Blow as Badgers beaten by Buddies

Cumbernauld remain facing the threat of relegation after a 33-5 defeat in their BT West Division match at Paisley on Saturday.
Cumbernauld, in action against Stewartry recently, face a fight to beat the dropCumbernauld, in action against Stewartry recently, face a fight to beat the drop
Cumbernauld, in action against Stewartry recently, face a fight to beat the drop

The drop must now be a distinct possibility for the New Town outfit as results consistently go against them.

If three teams are relegated from National League 3, then the knock-on effect will be the demotion of three teams from West League 1 and ultimately three from West League 2.

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And with only Arran and Strathendrick below Cumbernauld at the moment, the Badgers will have to start picking up points at a greater rate than previously if they are to avoid the drop.

Despite losing the first scrum against the head - when a ricochet from the second row gave Paisley early possession - the visitors’ scrum then went from strength to strength and competed strongly for the remainder of the game.

But thesame could not be said for the Cumbernauld tackling as early lapses allowed Paisley to score in the corner after 20 minutes.

The same errors were replicated shortly afterwards when the Paisley number 10 sold two outrageous dummies for a second score which was converted to give Paisley a 12-0 lead.

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A third try looked on the cards and duly followed after poor tackling gave the home team the opportunity.

Cumbernauld rallied briefly just before the interval when man-of-the-match Jordan Reid scored in the corner after a pick up and drive from the base of the scrum.

At this point the Badgers lost wing-forward Scott Chapman to a suspected dislocated shoulder and he was replaced by Kris Mellon, making his first XV debut with Matthew Thomson.

With Cumbernauld unable to travel without a full replacements squad, it was inevitable that Paisley would add to their tally and this they did with two second half tries to give them a final score of 33-5.

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In spite of this reverse there were some spirited Cumbernauld performances. Reid performed to his usual high standard while Ian Hepburn, Barry McLachlin, Alan Durson and Ross Cowie were the pick of the forwards.

Daniel Prinn at centre had a sound game, constantly finding and exploiting gaps in the Paisley defence. Cumbernauld have no game next Saturday due to Six Nations games and travel to meet Annan on Saturday, March 19, with a 2pm kick-off.

A bus has been arranged for this fixture so that the squad and supporters can remain in Annan for the Ireland v Scotland match at 5pm.

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