There had been a deluge in Langholm overnight and until 1.00pm the game was in doubt but by 3.00pm, most of the water had drained and although the pitch was heavy, it was playable.

Injuries and work commitments meant there were changes to the travelling squad and there were three in particular with the return of past captain Jamie Dove at No8, Craig Gilroy on the flank and Lee Inglis after his short stay at Preston Lodge, he started on the bench. Bhrian Buchanan was also on the bench and it was great to see him back after his leg break over the summer. The backs had Charlie Elms paired with Graeme Fairgrieve in the centre and Dave Bain on the wing.

Both sides had won three matches from seven so a close match looked in prospect, neither set of supporters were to know just how close it would be at the end! The travel had gone well so there was good time to get the bus journey out of the system and after a decent warm up, the North Berwick side started well.

There were nine points scored in the first half all by the respective stand offs. Niall Cubbon of Langholm converted two penalties in the seventeenth and thirty eighth minutes and Liam West converted his only chance in the thirty seventh.

Apart from that the game was fairly even although the North Berwick side looked like it had better ideas behind the scrum but the heavy pitch was making it difficult to find the break that would turn it into tries. It was a forward battle and although North Berwick seemed to have the upper hand in the set piece but there were few opportunities for the backs to show their pace.

The second half saw the game open a little more and although Cubbon kicked the ball well that allowed Danny Waldman, Graeme Fairgrieve and Dave Bain to bring it back each time.

Langholm did have one concerted effort to break the deadlock and it took several minutes of excellent defence to keep them at bay. That was their only real chance of the match as most of the chances were at the other end. Connor Johnson went close and possibly the most exciting chance fell to West after some excellent work by Bain made space on the stand side where the ground was at its worst. It looked as though West would score until an excellent cover tackle by Langholm’s Scott Howatson saved the day for the home side.

In the last few minutes of the match, North Berwick set up camp on the Langholm goal line and were twice held up over the line and although the players and both sets of supporters were quite sure Grant Spence had grounded the ball the referee who was well positioned decided he hadn’t.

No side was blown and a dour match ended with both sides having given their all.

Best for North Berwick were captain Adam McNair who must have made 100 tackles, Jamie Dove who always wanted the ball and Dave Bain who was dangerous throughout.

This was a game that should have been won however the bonus point loss was all that came back home. Next week sees Portobello at home and maybe a victory awaits?