Two points were scant reward for Helensburgh as they lost a match most onlookers felt they should have won... but for some hugely controversial decision-making by the referee.
Yet, though to the neutral his performance was inconsistent - in that he consistently penalised Helensburgh by a ratio of roughly 10 to 1 - the home side in truth let slip a game they should have had buried long before their momentum was stalled by the man in pink's whistle.
Burgh scored three of their five tries inside the opening 13 minutes and went on to regain the lead in the second half... only to watch in utter frustration as two late penalty goals sent the Bankies home with their fourth win in five matches.
Burgh came out of the blocks like Usain Bolt on Espresso... only minutes after being denied on one scamper, the returning Jonny Drake hared up the left wing and only a desperate covering tackle into touch saved the try. From the ensuing Bankies clearance, a fine Calderwood lineout take saw a rolling maul rounded off superbly by Michael Kinsman, 5-0.
The Bankies had barely drawn breath when they fell further behind, this time Ali Rogers finishing off sensational inter-play between backs and forwards which began in the Burgh half.
After 13 minutes, a scintillating midfield break by Drake saw Bowman, Howell and Kerr involved before a determined finish by the superb Connor Simmons had the crowd in raptures, and this time Court converted for 17-0.
Then, another sashaying break from Rogers should have made it four tries after 15 minutes but he chose the wrong option by going out wide instead of inside to the supporting Ashdown.
Bankies eventually rallied, while Burgh took their foot off the gas. Instead of playing simple, basics rugby they all tried to throw the hero-pass, or gain that extra five yards on their own. After half an hour, the whistler's right arm started its work-out, flailing into the air for penalty after penalty against the Greens. A series of rolling mauls paid off for the visitors with a converted try to make it 17-7.
That lead shortened to four with five minutes to play in the first half, a deft offload among the forwards freeing the No.6 to trundle up the wing, swap passes and dot down near the posts. Then, right at the death and benefiting from any number of penalties, Bankies’ No.8 barged over for an unconverted score to leave Burgh trailing 19-17 at the interval.
Drake, Rogers, Howell all had fine counter-attacks in the opening exchanges of the second period but that final pass went a-begging. Despite the visitors’ having the bigger pack, Burgh’s chopping defence up front was excellent, even if their open play resistance was at times a little ragged. But it was becoming death-by-a-thousand-penalties at any break-down Burgh contested, to howling derision from the home supporters.
Another converted try from the visitors gave Burgh a mountain to climb... but they replied in style, Rogers' quick-tap penalty paying off with his second try of the day to make it 26-22 to Clydebank.
Midway through the half, big Michael Welch chose a fine line off a ruck and broke through for a great individual score, though again the conversion was missed... and how Burgh were to rue those lost points in a frenzied final 15 minutes. A learned man once said: "The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend." Most among the Burgh contingent trudged off at the final whistle to utter incomprehension.
This is a tight league – just look at the league's scores from Saturday, all close-run things – and Burgh should use the seething frustration and disappointment from this match to galvanise their efforts towards bigger and better things.
Burgh: Drake, Howell, Bowman, Rogers, Stevenson, Court, Curtis, Ard, Ashdown, Jamieson, D.Calderwood, Kinsman, Simmons, Kerr, Alton. Subs: Welch, Feltham, Kinsella, Flanagan, Wain, Linzee-Gordon, C.Calderwood.
Cammy Kerr, skipper: “We finally played the rugby we are capable of, outmuscling them up front before the breakdown became a total no-go area and ultimately penalties cost us the lead we had built.
“The boys kept at it and I'm proud of them for not giving in at any point. We did leave some points on the field but that was by far the best we have played this season. When you concede that many penalties it's almost impossible to win - I will be very surprised if we concede anywhere near that number again this season."
Davie Calderwood, player/coach: "We played some of the best rugby I've seen in the last few seasons. To lose the way we did, was hard to take. We know we're heading in the right direction, we just need to keep doing what we're doing.
"The spirit in the team is as good as it's ever been at Helensburgh so we'll take that down to Wigtownshire and show what our club is all about."