Dumfries Saints snatched a dramatic win in the closing minutes of their fixture with Glasgow Accies.
The match had been evenly balanced throughout and Saints were holding a 17-14 lead in the 76th minute before the Glasgow side scored what looked to be the winning try (converted) to lead by 20 points to 17.
With three minutes to go and their supporters fearing the worst, the Saints squad produced a remarkable, gritty, ‘last gasp’ effort.
They secured possession from the kick-off and powered their way to the Glasgow line.
Saints captain Jack Steele capped a typical live-wire performance by picking up and burrowing his way over to score the team’s third try (converted) and take the win.
It was a closely-fought contest throughout. Accies opened with a penalty after 15 minutes but this was quickly countered in the 17th minute with a series of strong drives from the Saints pack that took Nathan Brown over the line for Dumfries’ first try (converted) to make it 7-3. Territory and possession were evenly contested before the visitors cracked the Saints defence to mark up a try in the 25th minute.
Play was entertaining but neither side dominated in a highly competitive encounter. The Saints pack was coping well and began to put increasing pressure on the visitors. This eventually paid off and John Carlisle rounded the Glasgow defence in the 30th minute to touch down wide on the left for a second try, converting himself to give Saints a total of 14 points. Again, Accies countered with a penalty to narrow the score.
Saints held a narrow interval lead of 14 points to 13.
The second half was again evenly balanced with no side dominating. Saints lead was stretched to 17-13 with a penalty early in the half. Play developed into a ‘kicking game’ as both sides looked for territory and chances to score.
Accies eventually got the break with three minutes to go and looked to have sewn the match up with a converted try to lead by 20 points to 17. Saints showed incredible effort by picking up the pace and fighting to the last minute to score their third, taking the score to 24 points to 20.
The next home game is on Saturday, January 29 (kick-off 2pm) when they host Peebles, hoping to avenge their defeat when they played at Peebles on October 9.
