|
|
 |
| GREENS' SPRIGHTLY COMEBACK TOO LATE |
| Fri 4th Dec 2009 |
The Greens missed the chance to go joint third after succumbing to a deflating defeat against a re-energised Preston Lodge.
With opponents sitting bottom of the Scottish Hydro National League Division 2 and coming off the back of a 19-try Scottish Shield drubbing, Caithness could have been forgiven for thinking the fixture was propitiously timed.
But they did not budget for the cup defeat serving as a wake-up call to the East Lothian outfit in their fight to avoid a second successive demotion.
Their cause was also bolstered by the midweek recruitment of a trio of New Zealanders and the return of influential flanker Blair Cowan, sidelined since he was injured in the league match in Thurso in early September.
The Caithness pack had new combinations in the front, middle and back rows while three sixteen-year-olds all made their Greens debuts off the bench.
The Greens were to endure a horror 20 minutes in the first half when they shipped four tries to trail 22-0.
A sprightly finish to the half saw then to respond with a try but despite a much-improved display after the interval, they came up just short in their bid to close the gap.
Visiting coach Colin Sangster was happy enough with his side’s positive start to the match at Pennypit Park in Prestonpans.
Strong pressure in which they put together some incisive phases won them two penalties in the opening five minutes.
Both were within kicking range but Gary Mackay dragged both past the right upright.
PL had offered next to no threat prior to taking a 14th minute lead. Greg Kinross made good inroads before offloading to fellow centre Douglas Thomson.
The latter delivered the scoring pass to winger Chris Guinney with Kinross adding the extras.
Within five minutes, the Caithness line was to be breached twice more.
Number eight Euan Thayne and New Zealand stand-off Cliff Blair took advantage of some non-existing tackling to cross in quick succession.
It went from bad to worse for the Greens on 27 minutes when Cowan latched on to a wayward opposition pass to run in from 50 yards.
PL then showed their defensive mettle as they held out against a sustained wave of close-in pressure.
The Greens managed to open their account six minutes from half-time.
A retreating PL scrum five metres from their line ended with Blair’s rushed would-be clearance kick charged down by opposite number Blair McIntosh.
McIntosh did well to control the ball on the ground before touching down. Mackay struck a post with the conversion.
Caithness continued to call the shots with livewire scrum-half Kris Hamilton held up over the line after a clean line break from flanker Evan Sutherland.
Teenagers Liam Brims and Christopher Simpson came off the bench after the interval when the Greens notably upped their work-rate.
Their combative defensive lines regularly forced turnovers and their attacks had a fluency and intent which had been previously lacking. PL’s threat remained but it was largely based on individual bursts with the speedy Guinney coming close to a second try on several occasions.
There was a growing belief that Caithness could come back and that was nurtured when McIntosh grabbed a second try on the hour mark.
After turning defence into attack, play was taken to the PL 22 when an improvised kick-and-chase by McIntosh – by now playing in his favoured position of inside centre – ended with him dotting down just short of the dead-ball line.
Brims made the conversion to reduce the home side’s lead to 22-12.
PL then withstood a fair bit of pressure before looking good value to add their to their lead.
The final try of the game in the last minute stemmed from a breakdown in a home attack five metres out.
Greens centre James Paterson gathered before making a lung-busting run to the opposite 22 where Simpson was up in support to hack through and touch down.
The last play saw Caithness unable to pull the game out of the fire, leaving coach Sangster to rue another lost opportunity.
“It was the fourth game this season we should have won which we ended up losing,” he said.
“For 60 minutes, we were the better side but we threw the game away during a 20 minute spell when we were shocking.”
Sangster said: “Our defensive line was all over the place, we were falling off tackles and when we got the ball, we promptly gave it away.
“To their credit, they got it together before the interval and once we improved our line speed and started putting real pressure on them, we were looking good.
“Had we done that earlier, there’s no doubt we would have won.”
A major plus for the coach was the very promising first outings for the teenage trio.
Preston Lodge – B. Henderson, J. Brash, G. Kinross, D. Thomson, C. Guinney, C. Blair, J. Burns, C. McLean, C. Wilson, N. Marsh, T. Ryan, A. Blair, B. Cowan, E. Thayne, S. Dixon. Replacements (all used) – J. Anderson, S. McLean and C. Howie.
Caithness – G. Mackay, D. McCarthy, J. Sinclair, J. Paterson, G. Macleod, B McIntosh, K. Hamilton, J. Foubister, B. Moar, T. Sutherland, A. Morris (cpt), S. McIntosh, D. Pottinger, A. Sangster, E. Sutherland. Replacements (all used) – M. Tait, L. Brims and C. Simpson.
Ref – Mr I. Young, Kirkcaldy.
The Greens bid to secure their first Scottish Hydro Electric National Division 2 double of the season when they entertain Newton Stewart tomorrow.
Coach Colin Sangster is hoping his troops can get Saturday's demoralising defeat away to Preston Lodge out of their system and extend their winning streak at Millbank.
Tomorrow, backs James Sinclair and James Paterson are unavailable, as is flanker Stevie Campbell, but prop Roddy Gray is back, as is utility back Graham Fryer and lock John Miller.
Danny Gordon has recovered from a dislocated shoulder but is facing another lengthy spell out after sustaining a nasty DIY injury to two fingers.
The match kicks off at 1pm.
The Seconds meanwhile have a friendly versus Orkney Seconds on the top pitch, kicking off at noon.
* Greenock Wanderers kept their 100 per cent record on Saturday with a 30-15 home win over Kilmarnock.
Glasgow Accies stay third after beating Newton Stewart 19-0 while Waysiders/Drumpellier's 27-12 eclipse of Stewartry put them in the top half of the table.
Highland's recent poor run continued when they went down 18-3 away to Hawick YM.
The Cambuslang /Lasswade match was rained off.
|
| Back to News |
|
 |
|
|
|
| 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 |
|
 |
| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Caithness 25 - 27 Kilmarnock |
| 4th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Millbank |
 |
| 1st XV Season (2010/11) |
| Stewartry vs Caithness |
| 11th Sep 10 - KO: 15:00 |
| Venue: Greenlaw |
| :: More Fixtures |
|
