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28/3/2010
Oban win at Carrick in a Cliffhanger of a Match!
Oban Lorne made the long journey to Maybole in Ayrshire to face Carrick in this Scottish Hydro West Division 1 match knowing the home team were desperate for league points in their battle to avoid relegation.
There were several changes to the Oban team due seven first team players being unavailable. Mark MacQueen started at stand off, Craig McGougan moved to blindside flanker and student Max Beckmann made his last appearance for the club at centre before returning to his native Germany.
Oban started playing in to the strong breeze and had the early territorial advantage, Carrick were penalised for hands in the ruck and Euan Wilson made no mistake to give an early 0-3 score line. The home team came straight back into the game when their second row had a chance to finish off a break in the left hand corner but knocked on the ball with the try line beckoning. A further sweeping move was however finished off by the Carrick winger for an unconverted try and a 5-3 lead. In what was becoming a ding dong match of enterprising rugby the men in green took the lead when flanker Andy MacDougall beat several defenders before powering over in the right hand corner for an unconverted try and a 5-8 score. MacDougall then turned from saint to sinner as he was somewhat harshly penalized for not releasing a tackled player and sent to the sin bin for 10minutes. Although Oban defended well in this period the reliable Carrick number 10 was able to slot over 3 penalties in a row for handling in the rucks. It has to be said that from the touchline Carrick were guilty of diving over the rucks and therefore killing the ball just as much as Oban were guilty of holding on. Oban were however guilty of trying to play too much rugby in their own half when putting boot to ball to clear their lines was the best option. They also scorned several good attacking positions by kicking away good possession which resulted in the home fullback clearing the ball 60meters downwind!
The halftime score was 14-8 and Oban turned round hoping to harness the elements as they were now in their favour. The Oban lineout was functioning particularly well and this allowed several turnovers from the home throw in. From one of these Andy MacDougall made inroads to the home 22 before the pack then rumbled on. MacDougall was then on hand to finish off the move with his second unconverted try in the right hand corner to bring the score back to 14-13. Just when it seemed Oban were gaining momentum Carrick came back and finished off a try in the left corner. This had started from a lucky rebound in the scrum when the Carrick hooker had swung for the ball which then ricocheted off the Oban front row and shot out of the scrum on Carrick’s side. This increased the home sides advantage to 19-13. However Oban dug in and raised their efforts once again. Both sides then swapped penalty kicks as the referee continued to penalize the ruck situation before Oban executed a training ground move of catch and drive from a 10 meter lineout which was finished off superbly by Mark McTighe. This amazingly still left Oban trailing by 22-21 with over 60minutes played in what was now an enthralling game of rugby. Oban held their nerve to surge forward once more and when Corrie Louw was stopped just short Euan Wilson was on hand to dot down for the try which he then superbly converted from wide on the right in the swirling wind for a 22-28 scoreline. The drama was still not finished as Carrick through everything at Oban and then finished off a sweeping move after 75minutes in the right hand corner giving a 27-28 score. The conversion from the right hand touchline was just too big an ask for the home 10 and there was relief from Oban as this sailed wide.
Oban held on for several nerve jangling minutes to record their 4th win in a row and definitely their best away win of the season. The whole team performed well and their were some thumping tackles to halt many of the home attacking plays which had allowed Carrick to run up 69points in their last league match. Considering the players who were unavailable the team showed tremendous character to stay in the match against a spirited Carrick side who played a lot of good rugby. This win now lifts Oban to 6th place in the league with 3 matches remaining.
MOM Andy MacDougall
Oban Lorne Squad: M. Downie, M.McTighe, A. Park, T. Smith, D. Hunter, C. McGougan, A. MacDougall, C. Louw, E. Wilson, M.MacQueen, A. Wright, M. Beckmann, C. MacDonald, A. Beaton, G. MacEwan ( Capt), D. Williams, K. Kennedy, M. Flynn.
The next league match is away to Strathclyde Police this Saturday, kick off at 3pm.
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