Clydebank took a full squad on the the long trip south to take on the men from Castle Douglas. It is a note of pride that the Clydebank players have shown the commitment and dedication to make themselves available consistently on recent Saturdays, and it only gives hope that as the season progress they will form a consistent and robust team. On this occasion however, the 2nd half performance from the players woefully sold the players short.

In a promising first half display the visitors opened the scoring with one of their best set pieces of the season. From a scrum inside the Stewartry half, the Clydebank scrum held firm providing a solid base for David Kirkwood to release the backs. Rookie Liam Patton sent it to Chariman McCombe who delayed the pass before releasing the pacey Alex Allan to run for the line. With the Clydebank winger offering an option outside for Alex, the Stewartry defender delayed making the tackle, which allowed Alex to cut inside and cross the white line. The conversion was unsuccessful.

Overall the first half was a decent representation of Clydebank's ability, they were rarely driven off the ball at their ruck and the scrum was promising. Good runs were made, handling errors were minimal and Clydebank were not found wanting in displaying the physical strength required to win the game. The line out was very disappointing, but was one of the few things to improve in the second half. In a close half the home team lead 8-5 at the half. A particular stand out was Graeme Kyle who threw up some great runs from number 8.

However the second half undone all the good work. Clydebank lost their desire to step up and make the hits. Losing the battle in the contact area the second half was marked by balls dropped in tackles, balls ripped out of players hands and simple errors in decision making. Taking nothing from Stewartry's victory as they played well in the second half and used their substitutes to make an impact on the game, but Clydebank will take no positives from the second half performance.

David Smart touched the ball down in the corner for the visitors for a consolation try, the final score was 39 – 10 to the home team. If Clydebank want to be a competitive team in this league they need to compete at their best for the whole 80 minutes. The individual players themselves will know what areas of their game they personally need to improve, and with Garnock visiting Whitecrook next Saturday, they will have the opportunity to right any wrongs with their performance. As the players take a hard look at themselves and vow to improve, both Clydebank teams will be at home next week and hopefully a large home support will inspire the players to two home wins.

Daniel