Allan Glens 12 - Cumnock / Kilmarnock Cougars 22

The Cougars travelled up the road to Bishopbriggs to play their third away game in a row. Having won at Hamilton and drawn against Ardrossan they were confident that a win was within their grasp, along with four points to take them close to the top of the league.

On a cold blustery afternoon on a sodden pitch the Cougars made things difficult for themselves in the opening quarter. They were never out of their own half and when they had possession they somehow managed to give the ball back to their opponents. Only some stout defending throughout the team kept the home team off the score sheet.

Slowly the Cougars got themselves into the game and some good passages of play between both forwards and backs saw them working their way up field. Ever alert scrum-half Aidan Kerr was on hand to dart over underneath the posts from short range after 15 minutes, with Ben Stewart adding the extra two points.

Both teams had chances after that but it was the Cougars that were on the scoresheet again in the 26th minute with Gregor Paxton dotting down in the corner after breaking through a number of tackles. The Cougars had further chances but also had some defending to do and the scoreline remained at 0-12 at the break.

In the second half the Cougars took control of the rucks with good work from Andy Harkiss and Callum Bark and were securing good ball in the line-outs with Robbie McLaren throwing well to Neil Kerr and Scott Faulds. This allowed the backs to get some good possession and only some strong tackling by the home team kept them at bay. However a good break down the left wing eventually saw Gavin Miller dive over in the 47th minute to take the lead to 17 points. However a quick break from Allan Glens and some tired tackling saw the home team score under posts two minutes later with the conversion closing the gap to ten points.

The Allan Glens players took heart from this and started to fight their way back into the game. Some fine tackling from the Cougars particularly from Jack Reilly, Bradley Smith and Gavin Wight though kept them at bay, driving their opponents back in the tackle. One such tackle saw Gregor Aitken drive his opposite number a good fifteen metres back up the park and from the resultant ruck the ball was released to Gregor Paxton who raced through to score and finally secure the points. The home team managed a further try at the end of the match to bring this physical encounter to a conclusion and a 12-22 win for the Cougars.

After the nervous start this was a good result in less than ideal conditions. Jamie Lorimer made a steady debut for the team and it was encouraging to see him and some of the other less experienced players coming on during the game and making a positive contribution to the team. These players will only improve as the season goes on and they get more game time under their belts.

After three away games the Cougars face Argyll at home on Sunday 25th November, with both teams looking to lay down a marker for this league.

Team. McEwan, R McLaren, Harkiss, A McLaren, Faulds, B Smith, N Kerr, Bark, A Kerr, Stewart, Wight, Paxton, Aitken, D Smith, Reilly: Subs (all used) Bowditch, McCulloch, Barr, Hunter, Miller, Elliott, Robson, Lorimer.