EKmasterthe conditionsto landvictory
LENZIE ...................................................... 0 EAST KILBRIDE ....................................... 7 Ben Banks
Alan Steel says he was happy to see his East Kilbride side battle their way to victory on Saturday - in which they played in the worst wind conditions he’s experienced.
It was a gruelling Tennent’s West Region League Division One affair but EK kept a clean sheet over Lenzie and notched seven points of their own in a tight 7-0 win.
Steel’s side now go into an enforced break as Scotland’s national team kick off their Six Nations campaign at Murrayfield against England this weekend.
They are not back in action until February 19 when they host titlechasing Allan Glens, who are currently second in the standings.
Paul Rosie scored the only try of the game against Lenzie on Saturday, while James MacKinnon converted to give EK what turned out to be the only points of the game.
Steel’s men are fifth in the table going into the three week break and he said: “It was a tough one at the weekend with it being 7-0.
“The conditions played a massive part in that. The pitch was very heavy and the wind was the worst I have experienced.
“It turned into a game of two halves. The first half, Lenzie were running into the wind. It seemed to be easier to run into the wind opposed to with your back to it.
“We opted to have it on our back in the first half, hoping to get deep into their half.
“But the wind was so severe that even kicking was going far too far.
“We were ending up back where we started. It was a tricky one for the guys to figure out and in the first half we had to do a lot of defending.
“We had a few scares on the line but we kept Lenzie out with a strong defence and good discipline.
“You could see our shape when we got into their half and it was pleasing to get the seven points with the wind on us.”
When East Kilbride return to action they will have seven matches remaining of the campaign and, with a number of clashes re-arranged due to Covid call-offs, their season will extend into the middle of May.
Their final fixture of the season has been set for Saturday, May 14 when they will host Irvine at Torrance House, in a match rescheduled from January 22 due to Covid issues in the Irvine camp.