BATTTERING RAMS !!!!!!
A battered and bruised East Kilbride Pirates side held on to their 100% record in the BAFL Division One by the skin of their teeth, following a gut bursting victory over the Yorkshire Rams. Having appeared to have been on cruise control for most of their matches so far, this was to be the biggest test of the Pirates championship winning potential. The Scots had a good record against the Rams over the years, but this would be a brand new challenge for the Pirates as this would be the first time they had faced each other in two years, with both sides having undergone personnel changes since then. Having been on the receiving end of some ferocious tackling, racking up a number of injuries to some key players, the Pirates manages to dig deep into their reserves, withstanding what was probably the most pressure they had sustained this season during a full game. And even though they had an element of luck during the latter stages of the game, due to some bad decisions by the visitors, the home side's resilience that proved to be the deciding factor, with Blake Kyle diving over the line for the final touchdown. This was the first leg of a back to back fixture for the Pirates against the Rams, so it was important to build up some momentum ahead of their trip to Leeds in seven days time.
And with home advantage, the Pirates appeared to be running everything according to script, closing down their opening drive and on their next possession when quarterback, Peter Rogers fired a wayward pass sending the ball into the hands of Ross Templeton, handing the Pirates excellent field position at the Rams 30 yard line. Quarterback Ryan Hunter held on to the ball moving the Pirates to the Rams 11 yard line and on the next play fired a diagonal missile to Jamie McLaughlin, who pulled in a text book catch at the corner of the end zone and the opening touchdown. The Rams hit back on the next possession when Rogers picked off Andy Durkin moving the visitors to the East Kilbride 29 yard line, the minutes later, Rogers took advantage of some slack Pirates marking, picking out Ben Barker for the tying touchdown, with Martin Steele splitting the uprights giving the English side a 1 point lead. There was no let up in the intensity from both sides, with the Pirates coming off the worst in terms of injuries, but the home side managed to get back in front during the early stages of the second quarter when a play action move cleared the way for Craig Towler to take the ball home for another six points, with Hunter running in the 2 point conversion for a 7 point lead. The Pirates appeared to have the edge over the Rams in terms of possession and were soon threatening the goal line again and increased their lead when Hunter fired a precision pass up the middle straight to Mark Murphy to make it 20-7 in favour of the Scots, with Hunter once again running in a successful conversion attempt. The Rams were starting to show their strength and soon had the Pirates on the ropes and were unfortunate to reduce the deficit when Durkin cut inside talking the ball to the endzone, but the score was chalked off for holding. And in the end the Pirates managed to weather the storm and hold on to their 15 pointy lead going into the break. Going into the third period were counting the course of a ferocious first half battle, nursing some injuries on the sidelines, including losing the services of James McIntosh with a dislocated shoulder. But it was an explosive start to the second half when Iain "Sparky" Dick turned in some big yardage all the way to the Rams 35 yard line, but tough defending from the Rams meant the drive stalled and the home side eventually turned over possession. Even though they were chasing a 15 point lead, the feeling that it was only a matter of time before the Rams would find their way through the Pirates rear guard and they duly delivered when Adim Irozuru did enough to cross the goal line and promptly followed that up with another successful Steele conversion kick. The Pirates injury toll continued to mount and were struggling to get their offensive machine back in gear. And come the start of the final period, the Pirates were hanging on as Yorkshire continued to pile on the pressure, with a 2 yard dive from Rodgers brought the visitors within 2 points of the Pirates. The prospect of getting a two point conversion attempt to tie the scoring proved to be too tempting for the Rams, but a touch standoff from the Pirate ensured that they held on to their slender lead. On the next drive, a text book reverse move gave the Scots a huge gain, bringing them well inside the English sides half. And even thought he home side appeared to be struggling to finish the move off, Hunter managed to get that little bit extra from the tired Pirates offense with two key completions, bringing them to the Rams 17 yard line. Then Kyle showed grit and determination, running through a mass of bodies, doing just enough to put the Pirates 8 points infront. But with 5 minutes of the game remaining, there was still time for the Rams to steal the points and it was not long before they found themselves deep inside the Pirates half of the field. And Rogers finished the drive off when he fired another long bomb to Ben Barker for another touchdown.
They tried to go for the tying two point conversion, but the resolute Pirate defense manage td stand their ground. And after a poor onside kick, the Pirate played safety first and ran down the clock and in the end deserved their win in what was an enthralling game - but at a price. With a number of injuries to contend with, the Pirates face a race against time in getting their squad back to full fitness ahead of the return leg in Leeds. But if this match was anything to go by, then the rematch is certainly going to be one for the books.
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