Match Report from: COLIN WARRICK

With the sun on their backs the Warriors took to Violetbank for their final competitive fixture of the season against local rivals Wigtownshire Ladies determined to put in positive display to show the progress made & effort made at training throughout the season.

The opening spells were quite tight with both teams carrying hard but the defences nullifying any attacks. After 28 mins the game was halted with a visiting player picking up an ankle injury, the referee at this point deemed the pitch unplayable & after much discussion the game was moved down to the Everholm & once branches & debris from recent high tides removed the game was resumed.

Shortly after the restart the visitors opened the scoring with a try from a quickly taken tap penalty.

Half time score: Annan Warriors 0 v Wigtownshire Ladies 7

After a quick turnaround the game restarted & the visitors lead was soon extended with a 2^nd try

This seemed to kick the Warriors into life with forwards Kayleigh Warrick, Ashley Clark, Megan Cother & Nicole Mullen making good yards before from a ruck standoff Nicole Barlow burst through to round the fullback to score the Warriors opening try which was converted by Mally McGeoch.

From the restart the Warriors charged downfield once again building phases & making good ground with prop Megan Cother forcing her way over the line to score which again was converted by Mally McGeoch.

The to & fro nature of the game continued with Shire scoring a further two tries, before the Warriors clawed the score back to within three, a try from winger Amber Pattullo which once again was converted by Mally McGeoch, this time from the touchline.

Going into the final minutes Annan threw everything at their visitors to try & get the match winning score but unfortunately it wasn’t to be, when following a knock when trying to attack from deep the visitors moved the ball wide from the ensuing scrum to slip a tackle & score in the corner.

Final Score: Annan Warriors 21 v Wigtownshire Ladies 29

All in all, with the relocation mid game, the final pass not going to hand causing ground made to be lost, a couple of errors leading to tries a frustrating result considering that on the previous occasion the two teams have played this season the visitors have been on top.

On a positive note, evidence of the improvement in performance & the hard work put in at training delivering three good tries.

In attack Kayleigh Warrick, Nicole Mullen, Niamh Ross & Nicole Barlow shone with Sword of match going to Hannah Paterson.

In defence Megan Cother & Rhianna Parker-Clevett made countless tackles with Shield of match going to Nicole Barlow.

This brings to the end the Shield fixtures & the Warriors would like to give a big shout out to all supporters who have cheered them on, & everyone else behind the scenes at the club who have helped.

Annan Team: E Jardine, M Brogan, M Cother, R Parker-Clevett, N Mullen, A Clark ©, R Connell, K Warrick, N Ross, N Barlow, L Glendinning, H Paterson, J Clark, S McCracken, J Stewart

Replacements (all used): K Morrison, A Clash, M McGeoch, A Pattullo, J Graham, A Cole, L McGregor