WHAT do you make of a game where the league basement side goes 19 points up against a team in play-off contention; where the winning coach with five points in the bag is fuming with his players, while the losing coach is proud of the way his men stood up to be counted and talks happily about his basement side producing another great escape?
This was one of those mad, topsy-turvy matches where little made much sense, and if the end result was predictable – a win and five league points for Watsonians – the manner of getting there was more of a rollercoaster.
It meant Derek O’Riordan, the defeated Musselburgh coach, was the one talking about this match being potentially a defining point in the season. He recalled how his first campaign at the club saw them start with a string of defeats and then produce a miracle rescue. Could lightning strike twice?
Absolutely,” he said confidently. “There’s nothing to say that we can’t go into the next block of matches in buoyant form. We have that second half against Currie last week and that performance against a really, really good side this week. You know, we can build from here. Who knows? We’ve done the great escape once.
“The way that we started the game was phenomenal. It’s a reflection of how we want to play, and that’s with tempo. Then we gave Watsonians the ball in the half-hour, but our resolve to just stay in the fight and stay in the game was huge. We could have walked away with two points; I think we deserved at least that.
“I’m incredibly, incredibly proud of the way the boys stuck in. It feels like we’re starting to turn a corner. The frustrating thing for us is that we’ve got so much potential; there are just a couple of barriers to reaching it, some around confidence, some around momentum.”
It means the next few games will be crucial as they try to climb out of the doldrums, and despite the confidence boost they got, nobody should lose sight of the result, with Watsonians remaining on course for the top four, retaining the Bill McLaren Shield, and still frustrating Davey Wilson, their coach.
“Credit to Musselburgh; they fronted up and pushed us all the way. We were still disappointed with that performance, though; we struggled to get out of first gear. We compounded error on error, and that prevented us from getting any momentum.
“Despite that, we got five points. We have a break next week and will have a bit of reflection in terms of where we are and what we need to be doing to move forward. The guys know that was not an acceptable performance.
“It looked a bit complacent,” Wilson admitted. “It’s difficult when you’re playing against the basement side. We spoke about it all week, about how dogged they are despite the results they’ve had. They don’t throw in the towel.
“We knew that if we didn’t get it right, it could be a long afternoon for us, and we certainly didn’t get it right. That’s about individual accountability, and it is difficult.
“Then, credit where it’s due. To go 19-0 down within 10 minutes but then flush that out by half-time and be very much in the game again is good. I just wish we had won the Bill McLaren Shield with a better performance befitting the trophy.”
Which is maybe the point. Everybody knew Musselburgh has not had their problems to seek this season, and there could have been a touch of complacency among the Watsonians players to explain the dozy start. On the other side, there was no doubting the pace and venom Musselburgh brought to those opening exchanges, and they fully deserved their three scores inside the first 10 minutes.
Full-back Paul Cunningham started it, taking the ball at pace after a home knock-on, and feeding centre Rory Watt to make 50 metres upfield before feeding wing Tom Daley to run in the opening score.
Within three minutes, they were over the line again as lock Ross Brown simply grabbed the ball at the back of a ruck and brushed off tackle after tackle before racing the final 10 yards to the line. Any feeling this was a fluke was soon laid to rest as another ruck and another break through the middle saw Brown in for his second. With Danny Owenson, the fly-half, adding two conversions, the away side were 19 points to the good.
Watsonians must have been shocked, but they have plenty of firepower of their own, as they demonstrated when they managed to keep hold of the ball long enough to use their dangerous backs. It paid off when a cut-out pass from centre Jason Baggot created space down the left, and a quick exchange of passes between Freddie Owsley, the full-back, and Ronan Kerr, the centre, put wing Joshua Wilson in for the opening score.
As the half-hour approached, Watsonians were back in range as a penalty gave them the chance to maul. Though it was held, they recycled, with the big forwards inching closer and closer until Campbell Wilson, the flanker, completed the job.
The visitors inched further ahead with Owenson landing a penalty, but it was the home side who ended the half on a high as the scrum won a penalty and they kicked for the corner. A set-piece move saw Neil Irvine-Hess, the No. 8, peel round the front with hooker Matthew Pritchard, another making his 50th appearance, taking the inside ball to score.
It took a while for Watsonians to convert their momentum into the go-ahead score as they ran into some dogged Musselburgh defence, but in the end, they did get there. Half a dozen players had been held short before centre Kerr did get there for both the lead and the bonus point.
Not that Musselburgh seemed perturbed; they could have gone back in front, only for the ball to bounce cruelly for Foley after a clever chip through by Owenson. Instead, Watsonians extended their advantage as the visitors lost the ball in midfield and Lomond Macpherson, the wing, was given space to step inside the final defenders and cross.
With the home side reduced to 14 men after Baggot saw yellow for what was judged a deliberate knock-on, Musselburgh went back on the offensive. They got close several times, but after centre Rory Smith was held short, prop Craig Owenson collected the ball to power over and make it a four-point game going into the final minutes.
Back to 15 again, Watsonians were able to ride out the finale without serious trouble, and even managed to stretch their lead beyond the key seven-point margin with a line-out maul driving over the line, and Cal Davies, the replacement hooker, in the middle to touch down.
It had been a hard, nervy day for them, but the league points they earned don’t take that into account.
This match report has been written by Lewis Stuart of The Offside Line - please visit their website here: https://www.theoffsideline.com/
