Forwards to victory as Souters get back on track

After an exasperating defeat by Kelso, and giving victors Melrose a hard time in their recent Border League match, the Souters were desperately keen for a win against League One anchormen Cartha Queen’s Park.

The Glasgow side looked in command at half time – but a transformation after the interval propelled Selkirk to a 31-15 bonus-point triumph.

Manager Tom Ramage hoped they could “iron out the creases” before tomorrow’s (Saturday) journey to Aberdeen Grammar.

The Granite City squad thumped Kelso 66-7 last week – but Selkirk’s win has inspired them to hang around the table’s top three for a little longer.

“We have to take them up front, because that’s how Aberdeen play,” said Ramage. “They come up at us through the front. If we can match them, man for man, up front, we have a good, big enough squad to carry the game on to them, and put our best seven backs on the field at the same time. We’ll not take them lightly. They are sitting about six points behind us in the league – we want to make that gap greater and keep them down there.”

Ramage added he would not have believed at half time that Selkirk would get a five-point win over Cartha QP.

“The forwards took command,” he said. “In the first half, we seemed to be getting beaten up in every phase – not in set pieces, but in broken play.

“They were first to every breakdown and the bounce of the ball was going their way. We were not at races in the first half. In the second half, the forwards buckled down and got more ‘go forward’ ball.”