Kelso 24
Peebles 17
RBS REGIONAL CUP
THE opening 20 minutes appeared to show the gulf between the two leagues as Kelso dominated possession and territory. They started the scoreboard rolling with a Murray Hastie penalty after only two minutes. He repeated the dose after 12 minutes when Peebles were caught offside.
Michael Robertson’s clean catch from a lineout led to a forward drive which was going towards the Peebles line at great speed. The visitors brought down the maul and referee Cammy Rudkin awarded a penalty try which Hastie converted.
Peebles woke up and enjoyed a passage of play which eventually led to a try. A scorching break by Conor Blyth found Warren Kearney up in support to cruise in at the posts. Greg Raeburn converted to close the gap to 13-7.
But Hastie slotted his third penalty to take the home team to 16-7 at the break.
Peebles made a cracking start to the second half, while Kelso created a terrible mess of the kick-off reception. Pressure from Peebles almost allowed them in for a try, but they were awarded a penalty instead. Richard Minto was deemed to have interfered with the tap penalty taker and earned 10 minutes in the bin.
It was a costly error as Peebles scored two tries during his absence. First, Kearney scored his second of the day after a scrum near the home line. Almost immediately, sparkling back play and good hands allowed full back Martin Cruikshank to race in for the try to take the lead. Kelso settled when Minto returned and they regained the lead through a Hastie penalty for a dodgy tackle.
The hosts bagged another try after 77 minutes. Gregg Minto was stopped just short of the line, the Kelso pack recycled the ball and Stuart Lowrie on hand to score from his usual distance.
Kelso: G. Mulroy; G. Millar, R. Minto, A. Alexander, G. Minto; M. Hastie, F. Strachan; S. Lowrie, C. Riddell, A. Marsh, R. Tinlin, I. Wallace, M. Robertson, D. Gillespie, S. MacColl. Replacements: K. Cooney, D. Redstone, A. Wolf, T. Wilson.
Peebles: M. Cruickshank; C. Blyth, C. Scott, J. Hemera, R. Clinch; G. Raeburn, D. Anderson; A. Brown, R. McConnell, A. Clark, K. Clyde, G. Hogarth, C. McCann, D. Hall, W. Kearney. Replacements: M. Carryer, R. Milne, K. Brown, D. Wills, R. Brown.