Ross Sutherland youngsters end season with memorable clash
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ROSS Sutherland’s youth team suffered a cruel injury time defeat at St Andrews on Sunday as National League side Falkirk snatched Shield victory with the last play of the game.
A storming second half performance got them within touching distance of silverware but were denied by a try in the final seconds and Falkirk, who were strong favourites ahead of the game, will have come away with a massive sense of relief following one of the most exciting and entertaining matches in a long time.
The match started with Falkirk dominating most aspects of play and raced to a 15-0 lead. Falkirk were coasting and at that stage the only question was the likely margin of victory.
The Ross lads dug deep and right on half-time a quickly taken penalty near the Falkirk try line resulted in a score for Tom Bannerman, converted by Jake Geddis to reduce the deficit to eight points.
It wasn’t long before a penalty by Jake Geddis reduced the deficit to 15-10 and the game was starting to swing in favour of the Ross team. Following more pressure on the Falkirk line, Calum Sangster drove over to give the Ross team a 17-15 lead — raising the level of tension and excitement a few notches.
With 10 minutes left the lead was extended further when Calum Sangster scored an opportunist try, heading down the narrow side following a line-out to give the Ross side a 22-15 lead. It was a remarkable turn around but there was more drama to follow.
With five minutes remaining the Falkirk team came back with a try to level at 22-22. The Ross team were not finished and came right back on the attack and with just a few A Jake Geddis penalty put the Ross team back in the lead at 25-22.
The Falkirk team then counterattacked but Henry Pearce made a try saving tackle resulting in a line-out to Ross. The game was now deep in injury time but one more play was allowed. Falkirk had a strong line-out throughout and from pressure they were able to regain possession. The ball was fed to their outstanding centre who made ground and created an opening for their flying winger to score, the try was converted, the whistle for full-time went, and the Ross team were denied a victory after the most brave and spirited fightback seen for some time.
What a way to end the season!
The Ross team: H Pearce; A Bregazzi, J Eaglesham, A Mackay, D Murray; J Geddis, C Munro; S Gunn, F Foulis, G Torrance, D Morrison, H Mackay, Z Knibbs, C Sangster, T Bannerman; Replacements (all used): L Buchanan, S Smith, C Munro, A Cooper, A Murray-John.
