GHA RFC MATCH 295: GHA RFC 12 – 38 DUNDEE HSFP
2014/2015: National League One
GHA RFC | DUNDEE HSFP |
E. McKirdy | 15 | N. Alston |
R. Jericevich | 14 | M. O’Sullivan |
C. Binnie | 13 | D. Leese |
M. MacFarlane | 12 | T. McKavanagh |
N. Kelly | 11 | R. Joy |
A. Goudie | 10 | H. Millar |
P. Jericevich | 9 | A. Dymock |
J. Leslie | 1 | S. Longwell |
(c) D. Malcolm | 2 | D. Russell |
M. Robertson | 3 | A. Brown |
A. Barnett | 4 | J. Mulligan |
J. Auld | 5 | M. Harland |
A. Boag | 6 | D. Sangster |
R. Angus | 7 | J. Petty |
P. Harkins | 8 | M. Stubbs |
L. Anderson | 16 | G. Feighan |
M. Fox | 17 | J. Sloan |
G. MacDonald | 18 | G. Arnott |
M. Houston | 19 | A. Lowry |
A. Auld | 20 | B. Cochrane |
Anderson, R. Jericevich | Try | Arnott, Dymock, Longwell, Millar, Petty |
P. Jericevich | Con | Millar (5) |
Pen | ||
DG | Millar | |
Referee | ||
Mr N. Muir (Edinburgh RS) |
GHA retained second place in the BT National Leagues first division on Saturday despite a substantial and warning defeat by Dundee at Braidholm. If promotion to the Premiership is to be achieved then GHA will have to revive the try-scoring machine which procured seven bonus points in the 10 previous league matches.
Instead, it was Dundee who picked up the bonus point on this occasion, the visitors scoring five tries to GHA’s two. Yet that margin would have been less if GHA had been more precise and secure with the ball in hand as three of the visitors’ tries came from home mistakes; one from an interception, and two from handling errors that were easy prey to predators.
Even so, GHA had good points in their game. Their scrummage was sound for much of the contest, the forwards produced forceful mauling and their four youngsters among the outside backs (Euan McKirdy, Andrew Goudie, Nigel Kelly, and Max McFarlane) were willing and confident to try to make the ball work for them. Moreover, McKirdy was secure in fielding whatever Dundee kicked at him.
However, the overriding theme was that GHA lacked too many big guns. No fewer than eight were missing in comparison with the starting team who took the field in the opening match of the league programme in September.
GHA’s best phase was the first quarter, and they would have taken the lead if Peter Jericevich had not missed a penalty after 17 minutes. In that time, though, they had to survive Dundee’s first assault of heavy pressure on the home goal-line.
Dundee came good with three tries in the 15 minutes before the interval for a 24-7 lead. Harry Millar scored the first 10 of these points with a try, a conversion and a drop goal. He was to convert all of the other tries as well for a haul of 16 points.
Stevie Longwell and Jonny Petty scored Dundee’s other first-half scores, which sandwiched a Rangi Jericevich try from a swift switch from left to right and final linking by the half-backs, Andrew Goudie and Peter Jericevich. The latter converted off the far goal-post from close to the touchline, but he missed another penalty shot in added time before the interval.
Four minutes into the second half, however, Andy Dymock’s interception and unopposed run from more than 60 metres for the bonus-point try put paid to GHA’s hopes. Yet it was more than 25 minutes before George Arnott scored Dundee’s next and final try.
Between those scores GHA had a near miss as well as a second try. Rangi Jericevich was over again in the right corner, though he was denied by a foot in touch on his run-in, and it was left to the forwards mauling game to earn the second home try, with Lewis Anderson driven over off a lineout on the left.
Source: Bill McMurtrie