Hamilton Ladies 0-57 Annan Warriors
This was the first ever fixture between the teams and Annan travelled with a squad of 20.
After having worked hard at training to make a couple of changes to the game plan and structure, The Warriors were keen to put on a good performance.
From the kick off both teams tried to gain the ascendancy with the breakdown being keenly contested which would become a theme for the whole game.
Annan took the lead when scrum half Nicole Barlow made one of her trademark breaks to race in to score following some good phase work from the Annan pack.
Buoyed by this score, Annan began to string phases together with both backs and forwards involved, only for errors to cut attacks short.
However, when the Warriors did click they threatened and their lead was lengthened by three quick tries from Ellie Henderson, Nicole and Paige Turner, all three converted by full back Zoe Mitchell.
The half finished with Annan scoring a sixth try with Zoe opening her Warriors’ try account. However, it has to be noted that despite Zoe kicking her first three conversions, this one eluded her from directly in front of the posts.
Refreshed by the half time oranges and a reminder that the game was not finished, The Warriors quickly increased their lead with two swift tries, the first from stand Lexie Glendinning, followed by Zoe’s second of the day, both again converted by Zoe.
Hamilton must be commended as their heads didn’t drop, and some strong Annan defence snuffed out any attack.
As the game entered the final quarter the Warriors took control with tries from Katie Morrison, her first for the Warriors, with an attack that went the full width of the pitch. And Zoe got her third of the day, converting to complete the scoring.
It was a much improved performance on both sides of the ball from the Warriors, with changes made to structure working well.
There are still some fine tuning and improvements to be made going into the last two games at home to Greenock and away to Wigtownshire.
In the forwards stand-outs were Hannah Paterson who made some big carries and strong tackles, Megan Brogan. The forward of the match went to number eight Ashley Clark.
In the backs Lexie Glendinning and Joanne Clark had their best games so far, but back of the match was Zoe Mitchell with a haul of 27 points.
Thanks go to all the travelling support cheering from the sidelines and also Hornets Ayda Chierchia and Niamh Ross who joined the squad.
Warriors starting XV: E Jardine, M Brogan, M Cother, H Paterson, M Muir, R Parker-Clevett, K McClure, A Clark, N Barlow, L Glendinning, I Cook, E Henderson, J Clark, K Morrison, Z Mitchell. Replacements (all used): P Turner, R Taylor, A Cole, S Wyllie, E McCormick.
