The Scotsman

Melrose secure top spot

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Melrose coach Rob Chrystie praised his players after a win at The Greenyards that secured their place at the top of the Premiershi­p and a home tie in the play-offs, writes Atholl Innes.

The hosts held off a second-half fightback by Heriot’s, but Chrystie was pleased with his side’s performanc­e. “We created a lot of chances in the first half and some of the stuff we played was pretty good,” he said.

“These are always tough games and Heriot’s added a lot to the game and they pressurise­d us at times. We got the result and that confirmed us as finishing top of the table and that was the goal at the beginning of the season.”

Melrose added two vital tries either side of half-time, and, in the end, a penalty from Craig Jackson made it difficult for the visitors, who were rewarded with a bonus point from ross jones’ final kick of a well-balanced contest.

“I was frustrated that we let the first half slip away from us,” said Heriot’s coach Phil Smith. “We had the elements but did not get into a position to put any pressure on.

“We scored a perfectly good try that was not given at nil-nil. Now we have to win our last two games with a bonus against Currie and Boroughmui­r.” Murdo Mcandrew gave Melrose an early lead from a scrum close to the line, Jackson converting, and they scored when it mattered most with a penalty try in injury time and Russell Anderson being driven over three minutes after the interval. Jackson added the conversion­s for a 21-0 lead.

Heriot’s showed resilience with Martin Bouab and Jack Mclean scoring and Jones converting both before Jackson and Jones exchanged penalties to end an absorbing match.

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