TIGERS IN O.T. DRAMA
Glasgow Tigers 16 Paisley Pyros 8 (OT)

A dramatic overtime winner from Grant McAuslan saw the Glasgow Tigers cling on to their 100% record edging out the Paisley Pyros.

Having suffered a narrow loss against Napier, Paisley were looking to get their season off the mark against the reigning Scottish Conference Champions, who despite their squad enduring a number of rookie mistakes, managed to dig deep in their reserves to grab the opening points against the Caledonian Roughriders.

In the same fixture last year, the Tigers romped home with a 47 point whitewash against the Renfrewshire side.

And if the Tigers were to maintain their grip in the Northern Conference this year, then these were the kind of games that they were expected to win.

But there was no evidence of any one sided affair during this fixture which turned into a tough defensive struggle, with both sides displaying a high level of work rate, but little success when it came to attack, with Paisley's Tal Peer proving to be the bright spark during a mostly dull first quarter and the same for most of the second.

However Glasgow finally got their act in gear with just over a 1 minute before the break, with returning Tigers running back, Ronald “Pebbles” Gaffin, took the game by the scruff of the neck on a Pyros punt, returning the ball 60 yards for the opening six points, with Tyler Bennet scrambling over the goal line for the 2 point conversion.

During previous fixtures, the Pyros would not be feeling the effects of a lack of numbers and would find themselves playing catch up during the early stages of the first half.

But this was a Paisley side, playing full of confidence and they were soon piling the pressure on the Tigers, who were still showing evidence of the offensive troubles that had been plaguing them the week before.

And came as no surprise when Paisley got right back into the match when a poor pass from Bennet, fell into the hands of Ally Klimowicz who ran in an easy score, with John Broughton bulldozed through a mass of bodies for a two point conversion to tie the scoring.

The Tigers offensive troubles continued when one of their key playmakers, Gaffin hobbled off the field due to an ankle injury.

Minutes later Paisley were threating the Tigers endzone when a great run down the near side by Peer, took the visitors to the Tigers 30 yard line, but the home side got a break when the play was pulled back on a holding penalty.

Then on the next play, the Paisley rusher did the same again running down the opposite side, giving them excellent field position.

But the Tigers defense continued to hold their ground against heavy pressure going into the final period and soon took over possession, only to exert little pressure of their own.

And they soon found themselves in trouble again when Klimowicz pulled in another interception for the visitors.

As the minutes continued to tick away the game was heading into a stalemate as tiredness appeared to be kicking in on both sides.

Finally the waiting was over and we were now faced with a sudden death over time situation where both sides were to start one drive 25 yards from the goal line.

And the Tigers, who are no strangers to leaving things to the last minute made the decisive breakthrough when replacement Quarterback Grecen Lee picked off Grant McAuslan for a much welcomed touchdown, with Matt Allan adding the two point conversion to put the Tigers 16-8 in front.

The pressure was now on the Pyros who needed to score on there possession in order to keep the game alive. And as they edged closer to the goal line, the Tigers defense stood their ground and the drive eventually stalled just yards from the endzone.

With the Tigers taking a week off before returning to action, Paisley now face an even tougher task next week when they return to their home patch in Paisley where they will play host to the Stirling Clansmen, who got their season off to a perfect start with a resounding 56 point thrashing of the Napier Mavericks