NATIONAL LEAGUE 1
SATURDAY 21st SEPTEMBER 2024
GHA 60 STIRLING COUNTY 22
BY CHRIS NAIRN
Gone were the Hawaiian shirts, shorts and sunglasses of recent weather around Braidholm, to be replaced by more suitable attire to match the distinctly autumnal weather which greeted all arrivals to Ladies Day at Braidholm. A sell out attendance for this event provided more than a touch of glamour and fashion to the clubhouse on this special day. A plethora of valuable donated prizes helped to swell the efforts to raise monies for the Kilbryde Hospice and Wooden Spoon organisations. A huge thank you to the committee and sponsors for providing a beautiful setting for the event.
The arrival of Stirling County would provide a further test of the progress of the GHA squad. County, never an easy team to play, had no intention of allowing GHA to overtake them at the top of the table. The pitch was firm and could perhaps do with a little water after a sustained dry period. A cold wind blew erratically across the pitch. The aroma of burgers wafted over from the Braidholm Boozer’s burger facility as both teams went through a set of loosening exercises before concentrating on split group and whole group drills. A guard of honour welcomed both teams to the arena as a healthy crowd gathered to watch this top of the table clash.
The home side kicked off and Gregor Drummond (whose positional play and kicking prowess would consistently hurt County all day) kicked long and high. County quickly cleared the danger and took play up to the County ten-metre line. From the resultant play the home side were awarded a penalty and play moved up to the County twenty-two. Once again County committed an infringement and Gregor Drummond converted to make the score after three minutes : GHA 3 STIRLING COUNTY 0.
From the restart the home side gathered the ball and moved the ball in close numbers towards the County half. County wrestle the ball clear and kicked deep into the GHA territory. Gregor Drummond gathered the ball and with some lovely elusive running, cut right through the shocked visitors defence and to make huge yardage deep into the County half- to roars of encouragement from the home support. Rearguard defence by County coped admirably with the incursion and seemed to have cleared the danger up to their ten-metre line. In a resulting scrum quick hands by Messrs Curtis and Goudie saw the ball given to the “terrible twins” who conspired to provide a lovely passage of inter passing which totally broke the County defence and allowed Charlie Lonergan to score from his partner Max MacFarlane. The score after six minutes GHA 8 STIRLING COUNTY 0. An excellent conversion from distance by Gregor Drummond made the score GHA 10 STIRLING COUNTY 0.
Even this early in the match it was clear that fast offensive and effective tackling by the home side, with close support from powerful forwards was disrupting County who found that they were being closed down very quickly as they attempted to move the ball. From the restart, GHA continued to put pressure on the County rearguard forcing them to turn with accurate kicks behind. This gave the home side advantage and forced the visitors on to the back foot. GHA won possession inside the County half and Scott Plumridge gathered the ball in and drove at the County defence. This tactic of taking the ball into contact with highly effective support was used all afternoon by the home side and forced County to tie in numbers and still try and be alive to the wily moves and feints of the home forwards and lightening backs. Just past the tenth minute and again the home side, having made yardage, released the ball and in another lovely bout of accurate and secure passing used the pass to beat opponents and this time Max MacFarlane powered his way through despairing tackles to score. The try was converted and the score was now :GHA 17 STIRLING COUNTY 0.
Such had been the power and precision of the GHA attack that County were struggling to make ground out of their own half. County however were working very hard to gain a foothold in a match, which was forcing them to kick when their talented backs were desperate to run the ball if they could escape the clutches of the GHA smothering defence. Several times as we moved through their first half County lost momentum and initiative by poor line out throws or spilt passes. Such errors were seized upon by the home side and were used to heap further pressure on the visitors. The movement of GHA as the ball was passed through hands with excellent support was gaining control for GHA and was also continually driving County back on their heels. Great forays by Michael Fox, Sean Callaghan and Luke McCutcheon saw the ball presented to a flying back line eager to get over the whitewash. A fabulous break by Glen Little summed up the degree of penetration the home side were exerting on the opposition, as with close support from Dario Ewing the pair were stopped on the line by heroic tackling from the County defence. County cleared this attack with good work from Glenn Bryce, but the visitors gave possession to GHA who saw Messrs Goudie, Drummond, Barron and Fox all engage the visitors defence deep in the County half. Dario Ewing again carried the ball into the desperate County defence and with the ball the GHA forwards drove over to score. The try was converted and the score after twenty four minutes was: GHA 24 STIRLING COUNTY 0.
