Boroughmuir 67

Gala 3

David Morrison at Meggetland

BRIDGING the divide between divisions is never easy.

When you come into one of these games it's even more difficult when you are still recovering from one of the biggest defeats in your club's recent history.

Gala's form has nose-dived in recent weeks and it was going to take an almighty effort in the capital to reverse the downward trend.

Boroughmuir flew out of the blocks beneath the winter sun.

And only some spirited defending prevented the Premiership side scoring during the early exchanges.

Gala's efforts were rewarded with a Gregor Hunter penalty.

But the lead was to only last for five minutes before the floodgates finally opened.

Muir's pack pummelled away inside the Gala 22 before Finn Field crashed over the line.

Approaching 20 minutes, a turnover in midfield allowed the impressive Greg Cannie to race over for the home team's second try.

Gala did manage to get their hands on the ball for a few phases but they rarely troubled a solid home defence.

And as the half hour arrived Muir extended their lead with Tom Drennan collecting an Edmunds pass for the third try.

Cannie's conversion gave Muir a 17-3 advantage.

If there was any lingering doubt who would be progressing to the quarter finals of the cup, it was extinguished almost straight from the kick off.

Mark Hare burst through the Gala line to send Ronan Kerr on his way to the fourth score.

There was still time for Kerr to add another try before the interval.

Trailing 29-3 at the break it was surely a case of damage limitation for the Maroons.

But Boroughmuir had different ideas as they managed to run in a further five tries.

Jordan Edmunds powered his way over from a quick penalty before Archie Erskine kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Grant McConnell, Ciaran Whyte and Cannie all went over as Gala's defence was stretched.

The final score of 67-3 was a fair reflection of the dominance Muir enjoyed.

Where Gala go from here... is probably back to the drawing board.

Gala: E Gunter, G Hunter, K Gerrard, A Emond, R Jeffrey, J Turnbull, G Speirs, M Christie, J Chambers, T Logan, C Weir, C Pate, R Tod, R Irvine & B Reavely. Reps P Stewart, J Watson, D Broatch, D Keddie, F Hunter.