Cartha Queen's Park 54

Melrose 5

Callum Hodgson

at Drumbreck Road

WHETHER hosts Cartha were excellent or Melrose terrible remains debatable.

But this was as one-sided a game as many will have witnessed in National One this season.

The Glasgow side had raced into a deserved 28 points before the interval.

And, despite Melrose being considered one of the top teams in the division with seven wins from eight, there never seemed like any way back for Stuart Johnson's side.

The Greenyards side did start brightly enough before falling behind to a Ryan Howie try.

Just a few minutes later the home team piled over to extend their advantage.

And with half an hour on the clock Sam Harrison showed too much pace for the covering defence to add a third.

The bonus point was wrapped up before the interval as Liam Howieson raced over.

With all four tries converted, the 28-0 scoreline was as emphatic as the home team's dominance.

There was a revival of sorts from Melrose at the start of the second half as Richard Ferguson touched down at the back of a driving maul.

And a yellow card for a home player should have given the Greenyards team further advantage.

But any hopes of a remarkable turn around were short lived.

The dangerous looking Calum Dickson managed to dart over for two home tries in the space of four minutes.

Lachie Stout scored Cartha's seventh try of the afternoon with 10 minutes remaining.

And to round off a miserable afternoon for the travelling support, Thibault Pin scored in the closing stages.

From topping National One just a few weeks ago, Melrose have now tumbled to fourth in the table.