The partnership of Holden and Davey at half back for the visitors tried constantly to bring their side into the match and break the stranglehold GHA were beginning to establish. Great work by Messrs Brough, Claasen and Robertson went unrewarded as the home defence quickly closed down any attacking space for the visitors. There was enough in the hard work of the County side to suggest that they would be dangerous if they could build a platform and get on the front foot. After twenty five minutes a huge opportunity presented itself to County to put pressure on the home side and hopefully secure points. A scrum in front of GHA posts inside the GHA twenty-two metre area was the result of dogged and determined driving by the visitors before the ball went forward. To huge cheers from the home support, Ben Curtis made a break from the base of the scrum which forced County to scramble into defensive mode. County conceded a penalty, and play was moved up to the GHA ten-metre line. Whilst a huge disappointment for the ambitions of County, there was a renewed spring in their step as they fought to take the match to GHA. As we reached the half hour mark determined work by County put the home side under pressure as they moved the ball across the gain line and deep into GHA territory. Skilful work by Messrs Holden and McKnight allowed Mikey Heron to break the GHA defence and score . The try was converted and the score was now: GHA 24 STIRLING COUNTY 7.
County had shown that they were more than capable of exploiting any opportunity that was presented. GHA momentarily had been exposed and would need to quickly realign their efforts if they were to avoid County gaining further ground. From the restart, GHA regathered the ball deep in the County half and to the astonishment of the crowd who had expected a close battle to begin, a beautifully worked move by the GHA backs used the pass to take out player after player to devastating effect, allowing Ben Curtis to score under the posts. The try was converted and the score after thirty two minutes was GHA 34 STIRLING COUNTY 7. It was a huge moment in this match. Excellent play by County had brought them a deserved score only minutes later to be turned aside by a flying GHA back line who clearly realised that momentum must be maintained to quell any danger of a County fightback.
From the restart a rather shell-shocked County soon found themselves defending drives and snipes by the GHA players deep inside their territory. Some lovely work with hand and boot put the home side into an attacking position on the County line. From the scrum which followed a breakdown on the line, GHA switched the ball out across the backs to allow Scott Derrick to slalom his way through despairing tackles to score. Another huge kick by Greg Drummond from far out hit the post and was one of his few failures on the day. Gregor, allied to his overall play is a very effective goalkicker and vital part of the GHA armoury. The score at half time was: GHA 39 STIRLING COUNTY 7.
GHA had dominated the opening half with a consistent and whole team approach to the match. The “Braidholm Blitz” wherein the GHA defence moves quickly and decisively into engagement allied to highly skilled support, forces opponents onto the back foot and disrupts any momentum visitors create. There is a unity of application about the whole squad’s approach which makes it very hard to compete against. At the interval the crowd were treated to a lovely display by the boys and girls of our Junior Section Primaries 1-3. The determination and effort from our youngest stars was a joy to behold.
County returned to the fray clearly hurting and frustrated by their efforts to overcome the GHA stranglehold on the match. It was their clear intention to put in a huge effort to throw off the GHA repression and produce more of the accurate attacking game we had seen only in glimpses in the first half. GHA would know a response would come from a club of County’s calibre and would have to be ready to deal with it.
From the restart, County made progress into the GHA half, a distinctly determined aura about their movements. A scrum at halfway in the forty third minute was a fine position for County to build an attacking platform. However, the scrum went to GHA and again Max MacFarlane batters his way into the County half before being brought down- the immediate danger cleared up to the County twenty-two metre area. The home side with accurate line out throwing, took the ball and drove in a concentrated manner deep into County territory. In so doing, the GHA forwards tie in a number of County players and prepared space for another attack by the GHA backs. Michael Fox who has the ability to constantly take the ball into contact and set up colleagues to continue the drive or feed the ball back, once again used his power and skill to drive into the County defence now clearly on the back foot. Desperate defence almost on the try line by County was to no avail as in another lovely move, the ball was fired from the excellent Andrew Goudie to Max MacFarlane who carried the ball and got over the line to score. From a difficult angle Gregor “the Hammer” Drummond put in a superb kick to make the score after forty-seven minutes: GHA 46 STIRLING COUNTY 7.
