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| GREENS BUOYED BY AWAY VICTORY by Iain Grant |
| Fri 9th Oct 2009 |
Phew! The Greens’ 1.30 return on Sunday morning from Castle Douglas completed a trio of epic trips for Colin Sangster’s men.
Fulfilling the opening away fixtures in the Scottish Hydro National League Division 2 has involved them covering a distance of 2100 miles.
It is the sort of punishing coast-to-coast schedule faced by pro American baseball teams though they invariably travel by plane.
At least their jaunt to the market town in Galloway – which followed excursions to Hawick and Newton Stewart – gets the three biggies out of the way.
The matches have yielded a healthy return of 10 match points thanks to two good wins and a narrow reverse on the opening day to Hawick YM. That compares to a total of four from the same fixtures last year and will nurture the ambition of the club to feature in the promotion race.
That may not be unrealistic though their credentials will be fully tested in upcoming tussles with likely title contenders, Greenock Wanderers, Lasswade and Kilmarnock
Currently third, Caithness entertain the Ayrshire side tomorrow.
Coach Sangster returned at the weekend buoyed by the win but with a simmering frustration at his side’s inability to prise a win bonus.
The platform for their three-tries-to-nil victory was secured on the back of a resilient first half performance into the teeth of a very strong wind.
They kicked on to cross three times after the break with two tries by flanker Grant Anderson and one by Graham Fryer.
The Greens had to contend with the loss of Danny Gordon in the opening minutes after the winger dislocated a shoulder.
It required a much-earlier-than-intended introduction for Wick schoolboy Yeager Coghill, who was to prove an assured and competent replacement.
Caithness did well in keeping the ball in hand for long spells as they battled against the elements as well as their opponents.
The back row did more than their fair share of carrying while the Greens’ high first-time tackle count meant the home side seldom got a sniff of the try-line.
The Greens came closest to scoring late on in the half when a driving maul deep in the opposition 22 was illegally taken down.
A powerful, angled run by Anderson put him over for the opening score soon after the turnaround.
The second try was created by a dynamic series of phases which ended with Fryer going over.
A number of promising attacks by the visitors were thereafter aborted by poor decision-making or handling errors.
In the closing minutes, Anderson’s close-in pick-up and drive-over produced a final score-line which did not reflect the upper hand which his side exerted throughout the afternoon.
“We set the foundation in the first half when we took the game to them,” said coach Sangster. “We were all over them in the second and we never looked to concede any points.
“They were never in our half after half-time apart from kick-offs.”
Sangster reflects ruefully on his side’s record in securing bonus points.
He said: “That is the fifth time in six games when we have scored three tries.
“We scored the third try late on and then there was a big push for the fourth. Why did we just think about that earlier?”
The coach believes his side is on occasions prone to moving the ball wide too early.
He believes it needs to be more patient and commit more opponents in close-up drives up the middle before unleashing their backs.
Sangster is however pleased with the reaction of his side to Saturday’s win.
“It shows you their ambition that they were gutted afterwards not to have picked up a win bonus.
“They won by two points here narrowly last year and they were celebrating like they had won the World Cup.”
The coach is hoping his side can reproduce their away form at Millbank.
Kilmarnock, who have an identical record of four victories and two defeats, won both of last year’s fixtures with something to spare. Sangster is hoping to get one over on the Ayrshire men tomorrow.
He said: “I think it’s got the makings of a pretty tight game and the crowd could make all the difference if they really get behind us.”
Gordon faces several months on the sidelines and work commitments mean the Greens will be without Stevie Campbell, Roddie Gray and Norman Foubister.
James Paterson is unavailable while Andrew Sangster (knee), Anderson (knee and ribs) and Tommy Sutherland (knee) all hope to be fit.
James Sinclair is back from a spell offshore while Sinclair Dunnet and David McCarthy are set to join the squad.
The match has a 1 p.m. kick-off to accommodate the visitors.
Caithness v Stewartry – G. Mackay, D. Gordon G. Fryer, J. Paterson, G. Macleod, B. McIntosh, K. Hamilton, J. Foubister, H. Coghill, T. Sutherland, A. Morris (cpt), M. Duffy, G. Anderson, A. Sangster, E. Sutherland. Replacements (all used) – B. More, C. Smith and Y. Coghill.
* Bottom side Cambuslang have finally got points on the board after their battling 11-10 home win versus Hawick YM.
Greenock Wanderers’s 37-0 eclipse of Waysiders/Drumpellier maintains their 100% record while Lasswade reclaimed second spot after a 55-0 trouncing of Preston Lodge.
Highland lost a couple of places after going down 17-11 to Glasgow Accies in Inverness while Newton Stewart went joint third with a 27-22 win at Kilmarnock.
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| Hawick YM |
2 |
10 |
| Kilmarnock |
2 |
9 |
| Waysiders Drumpellier |
2 |
9 |
| Glasgow Accies |
2 |
7 |
| Berwick |
2 |
6 |
| Annan |
2 |
5 |
| Highland |
2 |
5 |
| Aberdeenshire |
2 |
4 |
| Stewartry |
2 |
4 |
| Caithness |
2 |
3 |
| Newton Stewart |
2 |
1 |
| Alan Glens |
2 |
0 |
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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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