Highland boss says they were not good enough to keep Gala out
Dave Carson admitted that Highland Rugby Club were beaten by the better team when they travelled to Gala last weekend.
With the two sides right next to each other in the National One table it was a chance for Highland to move back into the league’s top four, but it was not to be as they were beaten 27–5.
Despite a big defensive effort, Gala could not be kept at bay – with early points on the board proving to set the tone for the rest of the match.
“They got on top of us with two tries and a penalty in the first 20 minutes,” Carson explained.
“We were under the pump and defended really well, and then at the start of the second half we came out firing.
“We got a good, driven line-out that led to Kevin Brown getting a try, so it was nip and tuck before they got their last two tries.
“They were the better side on the day. Their backs were slick and had a very good kicking game, which we didn’t get on top of.
“There was a bit of ping pong going on between us, but they obviously practice their kicking and chasing quite a lot to pin you in.
“We had a good start to the second half, but we just never put enough pressure on them to peg them back.
“You’ve got to accept days like that and move on to the next one.”
Carson saw plans disrupted before even making the trip to Gala, with two players failing late fitness tests.
More injuries occurred during the game, making life even more difficult.
“On Thursday we lost Seumas (Ross) and Gordon (Gregor), who never passed their fitness tests, so we had to redo a lot,” Carson added.
“Then in the game, we lost Alex Macdonald after three minutes with a head knock, Sean Blair with a knee injury and Stephen Murray with an ankle injury.
“We were missing a few, but the guys who came in stepped up and did a fantastic job.
“We took Svend Pederson down hoping to get him 10 minutes at the end, and he ended up playing 77 after coming on for Alex, which for a young 18-year-old was absolutely fantastic.
“Ritchie Dinnes is one of our students in Edinburgh, and he played for the uni on Wednesday but came and played for us, putting in a great shift as well.
“It was a long way to go, and we did what we could, but we just weren’t good enough on the day.”