Published: Tuesday, 29th September, 2009 3:59pm

Early season woes continue for Lomond

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Strathendrick 20 Loch Lomond 3

LOMOND'S stuttering early season form continued on Saturday as they went down to a strong Strathendrick side in a fiercely physical contest.

Shorn of several regulars the visitors were forced to field an unfamiliar line up and it showed as Endrick dominated from the kick off, kicking well into the corners and repeatedly forcing their opponents onto the back-foot.

Lomond appeared shell-shocked during those opening exchanges but despite some early scares were gradually gaining a foothold in the game when the home side suddenly stunned them - putting together an incisive back-row move to strike the first blow.

The score came from a scrum close to the line and was one of those well-executed sporting moments that succeeded in making the very difficult look laughably simple.

The scrum was expertly wheeled and, before Lomond's defence could reorganise, the Endrick No.8 was able to pick possession up and burst over the line to open the scoring.

Lomond, normally boisterous guests, were looking cowed and scenting blood Strathendrick pressed their advantage - taking advantage of quick ball to switch the play left and right and stretch the hard-pressed Lomond defenders.

Finally, after a period of concerted pressure, Strathendrick earned their second score when their right-winger clinically converted a well conceived overlap chance to leave Lomond staring down the barrel.

To their credit Lomond grittily dragged themselves back into the match but a penalty, brilliantly converted by Nicholson and soon neutralised, was to prove the only reward for their efforts.

With the half-time score at 17-3 in Strathendrick's favour and Lomond looking out on their feet, it was obvious that a superhuman effort was needed to hold onto their pride, never mind salvage victory, but one thing this Lomond team can't be accused of lacking is character.

In the second half, every man hurled themselves into ruck, maul and tackle with a fearful abandon that for a time forced Endrick onto the back foot but despite all the blood, sweat and perspiration that Lomond left on the field - the sad truth is that they lacked the kind of cutting edge demonstrated by their hosts in the first half that would have brought them back into this contest.

It was the hosts who had the final say, converting a penalty - the last kick of the game - to make the final score 20-3 in their favour.

The test for Lomond now is in how they respond to this defeat.