RHU Amateurs battled to a 2-2 draw away to Dunblane SC last Wednesday night in their second away trip to the Stirling area in the space of five days.
Hard on the heels of a chastening 9-1 loss away to Doune Castle, when a severely under-strength Rhu side, with 10 players unavailable, was undone by the loss of five goals in half an hour, a much stronger Rhu squad made the trip to Dunblane.
And despite a journey which took almost two hours, through the evening rush hour, leaving no time for a warm-up, Kyle Sharkey gave Rhu the lead before Brian Cameron – scorer of the only goal in the Doune defeat – doubled the lead with 15 minutes to go.
READ MORE: On-song Rhu stun cup holders Giffnock North in penalty shoot-out
But Dunblane, who had won the previous meeting between the sides 7-2 back in February, were no pushovers, and as Rhu's lack of pre-match preparation began to catch up with them, the home side fought back in the closing 10 minutes to snatch a point with goals from McLaren and Wilson.
Manager Stewart Maule said: "After a journey that took one hour 45 minutes to get us to Dunblane, it was a quick change, run to the park, no warm up and game on.
"After all that, some of the football we played was a joy to watch and I’ve never seen a team squander so many chances.
"All credit to Dunblane for fighting back from 0-2 down but no one would have had any complaints if we’d won 7-2."
READ MORE: Rhu off to a flier with back-to-back home league wins
Squad v Doune Castle: Ainslie, Maule, J. Gorman, Brodie, Cameron, Holborn, Harkin, M. Gorman, Black, Stilwell, Brown, Milne, Livingston.
Squad v Dunblane SC: Ainslie, Milne, Cameron, Brodie, Holborn, E. Bell, Toms, Maule, A. Sharkey, K. Sharkey, McKell, Gallagher, Fagan, Black, Gorman.
Rhu's scheduled league match on Saturday, away to Cambusbarron Rovers, fell victim to a waterlogged pitch, sparing the squad a third away trip to Stirling in eight days.
This Saturday, September 7, Rhu make the rather shorter journey to the outskirts of Glasgow to face Bearsden, of the Central Scottish AFL, in the first round of the Scottish Amateur Cup.
Kick-off at Thorn Park is at 2pm.
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