Pirates Lovin’ It As McDonalds Make The Difference
May 13th, 2026
East Kilbride Pirates 42 Merseyside Nighthawks 00
With the Club’s U16 and U19 sides having gone unbeaten over Saturday and Sunday, it fell to the Senior side to maintain a perfect weekend. Things got off to a less than stellar beginning when the Pirates fumbled away possession on the return of the opening kick off. Fortunately, the Defence held strong and the resultant 31-yard Field Goal attempt slipped wide of the upright. After having had to punt on their first drive, EKP broke the deadlock on their second. Starting just inside Merseyside territory, a six play drive was capped off with an 11-yard TD pass from Reece Aris to Fraser McDonald. This was the only score in the first period as Rory Kay’s PAT kick came back off the post.
As the second quarter began, the visitors had moved the ball inside the Pirates’ Red Zone. However, a 4th Down Sack by Fergus McNiven ended their progress, and from there East Kilbride marched the ball all the way back to the Nighthawks’ 16-yard line. Aris then threw his second TD of the day to a McDonald, although it was brother Arran this time around. Kay slotted the PAT and extended the lead to 13-0. The home Defence forced a quick “three-and-out” and a short punt saw the ball remain in the visitors’ half of the field. Four plays later, running back Mike Curtis Sop carried home from the 1-yard line and Kay converted to make it 20-0 to EKP. Merseyside then put together their longest drive of the day only for Mohammed Khan to intercept a Hussam Farraj pass and return it 83 yards for a “pick six” TD. Kay’s conversion concluded the first half scoring at 27-0 in EK’s favour.
The 3rd Quarter started with another Khan interception, although this one had a much shorter return of just 9 yards. EK’s response was brief as Aris reciprocated on the INT. A Sack by Michael Girvan stymied the visitors’ next attempt, allowing the Pirates to pad their lead on another Aris to Fraser McDonald pass. The 11-yard TD went unconverted as Kay’s kick was thwarted following a poor snap and hold.
In the final period, a McNiven interception got the ball back for EK, allowing Aris to subsequently throw his fourth TD of the day, connecting with Dan Crawley on a n 8-yard pass. Kay’s kick was good this time with the score moving to 40-0. This saw the introduction of a “running clock” and the accelerated time meant just one more full drive for each team before the game ended on a Ben Grove safety as time expired.
The Buffalo Trace Bourbon Gameday MVP Award was presented to WR Fraser McDonald whose 8 catches on the day included 2 Touchdowns. Next up for the Pirates is a visit from old rivals, the Coventry Phoenix. EK won the corresponding fixture by just 2 points last year and the teams couldn’t be separated in a 28-28 tie in the return fixture. A similarly close encounter is expected on Saturday (16th), with the game at GHA Rugby Club kicking off at 15:30.
Report by Bill Campbell
Courtesy Duncolm Sports Photography – a full gallery is here
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