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| 'DREADFUL' DISPLAY LEAVES COACH QUESTIONING COMMITMENT by Iain Grant |
| Fri 27th Feb 2009 |
Caithness 6 Annan 13
Caithness exited Scotland’s club knock-out competition on Saturday with more of a whimper than a growl.
Saturday’s defeat at Millbank followed an error-strewn, disjointed performance in the first round of the Scottish Hydro Electric Shield.
Much of the insipid fare on offer was in stark contrast to the absorbing action in the Greens’ heroic 18-8 loss to Premiership 2 leaders Dundee High Schools FPs in the fourth round of the premier tourney.
Several outstanding individual performances for the Greens kept them in the hunt until the end but few would quibble with the outcome.
Annan did not have to be near their best to repeat the drab 12-3 league win they eked out of a try-less encounter on their only previous trip to Thurso in May 2007.
In a scrappy opening period, Craig McCann was short with a penalty attempt after home full-back Gary Mackay was penalised for not releasing after being tackled.
Mackay similarly failed to splice the posts after play was pulled back for a high tackle on Greens centre Danny Gordon.
Caithness were to rely for their main territory gains on individual line-breaks with Evan Sutherland and Stevie Campbell the main contributors.
Both teams struggled for the sort of quick, go-forward possession which would have enabled them to exploit the wide channels.
There was one occasion early on when they did achieve this, quick hands by Kris Hamilton and Mackay gave right wing David McCarthy a run down the touchline before he was scragged 10 metres out.
Annan went in front on 27 minutes with their first attack of any real menace. After a second free-kick awarded for a Greens scrum offence, visiting number eight and captain Mike Scott made good inroads with a rampaging break. The ball was worked wide by stand-off Niall Smith and McCann put winger Alex Halliday over.
McCann correctly gauged the fickle wind with the conversion from near the corner but his kick came back off the far post. McCann missed an easier penalty opportunity just before half-time.
Caithness clawed their way back into the game with two penalties from Mackay, either side of one potted by McCann, to trail 8-6.
The latter award was expensive for the home outfit as it lost them the services of Sutherland for 10 minutes after his sin-binning.
Annan came close to scoring after Halliday broke clear from his own 22 with Campbell coming to the rescue with a marvellous recovery tackle.
Caithness were on top for the last quarter with Annan full-back Kevin Jones’ making a brave try-saving smother on the deck from James Sinclair’s kick-through.
Blair McIntosh featured with two cracking breaks near the line with Campbell unable to hold his would-be scoring pass from the second.
Annan scored a second try 12 minutes from the end when a loose pass from Gordon was gobbled up by replacement James Bigham who romped 60 yards to the line without a hand being laid on him.
Greens coach Jim MacMillan believed his troops got exactly what they deserved from the tie.
“We never got going at any time during the match and were particularly dreadful in the opening 20 minutes,“ he said. "It was a really flat display and it looked like our backs could play for two days and not score.”
The coach is unhappy about the commitment of some in the squad.
He said: “The guys that haven’t been training stuck out like sore thumbs.
“We’ve got five or six guys who are really fit; five or six who are so- so; and others who have not been training regularly. It’s not only fitness levels that is the problem but a lack of awareness of the game plan and what we are trying to do.”
The Greens have no fixture tomorrow.
Caithness – G. Mackay, G. Macleod, J. Sinclair, D. Gordon, D. McCarthy, B. McIntosh, K. Hamilton, D. Buchanan, D. Pottinger, J. Foubister, E. Boyd (cpt), H. Coghill, G. Anderson, E. Sutherland, S. Campbell. Replacements (used) – T. Sutherland, M. Flavell and K. Foubister.
Annan -- K. Jones, A. Halliday, M. Griffen, C. McCann, A. Jancey, N. Smith, M. Clark, M. Carpenter, C. Warrick, R. Gracie, G. Hogg, J. Nelson, D. Barnes, M. Scott (cpt.), E. Braid. Replacements (all used) – C. Bell, J. Bingham, E. Currie and S. Kelly. Referee – Mr G. Whitecross, RAF Lossiemouth.
* Highland were dumped out of the main cup competition when they went down 57-5 at home to Musselburgh in the fourth round.
Fellow NLD2 sides Linlithgow and Hawick YM both bowed out with gutsy defeats to Premiership opponents.
Linlithgow led Boroughmuir 18-17 before eventually going down 58-26 while Hawick YM lost out 27-7 to Stewarts Melville.
Greenock Wanderers also put up a gutsy fight in their 26-0 reverse to Gala.
NLD2 leaders Whitecraigs found the fifth round a step too far after going down 65-3 at the Greenyards to Melrose.
Orkney were eliminated from the SHE Bowl after losing out 53-0 away to Preston Lodge in a second round match.
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| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness 25 - 27 Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
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