Montrose arrived with only 14 fit players due to call offs and injuries and several players started the game in unfamiliar positions, forwards Allison and Ainsworth left the pack to act as centres, but were helped out when Stornoway graciously offered one of their substitues, winger Albie, to ensure that both sides had a full complement to start the game.

SRU President Jim Stevenson kicked the game off and Montrose were quickly on the attack - storming runs from Mitchell, Brennan, Gardiner and Duncan took the ball deep into the Stornoway half.
The home team were forced on to the back foot and only some last ditch defending stopped Montrose from opening their account inside the first two mintues.

Montrose kept the pressure up and Stornoway were unable to get out of their own half for the next ten minutes. A series of handling errors forced scrum after scrum but the Montrose pack were up to the challenge and were giving the opposition no chance to clear their lines.

The Montrose effort told on fifteen minutes when the pack manned up and took a scrum against the head. Bradley passed the ball wide to Lind who sidestepped the opposition centre and crashed over the line to score. Bradley converted the kick to give Montrose a 7-0 lead.

Stornoway did their best to raise their game but Montrose were having none of it and soon had the Islanders pinned back in their 22 and struggling to avoid conceding another score. Continued Montrose attacks led to a penalty right in front of the posts which Bradley easily converted for a 10-0 lead.

On half an hour Stornoway finally ventured into Montrose territory and made a determined effort to get on the scoreboard but some fine defensive work by the Montrose backs, in particular Ainsworth and Allison, allowed Montrose to weather the attack and when full-back Scott released Hogg to attack down the touchline, only a desperate tap tackle which forced a step into touch stopped a second Montrose score.

The home side made a change in the front row at half time in an effort to shore up their scrum but the new man was unable to make a difference and the Stornoway props changed sides several times to try and ease the pressure coming from the Montrose front row.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first - Montrose dominating and Stornoway defending and trying to get back into the game on the counter-attack.

The Montrose forwards again launched a series of attacks - Scoular, Leggat, Christie and Warden driving the ball into Stonoway territory and giving the backs a good platform for a well executed move leading to a fine score by Allison which Bradley again converted for a 17-0 scoreline after 50 minutes.

Montrose scored again five minutes later when some excellent passing moves put Albie in to beat two men and score in corner for his adopted team - the home spectators definitely not voting him for player of the season judging by their reaction. Bradley converted from the touchline with an excellent kick to leave the home team 24-0 down.

With only twenty five minutes left it looked like the game was all over but Stornoway heads did not go down and Montrose were pushed back into their own half. Several Stornoway substitutions brought in fresh legs and some of the Montrose team were definitely feeling the strain of playing with no chance of a rest on the sidelines!

Stornoway's efforts paid off on 65 minutes when a series of attacks forced a lineout on the Montrose five and the home side were able to force the ball over but could not convert the kick.

Montrose were again put under pressure but were able to exploit Stornoway's eagerness to score when Bradley spotted a gap at the side of a ruck and sprinted from the halfway line to score under the posts - converting his own try to make the final score 31 - 5 to an exhausted Montrose team who then faced a ten hour trip back home.

The next round of the cup will involve another long trip for Montrose as they travel to Invergordon for a game with Ross Sutherland on November 8.

Montrose kick of the new league season this Saturday with a home game against Fife Southern from Rosyth. Kick off 1500 hours. Spectators welcome - bar will be provided by the Black Horse.

Montrose - Colin Brennan, Andy Duncan, Euan Christie, Dave Warden, John Leggat, Stuart Mitchell, Jamie Gardiner, Marc Scoular, Mark Bradley, Ramsay Lind, Craig Hogg, Chris Ainsworth, Chris Allison, Albie (Stornoway), Bill Scott.

Black Horse man of the match was Mark Bradley.