The Cornishmens kicking game was by now going well, and culminated with Cobden having no option but to taking an up and under....with Dave Ward thrown in for good measure! The Notts try scorer could only hold on to the pill reluctantly but his indescretion went unpunished as Bentleys long range effort missed the uprights.

As half time loomed, both teams evened out somewhat with Jackson and Bentley exchanging successful penalties to leave things nicely balanced at 9-10 in the hosts favour.

Sadly for them this would be their last sniff of the points as their second period restart was beautifully delivered deep back into their own 22 courtesy of Davies' more cultured boot these days. The following home lineout went horribly wrong, and there was Cowan to pick up the scraps and charge over from close in with a moment of opportunism that not only can, but did change the game.

Bentley's conversion attempt though sweetly struck, again missed it's target. However the new mood that envelopes the Pirate camp compensated nicely, and the moment passed without further concern as the men in black and gold resumed their business from the second restart in as many minutes.

The wind was well in truly in the Pirates sails now with Notts forced into error and then ill-discipline as Eggelshaw saw yellow in the 48th minute.

Mr Roberts, presiding over what was to become the first Pirate win in nine officiations was to brandish that bit of plastic no more despite some further feisty 'discussions' as things became heated in the engine room. A not too unsurprising situation given both packs committment, something which after an hour or so began to take it's toll as the green 8, depsite reinforcements, gradually couldn't match fitness wise.

Bentley's third successful hack once the Nottingham replacement had trudged back off for a sit down, extended the lead to seven which the Pirates knew needed adding to before he returned.

Tonks' penalty from long range briefly gave his colleagues hope before order was restored and Bentley looked to replicate his dot-down at the Stoop eight days previously. His lunge was held up handing the put-in for the resulting scrum to his skipper, Cattle, who is proving to be the ideal mentor to the youngsters around him. Quel surprise!

The scrum won and with the ball at the feet of Cowan, there was only to be one outcome as the Kiwi bent down and picked up the ball. From that range and in the mood the boy was clearly in, no-one was going to stop him from grabbing his second touchdown in the space of fifteen minutes.

Eggleshaw resumed his place on the pitch soon after but with only an hour gone, the damage had been done. The Pirates continued to look for more but were quite content to batten down the hatches if necessary, something that now looks more than achieveable should the need arise.

The contrast to the last ten minutes of the corresponding league fixture to this was stark. Then, defeat had been snatched from the jaws of a likely and deserved victory with an ease which frightened. Now, Nottingham could only hope for a sniff of a consolation bonus point if they were fortunate. With credit they huffed, pufffed and spread the ball about from one touchline to another in the knowledge that a drop goal or penalty was not an option. To no avail...

The Pirates defence matched everything and to be truthful, such is work rate on tap that they could quite probably have dug in for the long haul till County's caretakers' shift came to an end and started rattling the gate keys.

A question though that will no doubt arise as the season unwinds is..are we overseeing a real foundation being put in place for a 'Big Push' in the seasons to come? The footings as they stand, look pretty promising to this eyewitness. In the meantime it's perhaps best just to sit back and enjoy some Stirling work.