U14 BOYS v Stewartry.

Match Report from Coach Paul O’Donnell

Our U14 lads took on local rivals Stewartry on Sunday for the 4th time this season. With 2 victories from 3 previous meetings our boys were keen to take the tally to 3-1 but having been starved of game time recently and with the visitors coming with a 26-man squad we knew it would be a challenging day at the office.

Stewartry started the game positively, dominating possession and running hard at the Annan defence in the opening exchanges.

However, the home teams line held strong and some solid tackling resulted in a knock on and the opening scrum of the game. From the ensuing scrum Annan executed a set move perfectly that set Lewis Hilton off on one of his charging runs. After evading several tackle attempts, he made it over the try line for the first score of the game.

Not to be outdone, the visitors hit back with a well worked try of their own setting the scene for a back-and-forth encounter. Annan came back fighting immediately with some excellent direct running by centre McKinley Power deep into the opposition half.

However, the slippery conditions made ball control all the more challenging and when Annan spilled the ball on the Stewartby try line it allowed the away side to act quickly and run the length of the field for a try against the run of play.

The remainder of the half saw both side exchanging tries and battling hard in the muddy conditions to gain the upper hand in the game.

At half time, Annan were ever so slightly ahead but it was anyone’s game heading into the final 30 minutes.

The second half was a thrilling encounter. Realising there was everything to play for and very little separating the sides all 30 players on the pitch got well and truly stuck in. Both teams ran hard and direct at their opponents and were met with fierce, aggressive defence.

With less than 10 minutes remaining there was a single point separating both teams. Annan threw everything they had at Stewartry but the visitor’s ability at the breakdown allowed them to win quick turnover ball and punish the Annan lads with 2 successive tries in the dying minutes.

Final score was 25-40 to Stewartry, fair to say not an overly accurate reflection of the game.

Tries on the day going to Lewis Hilton, Ben Richardson, McKinley Power (x2) and Bailey Lockerbie.

Despite our boys being disappointed with the result they can hold their heads up high after putting on a great performance. It is always good to welcome Stewartry to Violetbank and it was great to see plenty of parents from both sides there to cheer their boys on.

In the forwards hooker Duncan Richmond and lock Josh Howatson played their best games of the season punching holes in the opposition defence all game.

In the backs wingers Max Lupton and Ben Wyle were outstanding in defence and attack with a special mention going to replacement winger Bailey Lockerbie who scored his first try of the season with a classic dive at the corner flag.

Player of the match goes to McKinley Power who enjoyed bulldozing through the opposition defence resulting in 2 more tries to add to his tally.