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Injurieshit hardasw/d loseheavily
Gerry Brankin says injury-ravaged Waysiders/drumpellier’s lack of strength in depth hurt them when further injuries hit during their Tennent’s West League Two clash against Clydebank.
Leading 7-5 at the interval, the Langloan side fell to a 52-14 defeat and while team manager Brankin says the injuries weren’t an excuse, they were a major factor.
But he also says Waysiders/ Drumpellier weren’t good enough, and wants them to step it up as they head to near-neighbours Dalziel on Saturday.
Brankin said:“you look at the score and think we were absolutely thrashed, but we were actually winning 7-5 at half-time.
“It was a really tight game, the same as in the past couple of weeks, and we were dominating it, and then in the second half they came out of the traps with pace, got a couple of breakaways, got their noses in front, and never really looked back.
“One of the things that really beat us was the lack of strength in depth, with a number of players out.
“That’s not really an excuse, Clydebank were a better side than us, don’t take anything away from that, but the scoreline kind of flattered them a wee bit.
“It doesn’t help when we’ve got players out – we can’t afford even to have even just a couple of players out – but it was disappointing that we didn’t have the bodies to call on.
“A couple of guys who retired a couple of years ago had to come out of retirement to play, and then had to play out of position because a couple of guys who got injured just so happened to be playing in different positions.
“Once that started happening, with our two big centres having to go off, we then had to put guys in who were caught out of position and it made it a bit easier for Clydebank.
“But, like I say, they were deserved winners, they were better than us, all round.”
Brankin’s side now make the trip to Motherwell to face Dalziel, and he knows he’s up against a side who will be hurting from their 40-33 defeat at Strathaven.
He said:“that will be an interesting game; they will be looking to bounce back and hurt somebody and I’m just hoping it’s not us.
“Dalziel is always a tough match, even going back to the days when I played, but we’re looking to bounce back as well.
“We’ve had three decent performances, and when we started to lose players to injury that’s what really beat us. We were in total control right up to half-time and should have scored another try right on the whistle.
“We’re encouraged by the performance and the effort of the guys who are there, and we’re positive we have decent numbers.”