Conference leaders Moray survive late comeback by Caithness
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Caley 1 North Conference leaders Moray were relieved to come out on top in their final regular season game against the Greens.
The Elgin side trailed for most of Saturday's contest at Millbank and survived a feisty late comeback by their hosts to prevail 33-31.
Moray went into the game buoyed by an impressive record of 11 wins and two defeats during which they had chalked up 610 points.
The sides shared 10 tries in an intriguing tussle which Cameron Boyd's team will feel they should have won.
Caithness took to the field minus regulars Scott Webster, who damaged a shoulder in the previous week's cup defeat to Carnoustie, and the indisposed Kevin Brims.
They got off to a cracking start and were three tries to the good without reply after 25 minutes.
Their strong-running number eight Cole Wilson set the tone from the outset with a storming break from one 22 to the other.
The Greens were bossing in all areas, with the pressure forcing a succession of penalties.
It was marked with a 10th minute try when they exploited an overload on the left and Dougie Webster fixed the last defender before sending Cameron Ryder in to score.
Four minutes later, they were threatening again after several strong carries had taken play close to the Moray line.
Scrum-half Gordie Macleod feinted to pass from the base of a ruck before stepping past the last defender to dot down near the posts.
Ryder's pair of conversions maintained the point-a-minute return.
A scything midfield break from centre Charlie Quinn looked promising before he was stopped by a clothes-line tackle by Ben Taylor. That earned the right-winger 10 minutes on the sidelines.
The home side drew further ahead on 24 minutes when a slick interchange between Webster and Ryder released winger Drew Mathieson, who burned past his opposite number to touch down.
Moray belatedly shed their collective languor to give a taste of the form which has taken them to the top of the conference.
Their first multi-phase sequence paid dividends on the half-hour mark with the reinstated Taylor giving the scoring pass to Lewis Small.
Moray were on top for the rest of the half but could add only one more try, from centre Connor McWilliams.
Full-back Rory Millar converted both to see his team trail 19-14 at the turnaround.
The Greens were dealt a blow with the 62nd-minute sin-binning of fly-half Jamie Mowat for side entry at a ruck.
Moray took advantage of their extra man when they drew level three minutes later with a try from the classy Millar.
The visitors sensed blood, with another dangerous raid into the opposition 22 neutralised by a ferocious tackle from Wilson.
Six minutes from time, they went in front from a lucky break at a lineout near the Caithness try-line.
Max Kennedy padded the ball back, with a bounce off the ground landing perfectly in the grasp of the onrushing flanker Jake Devlin who gleefully touched down without a hand being laid on him.
On 77 minutes, Moray got further joy when centre Cameron Hughes ghosted over. Millar converted both to extend his side's lead to 33-19.
With things rapidly imploding for Caithness, they could easily have resigned themselves to defeat.
Instead they upped the tempo and intensity of their game and came close to salvaging a draw.
A minute from no side, Ryder strode clear to run in his second of the day.
From the restart, a long-range weaving run by Webster took him into enemy territory and the supporting Scott Mackay burnt off several flagging defenders to touch down.
With Ryder having exited with a minor knock, Mowat added the extras to end the game.
Coach Boyd was disappointed at the result but was effusive about his side's efforts.
He said: "What was particularly pleasing for me was how we reacted to going behind.
"The boys' heads could have gone down at that point but our response was brilliant and we were so unlucky not to get at least a draw."
Boyd added: "We made them work really hard and they would have gone back knowing that they dodged a bullet.
"Our attack clicked early on and we looked really dangerous with the ball.
"We put them under a huge amount of pressure early on and this time we managed to convert it into points.
"Our support for the ball carrier was also better and we did well in defence, though our tackling let us down with a couple of their tries.
"They were there for the taking and I thought we were the better side for large parts of the game."
The Greens next play in a rearranged home game against Ellon on March 30.
Moray now take part in a mini-league of six made up of the top three from the North and Midlands conferences, with the winner promoted to National League 4.
Mackie ran amok on Saturday, racking up a 108-0 win over RAF Lossiemouth, while Ellon won 43-12 away to Aberdeen Wanderers.
