Currie 22-18 Melrose: Melrose go hungry at the Currie house

Currie maintained their progress in Premiership A with a powerful forward performance complemented by subtle back play that secured a win over title aspirants Melrose.

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• In a tangle: Currie's Michael Entwhistle is brought down by Rob Chrystie and Scott Wight as Hayden Abercrombie supports his team-mate. Photograph: Dan Phillips

The Borderers have been a free-scoring unit in recent games but, against a Currie pack that denied them possession, the Greenyards side were unable to give expression to their backline skills.

In fact it was Currie who took the honours behind the scrum with a telling display at stand-off by Matthew Scott and excellent all-round performances from Andy McMahon and Hayden Abercrombie in midfield.

It may have been an early kick-off but Melrose were certainly wide awake in the opening stages, Scott Wight giving them the lead after just three minutes with a penalty goal and then converting a try by lock Ross Miller after a series of pick-and-drive surges.

Currie quickly responded with a their own trademark forward play before releasing the ball along the backs, Tom Brown making inroads for stand-off Matthew Scott to float through a defensive gap, Abercrombie adding the conversion.

The Malleny Park men then produced a second try by the same mechanics, the forwards sucking in the Melrose defence to allow clever handling by the backs, who used blindside winger Andrew Turnbull to create a try for Doug Fife. Abercrombie added the extras.

If it all looked to be going Currie's way, then matters were about to change. First Ross Weston was sent to the sin-bin for dangerous play at the line-out and then minutes later lock Ryan Wilson trod the same path to the touchline for "cynical" play.

The effect was predictable. Melrose toyed with the Currie pack and then put the ball wide for Callum Anderson to send John Dalziel crashing over. A penalty by Abercrombie just after the break and following a yellow card for Melrose replacement hooker Fraser Brown, however, restored Currie's lead. Then, from a kick to the corner, Currie drove the line-out to give Weston a try and a 22-15 lead, reduced by a penalty from Wight. Currie then had to hold on to their four-point lead. Their pack knew just how to do that, strangling Melrose's efforts to liberate themselves from their own 22-metre area with with careful stewardship of the ball to claim a valuable win.

Scorers: Currie: Tries: Scott, Fife, Weston. Cons: Abercrombie (2). Pens: Abercrombie. Melrose: Tries: Miller, Dalziel. Cons: Wight. Pens: Wight (2)

Currie: T Brown; A Turnbull, H Abercrombie, A McMahon, D Fife; M Scott, R Snedden; R Merrrilees, F Gillies, A Hamilton, R Wilson, G Temple, M Cairns, M Entwhistle, R Weston Subs used: F Scott , S Simenson, S Turnbull.

Melrose: F Thomson; C Anderson, J Murray, C Jackson, J Helps; S Wight, R Chrystie; N Little, W Mitchell, G Holborn, H Mitchell, R Miller, J Dalziel, G Runciman, G Dodds. Subs used: F Brown, N Beavon, S Johnson, S McCormick.

Referee: N Paterson (Dundee).