Jed-Forest 27
Kelso 27
RBS NATIONAL LEAGUE
NORMAN ANDERSON reports from Riverside Park
SPECTATORS were treated to an exciting match with an abundance of tries, great effort, loads of mistakes and so much extra time that fans almost missed the start of the Calcutta Cup match.
The visitors were soon two converted tries behind. First, in four minutes, Lewis Young finished off a fine move along the Jed backline which Ewan Scott converted. The second touchdown came after a charge-down of a Kelso kick. The Jed forwards took the ball on and Ross Goodfellow slipped over in 13 minutes. Scott again added the extras.
The Tweedsiders hit back when, following a scrum, Scott MacColl picked up and fed Dom Buckley. Quickly recycled ball allowed Ian Wallace to go over after 29 minutes for a try which was converted by Murray Hastie.
But Kelso soon conceded more points via a Scott penalty from in front of the posts. This was quickly followed by another Jed try, courtesy of Scott Raeburn. Scott’s conversion took the interval tally to 24-7.
Shell-shocked Kelso stayed on the field at half-time for a chat with their coaches. This seemed to have an effect as they came out of the blocks all guns blazing.
Donald Seed and Ewan Ford had been brought on and they both had an immediate impact on the game, with a couple of good drives from the latter and a clean line-out catch by the former. From this catch and drive, play went up to the Jed line and Wallace crashed over for his second try. Hastie converted.
Only a few minutes later, a lineout win by James Stewart was taken on by the forwards and from a quick ruck Fraser Strachan fed Buckley, who knifed through the home rearguard to close the gap to only five points.
Scott slotted over a penalty for the Royal Blues, but Buckley replied in similar fashion after Jed’s Lewis Young was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on.
And just two minutes later, from a Buckley break, winger Gregor Millar raced over in the corner to level the scores.
Jed-Forest: I. Chisolm; L. Young, R. Hogg, E. Scott, D. Gobby; N. Fono-Hunt, R. Goodfellow; A. Ions, David Grieve, A. Frame, J. Szkudro, M. Weekley, J. Rowley, Donald Grieve, S. Raeburn. Subs: N. Bates, N. Cook, J. Sudlow, C. Gillon, R. Miller.
Kelso: A. Alexander; G. Millar, R. Minto, D. Buckley, G. Minto; M. Hastie, F. Strachan; K. Cooney, C. Riddell, S. Lowrie, A. Wallace, I. Wallace, J. Stewart, M. Robertson, S. MacColl. Subs: P. Grahamslaw, D. Redstone, D. Seed, E. Ford, T. Wilson.