Gordonians learned the hard way that giving teams like Stewart’s Melville 15 points start is not recommended in the fight to pull away from the relegation area in National League 2.
However, despite the 27-17 defeat at Countesswells, the Aberdeen side are two points clear of the drop zone.
Ryan Morrice one of the assistant coaches at the club said: “We made too many mistakes at vital times, and couldn’t keep control of the ball.
“But we came back well and with a bit of luck could have won, only to let Stewart’s Melville back at us and pull away, denying us a losing bonus point but we’re getting there.”
Slow to start, Gordonians found themselves three tries down, luckily none of them converted in the first half, but hit back through a Dan Brown try to close the gap to 15-5 and with stand off Alex Fraser kicking the conversion, the home side were back in the game.
The Edinburgh side were not to be denied, hitting back with a fourth try, only for veteran hooker Tom Williams to score from close range. Fraser added the extras and for good measure kicked a penalty.
In a frantic finish the Inverleith side eased out of reach with a third try for winger Sean Murchie.
In Caley Division One, an Orkney side made up of a mixture of experienced players and youngsters came a cropper at the Meadows where Ellon blew the title race wide open after stunning the islanders, handing them a shock 52-19 reverse, and their first league defeat in the process.
Garry Coltherd, the Orkney head coach, said: “Playing against a strong wind, we held out for 25 minutes before succumbing to the relentless Ellon pressure to go 28-0 down.
“In the end we regained our pride, scoring three tries but missed out on our try bonus point. It’s a wake up call for us.”
The result catapults Ellon into the title reckoning in second place, two points behind Orkney but having played a game more than the Islanders.
In Caley 2 North, leaders Moray ran out 38-26 winners at Mackie.
Aberdeenshire made it three try bonus wins in a row after their 45-15 win at home to Banff, taking them into third place behind 2nd Highland and Moray, and a step nearer their ambition of taking the side into the top Caley league.
2nd Caithness moved to within five points of Caley 4 North leaders Dyce who were not in action, seeing off Deeside 17-10 at Thurso.