BIRKMYRE fell to defeat in their final league game before the festive break, going down 36-19 to Wigtownshire in Stranraer.
The match was played in appalling conditions with rain and gusts of wind of more than 40mph, albeit the pitch held up remarkably well considering the amount of water that had fallen in recent days.
The Kilmacolm side started off positively with the wind at their backs, Michael McGeoch driving the ball close to the opposition try line following a defensive mistake. Prop Louis Hoodless then used his power to force his way over from close range to make it 5-0 after only two minutes. Given the wind, it was not surprising that the conversion went wide from a tough angle.
Wigtownshire replied quickly with a score of their own. They battled up the pitch and, through a strong team effort, finally went over near the corner to level the scoring.
Despite having the wind advantage, Birkmyre were struggling to win possession and were being forced to defend. Ultimately McGeoch picked up a yellow card for being offside in the 19th minute. It was effectively a team yellow given multiple infringements over a short period of time. From that penalty, the home side scored their second unconverted try to double their lead.
On the 27th minute, Birkmyre took the lead back. Having worked the ball towards the posts, Liam Nicholas collected a pass five metres out. He had players outside to assist but used his power to fend off the defenders and dive over for a converted score.
Unfortunately for Birkmyre, they were unable to hold onto their lead and lost a try on the 33rd minute before conceding a fourth seconds before half-time to go in 22-12 down.
The second period was always going to be difficult with a kicking game all but ruled out. Birkmyre fullback Paul Carruth then collected the ball close to the halfway line, had room to build up some pace and then skilfully side-stepped defenders to score under the post.
A minute later Wigtownshire saw yellow for not retreating 10 metres at a penalty and it felt that a momentum shift was coming. However, the Stranraer team had other ideas and extended their lead in the 62nd minute to 10 points.
Birkmyre were still well in the match and there was confidence that they could turn the result around. However, any hopes were ended with four minutes left on the clock when Wigtownshire broke through to score their final try of the game.
Birkmyre are next in action on Saturday 10 January when they take on Cambuslang at home in the first fixture of 2026.
