Late tries seal Shield fate for Bears

Birkmyre’s National Shield hopes were dashed at the first hurdle as Dalziel advanced to round two on Saturday.

- STUART CRUICKSHANK

It was far closer than the final scoreline suggests with Birkmyre leading 24-22 after 58 minutes.

However, the home side - who play a league above the Bears in West Division One - scored three late tries to seal the victory.

Both sides started brightly. Birkmyre capitalised from the initial kickoff when a Dalziel player knocked on.

From the resulting scrum, Michael McGeoch was on hand to pick up the loose ball and break through for the converted score.

However, only two minutes later, Dalziel scored a try of their own to cut Birkmyre's lead to two points after only five minutes.

The North Lanarkshire side gradually took control of the match but had Birkmyre to thank for their next two scores.