Graham delighted by Gala’s defence against Melrose

“I thought that we were awesome in defence and it kept us in the game,” he said.

Graham saw his side hold out in a dramatic final ten minutes when Melrose were held up over the line on no fewer than three occasions. “This was a massive game for us leading up to another big match [against the same opponents on Saturday]. We got the momentum running into the next game,” he added.

“I was pleased with a lot of aspects of our game, but disappointed with our ball retention, which was poor.”

Melrose needed a win to restore their confidence and pride, but the lack of even a losing bonus point sees them still battling for a place in the British and Irish Cup as well as the players looking over their shoulders at the lower echelons of the league.

Coach Craig Chalmers, who leaves at the end of the season, said that the breakdown was a key area. “But we had our chances and gave the ball away far too easily, especially in the first 20 minutes” he said. “Gala took the chances that came their way and they were the better team. We know that we are in a bit of a hole, but we are not that far away. I was disappointed with the result. We know what we have to do.”

Gala’s scoring came in the first half, Gary Graham going over in the right-hand corner from Opeta Palepoi’s pass before Euan Dods added a second from a scrum, Lee Millar converting to add to his penalty after Andrew Skeen had hit the post.

Melrose battled hard in the second half, but Fraser Thomson’s try from Andrew Nagle’s break was their only consolation.

The game was not short of incident, with referee Neil Paterson handing out four yellow cards, to Graeme Dodds and John Dalziel and then Ben Murray and Craig Hogg, reducing the teams to 13 players, before retiring himself in 51 minutes as he complained of not feeling well and being replaced by Andy Ireland.

The contest will be resumed on Saturday when Melrose return to Netherdale on cup duty.