The Castle Douglas based Stewartry Sirens traveled to Cartha Queens Park for a mid-week game last Wednesday for the final game before the BT Women’s Premier League splits. With spirits high after defeating Melrose 66-15 in a friendly three days before, the Stewartry side were unsure what to expect from Cartha, not having played them since both teams met in Division One during the 2014/15 season.
It was a late kick-off thanks to traffic, but it didn’t take long for the Sirens to get their first score on the board. Less than ten minutes after kick off, fullback Jenny Yates crossed the line, swiftly followed by a successful conversion from fly half Lisa Ritchie.
Five minutes later, prop Shannon Nicholson made a strong run, offloading to centre Iona St Joseph, who crashed through the defence to score the Sirens second try of the evening.
There were three more tries for Stewartry in the five minutes leading up to half time. Captain Chloe Johnson scored first, closely followed by winger Claire Steele, who touched down her first ever points for the Sirens. Second row Rachel Bragg finished off a strong play from flanker Ali Henderson, who took the Sirens forward 50 metres and recycled it out to the wing for Bragg to score, making the halftime score 29-0 to the Sirens.
An extended half time due to a suspected neck injury meant it took longer for play to resume than usual, but after 40 minutes, the second half kicked off and the Sirens showed no sign of slowing down. Lisa Ritchie scored seven minutes later, running the length of the pitch to put another five points on the board, before converting her own try.
Five minutes later, Jenny Yates made a strong break through the defensive line and was eventually awarded a penalty try after a high tackle took her down five metres short of the Cartha try line. Again, Lisa Ritchie successfully kicked the conversion.
The home team opened their scoring account 15 minutes into the second half, as Cartha managed to break through the Sirens’ defence, which had been solid throughout the game, and cross the try line.
After consistent some strong running during the first half, setting up several tries, Shannon Nicholson finally crossed the whitewash herself following some good pressure from the forwards.
It was a hat-trick for Jenny Yates a few minutes later, as she scored her third try of the evening thanks to some straight running and some nifty footwork.
The final try of the game came following a kick into Cartha’s half from Lisa Ritchie, recycled by Chloe Johnstone out to Ali Henderson, who scored under the posts.
The final score was 58-5 to the Sirens, securing them fourth place in the BT Women’s Premier League. The league now splits, with the top four teams playing each other and the bottom four teams playing each other, which will determine the final outcome of the league at the end of the season.
The Sirens’ next game is AWAY to Murrayfield Wanderers on Sunday 6th November.
