensure everyone got a runabout.
Ethan Aitken opened the scoring for East Kilbride inside the first minute after intercepting on half-way. A strong run from powerful full-back Scott Donald added a second before Callum Field’s first try of the season and scores from Kyle Dixon and Sam Connery gave EK a comfortable 31-0 lead at the half.
Simon Mukulami got the scoreboard moving again after the break, his first since returning from Glasgow Hawks, with Grant Dryburgh and Aniello Scialo also scoring.
The biggest smile was reserved though for the face of captain Harry Taggart, who bagged a hat-trick in his first game back after breaking his shoulder pre-season.