BIRKMYRE suffered their first home defeat of the season at the hands of Lochaber.
The visitors arrived with a plan and executed it well in their victory by 32 points to 12. The overall scoreline did not reflect how close the match was with Birkmyre only trailing by five points with 10 minutes remaining. However, a late flurry of points by the Fort William side sealed their win.
Lochaber opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Birkmyre had been attacking on the edge of the opposition’s 22-metre line. They lost their own line-out and, having stolen the ball, Lochaber charged across the halfway line. From the next phase, one of their big forwards broke what should have been a regulation tackle to charge 50 metres for the score, side-stepping Birkmyre’s full back along the way. Surprisingly, the conversion in front of the posts was missed.
In the 19th minute, Lochaber doubled their lead. This time they went through phase after phase, starting just outside their own 22-metre line. More soft tackling allowed the visitors to progress quickly down the pitch, ultimately reaching five metres out after 14 phases. Two plays later more poor tackling let the forwards over for the score. Again, the conversion slid wide.
Birkmyre finally got on the scoreboard in the 28th minute through centre Lewis Higgins. The Kilmacolm side had been camped in the opposition 22 for a number of minutes. Eventually, they won a penalty in front of the posts eight metres out. The forwards initially attacked the try line. However, the call then came to go wide and, with a two-man overlap, Higgins glided in virtually unchallenged. David Cruickshank narrowly missed the conversion.
Lochaber restored their advantage in the 37th minute when they went over for their third try. Having won a central scrum five metres out, their no.8 picked and broke a tackle to run in for a far too easy score.
Birkmyre did however get a try back just as the half ran out. Having recovered their own kick-off, they made progress quickly towards the Lochaber try line. Eventually they won a penalty slightly left of the posts seven metres out. Quick thinking Cammy Marr seized the opportunity for a quick tap-and-go to power over for what would be a converted try, taking the score to 12-17 at the half.
The second period was far less eventful for the first 30 minutes. Both teams threatened, however neither could claim any further points. Unfortunately for Birkmyre, Lochaber took their chances late on. They scored their fourth try on the 70th minute. From a five-metre penalty, they went wide and capitalised on a tiring defence to score. They then extended that lead by three points with a penalty before scoring their final try direct from a line-out in the final minute.
The defeat leaves Birkmyre in seventh place in the table with a home fixture this Saturday against third-placed Cumbernauld.
