Titans Leave Pirates Feeling Small
May 23rd, 2025
Manchester Titans 36 – East Kilbride Pirates 07
A second consecutive road trip brought a second defeat for the Pirates as they fell to reigning Divisional Champs, Manchester on a warm day at Belle Vue Stadium.
The home side kicked off but EK could only work the ball out to midfield before they had to punt. The Titans were equally unconvincing on their opening drive and soon found themselves having to punt. They did however regain possession quickly by forcing the Pirates to go 3-and-out. Manchester were unable to capitalise however, and an interception by Sean Dickie halted their momentum and maintain the deadlock for the remainder of the First Quarter.
Early in the second, East Kilbride had a brief glimpse of glory when Dickie recovered a Titans’ fumble and started to gallop towards the endzone. He was only stopped and hauled to the ground by a crude face-mask tackle, with the 15-yard penalty being little consolation for the potential 6 points lost. A further set of trading punts ended with Manchester finally opening the scoring when, on 3rd Down, QB Charlie Martin launched a deep ball towards Sam Penfold. He pulled in the catch then turned on the after-burners to run away from the Pirates’ defenders and complete a 63-yard TD. The conversion failed when a low snap left kicker Alex Lenkowski with nowhere to go. The Pirates did respond well to going behind and moved the ball upfield before stalling inside the Red Zone. They opted to go for a 34-yard Field Goal but Rory Kay’s kick into a gusting wind fell short.
On their second possession of the Third Quarter, the Pirates gifted Manchester their second TD. A lateral pass by Logan Gallacher was intercepted by Matt Gaunt and returned 35 yards for the “pick six”. The Titans unsuccessfully attempted a 2PAT conversion, leaving their advantage at 12-0. That lead was extended late in the period when they took advantage of good field position after a strong punt return. From 32 yards out, Martin connected with Connor Greenhalgh, and he bounced off two EKP defenders on his way to the endzone. Lenkowski added the PAT and then caught the Pirates napping on the ensuing restart, going with an onside kick which Manchester recovered, giving them the ball as the game moved into the final period.
That possession resulted in more points, although on this occasion they had to settle for 3 as Lenkowski slotted over a 36-yard Field Goal. Cammy Dunn was now in at QB for East Kilbride and his first drive ended with a pass being picked off. Once more, a turnover cost points as Manchester added a further TD with a 13 yard Martin play-action pass to Emmanuel Eze that Lenkowski duly converted. In response, Dunn moved the Pirates upfield, and an eight play drive concluded with a 16 yard scoring pass to Christian Rubuga. Kay’s PAT briefly narrowed the gap to 29-7 but the Titans weren’t finished. For some reason EK decided to go for the onside kick and Manchester easily recovered it. The short field immediately turned into points just three plays later when Joshua Welsh powered in from 29 yards, leaving Lenkoski’s PAT to round off the scoring.
The Jack Daniels MVP award went to Mark Stewart for his relentless, explosive and resilient play.
The Pirates now have a break from League football and their next game is against Centre College Colonels. The Kentucky based side play in the SAA Conference of the NCAA Division III, and their staff includes former EK Pirate Tom Lachendro as Defensive Line Coach. While the game is unlikely to be competitive, it provides a learning opportunity for the current Pirates’ players and gives the young Americans a chance to travel and experience a part of the world they might otherwise never encounter. The game is at GHA Rugby Club, Giffnock on May 31st, with a 1:30pm kick off.
Report by Bill Campbell
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