Garnock clipped highflying Stewartry’s wings with a victory that tightens the race for the west division one title.
The trip to Lochshore held out the prospect of the Blacks opening up a significant lead at the top but that was not to be.
Instead Garnock hadn’t read the script climbing to the top although Stewartry have their noses in front on points difference.
The Blacks realised it was likely to be the toughest test of the season when the enormous Garnock pack emerged from the changing rooms, dwarfing the men from Greenlaw.
Terrible weather conditions and a boggy and heavy pitch did not help.
With the wind at their backs Garnock pinned Stewartry in their 22 from the off. Strong defensive work at the lineout from Root, Lindsay and Maxwell ensured no early try was given away.
But the first came after 15 minutes. With the Blacks struggling to get out of their own half, Garnock’s scrum half put an intelligent chip over the top, which was collected for the the touchdown, 5-0.
The home side continued to dominate both possession and territory, pinning Stewartry back at every opportunity. Strong tackling in the midfield from McCarney and Forsyth halted Garnocks powerful outside centre but relentless pressure eventually cut open the defensive line with two further tries in the corner following numerous strong carries by the forwards.
It was a first half to forget for Stewartry as they struggled to contain the physical Garnock side, 19-0.
The second half saw Stewartry make positional changes with Austin moving to 15 and John Picken to 10. Hogg replaced Carson.
A couple of intelligent 50-22 kicks from both Picken brothers saw Stewartry finally exert some pressure in the right area of the field.
After numerous phases Hogg crashed over. The conversion was missed.
A further Garnock try with 10 minutes to go all but ended the contest. FT 26-5
It was a difficult day at the office for Stewartry.
Stewartry Squad: M McCulloch, B Spence, I McMorran, D Maxwell, H Carson, C Root, S McCulloch, A Lindsay, A Nicholson, R Austin, L Spence, T J McCarney, F Forsyth, A Picken, J Picken (c), A Mathias, T Mclean, S Hogg, A Moffat.
