Montrose started well against a full strength opposition but were unable to make much headway against a determined Fife pack and for the first 10 minutes the game was played in the centre of the pitch with very little room for flair or creativity.

The game sparked into life on 18 minutes when Baxter kicked through and Shakespeare and Hogg, following up caused chaos in the Fife defence who were forced to touch the ball down for a 22 drop-out.

The resulting kick went straight to Bradley on the halfway line. He attacked on the Fife weak side, easily beating three players and touching down in the corner. The kick was not converted but Montrose were 5-0 up.

Montrose were reduced to 14 men on 20 minutes when Gardiner was shown a yellow card for punching – the referee decided not to take into account of the fact his victim hadn't noticed he was being punched and sent Gardiner to the touchline for 10 minutes. Montrose were pushed back into their own half where they stayed for the next few minutes. During this period they gave away too many penalties for comfort but Fife's kicker was having a bad day and missed three opportunities to get his side on the scoreboard.

Montrose scored again just after Gardiner returned to the fray when Bradley kicked a 30 yard penalty to make the score 8-0.

Montrose made substitutions in the last ten minutes of the half due to injuries - Leggatt and Brennan going on for Mitchell and Scoular.

Scoular was able to return after half time and Montrose attempted to take the game to the opposition but the game quickly got bogged down again and the spectators were treated to another ten minutes of deadlock as neither side were able to create an opening. Montrose were trying to play the better rugby and when Baxter, Craig and Shakespeare were able to exploit a gap another score looked on as the three Montrose men gave a demonstration of passing and running into space – only letting themselves down when they got to the Fife 5 yard line. Fife were able to get men behind the ball and bring the attack to a halt.

The next few minutes saw two extremes of kicking ability – first Montrose scored again with another penalty just outside the 22 and Fife replied with a kick from straight in front of the posts to make the score 11 – 3.

Lind and Clark then stepped up to the plate to attempt clearing kicks that didn't quite go according to plan – Lind's blushes were saved by a tremendous take from Hogg under pressure and Clark was once again reminded why forwards shouldn't kick the ball as he managed to put a kick five yards behind him although he did make touch!

With five minutes to go Fife Southern came right back into the game – managing to take advantage of some gaps in the otherwise tight Montrose defence to score by touching the ball against the post, a try hotly disputed as Christie and Scoular were adamant that the ball had been held up. Fife were unable to convert the kick though and Montrose led 11 – 8 into the final minutes.

With only a few minutes remaining, skipper Baxter was able to slow the ball down by keeping it in the forwards and not letting Fife have any possession until the clock ran out – not pretty to watch but effective and a welcome sign of maturity from the Montrose team as winning close games has been an issue from previous seasons.

Overall a workmanlike performance from a Montrose team who were able to tame a bigger Fife pack and grind out a win to make a good start to the season. The new training regime implemented by Baxter is also paying off as Montrose were noticeably fitter than their opposition in the final quarter of the game.

Murray Taylor man of the match: Derek Craig

First team training is Mondays and Thursdays at 1900 hours at Union Park – all welcome.

Montrose travel to local rivals Arbroath for their first away game of the season next week. Kick off is 3 pm at Arbroath Sport Centre

Montrose: Marc Scoular, Andy Duncan, Euan Christie, Duncan Clark, Gordon Kydd, Stuart Mitchell, Jamie Gardiner, Derek Craig, Mark Bradley, Ramsay Lind, Jamie Shakespeare, Chris Allison, Chris Ainsworth, Craig Hogg, Andy Baxter, Colin Brennan, John Leggat, Stuart Dickson, Phil Ryan, Aaron Gove, Graeme Ramsay.