SHOCK TROOPS

Paisley battle back to seal a victory over title favourites Cumnock

CRAIG RITCHIE

Paisley kick-started their preseason preparations with a thrilling comeback win over title-chasing Cumnock.

The Buddies, in their first home outing under new head coach Simon Brown, were forced to battle back to secure a confidence-building victory ahead of today’s clash with Bishopton.

Paisley dominated the early play at The Anchor but struggled to turn their superiority into points.

Instead, it was Cumnock who battled over the line to secure the first try of the afternoon as they crashed over on the left wing. The conversion was missed but sitting 5-0 down, Paisley already faced an uphill battle to start their pre-season campaign with a win.

The Cumnock backs offloaded some slick passing moves to again score in the left corner. This time the conversion was successful as the visitors notched the score up to 12-0.

But Paisley answered straight back as Aaron Graham scored right under the post, allowing Euan Stuart to tag on the conversion to reduce the deficit to 12-7 by the end of the opening quarter.

Paisley were however struggling to match Cumnock at spells and another unconverted try up the same flank restored a 10-point lead for Cumnock as they took it back to 17-7.

But now it was time for Paisley to finally kick into gear.

Colin McKay brought the Buddies back in to within touching distance as he scythed through the Cumnock defence to score straight under the posts. Another successful Euan Stuart conversion ensured that the Cumnock lead was now just 17-14.

And Paisley’s persistance paid off right at the end as this time Lee Haughey scored right at the posts, with Stuart hitting the conversion to finish the scoring at 21-17.