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Sat 20 Sep 2014
Highland
U18
39
17
Gutsy performance by the U18 with 14 men
Gareth D Kemp23 Sep 2014 - 20:35
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Ellon U18 travelled on the same bus as the First XV to Inverness to play Highland. The U18 played first and with one person not turning up for the coach, only travelled with 14 players
The game quickly ran away with Highland as the Ellon lads really didn’t step up. However at 27 - 0 down head coach Ross Finlay must have said something that finally woke the lads up. The started to work their defensive patterns, breaking down the big Highland team, then then worked the turn overs and used pace on the ball to pass wide and put pressure on the Highland team. Clearly not expecting it from the 14 man Ellon, the Ellon Colts really turned it on and put Highland under a lot of pressure. Tries came from James Evans and Aaron Bonner and Ellon really came back into the game. The best try of the game was scored just before half time by Aaron Bonner after a series of passes and a blind side break by Connor McWilliams, skirting the side line, cutting in and offloading out of the tackle one handed to Bonner to score in the corner.
Ellon started the second half on fire, really putting the Highland team under pressure. A try to Ellon by Paul Paxton, put the Highland team under more pressure and there was clearly some panic to the Highland play. When Jack Munro came off with a continuing finger injury, Ellon went down to 13 and Highland sneaked a try by bulldozing their big front row over the line. Ellon however went on to finish the game with 12 players after a shoulder knock. But they continued to dominate the game with dogged defence and a strong counter attack. In the last seconds of injury time Ellon held the defensive line under immense pressure for 5 phases of play, but Highland scored to take the second half 12-7. Final score was 39 – 17, but if Ellon had had a full 15 on the pitch for the game, they would have taken this game. A great performance and so much for the young team to take into the rest of the season. Next up is the high flying Ayr at the Meadows and then Currie away.
Vice president Gareth Kemp watched the game and said “This was a great performance by an Ellon team low on numbers due to injuries”. The way they performed for 70 minutes was amazing”. “If they hadn’t be a little asleep for the first 27 points this would have been a different game”. “The try scored by Bonner and set up by McWilliams at the end of the first half was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time”. “I picked Aaron Bonner for Man of the Match for Ellon after a fantastic performance on the wing, but there was a lot of players in that team who put their hand up and made a huge effort”.
Ellon started the second half on fire, really putting the Highland team under pressure. A try to Ellon by Paul Paxton, put the Highland team under more pressure and there was clearly some panic to the Highland play. When Jack Munro came off with a continuing finger injury, Ellon went down to 13 and Highland sneaked a try by bulldozing their big front row over the line. Ellon however went on to finish the game with 12 players after a shoulder knock. But they continued to dominate the game with dogged defence and a strong counter attack. In the last seconds of injury time Ellon held the defensive line under immense pressure for 5 phases of play, but Highland scored to take the second half 12-7. Final score was 39 – 17, but if Ellon had had a full 15 on the pitch for the game, they would have taken this game. A great performance and so much for the young team to take into the rest of the season. Next up is the high flying Ayr at the Meadows and then Currie away.
Vice president Gareth Kemp watched the game and said “This was a great performance by an Ellon team low on numbers due to injuries”. The way they performed for 70 minutes was amazing”. “If they hadn’t be a little asleep for the first 27 points this would have been a different game”. “The try scored by Bonner and set up by McWilliams at the end of the first half was one of the best I’ve seen in a long time”. “I picked Aaron Bonner for Man of the Match for Ellon after a fantastic performance on the wing, but there was a lot of players in that team who put their hand up and made a huge effort”.
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