Better late than never for Bishopton
BISHOPTON ..................................................... ..22 CUMBERNAULD................................................ 16
Bishopton continued their charge at the top of Conference 2 with an exciting late win over Cumbernauld.
On their welcome return to Holmpark, the game got off to a stalemate with neither team able to gain any sort of advantage.
It was ten minutes before half time when Bishopton finally managed to carve out a telling opening. The hosts received a series of penalties before gaining a lineout on the five metre line.
The maul was set up well before Kyle Haldane took the second phase by the scruff of the neck and punched a hole over the try line to open up the scoring. Max Catto’s conversion drifted just wide.
Bish didn’t look to stop piling on the pressure on the visitors, receiving the ball back from the restart and powering up the pitch through the forwards.
Cameron Richardson was able to make the breakaway on his return from injury, pulling a sleek backhand pass onto Kyle Robertson.
He drove down the wing beating several men before leaping straight for the corner to score his maiden try for the club. The conversion from Catto was wide once again.
Bish almost scored their third before the break but the referee brought play back to send the Cumbernauld lock to the bin instead.
Cumbernauld got the start to the second half they needed as they managed to gain a penalty inside the 10 metre line and were able to slot the kick and start to claw their way back into the game.
But the home side were quick to respond as they worked their way back up the pitch and gained a penalty of their own. The Bish took the opportunity to take the quick tap, popping the ball up to back-row Ryan Clark and he bounced past several defenders to power over the line. The conversion missed once more, while in the run up to the try Cumbernauld also received a second yellow card.
Cumbernauld seemed to find their bite after conceding the third try, when they were able to release their winger who was able to sprint away from the halfway line beating several Bish defenders in the process. The conversion was good bringing the score back to 15–10.
The visitors then found two penalties that they were able to convert putting them ahead for the first time in the game. There was then another infraction by Cumbernauld which saw a third player go to the sin bin as another yellow card was brandished.
The game looked to be beyond Bish with four minutes left on the clock when they were awarded a penalty. Catto lined the kick up but it sailed well wide.
Cumbernauld touched the ball down for a 22 drop out and sent the ball long down the pitch to be picked up by Robertson.
He ran the ball back into the middle of the pitch and found Jamie Anderson, with the powerful winger picking the ball up inside halfway and shrugging off two defenders before ploughing forward to score his second try in as many appearances for the Bish.
The conversion this time was taken by hooker Ryan Moore who was able to put the ball over from out wide, pushing Bishopton ahead to 22–16.
The hosts survived a late scare to seal the win after a Cumbernauld knock-on.