Cumnock 7 - 17 Paisley

They battled hard but lapses in concentration in the second half allowed Paisley to run in two scores, while basic errors in attack cost them golden opportunities to pick up points of their own.
However, it was not all doom and gloom with a lot of enterprising rugby and some extremely stout work in defence to balance out the negatives.
Cumnock, playing in their blue change strips, were able to draw on a strong squad with Gordon Hughes returning to action after a long absence in the back row and Tony Foster also making a comeback on the wing. However, it was a slow start to the game with neither team able to hang on to the ball for long enough to create much. The Paisley stand off's steady boot ensured that Cumnock were forced to try and play the ball out of their own half with strong running centre pairing Stuart Hunter and Alan Smith making most of the hard yards.
There was also a regular break for scrums, with Cumnock stealing the first ball against the head, thanks to a powerful shove by props Graham Montgomery and Donald Hunter. However, they struggled to clear their lines with Pete Berrett finding himself under pressure as he tried to get the ball away.
Paisley also had their moments, with some clever running forcing Cumnock onto the back foot. The home defence was solid though with Paul Miller and Jamie Hodge coping well round the fringes and Martin Thomson making a series of strong hits to keep the runners at bay.
Cumnock had the first chance to put points on the board with a long penalty kick. Stuart Hunter's effort drifted wide of the right hand post but Cumnock were still on the attack and were presented with a golden opportunity after David Kerr hacked a loose ball ahead with Foster running on to it.
With the line at his mercy and supporting players infield Foster went to kick on, only to fire the ball straight out the park. Paisley cleared their lines and the opportunity was gone.
Paisley finally opened the scoring in the late stages of the first half with a penalty to give them a three point lead.
It was the away team that had all the momentum early in the second half but Cumnock dug in doggedly and refused to let the visitors make a break through. Paisley had two chances to extend their lead with penalty though both were missed.
It has been a failing of Cumnock's all season to battle hard before having a lapse in concentration and allowing their opponents to seize the initiative. So it proved here after Campbell Reid was sin binned following a fracas in Cumnock's half and Paisley ran in two tries during the ten minutes that the Broomfield team were reduced to fourteen men.
Both came from similar positions with their powerful forward runners punching holes in midfield and finding support runners. Cumnock had cause to be disappointed with these after defending so well in this area earlier in the game. Both tries were converted, giving Paisley an unassailable seventeen point advantage.
Cumnock made use of their bench with Craig Greer adding his strong carrying game to the mix and Kevin Brady and Robbie Heron stiffening up their side's set piece play.
Cumnock responded with a try of their own straight off the training group with Jamie Hodge rising to collect a shortened line out and Pete Berrett delaying his pass to Campbell Reid perfectly, with the big number eight charging through unopposed to secure his place as Cumnock's top try scorer of the season. Stuart Hunter was on target with the conversion but the clock was always against Cumnock and the final whistle blew on a disappointing season for the Broomfield team.
It has been a mixed bag all year with some quality rugby sitting alongside some very poor displays. However, the final two games of the year against Loch Lomond and Paisley at least saw Cumnock putting in battling performances which showed much more spirit than in previous efforts which now needs to be taken into next season.
Man of the match was Campbell Reid after an all action display, despite picking up a yellow card.

Team: G.Montgomery, P.Miller, D.Hunter, J.Hodge, G.Dick, G.Hughes, D.Kerr, C.Reid, P.Berrett, M.Thomson, L.Howie, S.Hunter, A.Smith, T.Foster, G.McMillan
Bench: R.Donald, R.Heron, C.Greer, J.Gibson