Mackie is hat-trick hero in County win
STIRLING COUNTY ................................. 27 WATSONIANS .......................................... 24
Stirling County came into this match with one win to their credit and found themselves up against a Watsonians side who had only lost one match to date.
It could have been a walkover and it looked like going that way when the visitors took a 24-12 lead in the third quarter but County showed composure and a huge hunger for the scrap to finish well on top.
The result finally saw coach Ben Cairns crack a smile after some agonising losses for his side. He pointed out after the match that this was the first time Stirling had fielded their first choice 8, 9 and 10 together but, of that trio, No 8 Alasdair Mackie was the standout.
The burly breakaway tore his pectoral muscle pre-season and he celebrated his first start in Super6 with a hat-trick of tries, one in the first half, two after the break, to give his side a much-needed boost in confidence as we get to the business end of the season.
Sean Kennedy deserves some of the credit, because the scrum-half played the conditions beautifully, dinking the ball into the corners where Watsonians had all sorts of trouble exiting into the wind. But the forwards merit credit too for outmuscling their visitors even if they had to draft in several backs to help them do it. The driving mauls that caused Watsonians so much trouble usually consisted of at least 10 players.
There could have been a little complacency in the league leaders’ camp coming into this match and, if there was, it only got worse after they scored in two minutes thanks to winger Andrew Chalmers. Worse followed for County when lock Brian Leitch bullied his way over the whitewash.
At 14-0 the Stirling faithful were losing heart. Lee Millar added a penalty for the visitors just before the break but Mackie had already thrown his side a lifeline with a try from close range after attempts by Reyner Kennedy and Dean Taylor-Menzies had both been denied. Josh Henderson kicked the conversion.
Mackie grabbed his second four minutes into the second half but Watsonians hit back immediately with the best move of the match, which resulted in a try under the posts for Lewis Berg after the centre cut a line against the grain.
That left County trailing by 24-12, but with the wind at their backs, and Watsonians down to 14 men following a card for Leitch, the home side set about securing their second win of the season.
First up Mackie claimed his hat-trick try before a beautifully executed training field move saw Logan Trotter come off his wind to take an inside pass from Kennedy and the leggy winger sent centre Landon Hayes over the Watsonian try-line.
Henderson had fluffed the last two conversions but he made good this one to level the scores at 24-24 with just over 10 minutes to play. Despite Watsonians being back to 15 players, the remainder of the game was played deep inside their half of the field.
County turned down one kickable penalty on the “wrong” side of the field for the right-footed Henderson, but given another, easier opportunity two minutes from time, the fly-half kicked his first and last penalty of the match and County wound down the clock to spark some crazy celebrations.
Stirling County: Sorbie; Korteweg, Kent, Hayes, Trotter; Henderson, S Kennedy; Brown, R Kennedy, Walker, Bartlett,Vakaloloma,Taylor-Menzies, Gregor, Mackie. Substitutes: Fraser, Wood, Bradbury, Pow, Arnott, Goudie, Jardine, Horne.