Birkmyre fight back from 19 points down to beat Uddingston

Birkmyre overcame a 19-point deficit to defeat Uddingston on the road last Saturday.

Trailing 19-0 after 25 minutes, the Kilmacolm side then scored 38 unanswered points before Uddingston scored a consolation try in the dying minutes to make it 24-38.

Birkmyre looked very sluggish from the off and found themselves defending for most of the early phases of play, struggling to get possession of the ball.

Uddingston, on the other hand, were very positive, moving the ball through the hands and finding soft spots in the Birkmyre defence. It took only three minutes for the Birkmyre defence to fully crack and for the opening score to go in.

Uddingston extended their lead in the 18th minute to 12 points and then scored their third try in the 25th minute to give them a very comfortable and deserved lead.

Despite their positive play, you could see that Uddingston were beginning to tire due to the amount of running they had been doing. This was compounded as they were down to 14 players on the field due to injuries and a lack of subs.

It took until the 30th minute before Birkmyre got on the scoreboard. Having won a lineout 35m out on the right, they secured possession and the backs worked the ball down to the left corner.

Alex MacKay was stopped about a foot short of the line but managed to stay in play. From the ruck, the ball was popped to 18-year-old prop Kieran McNicol, who powered over from 3m out.

In the 36th minute, Finlay Davidson scored his first. Now having secured more ball in hand, Birkmyre were coming back into the match.

From the restart, they had possession of the ball for the majority of the time before winning a penalty 10m out. Following more pressure and a number of phases, the ball landed in the hands of Davidson to touch down from 5m out.

As the clock went red in the first half, Birkmyre drew level. Davidson scored his second with a very similar line and run to his initial score.

Birkmyre stole a lineout on the opposition 22 and then won a penalty in front of the posts 20m out. Electing to run, the forwards gained valuable yards, winning a further penalty closer to the line.

This was taken quickly by scrum-half Tom McGeoch and Davidson did the rest. David Cruickshank slotted over the conversion as the referee blew for half-time.

Birkmyre clearly had their tails up and it didn’t take long for them to take the lead.

Five minutes in, Birkmyre recovered a clearance kick 15m inside their own half. Stand-in full-back Jamie Stein then carried the ball down the pitch to the edge of the Uddingston 22 on the left touchline.

The ball then went wide right, where Struan McCamley found Ross McDonnell with a no-look pass, who in turn sprinted down the wing and then under the posts to score.

In the 55th minute, the lead was extended. From a lineout 20m out, forwards and backs combined to drive towards the try line.

Liam Nicholas was then tackled 4m out. However, from the resulting ruck, the ball was passed to Robbie Espie, who got over the line as he was being tackled.

Kieran McNicol rounded off the tries for Birkmyre in the 62nd minute. Birkmyre had been camped in the Uddingston 22 for a few minutes. Probing for gaps, they slowly made progress.

Eventually, the ball fell to McNicol who, in trademark fashion, rumbled in from close distance. Cruickshank completed the scoring with a straightforward chip.

With less than five minutes remaining, Uddingston scored a consolation try in the corner to give them a bonus point. They worked an overlap to the left for what ended up being a walk-in score.

The win takes Birkmyre to second place in the league on points difference over Irvine in third, who have a game in hand. Bishopton are five points clear at the top, with Uddingston remaining in seventh.

Scorers: Tries: F Davidson (2), K McNicol (2), R Espie, R McDonnell. Conversions: D Cruickshank (4).

Photo credit: Fiona Wallace