Gala were the visitors to a wet and windy laigh bent this weekend and after last weeks victory the Hamilton boys were confident that they could get another victory under their belts.
The game started with Hamilton playing with the wind at their backs and after a period of dominance by gala the excellent Hamilton defence held out, we then set up camp on the opponents try line. A number of good solid scrums however didn't result in any try's with the gala defence holding fast. The wind and rain was playing havoc with the handling and a number of handling errors started creeping in for both teams. Finally the deadline was broken by Russell Virtue with a well taken penalty 3-0 Hamilton. Both teams were carrying hard and the Hamilton defence was excellent, knocking their opponents back time and again. Unfortunately Martin Kennedy was sent to the sin bin and an uncharacteristic mistake from the Hamilton backs allowed gala to score under the posts, successful kick made it 3-5. On the stroke of half time another missed tackle allowed the gala fullback to power over the line to take the score to 3-12.
With the wind at their backs in the second half, gala camped on hamiltons line but the defence and discipline were solid and no more points were conceded. A late break up the wing by Adam Ryan gave the home team some hope and after excellent interplay by the Kennedy brothers, Martin found himself striding down the wing with the fullback to beat. A neat chip over his head led to a foot race to the line which was won by the gala player. A few more Hamilton attacks were knocked back and the final whistle blew. The match finishing 3-12 to gala. The boys can be proud of their commitment and defence but are learning quickly that at this level any mistakes will be punished.
Next week sees Hamilton travelling to the borders to face Melrose.