GREENOCK Wanderers' losing run continued with a 20-7 defeat at Cartha Queens Park on Friday night - but there were plenty of encouraging signs for the Wanderers' coaching staff to latch on to as they aim to turn the first XV's fortunes around, writes John Dyer.
Both sides went into the match, their second pool tie in the National League Cup, off the back of poor runs of league form, with Cartha winless at the foot of National 3 and Wanderers struggling second from bottom of National 4.
Cartha, though, have brought back a former coach in a bid to improve their lot,and the home side took just 10 minutes to grab the advantage under the floodlights at Dumbreck, their prop driving over from a maul for the opening score.
But errors from the hosts included a wayward five-metre lineout which handed Wanderers a chance to hit back, and Robb's score was converted by Arnott to give the Fort Matilda men a 7-5 interval advantage.
Wanderers' makeshift back line made a couple of line breaks but could not execute off-loads successfully, while Cartha's stand-off was causing the visitors problems through his ability to create moments of magic by dancing past tackles.
The visitors' defence finally yielded when Cartha's powerful centre picked a brilliant line to score a converted try, with the hosts adding a penalty shortly after to open up a 15-7 lead.
For a short time, as Cartha sought to turn the screw, it looked as if Wanderers were facing a heavy defeat, but the visitors rallied and kept the home side at bay until the final five minutes, when forward Declan Goldie, in similar fashion to his colleague in the first half, picked up and drove over from close range.
Despite the result, Wanderers were able to salvage some pride with their efforts from a squad put together from the club's first, second and third XVs.
Their next League Cup fixture is at home on December 14 to a West of Scotland side who also fell to defeat on Friday night, losing 45-7 away to GHK.
Before then, though, Wanderers return to league duty this Saturday, November 9, when they travel to face a North Berwick side in a massive fixture which Greenock must win to keep in touch with the other clubs caught up in the relegation dogfight.
Elsewhere at the weekend, Wanderers' ladies enjoyed a fine 15-5 win at home to Wigtownshire on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Wanderers' under-16s were beaten 85-15 at home to Shetland on Saturday morning.
Greenock’s first try came through an impressive wide run by Innes, before hooker Jacob finished off a well-worked penalty move just before the interval after Shetland conceded a series of penalties.
In spite of the home team's best efforts, though, a strong Shetland side proved too tough a nut for the Wanderers to crack, and applied consistent pressure, leveraging their formidable pack to break Greenock’s defensive lines.
In spite of the result there were plenty of encouraging individual displays, with full-back Cooper holding his ground with several crucial cover tackls and second-row Blair taking down nearly every opponent who came his way.
A spokesperson for the U16s added: "Well done to all the players who showed grit and heart throughout the match. We’ll regroup, learn from this experience, and come back stronger."
Elsewhere at the weekend, Wanderers' under-12 girls won four and lost one against Marr, while the U14 boys lost 38-21 to their GHA counterparts.
Wanderers' club sponsor is MMSEARCH; the ladies are sponsored by Straps of Gourock and Brow House Cosmetics.
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