Glasgow Tigers 20 Edinburgh Wolves14

It was certainly not a great day for football.   Having to deal with teaming rain at five minute intervals completed with bursts of 60mph wind, provided new challenges – not just for players, but for the spectators as well.

But no matter the sport, when East of Scotland meets the West, it always has an extra special ring to it.  And very often the occasion matches the billing.  Which makes one wonder- if Mother Nature had not been in such a bad mood – this could have been a game as one for the books.

Am I being too harsh – well in a way yes!!!!  

Despite the naff weather both teams put everything into what has a hard fought match up, where it looked as Glasgow were going to walk away with the game going 20 points up.

But then Edinburgh managed to find a way through the elements to reduce the deficit to six points and after a dull third quarter, they almost nicked the points at the end – but were denied thanks to a strong stand off from the Tigers defense.

The Tigers were once again light in numbers against a much larger Wolves squad, but there was still experience in the Tigers line up, including ex Tigers University and EK Pirates rusher, Ronald “Pebbles” Gaffin who soon started to make his presence felt during the opening drives of the game.

And it was no surprise to see him find the endzone, bursting through from a few yards out for the opening touchdown, which was followed up with Quarterback Lewis Stephenson, holding on to the ball crossing the goal line for a successful two point conversion.

With the game being played in a different pitch than normally, they game was more exposed to the elements and would have been more difficult for both teams to deploy an effective passing game, so there was a lot more emphasis of pushing the game forward on the ground.

It was not long before the Tigers were in the sight of the endzone, with Gaffin trying to push the drive that extra yard, but fumbled the ball in the process, but Ally Choat was on hand to pick up the loose ball to finish the move off and cross the goal line for another six points.

Edinburgh continued to struggle to get their offensive machine in gear.   And going into the second quarter, they were starting to lose their discipline, conceding some needless penalties. 

Their troubles continued to mount up when one of their linemen was ejected.  Then minutes the Tigers looked as if they were running away with the game when a hand off to “Pebbles” ended with the rusher, blasting through for his second touchdown of the day.

Having going down 20 points without reply, not looking as if they were going to cause too much trouble, It looked as if it was going to be a very long day for the Wolves, especially as there was the hazardous weather conditions to deal with as well.

But going into the final section of the half, a strong stand off from Edinburgh, meant the Tigers had to turn over possession and were caught off guard when Quarterback Scott Hackett fired a long pass to Stu Harrison, who pulled of a great one handed catch and gave himself a clear run to the endzone.

It was the Tigers who found themselves in trouble during the final minutes of the second quarter when the Edinburgh Quarterback showed excellent vision picking off Stu Galloway for a second touchdown, with James Foster running in a successful two point conversion reducing the deficit to 6 points at half time.

Going into the third quarter, the Tigers struggling to regain the momentum that they had at the start of the game, but their defense managed to contain any prospects of the Wolves building on their excellent finish to the first half.   Result - a very dull third quarter.

With no changes to the scoreline during the final minutes of the match, there was still time for a grandstand finish and there was still time for the Wolves to snatch a dramatic come from behind win.   And it looked as if they were set to break through the Tigers defensive wall again when Steve MacDonald was stopped ten yards from the goal line.

If the Wolves were going to take the lead for the first time, then this was their chance to do it.   And with just over three minutes left, the Tigers knew that this was the pivotal moment that would decide the game.

And they were stopped in dramatic fashion when Gregor Beattie, pulled of a crucial interception inside his endzone.

So not surprisingly, with the Tigers in possession, they decided to focus more on holding on to the ball as opposed to adding another score and ran down the clock.

GLASGOW TIGERS V EDINBURGH WOLVES :
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