2As at Ardrossan
On Saturday the 2As travelled to Ardrossan to face 2nd XV rivals. Ardrossan 2 XV play in the league above the 2As and this promised to be a tough fixture. The match saw the return to duty of Captain Hutton to inspire the troops. The lads travelled with a squad of only 15 and coach Dave Loach required to move players around to get the most from the team.The first half saw Garnock playing with the strong wind at their backs however a try was conceded under the posts within the first five minutes and it looked like being a long day. As usual the boys stuck to the task and after a spell of pressure on the Ardrossan line, Mark Thomson crashed over from short range mid way through the half. The conversion was successful and the scores were tied. Despite pressure for the rest of the half Garnock were unable to add to their tally and the halftime whistle blew with the scores level.It looked like being a difficult second period made worse by the departure of Callum Yacoubian with a facial cut at half time. Ardrossan kindly supplied a player to take his place however it transpired this was the lad’s first game of rugby!The second half started much as expected however as it wore on Garnock began to get stronger. From a 5m lineout, Davie Hutton took the ball around the front to power over the Ardrossan defender and score in the corner. The Garnock lead was short lived and Ardrossan scored a deserved try midway through the half to tie the score at 12-12.With 15 minutes to go Garnock were again applying pressure near the Ardrossan line . The referee awarded a penalty for killing the ball and Ewan Perry slotted the kick to put Garnock ahead. The match continued in a similar pattern with most of the play around the centre of the field. Garnock worked their way toward the Ardrossan line and were awarded a penalty 5m out. Rather than taking the kick a quick tap was made and the ball passed out the backs for full back Andy Currie to score in the corner. The conversion into the wind was missed.For the last 5 minutes of the game Ardrossan pressed on the Garnock line and eventually scored beside the posts with the final play of the game. The match finished with Garnock victors by 20-19 in a thrilling match.This was an excellent result for the boys against a bigger, both numerically and physically, team and showed a lot of guts and determination.Next week the 2As travel to Newton Stewart for their first league game of the season. Once again tough opposition is expected and a similar ,if not better, performance will be required.