Boyd impressed with attack as Seconds see off Skye
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Caithness Seconds notched their first win of the season after bagging a bonus 38-27 victory over first-time visitors Skye.
Twenty-one unanswered points in the second quarter proved pivotal and allowed them to prevail despite two late tries yielded from a gutsy late fightback by the islanders.
A late run of call-offs meant Skye travelled short so Saturday's Caledonia North Region Division 2 game in glorious weather at Millbank was reduced to 10-a-side.
The format meant scrums were uncontested but the extra space made for an open, free-flowing game.
The visitors were quickly on the front foot and an all-embracing tackle from right winger Sean Johnson was needed to prevent the first score.
It was merely delayed, however. From the next attack, powerful lock Gordon Ford rampaged through a dogleg defensive line to touch down.
The Yellows were level within two minutes when a break from Yeager Coghill saw him over.
After eight minutes, the home side went ahead after Jack Floyd got on the end of a chip through to gather and touch down.
A close-in lineout drive from Skye had them level as ex-Caithness player Nathan Kelly exploited an unguarded narrow side to dot down in the corner.
It had at that stage all the makings of a closely contested affair, but the script was ripped up as the Yellows struck three times before the interval.
Craig Cannop latched onto a stray Skye pass deep in their own 22 to scoop the ball up and score.
Three minutes later, a neat sidestep and mini-break by veteran centre Douglas Gunn created the space out wide as Cannop got another clear run to the line.
Hooker Stuart Calder almost finished a long-busting break only to be hauled down a couple of metres short as the home side kept their foot to the floor.
A further touchdown from Calum Clark and Drew Mathieson's third conversion had Caithness 31-10 up.
Skye ate into the deficit five minutes after the resumption when fly-half Kevin Hastings raced through to score.
But soon the home side had re-established their firm hold on the game with their sixth try.
A sparky sequence freed Clark and he looked set to grab his second of the day only for a side tackle to dislodge the ball from his grasp. As he juggled it behind his back, he accidentally knocked the ball backwards into the grasp of supporting prop Gary McPhee to touch down.
Mathieson's conversion had his side 38-15 in front.
A feisty riposte from Skye was rewarded by tries from Campbell Roberts and a second from Hastings, who added a conversion.
A further counter from the visitors would have set up a nervy finish and they would have registered it had Sandy MacInnes not been cut down by the backtracking Mathieson after the scrum-half raced clear.
Coach Cameron Boyd missed the defeats to Ross Sutherland and Kinloss Eagles as he was at the opening two weeks of the World Cup in France.
"It was a good result and it's good to get out of negative equity," he said, referring to the three points the Yellows conceded for not making their scheduled away fixture against Inverness Craig Dunain.
Boyd said: "I was really impressed with the way we attacked and tried to work the ball into space. Defence is an area where we can definitely improve – we often looked just a bit too static and pedestrian.
"We need to impose ourselves more on their ball carriers, but overall I was pleased with how we went."
The Yellows are away on Saturday for their rearranged fixture against Craig Dunain.
