Both look badly in need of a break after a demanding National League Division 2 campaign in terms of both pitch time and road miles.

Annan had clinched promotion on their own patch a couple of weeks before with a 26-6 win against the Greens. The fever-pitch atmosphere which surrounded that encounter was replaced by a far more prosaic feel to Saturday's match. Neither side was able to generate much continuity, with handling errors and turnovers contributing to a fairly messy affair.

The fractured nature of proceedings was aggravated by whistle-happy referee Andy Davies. The penalty count went heavily against Caithness and this was to prove decisive in a try-less contest.

It was settled by four successful kicks from Annan centre Craig McCann against one from the Greens' stand-in stand-off Graham Fryer.

Rugby without tries is like a pub without beer and can leave the victors with a rather hollow feeling.

Did Annan deserve their win? Probably not in terms of what flow there was to the game, but they could argue the home side got their just deserts for the indiscipline which gave Annan nine pots at goal.

Niall Smith had missed a long-range attempt before McCann converted an angled penalty after three minutes.

The Caithness forwards had the upper hand in a first half in which the Greens looked the more likely to grab the first try.

Straight-running centre William Mill was a willing workhorse in taking the ball up and there was a desire to move the ball wide when the opportunity presented. But Caithness throughout lacked the guile to make a line-break beyond a well-organised and hard-tackling defence.

The home pack went close midway through the first half when a driving maul was grounded less than a metre short of the line.

Their cause was hindered by the 23th-minute sin-binning of lock Ewen Boyd for interference after his side had conceded a penalty. The ambitious kick for goal faded just under the bar.

Annan kept up the pressure with a sparky break from full-back Colin Warwick posing his side's first real threat of a try.

Caithness repulsed the attack and took play up to the opposing 22 where a penalty allowed Fryer to level the scores after the visiting backs had strayed offside.

The 14 men then almost took the lead when a breakdown in an Annan attack was seized upon by Caithness skipper Stevie Campbell. He was winning the chase from his own fly-hack just inside the opposition half but the ball raced over the dead-ball line to deny the hooker.

After the turnaround, the Caithness penalty count steadily built up and ensured they spent long spells encamped in their own half.

Within the opening 15 minutes, Annan had four kickable opportunities, two of which McCann accepted to put his side 9-3 up. This spurred Caithness into life, with a rousing break from deep in their own half fuelling a belief that they could overcome their six-point deficit.

The break-out from the shadow of their own line was launched by right-winger James "Pop" Sinclair, with scrum-half Kris Hamilton making the vital inroads. His pass saw James "Pigeon" Sinclair forging up the left wing, with a cracking cover tackle required to stop him in his tracks.

The pressure was maintained and led to the Greens winning a penalty on the halfway line after 65 minutes. Fryer did not stand on ceremony, with a tap-and-go catching out the visitors as he blazed a path deep into the 22.

With support on hand, it gave the Greens their best try-scoring opportunity of the day. But play was pulled back by Mr Davies for no apparent reason other than he had been as surprised as Annan by Fryer's rapier-like thrust.

A piece of dissent from the Greens led to the referee reversing the penalty. To add insult to injury, McCann duly kicked the long-range pot at goal to effectively close out the match.

The only other moment of note came with an injury-time break from Campbell deep into the Annan 22 which foundered for want of support.

Coach Colin Sangster accepted the game was no great spectacle but one that his troops could have won.

"We had plenty of the ball but didn't use our possession properly," he said. "We lacked control in crucial areas and gave away too many penalties."

A main plus for the coach was the set-piece, where his side was secure in the scrums and efficient in the line-outs. Their cause, he believed, was undone by unforced errors and a lack of invention in attack.

He said he had expected Annan to show more adventure and commitment to an expansive game. "They were stuffy and well organised but they weren't nearly as good here as they were down there," he added.

The Greens have to wait until May 12 to play their final league match, at home to Garnock.

Tomorrow, the seniors are entered for the annual Strathspey 10-a-side tournament. Caithness under-18s, meanwhile, make a belated first appearance of the season when Sangster takes a squad to play in the Highland junior 10s in Inverness.

Caithness: R. Mackay, J. "Pop" Sinclair, W. Mill, J. Paterson, J. "Pigeon" Sinclair, G. Fryer, K. Hamilton, S. Dunnett, S. Campbell (captain), R. Pottinger, E. Boyd, A. Morris, G. Anderson, E. Sutherland, D. Pottinger. Replacements (all used): B. McIntosh, J. MacMillan, G. Sutherland.

Annan : J. Callaghan, A. Jancey, A. Dunbar, C. McCann, C. Trant, N. Smith, K. Hogg, C. Warrick, P. Carruthers (captain), J. Crombie, G. Hogg, S. Kelly, M. Scott, G. Smith, B. Henderson. Replacement (used): N. Latimer.

Referee: A. Davies.

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