Birkmyre 68 v 7 Moffat
Saturday 30th March 2024 KO 2.45pm
Men’s West Region League Division 3
Birkmyre put in one of the performances of the season at the weekend blowing away a strong Moffat side 68 points to 7. Scoring 10 tries in the process, the game was all but over after just 15 minutes with the home side leading 26-0.
The first of the tries came after only 2 minutes. Birkmyre turned over opposition possession on the edge of their 22m line and Ross McDonnell was able to pounce in at the corner flag. David Cruickshank narrowly missed the conversion, however he would go on to convert all nine remaining kicks as the match progressed.
Next on the board was scrum-half, Jamie Haran. He twisted and jinked his way through a couple of tackles before scoring close to the flag again. Paul Carruth then extended the lead with the first of his two tries more or less from the kick off. Skipper, Ross Moglia, made yards from his own half before feeding the ball to Carruth just inside opposition territory. He stretched his legs to outrun the defenders, scoring under the posts.
Robbie Espie’s try in the 15th minute, more or less put the match beyond Moffat. Birkmyre secured the ball from a loose opposition lineout. Ali Peacock drove well into the opposition 22 and after a couple of rucks, Espie was on hand to pick & go from 5m out for the 4th try of the game.
Before half time, Birkmyre secured 3 more scores. Skipper, Moglia, managed to touch down twice and the returning, Scott Ritchie, used his power and bullied his way over for his only score taking the tally to 47-0 at the half.
Moffat upped their game in the second half, however this did not stop the scoring. It did however take 15 minutes of play before the score moved on. This time McDonnell collected the ball out wide, broke a tackle and ran in from 10m out. Carruth then scored his second with an excellent run and a dive at the corner flag as he was being tackled.
Moffat then scored their only try with some powerful forward play before Alex McKay rounded off the victory just before the 80 minutes were up, with his first score for the club. Collecting the ball on the wing, he was able to use his speed to run in from 10m out and dived over to touch the ball down just as the defenders converged.
The win returns the Kilmacolm side to second place in the league behind Irvine. Birkmyre do however have 3 games in hand and victories in all 4 of their final matches, would see them secure top spot, assuming at least one bonus point is gained along the way.