This was exactly what County wanted to avoid and despite great and brave defence, they were unable to stop the attacking prowess of the GHA team. Stung by this setback, County marshalled their resources and with a combination of astute kicks and short inter passing, drove the GHA side back into their own half. The home side conceded a penalty which County quickly kicked to the corner. In a superb execution of a move, County took the lineout ball and drove over in forward unison to score to the delight of the Stirling support. An excellent kick by the impressive Glenn Bryce from far out just fails to convert and the score after fifty minutes is: GHA 46 STIRLING COUNTY 12.
Suddenly there is a spring in the step of the visitors who engaged the home side with renewed vigour. County made progress and won a lineout in the GHA twenty-two. This was a huge opportunity for the visitors who were beginning to challenge the GHA supremacy. However, GHA won the lineout and moved the ball only to have it turned over by County who then attacked. The aggressive defence of the home side knocked the ball out of County control and a chance to put further pressure on GHA was gone. As we move towards the sixtieth minute play moved between the County ten-metre and twenty metre area as GHA looked to quell any County fightback and the visitors tried desperately to get back on the front foot. Again GHA won possession and moved the ball through the backs well inside the County half to allow Ross Noble to score. The try was converted, and the score was now: GHA 53 STIRLING COUNTY 12.
The match continued to be played at a very fast pace and for a short period there was a lack of direction as both sides scrapped for sustained possession in the midfield area. Again opportunities for County to move the ball with menace were blunted by errors, several of which were forced by the constant presence of opponents denying space and time. As we moved towards the final ten minutes, County mounted a huge effort to put more points on the board. Dario Ewing was yellow carded for an infringement as the visitors begin to put a passage of play together which asked questions of the GHA defence. A quite outstanding move by County totally beat the GHA defence and resulted in Ross McKnight scoring to deserved applause from the crowd. The conversion from a difficult angle was narrowly missed and the score was now after seventy-three minutes: GHA 53 STIRLING COUNTY 17. In these hectic last few minutes, frustrations boiled over and Archie Rankin was yellow carded.
GHA, slightly taken aback by this late County attack, managed to clear the immediate danger up to the GHA twenty-two area. However, the visitors won possession and in this purple patch made progress in the GHA half. A loose attempt to clear a kick through by the visitors simply gave the ball to County who moved with menace through startled GHA players to allow Shaun MacDonald to score. The conversion failed and the score was now after seventy-five minutes: GHA 53 STIRLING COUNTY 22.
This time it is GHA who are stung into a response and after winning the ball in the restart Fergus McCoss was stopped just before the try line as County scrambled the ball into touch. From the resulting lineout the ball was fired long to allow Ross Noble to score. The try is converted and the final score was: GHA 60 STIRLING COUNTY 22.
It had been an excellent performance from the whole GHA squad from the first whistle. Consistent application of the basics, excellent support play and player and ball movement of the highest order makes the GHA side a difficult opponent. The players have a contented look about them, knowing they have carried out their game plan. There is also a realisation that only hard work and consistency can maintain this standard. Coach Calum was well pleased with the performance and highlighted the impact of players coming off the bench. Stirling refused to fold at any time in the match and will cause teams including GHA on the return considerable difficulties. We saw enough in their positive moments to know this Stirling squad can be very dangerous.
STIRLING COUNTY: G.BRYCE J.IMRIE M.HERON C.FERRIE R.McKNIGHT M.HOLDEN E.DAVEY L.QUARM B.ROBERTSON M.TAMOSAITIS T.SINSON J.BROUGH C.CLAASEN O.YARROW S.MacDONALD M.KESSON A.INGLIS N.TORKINGTON H.ARMSTRONG A.RANKIN.
GHA: G.DRUMMOND G.LITTLE C.LONERGAN M.MACFARLANE S.DERRICK A.GOUDIE B.CURTIS L.HODGE L.BARRON M.FOX H.McKENZIE S.CALLAGHAN S.PLUMRUDGE D.EWING L.McCUTCHEON C.MCGREGOR O.LONERGAN-BLACK F.FAULDS F.McCOSS R.NOBLE
REFEREE : MR F.HOLLINS
ASSISTANTS : Ms.G.FREW Mr M.GREGG
MATCH PROGRAMME:
