FOURTEEN-man Birkmyre picked up their first win of the season at home at the weekend.
Trailing 15-7 and a player down, they fought back against the odds to take the victory 24-15 over Mid Argyll.
The game started positively for Birkmyre with them having the majority of the ball early on. This positivity was only enhanced when Mid Argyll were reduced to 14 players from a yellow card for a late tackle. Birkmyre squandered an opportunity to score before things started to go wrong. The Kilmacolm side conceded a kickable penalty but the resultant attempt at goal slid wide.
Birkmyre didn’t heed the warning and lost a try on the 12th minute. The conversion was missed but to add insult to injury, Birkmyre then conceded a second score on the 21st minute. Both were self-inflicted in no small through a combination of poor tackling, decision-making and handling. There was also an element of luck to the first score from a loose kick and favourable bounce. Nonetheless, it took until the 29th minute before they could get on the scoresheet themselves.
The try came through the strong running of centre, Cammy Marr. Having won a scrum just inside their half, Birkmyre immediately looked to the backs. A great No 8 pick-up released the back line with scrum half Jonny Davidson making the initial yards. The ball was then worked left to Marr who collected it five metres inside his half. Seeing a gap, he sprinted through and went the full distance to score close to the posts. Lewis Higgins converted to make it 10-7.
Things quickly went against Birkmyre in the second half. Only five minutes in, winger Struan McCamley was shown red for appearing to kick an opponent. Five minutes later, Birkmyre were down to 13 when their other winger, MacKenzie Holmes, saw yellow for illegally playing the ball on the ground. From the resultant penalty, Mid Argyll capitalised on a poor defensive line to run the ball in from the edge of the 22 for their third try.
More or less immediately after the restart, things began to turn back in ‘Myre’s favour. The visitors received their second yellow of the day for making a tackle having not retreated 10 metres. From the penalty, Birkmyre chose to keep the ball close and rumbled with the forwards, releasing the backs occasionally. This tactic paid off as, after a further penalty, captain Robbie Espie forced his way across the line from close range.
Birkmyre took the lead for the first time on the 63rd minute. Having won a further penalty near the posts, Lewis Higgins stepped up to secure the three points. Owen Nicholas then sealed the victory with seven minutes remaining. In a similar vein to his skipper, he forced himself over the line following some good forward work.
Post match, the referee reviewed video footage of the red card and decided it should in fact only have been a yellow. McCamley should now face no further disciplinary action.
Scorers:- Tries: R Espie, O Nicholas, C Marr; Conversions: L Higgins (3); Penalty: L Higgins.
