Leith lose out in Derby Thriller

There was hardly a breath of wind at Academy Park as Leith kicked the game off with a Ben Wilkinson kick going high and long into the sun as they attacked towards Easter Road. The game had been met with much anticipation with it being against our old rivals Trinity with a bumper President’s Day crowd cheering on. Leith welcomed back Grant Aitken back into the squad after a period away on exercise with the Army, however they were dealt a blow as Ben Place and Pete Mitchell we both struck down with a sickness bug meaning they were unable to play, however Fraser Forsyth was able to make it down from work for the 2nd half and Andy Mac also provided cover.

Leith had the better of the early play however there was almost a sense of Deja vu from last week as a couple of backs sustained early injuries. However luckily for Leith centre Dug Watters had only sustained a lost contact and full back Kenny Dannfald was able to return to the field after a cut to the head was patched up. The home team were in the driver's seat although they were unable to capitilise and score any points, and when the chance presented itself to the away team they were able to convert. From a scrum 35 meters out, Trinity were able to break down the blindside, a couple of missed first up tackles combined with some neat support play allowed the Trinity winger to cross the whitewash.

Leith however would come right back at Trinity and push them yet again with an extend period of pressure and territory. After a few chance had gone a begging for the Leith, the home crowd were beginning to wonder if it was going to be their team’s day. But just when things may have got frustrating for the home team a loose clear kick allowed hulking winger Ross Marwick to gather and leave a trail of 3 or 4 defenders in his wake as he made a B line for the posts. Rossco was felled with 10ms to go but centre Eoin Murphy was able to gather and when he wasn't held, wriggle over the line for a score. The Dannfald conversion made the scores equal at 7 a piece.

Leith sensed an opportunity and and tried to up the ante and put Trinity under pressure, hoping that they could get on the scoreboard again. A break by stand off Ben Wilkinson almost saw winger Steven Eadie in at the corner but he was stopped just short of the line. This pressure was teling as debutant Toby Kirkwood and second row partner Mike McLeish were able to punch holes into the defence deep into the 22m area. With Leith having men over the tryline was begging to be attacked however one loose pass looked like the chance was over, the ball was able to be gathered by centre Watters and with his back to the tryline he was able to spin, turning a couple of defenders inside out and with a powerful hand off, made it over the line. The wide conversion was missed but Leith were in the lead.

They were however unable to hold onto this lead until half time as Trinity were able to stretch the game and retain the ball for quite a few phases, the home team eventually running out of defenders and the away team leveling the scores for halftime. Despite this the halftime message was positive, Leith knowing that if they could keep up the pressure and intensity they may be able to get on top in the game.

Unfortunately after the half Leith had a 10 minutes that they would live to regret, unable to clear the lines coupled with a couple of penalties saw the team camped back on their own line for the majority of the opening of the 2nd half. This pressure did tell and Leith conceded two quick fire tries which looked to have sunk the home teams chance of a win. However the players still believed, there was a lot of rugby to play with 30 minutes to go and Leith started to get more of a foothold in the game with some intelligent play and some Trinity mistakes pinning the Ferry road men back and putting pressure on them. Leith did have a few chances with Aitken, McKinney, Murphy and Phillips making breaks as well as Eadie and Marwick looking dangerous on the ball. A couple of times the last pass being dropped preventing any serious scoring chances. Dannfald also thought he was in after a chip a head bounced into his hands with a defender to beat, however the ref thought he spotted a knock on and pulled the play back.

Despite Leith knocking on the door, Trinity were doing just about enough to keep the determined home team out. However eventually this defence was breached as some fast play and recycling of the ball meant that Wilkinson was able to give centre Eoin Murphy to get on the outside of his defender and power his way over the line. Conversion was missed meaning Leith were chasing a 7 point deficit with 5 minutes to play. With a couple of minutes to go Grant Aitken burst through the middle and the home team held their breath however a knock on at the breakdown handed the ball back to Trinity, and with that the game was seen out.

Overall it was a disappointing to lose to our biggest rivals on our own patch however the much improved performance from last week means that there were positives to be taken from the game. Leith hope to take these on to next weeks game as they travel to Wardie to take on unbeaten Broughton in what will be a tough match.

Tries - Murphy (2), Watters
Conversion - Dannfald (1)
Serrano Manchego Man of the Match - Mike McLeish