Hurricanes blown away by Pirates

Dundee Hurricanes 0 East Kilbride Pirates 33

Game Report by Bill Campbell

The Pirates' third consecutive "away" game saw them travel the road and miles to Dundee to take on the Hurricanes. Going into the game with no fewer than seven players away on International duty, it perhaps shouldn't have been a surprise that East Kilbride started slowly.

Throughout the first two quarters they traded possession and field position with the home side and neither team looked like putting points on the board. The Pirates in particular were suffering from poor execution and their old enemy, too many penalties.

A lengthy delay in the second quarter following an injury to Hurricanes' quarterback Bruce Thomson also contributed to the stop-start nature of the tie and half time arrived with the game scoreless.

Strong words fom Coach Darryn Trainor at the interval saw the Pirates re-emerge with renewed determination and they finally took the lead midway through the third period.

A short punt from deep in their own territory saw the ball at the Dundee 35-yard line. East Kilbride running back Blake Kyle took immediate advantage and scored on the next play from scrimmage.

Steven Kane's extra point attempt was wide of the mark, but the Pirates led 6-0. On their next possession, East Kilbride doubled the lead when again it was Kyle who carried the ball home from 11 yards to complete an 8-play drive. Kane slotted home the conversion to make it 13-0.

Moving into the fourth quarter, the visitors stretched their lead when a short pass from quarterback Andy Mackintosh to tight-end Kenny Muir saw him evade a couple of tackles on the sideline and take the ball to the endzone for a 18-yard touchdown.

Kane again converted and the Pirates were now 20-0 ahead. In the late stages of the game, relief quarterback Darren Brownlie added two rushing touchdowns from 38 and 32 yards to pad the score.

One of those scores was converted, leaving the final result as 33-0 in the Pirates' favour.

This coming Sunday sees the Pirates' first home game when they take on Doncaster Mustangs at Whitecraigs Rugby Club, Newton Mearns. Kick-off is at 14:30.

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