Dundee HS FB 13 - 8 Heriot's: Rankin's delight as players dig deep for victory

DUNDEE HSFP coach Ian Rankin heaped praise on his players after they emerged triumphant from an uncompromising battle at muddy Dalnacraig.

Conditions made fluent play all but impossible, but the hosts earned their narrow victory having adapted better than Heriot's to the heavy surface, and Rankin said: "I was delighted with the commitment during the match. Training has been difficult over the past few weeks and the guys really impressed me by working really hard to overcome Heriot's."

A tenth-minute penalty from Barry Jones gave Rankin's side an early advantage, although that was short-lived as Andy Douglas powered in for a Heriot's touchdown in the wake of a slick build-up. The Edinburgh side's back row and scrum-half Graham Wilson combined well to send the winger over in the corner – too wide for Wilson to convert, however.

Heriot's continued to enjoy the better of possession, but the tide turned midway through the half when breakaway forward Scott McKee snapped up an opportunist try for the home side. He scooped up the ball from the scrum-base and barged over from close range before watching Jones land the conversion.

Heriot's rallied again in the approach to the interval, with Wilson clawing back three points – atoning for an earlier miss from a far easier opportunity.

Play was mostly confined to midfield after the interval, with a further penalty from Jones being the only additional score to make it 13-8, although Heriot's finished the hungrier team and only a last-gasp tackle by Matt Smith prevented former High player Jonny Alston ploughing over for the try they needed.

Scorers: Dundee: Tries: McKee Con: Jones Pens: Jones 2 Heriot's: Try: Douglas Pen: Wilson

Dundee HSFP: A Horton; M Smith, H Duthie, L Graham, A Hay; B Jones, A Dymock; N Dymock, J Clark, A Brown, C Cumming, R Hawkins, R Gray, G Ryan, S McKee. Subs: D Russell, S Tskhovrebashvili, R Cessford, S Dreyer, M Brown

Heriot's: J Alston; C Goudie, M Nimmo, A Douglas; G Rutherford, G Wilson; M Welch, K Bryce, W Blacklock, M Reid, P O'Connor, P Eccles, J Syme, C Fusaro. Subs: J Ward, N Meikle, C Osazuwa, F Gillies, B Roberts

Referee: A Ireland