Hillfoots 20-20 Strathmore
Hillfoots hit the road again looking to improve on last weeks poor performance (their own words!) at Gordonians. Hillfoots kicked off and after a scrappy first few minutes gradually began to put some good phases together. The backs took the ball into the home ’22 and with the forwards arriving in numbers, the ball was quickly shipped out to Kev Aitken, who went round his man to score in the corner. Hamilton failed with the conversion but made ammends shortly after with a well taken penalty. ‘Foots were on a roll and Hamilton extended the lead after a typical burst through the centre ended with a converted score. Strathmore pulled a score back after sloppy play from ‘Foots allowed the homeside to turn the ball over and score in the corner. ‘Foots reply was instant. The forwards regained the ball from the kick off, the ball was then moved slickly along the bacline for Aitken to double his tally. With halftime looming, Hillfoots should have closed the half out, but another lapse in concentration allowed the home side a lifeline.
Half time 20-10
Strathmore were a different side in the second half. Hillfoots defence was solid and Strathy were struggling to breach the gain line, however, with so much pressure the penalty count was starting to rise and the referee’s patience was wearing thin. Chris Beetham was first to go, quickly followed by Keith Slade. Down to thirteen men ‘Foots conceded a very dubiuos try after a blatant knock on went unnoticed by the referee. Strathmore drew level shortly after when Hillfoots just ran out of defenders. Tied at 20-20 the homeside went looking for the win. Although pinned in their own ’22, ‘Foots were managing to turnover ball and clear their lines. With time running out, ‘Foots launched one final attack, driving deep into Strathmore’s half only for the ball to be held up which allowed the referee to signal the end of the game.
All in all, the team felt that it was a much better performance than last week, with all players showing a passion for the jersey again.
