Waysiders 24 – 17 Birkmyre
Arnold Clark West Division 2
Saturday 25th March 2025 – KO 2pm
Birkmyre picked up a losing bonus point in their defeat in Coatbridge to a tough Waysiders team. Despite leading early on, Birkmyre finally went down 24-17 as the overhead conditions worsened which played into the home teams hands.
Against the run of play, Birkmyre were first to put points on the board. Having spent most of the first 5 minutes in their own half, they progressed up the pitch to win a penalty, central on the opposition 22. Electing for the kick, David Cruickshank easily slotted over for the 3 points.
It took until the 23rd minute for any further scoring when Cruickshank extended the lead. From a line out 5m out, scrum half Tom McGeoch fired a tidy pass into his path. He side-stepped the rush, then darted through a gap avoiding defenders to cheekily point at the cameraman before touching down under the posts. He then added the conversion to make it 10-0.
However, the lead was quickly cut back. From the kick off, Waysiders won a line out 35m out. Some poor tackling round the edge of a ruck and in the back field, allowed them to pick and go and run under the posts to make it 10-7 after the successful kick. The score then remained unchanged until the half.
Birkmyre had the first opportunity to score in the second period. Having won a penalty 40m out and slightly to the right, they opted for the kick at goal. It had the distance however the ball rattled the left upright and back into play to be cleared after the visitors gave away a penalty.
The match then slowly began to turn in favour of the home team. Having played the first 40m in relative sunshine, the rain came in and made both the underfoot and handling conditions very tricky. This played into Waysiders hands with their more direct style of play, and it hampered Birkmyre’s more fluid passing game.
From the resulting lineout from the penalty, Waysiders popped the ball to their tall second row on the halfway line. He broke a tackle and was clean through with only one man to beat. The difficult pitch conditions hindered a last-ditch tackle being made and the try was scored & converted. Five minutes later, they scored again using their forwards to nudge forward through a series of rucks after a line out.
Although 11 points down, Birkmyre were still confident they could turn things around and on the 56th minute, they got a try back. From a penalty about 10m out, the pack attacked the goal line. After half a dozen phases and with penalty advantage, Okan Akdeniz went in at the corner. Cruickshank converted the tough kick.
Birkmyre continued to press for what would be the winning score, however they could not make it across the try line again. Eventually, with about 5 minutes remaining, Waysiders won a penalty close in, which they kicked to seal the match.
The result consolidated Waysiders place in 4th spot in the table and Birkmyre remain 6th. They are only 1 point behind Irvine with a game in hand.
Thank you to Fiona Wallace for photographs from today’s match
Results for Saturday 25th March 2025 in Division Two:
- Cumbernauld 50 – 19 Clydebank
- Loch Lomond / Helensburgh 7 – 67 Carrick
- Strathendrick 133 – 12 Irvine
- Waysiders/Drumpellier 24 – 17 Birkmyre
- Wigtownshire 73 – 5 Uddingston
Division Two league table:
*Up to date as at 03/03/25
Fixtures in Division Two: (Saturday 29th March 2025):
- Birkmyre vs Carrick (Ko 2.45pm)
- Clydebank vs Loch Lomond / Helensburgh (Ko 3pm)
- Irvine vs Wigtownshire (Ko 3pm)
- Waysiders/Drumpellier vs Strathendrick (Ko 3pm)
Division Two league table:
