Scrappy game but Villagers step it up

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Uddingston Rugby Club moved to within two points of third-placed Strathaven in the West League 2 table, following a good 21-17 win at home to Cumbernauld.

The Villagers took the spoils from the first of a double-header against their North Lanarkshire opponents, which put them on 45 points to Strathaven’s 47, though the W3ST club have a game in hand.

Despite decent weather conditions and a reasonably solid pitch underfoot, the Villagers failed to execute basic skills throughout the match, allowing Cumbernauld to stay in the game, and failing to secure the vital four-try bonus point.

The final score of 21-17 to Uddingston reflected how close the match became, particularly during the second half. The opening quarter was something of an ‘arm wrestle’, with Cumbernauld dominating territory and possession as they launched their heavier forwards at the Uddingston defence, which repelled all attempts.

All too often spilled ball halted the Villagers’ attacks, something that would be a problem all afternoon.

After the initial huffing and puffing, Uddingston broke the deadlock in 27 minutes.

A period of sustained pressure in the Cumbernauld 22 had allowed Uddingston to establish a strong attacking platform.

And, with the visitors’ defence struggling to cover, Keith Bradley made a break from close range and crashed through a tackle to score at the posts.

Gavin Kidd conversion.

As it looked like Cumbernauld were going to cut the deficit, Jamie Mcpherson stole the ball five slotted the minutes from his own try line, and a series of passes between himself and Juan Jordan was enough to carve open the space they needed, and Mcpherson sprinted 70 metres before crashing over.

Kidd nudged the conversion over with a bit of help from the upright, and Uddingston led 14-0.

Despite being in front, the Villagers never looked like they had control of the match, and Cumbernauld were always capable of launching their big runners into the Uddingston defence.

Cumbernauld got their reward in 55 minutes when they breached the Villagers’ defence from some excellent close-range driving, and converted the try, reducing the deficit to 14-7.

The scoreboard narrowed again seven minutes later when the visitors slotted a penalty for 14-10.

With the game now very much in the balance, the Villagers looked to regain control, but the poor handling and absence of clear decision-making was hindering their attempts.

With six minutes left, they looked to have secured the win when Ru West drove home from close range and Kidd’s conversion opened up an 11-point margin, with a 21-10 lead.

Uddingston were looking at a four-try bonus point at this stage, but Cumbernauld had different ideas and with three minutes to play they scored another well-worked try through their forwards, reducing the scoreline to 21-17.

Despite a lot of pushing and shoving, neither side could really demonstrate the control and composure which would have secured the match.

In the West League 1, Dalziel fell to their 13th defeat of the season as they lost 26-5 at Stewartry.

Fraser Mckenzie got Motherwell side’s try. the