The Stewartry Sirens played away to local rivals Annan on Sunday for their second game of the season, on what was one of the hottest days of the year.
The Sirens, playing the first half towards the clubhouse in temperatures more suited to sunbathing, took the game straight to the Warriors and some terrific forward play with Clare Dooley leading the charge took play up to the Warriors try line and from the resulting ruck, it was Lizzie Ballentine who crossed the whitewash to score, the conversion was duly converted by Lisa Ritchie with around 3 minutes played.
It took another few minutes for the Sirens to cross the line again, this time a well timed pass from Lisa Ritchie allowed Hannah Sherlock to barge through the home defence and off-loading for Phaedra Snailham on the wing to add another try to her impressive collection for the Sirens. Unfortunately the try was not converted.
Things settled down for the next 15 minutes with the Sirens making in roads into the Warriors territory and the home team starting to find their rhythm, but getting nothing for their effort before the 20 minute water break, which was much appreciated by both sides!
Much like the start of the game, it was the Sirens who made the most of the break and within 5 minutes of the restart Lisa Ritchie crossed the line with a fine solo run, unfortunately she was winded in scoring her try and Claire Manson stepped forward to see her conversion attempt come of the post and bar and drop on the wrong side.
The Warriors showed more intent towards the end of the first half, however this was more than matched by some good defence and counterattacks from the Sirens. Unfortunately during this period, the Sirens lost Debs Swan, Chloe Johnstone and Fiona Shedden to injuries, however this allowed the introduction of Suzy Kirkipatrick, back after a long-term injury, Iona St Joseph and Hannah Wilkinson, all of who made their impression on the game.
Half time score Warriors 0-17 Sirens.
The Warriors were re-vitalised with substitutions and attacking the clubhouse after half time, and it was their turn to apply pressure. After 3 minutes they crossed the whitewash to put their first points of the game on the score sheet, the try was converted.
If the Warriors thought that they were about to stage a comeback, the Sirens had other ideas. From the restart the Sirens worked their way up the pitch and after some softening up from both forwards and backs the end result was a try for Hannah Sherlock.
With the second period ebbing and flowing it was Claire Manson who struck next with a long-range try from broken play, and the try was converted.
During this period the Sirens re-organised personnel with a first league run out for Louisa Ramsay who showed a turn of speed and tackling prowess that will be needed in games to come.
The Warriors weren’t finished though, and from the restart put the Sirens defence under pressure. Indeed on another day there may have been a yellow card shown for the number of ‘infringements’ pulled up during the Sirens defence of their line, but the Sirens held firm and managed to clear their line.
The water break allowed both teams to re-organise and set-up for the last 20 minutes.
The final 20 minutes saw a fairly even split with the Warriors building pressure and the Sirens repelling the attack, until 5 minutes from the end when a barrage of attacks and penalties within 10 metres of the Sirens line eventually saw the Warriors cross for their second try of the day. Not converted.
This spurred an immediate reaction from the Sirens who laid siege to the Warriors line for the next few minutes, with Jenny Yates going closest to scoring. The pressure was not in vein, and a simple but well worked backline move allowed Claire Manson to score from the resulting five metre scrum. What turned out to be the final conversion of the day rebounded off the post.
Final score Annan Warriors 12-34 Stewartry Sirens.
It was a great effort from the Sirens, who had to dig deep to keep the Warriors from scoring more in the second half. With players returning from injury and new players all contributing to a successful day at Violetbank, the Sirens have made a good start to the new league season.
Player of the Match (chosen by Stewartry): Lisa Ritchie
Player of the Match (chosen by Annan): Hannah Sherlock
A convincing win away from home for the Sirens in the local derby leaves them clear at the top of SRU National League 1. Next up, a home league fixture against Glasgow University – a rematch of the recent Plate Final, and if that was anything to go by, this should be a highly entertaining fixture.
Stewartry Sirens vs Glasgow Uni at Greenlaw, Sunday 1st September KO 2pm.
