Lochaber lose close game to Bishopton
LOCHABER fell to a ninepoint league defeat on Saturday to second-placed Bishopton in their final home game of the season.
It took the Renfrewshire club until the last minutes of the game to secure the points after quelling a gutsy second-half comeback from Lochaber.
Coming into the game, both teams would have felt confident of the win with Bishopton only losing three games all season and Lochaber having won six out of eight home games.
And it was a tight affair with Bishopton getting the first real chance of the match with a lineout just five metres out.
They went for a driving maul but were unable to get it set and vice-captain William Stewart managed to get hold of the ball and win the turnover.
Bishopton were the first to break the deadlock, however, with a converted try soon after.
Lochaber were fairly dominant at scrum time and were able to put Bishopton under a bit of pressure. But in the second half Bishopton made a substitution which helped shore things up in their front row.
Lochaber got their first points from the boot of Jonathan McCook to make the score 3-7.
Bishopton were next to score after they were awarded a penalty and Lochaber were reduced to 14 men. The visitors opted to run and, after being held up short repeatedly, they spread the ball wide to score in the left hand corner to make it 3-12.
Not long after the restart, replacement prop Innes Ireland almost got Lochaber’s first try when he picked the ball up and forced his way over the line but a last-ditch tackle prevent him from grounding the ball and scoring.
From the restart, Lochaber number eight Conor Taylor picked the ball up from the back of the scrum, breaking multiple tackles to get the five points. With McCook kicking the conversion, the game was balanced on a knife edge at 10-12 with less than five minutes left.
Bishopton were then able to work their way into the corner and score their third try with a minute to go. The conversion meant that Lochaber would miss out on a losing bonus point with the game ending 10-19.
Lochaber’s next match is away to Cowal on April 28. The club will be organising a coach for this game if any supporters would like to travel with the team please contact the club.