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| CAITHNESS 42 - ALLAN GLEN'S - 5 by Iain Grant |
| Thu 6th Dec 2007 |
THE Greens face up to their remaining two competitive matches before Christmas in good heart after their revival continued on Saturday with this decisive win.
The six-tries-to-one success was achieved on the back of the kind of stylish, high-tempo display which was the template during the club's rapid progress from district to national league rugby.
Fans have had to be patient this season as jerseys have, by necessity, been filled by a platoon of teenage recruits. It has been a steep learning curve for youngsters who have had to become battle-hardened in an arena several levels above their station.
There has been the occasional away day when they have suffered shell shock in the face of heavy artillery. But the progress they have made was apparent on Saturday when the likes of Gary Mackay, Danny Gordon and Kris Gove proved they are quick learners.
Caithness have recovered from one of the club's worst-ever runs – losing seven on the spin – to move out of the bottom four after winning three of their last four.
The confidence levels will also have got a much-needed boost after they ran in as many tries as they had managed to notch up in their previous nine encounters in National League Division 2. Having crossed three times in the opening 15 minutes, they pocketed the bonus pocket with their fourth try 15 minutes later.
Allan Glen's never lost heart but they were always on the back foot after their traumatic start and the Greens were, if anything, frustrated at the end not to have broken the 50-point mark.
Just about every Caithness player touched the ball in several sweeping phases launched from the kick-off and the first score came with 90 seconds on the clock. Grant Anderson had been stopped just short before the visitors' shortage of defenders out wide was exposed as the next play allowed Stevie Campbell to stroll over untouched.
Within two minutes, a powerful midfield thrust from right winger Graham Fryer was the source of their second try – the pick of the day.
Andy Morris sustained the forward momentum to take play deep into the Allan Glen's 22 before a razor-sharp exchange of passes climaxed with Evan Sutherland plunging over under the crossbar. Blair McIntosh, who was playing at full-back, converted.
The visitors came back strongly and opted to run a penalty they were awarded in the shadow of the posts following a surge by flanker Adam MacGregor. The five-pointer failed to materialise and the game, if questionable, decision not to take the kick was magnified by a third try at the other end.
Morris, relishing his return to the back row, was again to the fore with a yard-guzzling break from near the halfway line. He was eventually downed inside the Allan Glen's 22, with quick recycling from the ruck finding a backtracking defence at sixes and sevens.
Mackay and Campbell were the key links before Duncan Smith breezed through to score.
The visitors' cause was not helped by a malfunctioning line-out, while their poor first-up tackle count also cost them dear. However, they were next to score after 26 minutes when their strong-running centre Stevie Kirk exploited a hole in the Greens' defence to cross.
Phil Cartmill missed with what was to prove his only shot at goal.
Caithness may then have had misgivings, given that they had allowed the city side to recover from a 19-0 deficit in the first game to triumph 38-27. Further doubts crept in as the visitors pressed for further reward with several multi-phase spells of possession.
But the initiative was irreversibly restored in the Greens' favour with a breakaway try nine minutes from the interval. Slick hands from Norman Foubister made a telling contribution before Mackay released Campbell, who wrong-footed the last defender before touching down.
McIntosh slotted the conversion and added a 40th-minute penalty to put his side 27-5 up.
The latter offence left the Glasgow men short-handed for the first 10 minutes after the turnaround as a result of replacement Claudio Spitoni's yellow-carding.
Caithness kept the upper hand, with Jamie "Pigeon" Sinclair prominent with a touchline break and McIntosh narrowly wide with a snap drop-goal attempt.
A sustained onslaught paid dividends when Sutherland's breenge was grounded inches from the line before Gordon picked up to drive over for his first try for the club. McIntosh converted.
Mackay helped keep the Glasgow side under the cosh with some lengthy touchline finds as the Greens sought to cash in on their dominance.
On 65 minutes, scrum-half Kris Hamilton took full advantage of a stolen line-out take to motor through a yawning gap on a 30-yard dart to the line.
The Greens dropped their standards in the closing quarter, with a succession of promising moves being nipped in the bud by handling errors and poor decision-making. Campbell marred an otherwise sparkling display with a wild pass to the unmarked Sinclair, while Smith and Fryer twice got their wires crossed as they failed to exploit overlaps on the opposite touchline.
The final score came from McIntosh's boot when he potted a late penalty.
Coach Jim MacMillan is hoping his troops can keep up the good work in their last two league games of 2007 – away to Kilmarnock tomorrow and at home to Highland the following week.
"Continuity of selection has made a big difference to us," said the coach, accounting for the Greens' recent purple patch. "We made a tremendous start to the game on Saturday. The set-piece was good and we made a lot of ground from starter moves.
"The forwards went well, with players like Andy Morris carrying the ball well and Stevie being back to his best after recovering from his broken cheekbone. Norman also makes a great difference to our back play. He gives us great go-forward ball and brings everybody into play."
MacMillan also praised his young brigade for the strides they have made, singling out fly-half Mackay for settling in well to the key playmaker role.
The coach is all too aware the Greens are not out of the woods yet in terms of securing their place in the league.
"We need to keep moving on," he said. "It's still pretty tight at the bottom. We've gone up a couple of places but one slip-up and we're back in the mix again."
Looking to tomorrow's encounter, MacMillan hopes to call on the same pack that started on Saturday.
Lock John Miller is unavailable but front rower Halde Pottinger is fit again to rejoin the squad. Foubister is back offshore, which will involve a reshuffle of the backs. McIntosh is expected to move into the midfield with Gove slotting in at full-back.
William Mill is unable to travel but should be back in the frame for the Highland game.
Caithness: B. McIntosh, G. Fryer, N. Foubister, D. Smith, J. Sinclair, G. Mackay, K. Hamilton, L. MacNicol, S. Campbell, R. Pottinger, E. Boyd (captain), A. Morris, G. Anderson, E. Sutherland, D. Gordon. Replacements (all used): C. Smith, J. Miller, K. Gove.
Allan Glen's: D. Waterstone, F. Caddens, G. Thomson, S. Kirk, I. Dickson, P. Cartmill, A. Milne, D. Morrison, S. Muir, D. Green, A. Johnston (captain), S. Riley, J. Stalker, C. Kawa-Kumani, A. MacGregor. Replacements (all used): M. Adams, C. Spitoni, G. Sinclair.
Kilmarnock on Saturday extended Highland's recent slump when they scored a 14-10 win in a dour, bad-tempered contest in Inverness.
Highland's Gareth High and an opponent were red-carded, while Patrick Boyer added to the home side's mounting injury list with a knee injury which left him hobbling home on crutches. The defeat effectively ends Highland's hopes of promotion.
Howe of Fife kept top spot after a 39-0 home win over Stewartry, while Dumfries took advantage of the free day of rivals Forrester with a 32-12 victory in Linlithgow. That has enabled Dumfries to go seven points clear of the Edinburgh club.
Both the Forrester v Glasgow Accies and Grangemouth/Newton Stewart matches scheduled for Saturday were hit by waterlogged pitches.
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness 25 - 27 Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Stewartry vs Caithness |
| 11th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Greenlaw |
| :: More Fixtures |
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