Dalziel fail to make dominance count

Jan 19 2011 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

Dalziel Rugby Club

DALZIEL Rugby Club’s faint Premier Three promotion hopes appear to be over after they suffered a disappointing 10-8 defeat at the hands of Howe of Fife on Saturday.

In their first competitive outing since November 19, Dalziel enjoyed the majority of possession but could not take advantage as the Fifers leapfrogged them into fifth place.

Howe moved their home fixture to Madras College playing fields in St Andrews which guaranteed the match would go ahead, albeit in dreadful conditions.

From the kick-off, Dalziel dominated proceedings and kept Howe on the back foot for most of the first half.

The hosts were the first to score, however, after an excellent breakaway try from turnover ball.

They should have been stopped on the 10- metre line but some slack defending by Dalziel allowed them to run up the touchline and following some good passing and support play they scored a fine try.

Dalziel’s sole response before the interval was a penalty from Graham Calder as Howe went in 5-3 ahead.

The second half was a carbon copy of the first, with Dalziel again having the majority of possession and territory but struggling to get over the try line.

Howe of Fife’s second try of the afternoon once again came against the run of play as they ran out of defence to score from distance.

The Motherwell lads rallied again and after a break by Ross McAulay, Vic Czarnocki followed up to outpace the defence and claim Dalziel’s only try of the day.

With only a two-point lead, Howe had a real go at the Dalziel line but some excellent defending and a try-saving tackle from Eddie Ferguson denied the Fifers a further score.

For the remainder of the match, Dalziel chased victory but ran out of time and had to be content with a bonus point against a side they defeated 39-11 back in October.

This weekend Dalziel will be looking to halt a worrying run of five league losses in a row when they entertain basement boys Dunfermline at Dalziel Park (2pm kick-off).

Dalziel team: Craig Lewis, Stephen Baird, George Sloan, Eddy Ferguson, Kris Watters, Euan Stewart, Gavin Armstrong, Crawford Reid, Graham Calder, Ross McAulay, John Goldie, Victor Czarnocki, David Aitken, James Baxendale, Barry Turnbull.

Substitutes: Les Barclay, Fraser McKenzie, Declan Goldie, Ross Donnachie.

lIn blustery conditions, Dalziel’s 2nd XV had a narrow victory against their Dunfermline counterparts on Saturday, winning 5-0. The 3rds lost 36-5 to Newton Stewart.