Beaten by a whisker
East Kilbride lose unbeaten record against Glens
East Kilbride ....... 18 Allan Glens ......... 19
East Kilbride surrendered their unbeaten record by the narrowest of margins, going down to a last-gasp penalty at home to promotion favourites Allan Glens.
The Bishopbriggs side did the double over EK last season and were deserved winners on the day, but there was much for East Kilbride player-coach Allan Steel to be pleased about.
Steel recognised that not too much should be read into last week’s comfortable win at Stewartry as they look to be a club destined to struggle this season. As a consequence he shook things up a little, bringing Paul Rosie, Scott Shankie and Alex Irvine back into the pack to beef up the ball-carrying.
Once the match official let out his first ‘peep,’ the contest was as tight as the final score would suggest.
EK had an advantage up front, particularly at scrum-time, but they were a long way short of dominance.
Line-outs were even with both sides unusually secure on their own ball and with ball in hand both packs mostly cancelled one another out.
Glens clearly fancied that they had an advantage in the backs and to a degree they were correct. The qualification comes from the unbiased view that there was actually little in it, talent-wise, but the visitors had a clearer plan and executed it well.
Basically, they used their big Fijian centre to biff the ball up midfield, ensure he was sufficiently well supported that they could recycle possession quickly and then chuck a fast, flat ball to their excellent fullback hitting the line at pace.
When the sides met in the first of their two games last season this tactic blew EK away, but in truth the home backline defended pretty well, with Aidan Stott in particular stepping up to the mark in his unfamiliar midfield role.
Where Glens profited most was in how they returned the often lax EK kicks.
When nobody knows where the ball is headed, including the kickers, it is difficult to put together a disciplined kick-chase, and Glens continually made ground running back repeated aimless punts.
With tries from Paul Rosie and Grant Dryburgh, the latter adding the remainder from the kicking tee, East Kilbride held the lead until the final play of the game when a silly penalty gave Glens the opportunity to take the contest.
Unlike Cambuslang two weeks back, who eschewed the victory after boss Steel had gifted them a last-minute penalty, Glens succeeded and came out marginally deserved victors.
This Saturday East Kilbride will aim to return to winning ways when they travel to unbeaten Annan. Kickoff is 3pm.
TEAM: 1. Mclellan, 2. Anderson, 3. Beaton, 4. Rosie, 5. McLean, 6. Irvine, 7. Steel, 8. Shankie, 9. Ellison, 10. Greenfield, 11. Haggerty, 12. Stott, 13. Simpson, 14. L. Brown, 15. Dryburgh.
Replacements: McLinton, G. Blackwood, Dalgleish and Murray.