Reds storm to fantastic Cup victory against Division 2 opponents
Lasswade 17 – 34 Linlithgow
Saturday 02 November 2024
Report by David Mitchell
Hawthornden was the setting for this National League Cup fixture between the host club Lasswade RFC and Linlithgow Reds. The National League Cup is competed for by the 28 teams in Divisions 2, 3 and 4 of the Arnold Clark National League and is initially played for in 8 groups of 3 or 4 teams with the top team in each group going into the Quarter Final stage of the competition. The Reds are in a group of 3 along with Lasswade, last season’s beaten finalists in the same competition, and North Berwick. Saturday’s match was Linlithgow’s 1st game in the group against Division 2 side Lasswade who started as favourites to win the group until the Reds turned in a winning performance.
A crowd of nearly 200 were in attendance on a blustery day in Lasswade but both overhead and ground conditions were dry and the prospect was for a competitive match. The Reds welcomed back key player Ross Martin, and Aidan Wan was making his 1st XV debut from the replacement’s bench.
Conor Findlay kicked off with a following breeze and the visitors put up a stern defence as the home side tried to run the ball out of their own half. The early scrums showed that the Reds pack could handle their more experienced opponents, and they provided a solid platform throughout the game. Early pressure by the visitors was rewarded with 2 penalty kicks by Jack Frame following strong and direct carrying by many of the team allied to some excellent patient probing. Lasswade were finding it a struggle to gain any territorial advantage as the Reds kicked long and effectively to turn them and pin them back inside their own half.
At this stage the home players were a bit disjointed and seemed surprised at the defensive intensity shown by the Reds. In the line-out area, Oscar Davies was not only catching his own ball effectively but also managing some important steals of the opposition’s throws. The Reds had the opportunity to go further ahead but Jack Frame pulled a short-range penalty wide of the uprights but this only delayed a score when a few minutes later the team fashioned a super try. From a solid scrum, Archie Rusack linked with Conor Findlay, and he floated a pinpoint kick straight into the arms of flying winger Ross Tulloch who in turn charged forward and found Ewan Curran in support. Ewan side stepped around one defender before diving over in the left corner of the pitch after a surging run over the final 20 metres. Jack Frame kicked the conversion from the touchline to make the score 0-13 midway through the half.
The most concerning aspect of the game at this juncture was the injury count with Adam Buckley, Euan Mochrie and Jack Frame all leaving the field injured. Adam’s arm required hospital treatment, Euan did manage to rejoin the game eventually, but Jack had to retire from the game with a head knock which resulted in a home player being yellow carded. Andrew Graham, Eioan Magee and Ross Plenderleith replaced the 3 injured players, but Lasswade did manage a try to make it 5-13 just before half time.
In the second half the Reds introduced stalwart Stuart Cunningham and debutant Aidan Wan as they awaited the expected onslaught from Lasswade who started the half looking more intent than before. However, despite losing an early try, the visitors fought their way back upfield and after some excellent and patient controlled driving play Conor Findlay wriggled over for a try at the base of the left hand post and he also added the conversion.
Lasswade responded with another try which was converted to take the score to 17-20 with 20 minutes to play. What happened next will not be easily forgotten by the away supporters who witnessed one of the bravest and controlled periods of play as the Reds dominated the last period of the game with a combination of simple tactics and excellent execution by all of the team. Set piece scrums and line-outs were controlled and the passing, support play and driving play were excellent as the Reds eliminated risky offloads and they totally demoralised their opponents.
Cammy Murrie and Jonny Pegg were the last 2 replacements to take to the field and Cammy capped his arrival with a try. After a barnstorming run by Ross Plenderleith, the Reds opted for a scrum when awarded a penalty near the goal line and had to juggle the front row with hooker Kyle Ormond coming back on to the field at prop. The result was a fantastic shove to the line where Ross Martin was held just short, but the ball was snatched up by Cammy Murrie who dived over for the try to which Conor Findlay again added the extra points. This took the score to 17-27 but the visitors were not finished yet.
Lasswade were awarded a penalty near their own line and elected to run the ball out of defence. Conor Findlay cleverly anticipated a pass and intercepted it to set up a final scoring opportunity which, after Cammy Murrie was stopped short of the line, resulted in Euan Mochrie capping a fine individual performance with a dive over between the posts and Conor drop kicked the conversion with the last action of the game.
Final score – Lasswade 17 – 34 Linlithgow Reds
Undoubtedly one of the best results in the Club’s history and certainly the best performance of the season to date. A famous and well-deserved triumph over Division 2 opposition in a game where a neutral observer would have been hard pressed to pick the higher ranked team as being the better side.
Although forced to make early changes due to injury, the coaches deployed the replacements well and effectively managed to maintain a style of play that suited the whole squad of 22. Most impressive was the almost total domination of the last 20 minutes done with such control, ball retention, energy, patience and smart play. The defensive effort was herculean with bodies being put on the line by the whole team and effectively eliminating the threats posed by the opposition.
It is difficult to pick out top performers but suffice to say that everyone played their part in full. Ross Martin again continues to have one of his best seasons and adds great experience to support such a young group. Stuart Cunningham continues to perform at a high level when given game time and his direct running and excellent ball carrying was a great example of doing the basics well on a consistent basis. At the other end of the age scale, Oscar Davies again made a real difference in the line-out but also carried the ball aggressively in attack. Jamie Tulloch regularly gained ground with ball in hand as well as leading the tackle count in another all-action Player of the Match performance.
The half backs distributed well throughout the game and made some clean breaks. The other backs all ran strongly but without any risky offloads, kept a good shape throughout and tackled very well to restrict the scoring opportunities for Lasswade.
The next game in the Cup group stage is scheduled for 14th December at home versus North Berwick. If successful in that match the Reds would progress to the Quarter Final stage.
Next week it is back to Division 4 business with a home game against Whitecraigs at 2pm.