3 on the bounce

Leith were looking to make it 3 wins in a row as they headed to the south of Edinburgh on the back of a 50 point hammering of Inverleith, however they were cautious as the home side had notched up a good victory in Earlston the week previous. Centre Doug Watters was away on business and so replaced by new boy Andy Homer whilst Ben Place returned to the 2nd row while Mark Phillips was in the back row with Andrew MacIntosh and Colin Marshall dropping to the bench.

Leith started the game with the majority of the ball however the Lismore defence proved resolute throughout the park and were making it difficult for Leith to really get any territory to go with their possession. However a few good breaks from centre Eoin Murphy and 2nd Row Mike McLeish kept Lismore on the back foot. Leith were continuing to put pressure on and that was telling in the penalties that Lismore were giving away at the ruck. However Leith were often a little to rushed on the ball meaning that any meaningful chances to score were thwarted despite Thomas 'Choo' Lawries dancing feet on the touch line. This led to Captain Kenny Dannfald opting to take the points whilst on offer and slot his first penalty of the year.

Lismore however were starting to come into the game and their brand of running rugby, which Leith are more accustomed to playing rather than defending against, mwant the Leith line was under pressure. The away side thought they cleared the imminent danger however from a scrum Lismore were able to launch their backs from deep and beat the covering defence with good support play. Conversion missed and the half time whistle meant it was a tight game at 5-3.

Leith were just looking to keep calm after the break and keep their first half efforts up, sure that the rewards would come eventually. And they didn't have to wait too long for that to happen. With the 2nd half looking much like the first half, after yet another penalty given away by Lismore at the ruck, scrum half Andrew Paterson saw the gap open up in front of him and he was able to tap just outside the 22m and jink between a couple of players to dot down for his third of the season under the posts, the extras were added by Dannfald meaning the score was now 10-5 in Leith's favour.

Leith were looking to add to their tally with powerful runs in the backs from Murphy, Homer and another new boy, Cameron Whiteside backed up by good tactical kicking from Ben Wilkinson was pinning Lismore back and kept Leith in the ascendancy. The forwards were putting in a shift too Hancock, Connelly, Phillips and Paterson buzzing around the pitch. However again the scores were hard to come by, Dannfald missed a shot at goal pulling it wide of the left hand post before Ben Wilkinson had an attempted drop goal charged down.

It looked like it could have been one of those days as Dannfald glided past the defence and into the 22m, looking to be bearing down on the line he was certain to score before an ankle tap had him flying face first into the ground, spilling the ball 10ms from the line, however from the resulting scrum Lismore cleared the ball straight down full back Dannfald's throat. Dannfald nipped back down the blindside and after drawing the defence to the touchline he slipped the ball to winger Jon Derrin who was able to power his way through the defence and make it behind the posts.

The third Leith try wasn't too far away either. With limited time on the clock Leith were pressuring the Lismore line and were keeping the ball well putting the defence under pressure. Their were a few near things from Homer and Place as they surged deep into the 22m. Leith were able to switch the play quickly and Dannfald was able to give Murphy a flat pass 7ms out and there was no chance to stop him from there. Conversion successful giving the score as 24-5 with 4mins to go.

The Academy Park side pushed for a bonus point try in the last few minutes, however a loose ball in the middle of the pitch was sized upon and allowed the Lismore 12 to go over for the final score of the game.

Overall a good victory with a good performance in places and very good to keep the momentum going before the visit of Hawick Linden next week

Tries - Paterson, Derrin, Murphy
Conversions - Dannfald (3)
Penalties - Dannfald (1/2)
Serrano MANCHEGO Man of the Match - Ben Place