Arnold Clark Men's Premiership: Melrose triumph over Edinburgh Accies in game of two halves

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Edinburgh Accies 35

Melrose 38

COLIN RENTON @ Raeburn Place

MELROSE inflicted a painful blow to the survival hopes of Edinburgh Accies, staging a fightback that had looked unlikely after the Borderers limped through the opening 40 minutes. Accies looked to have the game won when they reached halt-time with a commanding lead after showing a side to their character that has been missing for much of the campaign. However, not for the first time, they managed to lose a game in which they were firmly in charge of, and that has left hopes of top-flight next season hanging by a thread.

Melrose deserve much credit for showing some of the attributes that were absent in the home ranks, not least aggression in the right areas and the determination to battle for 80 minutes. With the top four out of reach and the relegation battle not an issue, the Borderers could have been forgiven for conceding defeat after trailing by 23 points at half-time, However, they delivered a second period performance that eventually squeezed the energy out of the home side and ultimately produced a scintillating win.

"The nature of this group is that we don't get distracted by the scoreboard too often," said Melrose coach Iain Chisholm. "It was always just about process, chipping away and getting the next score. We needed half time to reassess where we were and what we were doing well. At scrum time we were dominant but not at the maul. I know what I want, I want fast ball and I want to go forward.

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"Our strength is our defence and the ability to get off the line, we didn't see that in the first half, we just allowed Accies to run at us and build momentum," he added. "I've been with this group for over three years now and sometimes when the carrot isn't working you've got to get the stick out. They are great boys and they reacted well."

There was a sense of déjà vu in the home ranks, with Iain Berthinussen again bemoaning a defeat snatched from a position of strength.

"There is no way we should be losing that game at 35-12 up", he said. "If you look at start of the second half, we soaked up some pressure, we get a couple of turnovers, we probably overplay whereas we didn't do that in the first half. If we score from one of the two when we are in their half we probably see that game away, but we were porous at the end."

It looked evident from the start which of the two sides was battling for survival as Accies bagged their first score within a minute. An exchange of kicks handed possession to the hosts and Cole Imrie forced his way over from close range. Vincent Hart added the extras and he did so again three minutes later after George Davis charged down a clearance kick, dribbled ahead then flopped on the ball to take the Accies tally into double figures.

The urgency that has been missing from Accies' performances earlier in the season had returned with a vengeance as evidenced by a thumping Tom Drennan tackle on his opposite number Will Ferrie, while Robbie Kent was equally determined as he forced Connor Spence to carry over.

Melrose had not yet visited opposition territory and their slow start was punished for a third time when Cam MacDonald picked up at a ruck ten metres from the line and sidestepped his way over between the sticks, leaving Hart a straightforward conversion.

Such a lead was no less than the home side deserved at that stage, but they had not yet been tested in defence and when that eventually happened, Melrose struck. Corey Goldsborough was the beneficiary, taking a well-timed pass from Bruce Colvine and breaking an attempted tackle to dot down.

Accies regained the initiative and secured the four try bonus in 21 minutes when a break by Hart created the platform for a series of phases that ended with MacDonald going over for a second time and Hart again converting.

Melrose offered another glimpse of the pace behind the scrum and clawed back five points when Colvine fed Finlay Sinclair who raced in, with Kieran Clark on the mark with the conversion.

That sparked the best period of the game for the Borderers, although Ferrie had the ball dislodged from his hands just shy of the target and Accies snaffled a turnover a couple of metres short. It got worse for Melrose when Goldsbrough was yellow carded for failing to release a tackled player.

The hosts took full advantage of the extra man when they stretched the opposition defence and Drennan barged his way over for a try, with Hart's conversion completing the first half scoring.

With Chisholm's words ringing in their ears, Melrose restarted well, keeping the ball in hand and testing the Accies defence. Zen Szwagrzak weighed in with two big carries and Colvine pulled the strings to maintain the pressure. That paid off five minutes into the second half when Morgan Gabe hurtled over for a well-deserved score.

There was a feeling that the momentum was shifting in favour of the visitors but they lost possession to an Accies turnover then were penalised for crossing when the whitewash in sight. However, Accies were now under the cosh and it was no surprise when Colvine capped another spell in the ascendancy with the bonus point score. Clark's conversion trimmed the deficit to 11 points and offered Melrose hope as the game entered the final ten minutes.

The visitors' cause was helped when Accies sub George Ratcliff saw yellow for blocking. They capitalised with five minutes to play when the ball was swept along the line to Spence who raced in. Roly Brett converted to leave a four point deficit which was still in place as the clock ticked past 80 minutes.

Accies were clinging on against a Melrose side that was now totally in control, and an unlikely fightback was completed when scrum ball was moved wide to Hamish Weir who stepped past the final defender to go in at the corner. Brett's conversion concluded a satisfying win for Melrose and capped a miserable afternoon for Accies.

Teams –

Edinburgh Accies: V Hart; R Kent, M Wallace, N Armstrong ©, F Lindsay; S Wells, C MacDonald; C Imrie, F McAslan, P Hayes, R Thompson, S Whittaker, T Drennan, G Davis, G Napier. Subs: G Shannon, G Ratcliff, C Bain, A Wood, W Catterall, B Grainger, C Allan.

Melrose: M Gabe; C Spence, C Goldsbrough, R Brett, D Mulcahy; K Clark, B Colvine; J Dobie, L Kirk, Z Szwagrzak, M Rutherford, A Runciman ©, W Ferrie, J Wilks, E Ruthven. Subs: A Ceballos, B White, R Robinson, F Sinclair, D Crawford, E Davies, H Weir.

Referee:

Scorers –

Edinburgh Accies: Tries: Imrie, Davis, Macdonald 2, Drennan; Cons: Hart 5.

Melrose: Tries: Goldsbrough, Sinclair, Gabe, Colvine, Spence, Weir; Cons: Clark 2, Brett 2.

Scoring sequence (Edinburgh Accies first): 5-0; 7-0; 12-0; 14-0; 19-0; 21-0; 21-5; 26-5; 28-5; 28-10; 28-12; 33-12; 35-12 (h-t) 35-17; 35-22; 35-24; 35-29; 35-31; 35-36; 35-38.

Yellow cards –

Edinburgh Accies: Ratcliff

Melrose: Goldsbrough

Man-of-the-Match: The Melrose fightback was launched by a powerful pack featuring several important contributions, notably from Zen Szwagrzak at the set-piece and in open play, earning him the accolade.

Talking point: Accies are now in serious trouble. There is no doubting the individual talent of several players in the squad. What is missing appears to be the mental attributes required to convert that talent into wins. They must now do that in their two remaining matches, although it may already be too late.

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