Cumnock senior results

Cumnock 26 – 0 Carrick

Cumnock played host to Carrick in a local derby in the latest league match this weekend.
After a disappointing result last week against Clydebank the young side were determined to make up for this by winning at home.
The game kicked off in wet and windy conditions although this did not deter the home side who won a penalty straight from the kick off when the visitors were caught holding onto the ball on the ground. Uncharacteristically, Kyle Johnson pulled his kick to the left of the posts but Cumnock had shown their intent to take control of the game early on.
This was followed up by a strong spell of Cumnock pressure as they dealt with some loose Carrick kicking, allowing full-back Conner Nisbet to run the ball back at the defence. The breakthrough came when several strong carries from Cumnock’s forwards made a good position in Carrick territory. The ball was fed back to stand-off Johnson who, despite slipping managed to chip the ball over the defence. Wing Tony Foster gathered the ball to score in the corner and Johnson added the tricky conversion.
Cumnock continued to put the visitors under pressure and almost added more points when both Johnson and Mark Bennett narrowly missed penalties. Cumnock’s set pieces have been a problem this season and the line out continued to misfire in this game. However, the scrum was much more impressive with the new front row of Rab Donald, Graham Hunter and Donald Hunter constantly putting their opposite numbers on the back foot. Solid scrum ball allowed Cumnock’s backs to use their pace to take on the defence. One of these moves saw the ball released wide and well timed passing meant that Gregor McMillan had the space to outsprint his opposite number and cross the line for Cumnock’s second try. This time the conversion went awry as the conditions worsened with several players losing their footing on the slippery surface.
The first half ended with Cumnock 12 points to nil up and having never looked under pressure from Carrick. The visitors came back strongly after half time and set up a series of driving mauls deep in Cumnock territory after some cheap penalties from the home side. However, stubborn defence from Cumnock kept the line intact and eventually the visitors grew impatient and attempted an unlikely cross kick which was easily dealt with by the defence.
Cumnock regrouped and came charging back at their guests and immediately turned their pressure into points. Mark Bennett made the initial burst through the Carrick defence before feeding his centre partner Alan Haynes with a well timed pass. Haynes had the pace to outstrip the chasing defence and touched down under the posts to give Johnson an easy conversion.
The home side then spent a long spell deep in Carrick territory but struggled to make much of an impression with several handling errors caused by the poor conditions. There was also a lot of aimless kicking with both teams favouring the hit and hope option, relying on their opponents spilling the ball. Cumnock dealt with this better and it was no surprise when Mark Bennett side stepped through the defence to record his side’s fourth try to wrap up the bonus point. Johnson again added the conversion from in front of the posts.
Cumnock showed excellent composure to play the remainder of the game out on their terms and Carrick were never given a chance to get points on the board. Cumnock came close to adding another try when a well placed Bennett kicked was hacked ahead by substitute wing Greg Hamilton who was unlucky to be beaten to the touchdown by the covering defender. The home side continued to play the game deep in Carrick territory until the end of the match, showing an ability to control games which hasn’t often been seen this season.
This was another important step for the young team with their second successive home win topped off with a bonus point. Especially impressive was the fact that Cumnock kept a clean sheet which is a rare feat in rugby which shows the continuing development in this young team.
Alan Smith was man of the match for getting through a lot of the dirty work in the back row that allows Cumnock’s backs the chance to shine.

Team: Rab Donald, Graham Hunter, Donald Hunter, Kevin Brady, Blair McMillan, Stuart Hunter, Alan Smith, David Kerr, Craig McWhirter, Kyle Johnson, Gregor McMillan, Mark Bennett, Alan Haynes, Tony Foster, Conner Nisbet, Jim Ramage, Jamie Thomson, Greg Hamilton

Next Week: Cumnock travel to Stranraer to take on Wigtonshire

Cumnock 3 Allen glens 12

The second team continued to get closer with its form with a close defeat to Allan Glens who currently top Reserve league West Division 3.