Dundee HSFP 31 - 36 Melrose: Rose bloom in the wind

Published on Saturday 5 September 2009 20:56

MELROSE won last week with the last kick of the match and they only triumphed yesterday against newly promoted Dundee at the very death thanks to a try from their imported Glasgow professional Peter Horne.

His intervention might ignite the debate about professional players in the club game but in fairness Dundee made good use of Edinburgh prop David Young.

It was cruel fortune for the home team who felt that they had done enough to deserve a draw at the very least and they must have felt they were in the box seats after racing into a 28-0 lead at halftime.

The match was dominated by the gale blowing straight down the pitch, far more than any player managed. There were a total of 10 tries in all, four to Dundee and six to the visitors, with every one of them scored at one end of the field.

Dundee had first use of the elements and they completely dominated the first half to such an extent that they had grabbed four tries while keeping Melrose scoreless. Their touchdowns came from fullback Aubrey Horton, breakaway Greig Ryan and a brace from veteran flyhalf Lindsey Graham who still might have made better use of the wind. Flying winger James Fleming enjoyed a 100 per cent record with the boot, adding every conversion and slotting a second-half penalty for good measure after he'd cut a mazy run into the heart of the Melrose defence.

The home forwards ripped into the Borders side, they were hungrier, faster and showed a healthy lack of respect for their supposed betters. Their scrum was also in the ascendant such that Melrose prop Richard Higgins was replaced midway through the first half after coming a poor second to Neil Dymock in the tight exchanges. The centre partnership of Ross Lemon and Harry Duthie both ran straight and hard while breakaway Ryan Milne and his backrow buddies got through a pile of work and made numerous crucial tackles.

Meanwhile, Melrose could scarcely put one foot in front of the other without tripping over. The odd occasions they did get the ball inside the Dundee half someone would drop it or Horton would launch it 90 metres downfield.

However, the fullback's contribution to the second half was less distinguished as the match was turned on its head and Melrose reeled in the home side in agonising slow motion. They were helped when Horton became the second Dundee player to be shown a yellow card, Alan Brown was the first to walk just before the break, but Melrose took full advantage of the fullback's absence to score two tries.

Facing a mountain to climb in the second half, the Borderers needed an early score to get themselves back into this match and that is exactly what flanker John Dalziel gave them after just five minutes. This was followed up 10 minutes later when winger Ben Allen and fullback Fraser Thomson made good use of their extra man to grab tries two and three.

There followed a lull in scoring and it seemed as if Dundee might just defend their total, especially when Fleming restored their lead to 12 points with the only penalty of the entire match with just 15 minutes left.

It was not to be. The tide had truly turned and Dundee were offering their best impression of King Canute. Just as the match was one-sided in the first 40, now the lights had changed and now all the heavy traffic was heading towards the home try line.

Both Thomson and Dalziel grabbed their second tries of the match and Scott Wight's conversion of the second score levelled the scores.

It seemed as if Dundee would have to settle for a share of the spoils when up popped Peter Horne, a class act in the Melrose midfield for the entire second half, who hustled his way through a tiring defence to score with what was almost the last move of the match. Welcome back to Premier One.

Dundee: A Horton, R Lemon, H Duthie, M Smith; L Graham, J Fleming, A Dymock (A Brown 73 min) N Dymock, J Clarke, A Brown (D Young 38 min), C Cumming, R Hawkins, G Ryan, R Gray (R Cessford 57 min), R Milne .

Melrose: F Thomson, C Anderson, J Murray, C Jackson (P Horne 40 min), B Allen; S Wight, S McCormack (R Chrystie 70 min); K Cooney, R Ferguson, R Higgins (A Gillie 23 min), T Miskelly, S Johnson, A Thomson, J Dalziel, G Dodds (G Runciman 47 min).

Scorers: Dundee – Try: Horton, Ryan, Graham (2), Conv: Fleming (4), Pen: Fleming. Melrose – Try: Dalziel (2), Allen, Thomson (2), Horne. Conv: Wight (3), Pen:

Referee: D Jack.