Buddies will pile on the pressure for promotion
Paisley to face Millbrae as they continue their push for glory
Paisley Rugby Club return to action tonight for an unusual Friday night fixture.
The Buddies head into the clash away to Millbrae in fine form as they returned to winning ways in their latest outing.
The side head to Ayr Rugby Club for the game under the lights, as they look to continue their push for promotion at the top end of West Division Two. Kick-off is at 7.30pm.
Paisley currently sit fourth in the table but hold a number of games in hand over the teams above them.
With five wins from their opening six games, Paisley only trail Cumnock, Strathendrick and Cumbernauld in the league standings. Cumnock are the only side so far to beat them in the league.
But they did their chances of league success no harm at the weekend, with a 12-26 victory away to Strathaven.
The game didn’t get off to the best start for Paisley, with Colin McKay forced off with a hamstring injury to be replaced by Paddy O’Donnell in the early exchanges.
However, that didn’t affect Paisley’s performance as they soon forced themselves in front. A poor Strathaven line-out saw Paisley earn themselves a scrum.
This turned into a penalty, with the Buddies electing to take another scrum to allow Aaron Graham to crash over for the first try of the day.
Martin McKellar stepped up to fire over the conversion.
Replacement, O’Donnell, was next on the scoresheet as he took full advantage of a McKellar chip out wide to cross the line as the Buddies extended their lead.
McKellar was again on hand to convert and take the score 14-0.
Paisley then benefitted from a successful defensive scrum in their own 22.
A ball out McKellar saw the Buddie burst the full length of the pitch before crashing over for another try.
But he missed his own conversion to make it 19-0.
McKellar picked up a knock scoring and was replaced by Grant Berry at stand off. Ryan McCready moved to full back and Sam MacKinnon came on at wing – but there was no more scoring before half-time.
Strathaven had the first score after the break as the penalties started to rack up for the visitors. Strathaven got their first try on the board but missed the conversion.
They soon added another after Paisley again fell foul of the referee. This time they added on the extra points to bring the score back to 12-19.
But the result was never in doubt as Ryan McCready bagged the final try of the day, with Grant Berry tagging on the conversion to seal the win.