Lasswade Overpower Perthshire

Perthshire 13 – Lasswade 43

Perthshire started this game determined to show their supporters that they have improved since their last home game when they narrowly lost to Greenock but alas, there were hardly any supporters and Lasswade are a more powerful side than Greenock.
However, during the 1st 20 minutes there was only one team in this match and it was Shire. Callum Bruce opened the account with a monster penalty and Lasswade were forced to resort to all sorts of dodgy tactics to halt the Shire attacks resulting in Bruce kicking another 3 points. Lasswade almost scored during their first attack but their mounting indiscipline cost them a penalty and a yellow card. Shire piled on the pressure against the 14 men and although the likes of James Mair, Ross Angus & co were making good ground, poor ball retention and woeful finishing kept Lasswade in the game. Disaster struck after 20 minutes when another Shire attack broke down and Lasswade raced the length of the pitch for Humphries to score.
Lasswade’s indiscipline soon cost them another player though, bringing them down to 13 men. Shire bungled another couple of try opportunities but eventually prop Ewen MacDonald drove over to give Shire a well deserved lead. Unfortunately that was the last we saw of Shire as an attacking force and Lasswade, restored to 15 men for a little while, dominated all areas of the game from then on. Perthshire have conceded 18 tries in 3 matches this season so it is not hard to fathom where their main weakness lies. Lasswade’s backs put so much pressure on Shire’s backs forcing errors and rushed passes while Perthshire seemed to hang back and allow Lasswade to reach full speed and run through them.
The Shire scrum wilted more and more as the game wore on and Lasswade’s forwards also started to dominate the line out leaving the team living on scraps of possession. Thankfully, the referee was getting fed up with both Lasswade’s indiscipline and the abuse from the large crowd of vociferous Lasswade supporters and more yellow cards emerged so that Lasswade played most of the game with 14 men. There’s no doubt their supporters spurred the team on and the lack of any kind of support for Shire must be a worry for the club and a disappointment for the players.
On a positive note, the return of Adam Dearden at stand off, Ryan Miller back from his honeymoon and the return of Aidan Watson will bring experience and a much sharper cutting edge to the backs. The boys travel to play Carrick on Saturday and with them also having a poor start to the season this will be a defining match and the perfect chance to get some points.