Last gasp try saves Selkirk in Borders derby

Kelso 19

Tom Ramage at Philiphaugh

IT took a last-gasp try for Selkirk to win this Borders derby and remain in contention at the top of BT National One.

Despite Kelso's lowly position in the table they came out the blocks with a bang.

Inside the third minute winger Ian Sim burst through the home defensive line to score beneath the posts.

Craig Dods stretched the lead to seven points with the conversion.

Dods pushed the Tweedsiders further in front with a penalty following indiscipline from the home forwards.

Despite the shaky opening period Selkirk began to get on top.

Clinton Wagman's burst through the line allowed the home forwards to make good progress before Luke Pettie crashed over for the try.

Rory Banks converted before the stand-off levelled the scores just a few minutes later with a sweetly struck 40 yard penalty.

But back came Kelso with Dods restoring the advantage with a penalty.

And just before the interval Kelso opted to kick for the corner rather than take another three points.

Luckily for Selkirk, the line-out went amiss.

The words of wisdom delivered during the interval seemed to inspire the home side at the start of the second half.

Some excellent handling allowed Wagman to dart over in the corner for a try.

Banks converted from near the touchline to give the home team a 17-13 lead.

Kelso chipped away at the lead with a couple of penalties by Dods, firstly for a high tackle on Pierre Ebah and then for not releasing the tackled player.

At 17-19 the game hung in the balance.

As the minutes ticked down Selkirk threw caution to the wind from deep inside their own 22.

The ball was spun along the line to Wagman, who weaved his way through the defence with a 50 metre burst before feeding Steven Hamilton to run under the posts.

Banks added the conversion with the final kick of the game.

Selkirk: S Hamilton, C Wagman, J Welsh, S Hendrie, R Nixon, R Banks, A McColm, L Pettie, J Mackay, D Anderson, P Forrest, D Nicholl, S Dama, S Nixon & E MacDougall. Reps: M Robertson, B Riddell, R Reilly, C McEwan & M Aziz.