IN a tight game played at Walkerburn due to the soft conditions at Hay Lodge Park and the dog fouling at Violet Bank. Peebles lost their latest encounter in the Border Semi-Junior League.
Oh how things could have been different. Peebles lost scrum half Jack Harrison in the first few minutes of the game with what looked like a broken wrist but thankfully after examination at the BGH the damage was not nearly as severe however he will be out of action for a few weeks.
This set back so early in the game meant changes had to be made and thankfully Matt McDonald was on the bench and he took over much earlier than he might have anticipated.

Peebles took the lead in 12 minutes when Murray Brown landed a penalty after Cameron Pye had made a break and was tackled just outside the visitors 22. However this lead was short lived and Selkirk struck back in the 20th minute when their no 7 slipped round the side of a maul and scampered under the posts from the Peebles 22. Something rarely seen nowadays, the conversion was charged down by David Campbell.
Selkirk went further ahead on the half hour mark after a good break up the blind and a good passing movement saw the left winger score. This time the conversion was successful.

With Peebles now 12-3 down and half time still to come the few Peebles supporters were beginning to wonder when Peebles were going to get going. Thankfully they didn't have long to wait. From the resumption play was in and around the Selkirk 22. A ruck after centre Scott Halliday had been stopped just short of the line saw Cameron Pye who was up in support of his fellow centre pick up and drive about five metres to the line. A good try, the conversion was missed and Peebles went in at the break four points adrift.
At the start of the second half Peebles were attacking and were camped on the Youth Club line for a few minutes with the visitors defence standing strong against waves of pick and drives from the Peebles forwards. It was from such a pick up that Ryan Stewart, the Peebles hooker, scored the home team's second try which put them into a one point lead.

The lead changed again only two minutes later when the youth club stand-off kicked a penalty in front of the Peebles posts. Play thereafter was probably equally shared with neither team gaining the upperhand in the loose or in the set plays. Without bias however the Peebles backs did look dangerous with the ball in hand. They should have scored their third try on the hour mark when from a planned move Scott Halliday ran on the dummy crash and Cameron Pye took the ball on the overlap only for his knee action to knock the ball out of his hand and Selkirk cleared the ball into the Peebles half of the field. Peebles did retake the lead when Murray Brown landed a penalty from the Youth Club 22m line and edge his side a solitary point to the good.
With ten minutes to go the referee awarded another penalty, this time the Youth Club fly-half kicked the winning points after Peebles were adjudged to be offside at a maul.

This was not the best game ever seen but it was keenly contested by two teams eager to run with the ball in hand, and in the end a draw would have been a fair result. However, it was not to be and tomorrow (Saturday) Peebles travel to Hawick to play PSA at Burnfoot hoping to reverse the result from September when they lost 15-0. The kick-off is 2pm.