Shire forced to settle for draw
Close call as Dalziel visit the Inch
Perthshire ......... 18 Dalziel ............... 18 outside and the big winger sprinted in for his first try.
Perth hit back, though, and the forwards were providing plenty of ball but poor handling and kicking meant that many chances were scuppered.
Dalziel took a scrum against the head and, in almost mirror image of their first try, McWhinnie swept past several attempted tackles to score out wide again.
Luckily for the Eagles, the normally proficient goal kicker Andrew Glover couldn’t find his range from wide and he failed to convert any of the tries.
Shire were now giving away far too many penalties and Dalziel channelled all their attacks through the forwards. But the home pack were in no mood to miss a tackle.
Clow then made another outstanding break leaving bodies trailing in his wake as he drove down field. He sustained a bad injury to his elbow in the process and took no further part in the game, which was a huge blow.
However, Perth kept up the pressure and a neat scrum saw Bloice instigating a move down the blind side. Armitt looked to have scored but the touch judge ruled a foot was in touch.
Matt Smith, brought on to plug the midfield and add weight to the attack, was certainly making his presence known.
Shire took the lead on the stroke of half time when the forwards worked their way into the visiting 22 and prop Craig Williamson bundled over the line. O’Connor sank the conversion to open up a two point lead.
With Bowater and Clow missing, and hooker Lamont absent, the Perth men were encountering problems in the lineout.
Dalziel were now throwing everything at Shire. Rarely was the ball whipped out wide but, when it was, Rae and Armitt were on hand to kill the move while Smith and young Ruaridh Leader had the midfield sown up.
With 20 minutes left, Shire were caught offside and Glover thumped the kick to put Dalziel back into the lead.
Veteran Gary Holborn had taken over the throwing duties at the line
The Eagles put in the effort and almost picked up the victory at home to Dalziel out and was finding his mark. Ewan McKessack-Leitch, as main jumper, started taking some fine balls to help momentum.
Smith was halted short of the line before O’Connor struck a penalty and Shire again had a two point lead. It was a very tense finale as both teams gave all they had.
Dalziel were conceding penalties as the North Inch men piled on the pressure - and again O’Connor calmly slotted his kick and Shire were five points clear.
The visitors now camped themselves on the Perth line and after several good phases of moving the ball from side to side, they eventually found space out wide and grabbed the equalising try.
The gasps from the crowd were audible as Glover sent his kick just wide and the two teams were even again.
With virtually the last move of the game, Shire engineered a lovely break but with a three man overlap they managed to drop the ball and had to settle for a hard fought draw.
This Saturday, Perthshire face a tough test away at Dumfries Saints.