Ellon Too Good for Reds

Ellon  28 - 7  Linlithgow (15-0)

The pitch was in excellent condition.  Rain threatened at the start but held off.  Not a breath of wind.

The Reds started brightly and spent the first ten minutes in the home side’s half.  They earned a penalty when Ellon were penalised for diving over the top but Dixon’s penalty uncharacteristically drifted wide.  Ellon rode out this early pressure and began to press forward.  The game was even at this stage.  The Linlithgow forwards were dominating their exchanges and the Ellon backs were looking dangerous ball in hand.

The deadlock was broken in the 25th minute when the back division threw the ball along the line and the speedy Ellon left winger dived over for an unconverted try.  Soon after, Birrell went off injured to be replaced by Bredin.  Bell also received a knock and was replaced by Cowan with Gillanders moving into second row.  Ellon then scored a penalty to stretch their lead. 

On the stroke of half time, Linlithgow fell to a sucker punch when the ball looked as if it was going wide again, but the Ellon stand-off changed direction and sped through to touch down under the posts.  The last kick of the half stretched the lead to 15 points.  Ellon had had the better of the first half but that last score gave them a decisive if slightly flattering margin.

Bell returned to the fray at half time.  The second half started badly for the reds.  Ellon missed a penalty in the 47th minute but soon afterwards had another opportunity, which they converted.  This incident also saw Bell sent to the sin bin for ten minutes.  The Reds held out well and conceded only one other penalty during this phase – this was well taken from out wide.

The visitors were now playing catch-up with a vengeance.  Ellon were on top and it was no surprise when Ellon scored again with a converted penalty.  Ellon’s sights were set on the fourth try and bonus point and at this stage no one would have bet against this.  Their forwards were on top and there was a spell of concentrated pressure on Linlithgow’s try line.  The Reds battled hard and managed time after time to withstand the siege.  They also rang the changes with Pauley coming on for Clydesdale and Cowan for Martin.

There was concern in the Linlithgow ranks when captain Dixon required some attention on the pitch and soon after he was taken off just before the end as a precaution.  Walker dropped to full back and Martin found himself on the wing.

At the end of the game the Reds lifted the siege and played in the Ellon half.  The best bit of backs play from the visitors saw Green tackled just short of the line.  Walker couldn’t manage the pick up to score.  Linlithgow then won the scrum and, after a spell of forwards pressure, the ever-dependable Gillanders squirmed over for a try.  In Dixon’s absence, Martin converted with the last kick of the game.  This score prevented Linlithgow from their first “whitewash” for a long time.

There were no complaints from the visitors.  Ellon were well worth their win, looking the sharper of the two sides during the game.

Team: Matt Dixon; Mark Green, Gordon White, David Goudie and Andy Birrell; Dave Woods and Mikey Walker; Johnny Cavana, Steven Dobie and Kevin Clydesdale; Stuart Jamieson and Stuart Bell; Ross Martin, Euan Richardson and Charlie Gillanders. Subs (all used): John Pauley, Nicky Cowan and Chris Bredin.

 

Main sponsor: Dunne Group Ltd