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| CAITHNESS 9 - 15 GLASGOW ACCIES by Iain Grant |
| Fri 31st Oct 2008 |
The Greens will view Saturday’s game as three eminently winnable points lost in their bottom-line quest to preserve their place in Scottish Hydro Electric National League Division 2.
The defeat was all the more painful in that it was their first reverse of the season on home turf.
The losing bonus point came as cold comfort as they now face up to an arduous schedule over the coming month, starting with a trip tomorrow to the home of leaders Whitecraigs.
Trailing 8-3 at half-time after playing into the face of a troublesome wind at Millbank was a less-than formidable deficit to make up. The Greens not only defended well but showed enough on the front foot to suggest they could cut loose in the second period.
Despite the boost of an early penalty, the expected surge failed to materialise. A failure to exploit the wind advantage, coupled with a penchant to strike too early from too far out, played into the hands of a streetwise city side.
Accies kept possession well, defended solidly and ultimately deserved to go home with the spoils.
Caithness were boosted by the return from injury of centres Blair McIntosh and Danny Gordon and prop Halde Pottinger.
Accies stand-off Ryan Moseby’s booming touch find from a penalty soon after the kick-off took his side deep into opposition territority.
A Caithness steal from the line-out was undone when one of their players went off his feet at the subsequent breakdown in play. The offence was straight in front of the posts but the capricious wind made place-kicking more of a lottery than a science. Graeme Simpson’s kick spiralled erratically before stotting off the top of the left post and going over.
A potent break by visiting full-back Ross Chassels came to naught after he over-kicked as Accies continued to dominate the opening exchanges. The pressure was relieved by a sparky break-out, spearheaded by Kris Hamilton and Danny Gordon.
That emanated from the first of a run of penalties conceded by the visitors which culminated in one near their line which Gary Mackay duly converted to tie the scores on 15 minutes.
The Greens came up with some encouraging spells of continuity play in which they mixed up close-up drives with some enterprising three-quarters moves.
There was a let-off for the home outfit on 21 minutes when winger Gordie Macleod had a kick charged down by his opposite number Michael Hermes with a try saved only by Mackay’s brave smother on the deck.
A minute later, Accies got their noses in front following a bog-standard backs’ play off a scrum.
There seemed no apparent danger until two defenders were drawn to the interloping Chassels who was able to give the nippy Hermes a free run to the line. Simpson failed with the wide-out conversion.
Visiting flanker Chris MacAlpine was fortunate to escape with just a stern lecture following his blatant late take-up of Mackay after a clearance kick from the full-back on the half-hour mark.
Caithness enjoyed a purple patch during which a Hamilton break, supported by Grant Anderson, and a side-stepping probe from McIntosh deserved to be marked with points on the board.
It was Accies who finished the half on top with a Chassels chip tantalisingly crossing the in-goal line a second before Hermes could get his hand to the ball.
Within a minute of the restart, Mackay kicked his second penalty of the day to narrow Accies’ advantage to two points.
It however failed to prompt a sustained onslaught and it was their opponents who went on to dominate territory and possession for the remainder of the game.
Accies’ more experienced and worldly-wise pack kept things tight as they steam-rollered down the park with a less-than-spectaular but hugely effective chain of pick-and-goes.
Their second try on 58 minutes came after a sustained spell of pressure though its execution stemmed from an interception. Accies were pressing the home line when a rehearsed three-quarter move from a setpeice broke down. Gordon was fed in a congested zone 10 metres in front of his posts and his ill-advised attempt to hand on to a colleague was seized on by the piratical Hermes who sprinted to the line unopposed.
The try, converted by Simpson, was a real body blow to the Greens.
Their cause was further undermined on 61 minutes when Gordon was yellow-carded for a late tackle.
Some hope was given a minute later with Mackay’s third penalty and the consequent sin-binning of Accies hooker Matteo Giovanazzi for persistent offending.
Caithness did not threaten in the final stages with Mackay off-target with another penalty attempt as Accies held out for their first win in Thurso in three attempts.
Greens coach Jim MacMillan was very disappointed how his men failed to build on their encouraging first half display.
“We never really got going in the second half,” he said. “I think we sat back a bit and expected the wind to do the job for us.”
The coach said the interception try was a turning point in the game from which his side never recovered.
He added: “I thought they defended well around the fringes and they worked the ball well up the park. “Their forwards had a fair bit more experience than ours and it showed.”
He was encouraged to see McIntosh and Pottinger back in action though the former is a big doubt for tomorrow after aggravating a thigh injury in training on Tuesday.
Scrum-half Graham Fry is back offshore and flanker Stevie Campbell unavailable. Donald Buchanan will come back into the front row and Andrew Sangster and James Hamilton should be available to beef up the back row. James Sinclair and Stuart Grant add to the options behind the scrum.
Whitecraigs like to use their large park to give free rein to their pacy back three – a threat MacMillan is very aware of.
He will however be unable to firm up his line-up until dealing with the last-minute call-offs which too often plague away assignments.
Caithness – G. Mackay, K. Gove, B. McIntosh, D. Gordon, G. MacLeod, K. Hamilton, G. Fryer, J. Foubister, H. Coghill, S. Dunnett, E. Boyd (cpt), G. Anderson, D. Pottinger, E. Sutherland, S. Campbell. Replacements (all used) – H. Pottinger and H. Foubister. Unused – D. Wright.
Glasgow Accies – R. Chassels, M. Hermes, J. Stewart, S. Smith, R. Kennedy, R. Moseby, A. Wilson, C. McAlpine, M. Giovanazzi, F. Marchetti, R. Bryant, J. Walker, M. Smith, G. Simpson, D. MacLaughlin. Replacements (all used) – A. Pogrel, P. Tindell and I. Williamson.
Ref – Mr G. Grant, Dundee.
* Whitecraigs meted out a first defeat of the season to Hawick YM on Saturday – winning 21-16 at the home of the Borderers.
LinlIthgow’s 18-6 win at Newton Stewart edges them ahead of Hawick into second spot.
Highland got their third win on the trot with a 15-6 eclipse of Forrester in Inverness.
The other two matches on the card fell victim to waterlogged pitches at Greenock and Kilmarnock.
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| 1st XV Season (2009/10) |
| Kilmarnock 81 - 5 Caithness |
| 17th Apr 10 - KO: 12:00 |
| Venue: Bellsland |
| :: Match Report |
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness vs Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
| :: More Fixtures |
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