Callum Kerr at Bridgehaugh:
This evening the Ayrshire Bulls fell narrowly on the road to Stirling County, with an injury-time penalty securing a 30-28 win for the hosts.
It was a game that saw County charge to a 27-15 lead with just 15 minutes left on the clock. Unperturbed, the Bulls rallied to drag themselves back into contention before a breakaway Matt Davidson score with two minutes left looked like it might have snatched a 27-28 win. They couldn’t hold on, and a slack penalty in the middle of the park from the resulting restart gifted County their first victory of the season.
(Bryan Robertson snaps Stirling County’s injury-time winner)
Speaking at full-time, following the Bulls third loss in four games, head coach Pat MacArthur had one word on his mind: “Complacency”, referring to his side’s inability to consolidate an advantage when they found themselves on top in the earlier stages. He continued: “We didn’t ever protect any lead that we managed to put ourselves in. We are putting ourselves under pressure.
“We can say now that’s three games we could have the same chat about how we could have, should have won, but we are in the place we are now”.
It could have all been different in the later stages, and MacArthur was quick to express his disappointment in how the game concluded: “We didn’t deal with the kick-off… you talk, and you practise, and you go through how to defend a lead. You score a try; the kick-off is the next most important thing.
“You couldn’t write it any better for them (Stirling County)”.
Looking ahead to next week’s encounter MacArthur insists it’s not a case of ‘back to the drawing board’ but they will reflect heavily on their performance: “We had a good few words in the changing room. We will look solely at ourselves. Everyone in that changing room is accountable, and if we’re all accountable for our actions, our team becomes better…
“We look back at ourselves- one to fifteen, every man and even the coaches – how are we turning these games into victories. We are there, it’s just a tiny percentage that isn’t coming off”.
The squad have eight days before their next FOSROCSuper6 clash next Saturday against Heriots at home.
The match kicks off at 15.00.