MATCH REPORT – DEESIDE U18 V ELLON U18 – 22ND SEPTEMBER 2012

Ellon arrived in plenty of time to enjoy a steady warm-up which built in intensity towards the one o’clock kick-off.
Deeside kicked off and were on the front foot straight away, winning a penalty inside the Ellon 22. The penalty was tapped and moved along the line but a knock-on brought the move to an end.
It wasn’t long before the Deeside pressure resulted in a score. On five minutes Deeside won a scrum against the head and passed wide for one of the centres to stretch for the line. The conversion from out wide was missed.
Ellon were forced into an early substitution when Nathan Emery, who had been struggling with a buttock injury in the warm-up was replaced by Ben Trowse. Josh Walker moved to full-back and Ben went onto the right wing.
Ellon were displaying the same slow start to the game that had been seen the week before in Inverness. The Deeside pack and in particular the back row were well on top. After 12 minutes Ellon started to wake up and exert some pressure of their own. They won a penalty on the Deeside 10 metre line and kicked for touch. The pack tried one of their training ground line-out throws to the front but the referee deemed the ball had not been thrown five metres. However, Ellon once again won the resulting scrum against the head and put some width on the ball but the defence got across to snuff out the danger.
A good period of Ellon pressure failed to result in a score and they went further behind on 20 minutes when a kick deep into the corner was picked up by Josh Walker. His attempted clearance to touch was charged down and the ball fell kindly to a Deeside player who was able to gather and fall over the line.
Deeside’s number 10 converted the try to take the score to Deeside 12 Ellon 0.
Ellon were back in the game five minutes later when powerful rucking from the forwards and good hands from the backs saw Adam Krasjuk stopped just short of the line. The forwards were quick to the breakdown and Neil Anderson burst over the line assisted by Tom Owen. The conversion was missed but Ellon were back in the game and looking to get level before half time. However, on 38 minutes Deeside extended their advantage. Following a ruck on the Ellon try line a Deeside forward was able to squeeze over. The try was converted and the teams went into half time with the score at Deeside 19 Ellon 5.
Ellon made changes at half-time with Mathew Royce coming on in the front row and Tom Owen making way. An injury to the impressive Ben Trowse saw Peter Barouki replace him on the wing.

The half-time team talk must have been very impressive as Ellon came out for the second half all guns blazing. Within the first five minutes an opening was created for Liam Cousins and Josh Walker on the left wing but the ball was knocked on.
Ellon were camped in the Deeside 22 and won a series of five metre scrums. They should have had a penalty in front of the posts but the referee somehow missed a Deeside player laying on the wrong side and stopping scrum half Craig Dalgarno from getting the ball out of the ruck. To the annoyance of the Ellon players Deeside were awarded a scrum from which they cleared to touch on the 22.
The Ellon pressure eventually paid off when after 13 minutes a typically barnstorming run from Douglas Sharp saw him breakthrough several tackles to dive under the posts. Stewart Cruikshank converted the try and the score was Deeside 19 Ellon 12 with twenty minutes to go.
The impressive Douglas Sharp suffered what looked like a nasty ankle injury as he attempted to break through the Deeside rearguard once again. Nathan Brown came on to replace him and immediately set about breaking through the Deeside defence.
At this point the game was so one sided it looked like there could only be one winner. Ellon’s superior fitness was in evidence once again as Deeside started to tire under the relentless pressure. For the next 15 minutes Ellon camped in the opposition 22 and launched wave after wave of attacks. However, some poor decision making and sloppy passing saw several chances go begging. On at least two occasions there was a three to one overlap on the left wing but the ball was kept in tight by the forwards.
As the game moved into the last 10 minutes there were a couple of midfield breaks by Josh Walker and then Tom Owen who was hauled down with the line in sight by a suspiciously high tackle that was missed by the referee.
Deeside’s only outlet from defence was to kick long. Substitute winger Peter Barouki was incredibly composed under a series of high balls which he took cleanly and put Ellon back on the front foot.
Ellon deserved so much more than was evident from the scoreline and they thought they had got themselves within touching distance when a great drive by Connor Silver – one of many impressive runs from a player who was feeling under the weather before kick-off – saw him dive over the line and touch the ball down. However, by the time the referee caught up with play a Deeside player had managed to get his hand under the ball and the referee awarded a five metre scrum instead of the try that should have been awarded.
With the clock ticking down Ellon finally moved the ball wide. For once good hands in midfield and great pace from Jamie Gillan created space. His well timed pass to Liam Cousins saw the winger sprint for the line and smash though his opposite number to score in the corner. The score was now Deeside 19 Ellon 17. Steward Cruickshank faced the challenge of kicking a conversion from the touchline to bring the scores level. Under immense pressure he just hooked the ball wide of the left hand upright.
The game was now into injury time and the home players and fans were pleading for the final whistle. Ellon recovered the ball from the restart and tried to go wide but they just couldn’t find the space. When a ruck was formed on half-way everyone could see a Deeside player using his hands but it was missed by the referee who awarded a penalty to Deeside. The scrum half kicked the ball into tough and to the relief of Deeside the final whistle blew. The final score was Deeside 19 Ellon 17.
The result was bitterly disappointing given the amount of pressure and territory Ellon exerted. In the second half they spend 35 minutes inside the Deeside half and much of that deep inside the 22. For the second week running it was a case of what might have been if the team had shown more composure and taken their chances.
Ellon have now played their three toughest away fixtures of the season and will be looking forward to welcoming teams to the Meadows over the next few weeks.
Congratulations to Connor Silver who was Man of the Match with a special mention going to Peter Barouki who performed well in his first game of the season.
The next match sees Gordonstoun visiting Ellon for a one O’clock kickoff on Saturday the 29th of September.

Simon Cousins