Shire slip to second bottom of the league Six Nations weekend had impact on travelling squad
ARDROSSAN ACADEMICALS .............. 34 PERTHSHIRE ............................................ 21
Perthshire are attempting to fend off a relegation nightmare - and this latest result certainly did not help.
It is never ideal to have a match on a Six Nations weekend and, especially so, on Super Saturday.
There were numerous players unavailable with head coach Alan Clark having to make all sorts of requests to be able to field 19 players.
Returns for Andrew Whitelaw and Matt Smith - the latter after a three year absence - helped produce a team sheet that looked capable of securing the crucial win in this battle to beat the drop against Ardrossan.
Yet the Ayrshire men soon notched up the first score from a penalty try after a lineout maul was illegally brought down.
Shire just could not string together any period of possession and went 14-0 down around the 15 minute mark.
This had the effect of kicking the Eagles into life and captain Mat Rae got outside his man, nearly to the line.
Unselfishly he offloaded to Matt Jenns to score under the posts before Calum Bruce added the extras. Game on.
Discipline was poor with both sides conceding penalties, one of which Ardrossan claimed three points from.
Soon, a mistake handed the hosts an attacking scrum and a mix-up allowed them to score straight off first phase as their centre ran through a large gap in the defensive line.
With two minutes left to half-time, Ardrossan earned their bonus point try and led 31-7 at the break.
Now with the wind and slope in their favour, Shire knew they had the ability to turn it around.
After winning a penalty they elected to take the scrum and the home team was pushed towards the line.
James Mair picked up from the base and used his power to crash over for a try converted by Bruce.
The fresh legs of Tom Colvin and Stuart Magill came on immediately, helping to up the tempo.
Ardrossan managed to pull back a penalty after a brief foray into the Perth half but it was not long before, once again, they were under assault from waves of black and white attacks.
Lewis Murrie with front foot ball was finding spaces around the pitch, while Calum Chalmers, Dan Rae and Smith were making inroads.
Eventually the third try came when Mat Rae crossed the whitewash after a deceptive backline move caught out the Ardrossan defence.
Whitelaw moved into the fly-half position as Simon McGarry came on for
Bruce.
Having been on the pitch a matter of minutes, the opposite winger took a dislike to McGarry who received punches off the ball. He showed considerable restraint and refrained from returning the blows. The referee was swift to issue a red card and, for the remaining 10 minutes, Shire would have a one-man advantage.
The Eagles pushed on, the clock wore down and they were camped in the home 22. But another try failed to arrive.
Numerous attacks, short penalties and scrums all came to nothing.
Ardrossan held out and were relieved to hear the final whistle. Shire were thoroughly disappointed.
Conceding two soft tries just before half-time and failing to score their fourth cost them this match.
There are now only three matches left and Shire have slipped to second bottom of the league.