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| CAITHNESS 15 - STEWARTRY 3 by Iain Grant |
| Thu 6th Sep 2007 |
Last week’s draw for the first round of the newly expanded Scottish Cup in soccer witnessed predictable trepidation and anxiety from minor league clubs based in the central belt and Borders about the possibility of having to venture furth of the northern fringes of Perthshire.
There was much gnashing of teeth and furrowing of brows from the likes of Dalbeattie Star, Newton Stewart and Wigtown & Bladnoch about the prospect of being paired away to Wick Academy or Brora Rangers, Previous trips by south junior sides in the qualifying rounds of the national knock-out tourney to Harmsworth Park have attracted high-profile media attention and special sponsorship to underwrite the cost.
The furore for a one-off fixture fails to register with outlying National League rugby counterparts who face length-of-the-country jaunts on a fortnightly basis. The difference in outlook is all the more puzzling given that many of the football outfits are at least semi-professional whereas the rugby men remain fully-fledged amateurs.
If anything, they are sub-amateur in that they have to pay to play.
The Stewartry squad on Saturday, for instance, had to take Friday afternoon off work to set out on their 700 mile round trip to Wick from their base in Castle Douglas. Today, Caithness embark on a similar trek to play newly promoted Dumfries.
That demanding schedule continues throughout the 22 game winter programme, without any to-do.
Stewartry, who made an overnight stop en route, had not their troubles to seek on the final stretch of their journey.
Their team coach ground to a shuddering, terminal halt at Latheron, leading to some of the players having to hitch the remaining 16 miles. Kick-off was delayed for 10 minutes to allow the visiting squad to regroup and prepare for the match.
With the Greens’ Millbank base currently out of commission following drainage work, the home side were re-acquainted with Lower Bignold.
Caithness set about building an advantage from playing with the strong wind and the slope of the pitch in their favour.
Stewartry started the campaign, buoyed by a useful 37-0 eclipse of the second string of Premier 1 side Ayr in their final friendly. As with last season, their strength lies in a big, combative pack which, if left to their own devices, can squeeze the life out of a game.
The Greens were boosted by the late inclusion of experienced centre Norman Foubister from his latest stint offshore. He partnered Graham Fryer in the midfield with Danny Gordon making his first appearance at hooker and regular back five forward Ryan McIntosh fielded on the right wing.
The much-changed line-up, understandably, took some time to settle but got a much-needed fillip with a try after 13 minutes, His score derived from quick possession from a driving maul and quick hands in the three-quarters which led to McIntosh exploiting an overlap to touch down in the corner. Gary Mackay missed the difficult conversion.
Coach Jim MacMillan reckoned the conditions were worth 15-20 points so he looked on increasingly frustrated as scoring opportunities were regularly spurned.
Three minutes from time, a long cycle of possession ended with Stewartry offending in front of their own posts.
Instead of kicking the points, the penalty was run though the doughty visiting defensive lines ensured there was no way through to the line.
Gordon had an on /off debut as a bleeding nose led to him being temporarily replaced in the first half and then permanently subbed at the interval by the experienced David Pottinger. Pottinger ended up in the back row with Stevie Campbell reclaiming the Number 2 shirt.
Pottinger’s arrival gave the Greens some extra grunt and he made good yardage after latching on to inside feeds from scrum-half Kris Hamilton.
Fears about Stewartry taking charge when playing with the elements proved misplaced.
Caithness went about their business in the third quarter with more cohesion and purpose than they had displayed before the break. Early pressure was rewarded by a Gary Mackay penalty six minutes after the beeak.
Just after midway through the half, an astute blindside move involving Hamilton and David Pottinger created the space for Campbell to steam clear from the 22. Gary Mackay landed the conversion to put his side 15 points to the good.
The Greens thereafter faded with the initiative very much with the visitors who were twice held up in-goal by desperate Caithness defence.
The Greens line remained unbreached with Stewartry opening and closing their account with a late penalty.
Coach MacMillan knows his side’s home record will be critical to their chances in the league and is delighted to have started the campaign with a victory.
“We took a while to settle and after we did, we tended to play too loose,” said the coach.
“Everything was a bit too frantic.
“They were a big, stuffy side who like to keep it tight and punish opponents’ mistakes.”
MacMillan admits he had concerns at the narrow lead his side took into the interval.
“I counted at least four scoring chances in the first half which wee didn’t take.”
The coach is delighted by how his side reacted to playing against the conditions though he reckons they slackened off their effort after getting the second try.
“We let them come back strongly when they came close to scoring twice. But we actually finished the game on top which was good to see.”
His sights are now focused on Dumfries, who were convincing winners of last year’s NLD3.
The sides have previously locked horns just once when the Greens defeated them 6-3 in a Scottish Cup third round tie at Millbank last December. Winger-cum-full back Richard Mackay is ruled out after aggravating a knee injury on Saturday.
Fryer is also offshore though New Zealander front rower Steve Duval is set to make his league debut.
Backs Blair McIntosh and Chris Gove are also in the frame to return.
Dumfries came a cropper in Inverness on Saturday when they went down 26-0 to Highland, who earned a four-try bonus point. The clash of the other two promoted clubs was won decisively by Forrester with the Edinburgh side romping to a 52-3 home win over Newton Stewart.
Grangemouth, who came down from NLD1, squeezed to a 15-10 home victory over Allan Glen’s while Howe of Fife prevailed 23-16 at Allan Glen’s.
In the other fixture, Kilmarnock scored an impressive 26-10 victory over Glasgow Accies.
Caithness v Stewartry: J. Paterson, R. Mackay, G. Fryer, N. Foubister, R. McIntosh, G. Mackay, K. Hamilton, L. MacNicol, D. Gordon, R. Pottinger, E. Boyd (cpt.), A. Morris, G. Anderson, E. Sutherland, S. Campbell. Replacements – (all used) D. Buchanan, D. Pottinger and J. Sinclair.
Ref – Mr G. Whitecross, RAF.
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| Stewartry |
1 |
5 |
| Berwick |
1 |
5 |
| Newton Stewart |
1 |
5 |
| Caithness |
1 |
5 |
| Waysiders Drumpellier |
1 |
4 |
| Highland |
1 |
4 |
| Alan Glens |
1 |
1 |
| Aberdeenshire |
1 |
1 |
| Hawick YM |
1 |
1 |
| Glasgow Accies |
1 |
0 |
| Kilmarnock |
1 |
0 |
| Annan |
1 |
0 |
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| 1st XV Season (2009/10) |
| Kilmarnock 81 - 5 Caithness |
| 17th Apr 10 - KO: 12:00 |
| Venue: Bellsland |
| :: Match Report |
 |
| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness vs Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
| :: More Fixtures |
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