Kelso 13 GHA 8

A losing bonus point and memories of missed chances were all that GHA could bring home from Poynder Park yesterday. Kelso turned a 3-5 half-time deficit into a five point victory in the clubs’ opening match of Scottish Hydro Premier Two.

A strong wind, blowing downfield from the main-gate end, might well have influenced the contest. Ironically, however, all three tries were scored by the team playing into the wind.

Even playing into the wind, GHA had the better of the territorial game for at least the first half-hour, and it was almost inevitable when Ross McClymont opened the scoring with a try in 25 minutes. Chris Binnie made the running up the left touchline to open the door, but McClymont still had much to do, beating three tackles on his way to the line. Jim Noonan’s conversion attempt from well out was blown wide.

GHA opened up other good opportunities to score. Twice in the first half Gregg Taylor had long runs out of his own half, and after the interval Rory Watson and Binnie each threatened wide out. But none came to fulfilment.

The most agonising of all was when McClymont was over the Kelso line 10 minutes into the second half but was held up. A GHA try then could have been crucial as the home team had gone into an 8-5 lead five minutes earlier with the forwards trundling over for the first of two tries by hooker Adam Morris.

Another irony was that Kelso scored those eight points when they were a man short, with Stuart Lowrie in the sin-bin. GHA lost their way then, seeming determined to run to their way out of a spell of Kelso pressure. In doing so, the visitors conceded a penalty goal to Kevin Utterson as the first half stretched for more than seven minutes beyond 40.

Denying GHA a second try seemed to lift Kelso, and they had by far the better of the last half-hour, though they scored only once more, again with a drive-over maul. A Noonan penalty goal in 74 minutes gave GHA a glimmer of hope of snatching a late win, as they had done in the corresponding Poynder Park match last season. But almost immediately Jamie Pinder was sin-binned, and the odds against them were too much.

Kelso – Kevin Utterson (captain); Gary Mulroy, Sean Common, Ewan Ford, Gregg Minto; Craig Renton, Andy Tait; Stuart Lowrie, Adam Morris, Alan Frame, Iain Wallace, Stuart Laing, Stephen Carnegie, Gareth Liddell, Iain Moody. Replacements – Chris Liddell, Chris Keen, Michael Murphy, Tony Wichary.

GHA – Gregg Taylor; Rory Watson, Niall Cassie (captain), Ross McClymont, Chris Binnie; Jim Noonan, Andrew Gillman; Joe Coffey, Tim Peyton, Andrew Kelly, Geoff Warnock, Ryan Jenkins, Paul Harkin, Jamie Pinder, Dominic Kellock. Replacements – David McKay, Sam Bingham, Andy Boag, Dominic Dunn.

Referee – David Crudge (Borders Referee Society).