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| KILMARNOCK 7 - CAITHNESS 15 by Iain Grant |
| Thu 28th Sep 2006 |
Saturday’s try-less win was something of a rerun of the previous week’s narrow victory over Stewartry.
More accurately, it could be described as a non-action replay, given the long spells of featureless, insipid play in this National League Division 2 clash.
Again, the Greens came up against a side whose energies were concentrated almost exclusively on stopping the opposition playing.
Aided and abetted by an inconsistent referee, the Ayrshire side’s spoiling tactics succeeded, at the expense of squeezing the life out of the game.
Caithness, for the second week in a row, had to rely on the boot of fly-half Michael Henderson to secure a win.
The hosts, the eighth oldest club in Scotland, are in the midst of a recession.
The former Premiership outfit were relegated last year and are on course to continue the slide, given that they have still to register a single point after five matches.
Three first half penalties by Henderson gave Caithness an interval cushion.
They were then rocked around the hour-mark when their hosts grabbed the only try of the game despite being reduced to 14 after a yellow-carding.
It had a puzzling origin when a free-kick was awarded against the Greens, apparently for having too many in a line-out despite it being their throw-in.
A quickly-taken tap by Kilmarnock saw them over after a couple of close-in rumbles.
Greg Whittet’s try was improved by Alan McCue to cut the visitors’ lead to 9-7.
The Bellsland outfit were however not to have another sniff at scoring, with late pressure by the Greens being rewarded by two further penalties by Henderson.
A worrying statistic for Greens coach Colin Sangster is that his side have now gone 235 minutes without a try.
He exonerated the backs on Saturday who were given little opportunity to impress going forward.
Sangster said: "We didn’t play well but they were a very frustrating team to play against and we basically got sucked into their game.
"They were a limited side but very stuffy up front and very good at strangling the life out of the game."
While viewing the outcome as a point lost, he was happy enough to secure the win and impressed by how his troops responded to conceding the try.
He feared a repeat of the late collapse at Cupar, the scene of their sole defeat.
"At 9-7, I thought this was going to be Howe of Fife all over again.
"But we responded well and finished the game well on top."
Sangster has noted a different style of opponent in NLD2.
"The teams we’re playing are generally more streetwise than those we have faced over the last couple of seasons.
"Every time, we create a good try-scoring opportunity, they just kill the ball.
"The fact that we’re scoring so many penalties reflects the type of opposition we’re playing against."
Saturday’s game was notable for the debut of Wick youngster Grant Anderson who did well after coming off the bench to play at lock.
Sangster will be hoping the try drought is broken tomorrow in the home encounter with another of the league’s strugglers.
Duns make the marathon haul up from the Borders, seeking their first win in five starts.
The main problem for the Greens is the second row, where regular pairing Ewen Boyd and Andy Morris are both rated very doubtful with finger and back injuries respectively.
Centre Norman Foubister is available and could return to the squad for the match at Millbank, which kicks off at 3 p.m.
Elsewhere on Saturday, NLD2 leaders Falkirk extended their winning run with a 22-8 home success over Howe of Fife.
Garnock bounced back after two narrow defeats to register the result of the day - a 27-0 away drubbing of previously unbeaten Annan.
Linlithgow meanwhile kept among the leaders with a 39-12 home win over Allan Glen’s.
Highland slumped to their fourth successive reverse, going down 12-8 away to an improving Glasgow Accies.
Caithness - R. Mackay, J. Paterson, D. Sangster, W. Mill, S. Duff, M. Henderson, G. Fryer, J. Foubister (cpt), D. Pottinger, T. Sutherland, D. Budge, A. Morris, G. Sutherland, A. Sangster, S. Campbell.
Replacements - S. Dunnett, G. Anderson and K. Hamilton (all used).
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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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