Dumfries Saints 29

Peebles 28

Allan Beveridge

at Park Farm

WHEN these teams met at The Gytes earlier this season they couldn't be separated.

And again down at Dumfries on Saturday it was a game that could have gone either way with yellow cards proving the difference..

It started brightly enough for Peebles with David Collins darting across the whitewash after only six minutes for the opening try.

Greg Raeburn slotted the conversion.

And just five minutes later he added a second after Scott Stoddart had rounded off another flowing move that opened up the Saints defence.

But, even with a 14-0 lead inside the opening quarter hour, this was always going to be a close encounter.

Dumfries began to take control up front forcing several penalties.

And when the first yellow card was shown to a Peebles player, the home team took full advantage with Alan Birdsall running in unchallenged from the overlap.

Dumfries continued to press with some powerful drives and a second try arrived just after the half hour.

David Andrew this time found the gap to dive over.

Birdsall's conversion brought Saints to within a point.

Back at a full compliment, Peebles again started to gain some ground and just before half time Scott Stoddart broke through a tackle to score beneath the post.

Raeburn extended the advantage to 14-21.

Indiscipline was to cost Peebles yet again at the start of the second half as another yellow card allowed Dumfries to slot a penalty.

And just five minutes later the Pees were down to 13 players after another sin-binning.

Dumfries opted to take the scrum instead of the penalty and they were rewarded with Sam Hiddleston going over in the corner.

The missed conversion left Dumfries 22-21 in front.

Saints gave themselves a cushion when Jack Steele went in again with Jack Currie adding the conversion.

Peebles threw everything into the final five or six minutes and they eventually pulled another try back through Murray Brown, which Raeburn converted.

But they had to settle for a losing bonus point and four-try bonus rather than the win.