Melrose come from behind to beat Ayr at Millbrae

Sep 16 2011 Ayrshire Post (main ed)

YOU could run out of clichés to describe the RBS Premier One clash at Millbrae between the Scottish champions and their cup nemesis Ayr.

The hackneyed 'game of two halves', well, it was certainly that, what about 'Ayr got off the bus but got back on again at half time', they did indeed and gave Melrose the freedom of Millbrae for 40 minutes (writes Ron Evans).

But perhaps most pertinent of all was that the noise in the background around 4.30pm was that of 'chickens coming home to roost.'

The signs have been there but no one was prepared to notice until the humiliation to which Ayr were subjected to at the hands of Craig Chalmers’ troops proved salutary.

Turning with a lead of 17 points and three tries to none, the prospect of a second half during which the opposition scored 28 unanswered points at Millbrae in a crucial match was unthinkable in recent times – until now.

The team crumbled before the disbelieving eyes of the horrified fans, the heart, which to be fair had been evident in the first half, went out of the team, leadership there was none and composure became a foreign term.

And yet, and yet – Burns country has not been a happy hunting ground for the men in black and yellow in recent seasons and so it looked again as the first half unfolded.

It all started much as expected, Ayr pressure on a fumble saw Melrose offend to give Nick Elrick the chance to put Ayr ahead with an early penalty.

Andrew Skeen equalised two minutes later then in 11 minutes the Melrose No10 was on target again to give the visitors the lead but their attack looked unwilling to take any half chance they created.

Ayr had done what they do so often at Millbrae, let the opposition have the ball, deny them anything close to the red zone, let them become frustrated and careless then pounce.

That was exactly what happened as Melrose found no way to unpick a solid and well organised Ayr defence, showing little guile and no pattern.

Ayr lay in wait then struck as the game moved into the second quarter, Mark Stewart shredded the 'Rose defence and set up Grant Anderson to put Steven Manning over.

Melrose were reeling and a minute later Ross Curle backed up a Scott Sutherland breenge to put Anderson over for try number two.

Melrose didn't want for possession, only ideas, and the Ayr defence was able to pick off isolated runners with ease. Then on the half hour mark, Scott McCormick fumbled an AJ MacFarlane box kick and from the scrum, Elrick broke, Stewart was held back as the scoring pass was delivered and referee Rob Dickson had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try. Elrick converted his only conversion success but Ayr were 23-6 up and cruising.

Melrose upped their game and pounded the Ayr line in a spell reminiscent of the latter stages of the cup final only a few months ago but, as happened at Murrayfield, they had no success and turned looking down the barrel at a 17 point deficit.

Melrose now had the breeze at their backs but it mattered little since the ball was given little air but whatever Chalmers said to his troops at the break, it was a different Melrose side who bolted out of the blocks.

Ayr should have realised that even this early, the next 20 minutes could be a crucial part of the whole season because a fourth try would surely demoralise Melrose.

Instead, Elrick re-started the second half with a drop out on the full, Melrose drove on from the scrum and Jamie Murray made the opening for Fraser Thomson to go over unopposed, Skeen converted and the visitors’ tails, if not up, certainly started to wag a bit.

Skeen dropped the niftiest of goals to bring the margin back to seven points then Ayr made a massive blunder. They had the 'Rose line under pressure, the ball moved left with men over but Elrick fumbled the pass, Melrose countered and Ayr offended close enough for Skeen to slot the penalty.

As the final quarter approached, that was the signal for the Melrose pack to start to rumble.

The alarm bells started to ring but no one knew how to flip the off switch or how to put out the fire as Melrose started to bully Ayr as they dominated the contact area.

Decision making suddenly became positive and when the buzz bomb that is Grant Runciman went over with Ayr defence in tatters and Skeen converted, they were ahead and didn't look like giving the lead away.

Allan Dodds went over from a swashbuckling move and although Skeen's kick hit the post, he finally closed the door with five minutes left with a penalty which left Ayr needing two scores to win.

Those scores never looked like coming as old head John Dalziel marshalled his cohorts, ensuring there was no lapse of concentration and the final whistle closed what for Ayr’s bleakest 40 minutes they have experienced at Millbrae for a very long time.

Director of Rugby Jock Craig admitted: “We are now considered to be a top club and I never believed I would see an Ayr side capitulate at Millbrae the way they did in the second half.

"It hurts to see them play like that and it hurts the loyal supporters who pay at the turnstile. You can lose a match through mistakes, you can lose through bad tactics or wrong decisions, you can lose a match if you are unlucky with injuries but I never thought I would see Ayr lose because we had no stomach for the fight.

“For the first time for a long time I could see no real positives in the game because the way we played in the first half made the second half performance all the more unbelievable."

There were individual performances which certainly earned pass marks, Dunning playing through injury to make some big carries, MacFarlane, substituted for Murray McConnell at half time, was back to his pugnacious best and the 40 yard chase by prop Gordon Sykes to haul down Thomson with the line at the full backs mercy showed a determination sadly lacking in other areas.

Melrose rightly celebrated a win deserved if for nothing else than that they showed remarkable resilience in coming back in some style and if they can do that to Ayr at Millbrae, it is difficult to see who can stop them.

Ayr travel to Malleny Park on Saturday to face a Currie side who have lost three out of three but they will be dangerous as the wounded always are and it will take some blistering words from Kenny Murray to ensure that pride in the pink and black jersey is restored.