Stirling County 22 - 15 Gala: Home defence holds out

STUPENDOUS defence carried County above Gala in an entertaining clash, writes Matt Vallance at Bridgehaugh.

County centre Nick Grigg pounced on a dropped pass in midfield to sprint away for the opening try in 28 seconds, Sean Treweek converting.

The visitors soon encamped in the home 22 and full-back Graham Speirs surged over for an unconverted try.

Then from a line-out created by one of his clearances, Danny Gilmour burst through for a try which Treweek converted.

The second quarter saw yellow cards for County’s Alex Black and Gala wingers Dwayne Burrows and Craig Robertson, Burrows’ expulsion earning a penalty, which Treweek kicked to make it 17-5 at the break.

The opening 15 minutes of the second half were played entirely in the County 22, but all Gala had to show was a Euan Dods try, converted by David O’Hagan.

The restart allowed County a foot-hold in Gala territory, which they exploited when Grigg burst through for an unconverted try.

Back came Gala, but an O’Hagan penalty to take them to a losing bonus point was as much as they could take from the match.