An extra bus was laid on to cater for more than fifty supporters who travelled through to watch the must win game and they didn’t have to long to wait to see the first try being scored to help calm any nerves.
A good drive by the PL pack carried the ball 20 metres to give themselves good position in the Cumbernauld 22 and a spate of penalties meant that the pressure on the home side was maintained for several minutes. Greg Leitch and Chris Dixon linked together to create a good break that nearly brought a try but the only reward was another penalty which unfortunately Leitch just missed with his kick at goal. The deadlock was broken in the 6th minute though when a penalty was kicked to touch and Dougie Naismith took a clean catch high in the line out. The pack bound in tight and drove him over the line but it was Keith Duncan who had grabbed the ball and got the touch down. This was the second try of the season and rich reward for the burly prop who has worked so hard with his pals in the front row to help make the PL scrum such a formidable force to be reckoned with.
Greg Leitch added the conversion to make the score 0-7 and it would be PL who would be right back on the attack following the restart despite a brief foray into the PL half by Cumbernauld. Ali Wood ripped the ball free from the would be attackers before passing into Leitch who sent a clearance kick back to the home 22. Blair Cowan, who had flown home from holiday so that he could play in this vital match, stole the ball at the line out and found scrum half Warner Easton and he started a move that looked to have sent Dougie Thomson through to score but the referee judged that the final pass had gone forward.
PL were totally dominating the game at this point and were unlucky again just two minutes later when an excellent link move between Jonathan Brash and Greg Leitch looked like it was enough to get the stand off well over the line for the touch down, but poor pitch markings meant that the referee was unsure and awarded a 5 metre scrum instead. However, PL are always dangerous from this distance and when the indomitable Paul Voy picked the ball up at the back of the scrum, there was only ever going to be one winner and he powered over to score and make the score 0-12 after 14 minutes.
The visitors continued to dominate for the rest of the half but were frustrated by the stop start nature of the game and they couldn’t find any continuity to put together any cohesive moves. The back three of Chris Guiney, Jonathan Brash and Ali Wood were rarely troubled in defence but it was difficult for them to get any decent ball or momentum going forward.
As the half drew to a close, Cumbernauld mounted their best attack of the game and brought some sustained pressure inside PL’s 22. At this point it was PL who were conceding the penalties as they tried in vain to get the ball and on the stroke of half time, the Cumbernauld stand-off took the chance to kick at goal and make the score at the break 3-12.

The same player doubled his side’s score just after the resart as PL were penalised for not rolling away and at 6-12 the scoreline was a lot closer than it needed to be for PL to feel safe. However, in the 46th minute, normal service was resumed when hooker Nick Marsh, playing his last game for PL before he returns home to New Zealand, found his jumpers with a perfect line out throw and a 20 metre drive to the line was set up. There was no way that Cumbernauld could stop the move and once again Paul Voy broke clear with the ball to dive over and score his 13th try of the season. Leitch added the conversion to make the score a much more comfortable 6-19 in favour of PL.
The rest of the match was played as before with Cumbernauld conceding far too many penalties but it wasn’t until the 71st minute before the referee eventually showed his yellow card to one of the home second row players and sent him to the sin bin. In the meantime PL were still dominating although they failed to create any real chances to score. Euan Thayne and Andrew Archer managed to win a few turnovers and Voy and Cowan were evident as they dived on any loose ball to secure possession but even with the extra man, they were unable to take advantage to score again. Coach Mark Steedman made some changes as the end of the game approached and Fraser Harris replaced the excellent Easton at scrum half and the front row was shuffled with Keith Duncan, Dougie Wardell and Stuart and Cameron McLean showing that they are interchangeable in the front row without affecting performance in the slightest.
The final word went to the home side though as PL became ever more frustrated with the refereeing decisions and the home scrum half took a quick penalty from in front of the posts. From there, it was passed out left to the winger who was able to dive over and score in the corner. The conversion was missed, so at 11-19, two further scores would be needed to cause an upset but there was no chance for that as PL regained possession from the restart and they were able to hold on to it until the end.

To remain unbeaten in nine games since the start of the year and scoring a total of 106 tries throughout the season shows that PL are a force to be reckoned with and in gaining the second promotion spot behind an excellent Marr side is exactly what they deserved for their fine performances throughout the campaign.
Well done to all thirty players who have played for the 1st XV this season.

Preston Lodge team:
C Guiney, J Brash, D Thomson, C Dixon, A Wood, G Leitch, W Easton,
K Duncan, N Marsh, C McLean, D Naismith, B Cowan, E Thayne, A Archer, P Voy.
Replacements:
F Harris, D Wardell, S McLean (All Used)