HILLFOOTS RFC came out on top during a tight match against Crieff, who suffered their first defeat of the league season.

Foots travelled north to take on Crieff, welcoming several players back from injury, bolstering their chances of success.

Aidan Kerr got Foots off to a bright start, scoring an early try for the visitors, but Callum Williamson’s conversion struck the upright in windy conditions.

Kerr came agonisingly close to a second through almost identical circumstances, but his side ended up scoring the resulting penalty.

Williamson added the extras to give Foots a promising 12 point lead in the early stages of the games.

Crieff began to respond, however, and carried out some good play to try and get a foothold in the match.

They scored a try and added the conversion, clawing back seven points as the break occurred, with Foots still in the lead.

Crieff came out the interval the better side and closed the gap on Hillfoots, eventually overtaking them with a penalty in front of Foots goal.

This sent Crieff ahead by 17 to 12, with the wind and rain certainly playing its part in proceedings.

A flurry of yellow cards reduced Crieff to just 13 players to finish the game, allowing Foots to capitalise and sending Ruaridh Tod crashing over the line to the left of the posts.

Williamson slotted the conversion to give the Wee County side a deserved win at 17-19.

Head coach Graeme Simpson said: “I am absolutely delighted that we came away with the win in what became a very tough fixture.

“Credit to Creiff for never taking a step back at any point in a very stop-start game.

“I think this game has prepared us very well for next week against Glenrothes, and with a few alterations to our performance, I am looking forward to us putting on a very competitive display against the league leaders.”