Greens set for ‘huge game’ in bid to move off foot of table
Caithness head coach Cameron Boyd is not unduly concerned by his team being anchored at the bottom of the North Conference of Caley 1 with four games remaining.
Their last chance to beat their away hex in the division disappeared on Saturday when a two-point interval lead against Highland Seconds was surrendered and they ended up going down 27-14.
A high-octane first-half display encouraged notions that they could chalk up their first success on the road at Canal Park. Instead they succumbed to their sixth loss in a series that has harvested a solitary try bonus point.
Looking on the bright side, all their remaining fixtures – starting with Ross Sutherland on Saturday – are at Millbank, where they are unbeaten in the league.
Last Saturday, they reacted well to conceding a second-minute try from home prop Junior Lawaci who peeled off from an advancing maul to score.
Caithness responded in kind when a close-in lineout ended with hooker Duncan MacMillan touching down and stand-off Marc Anderson adding the extras.
The visitors regained the initiative from the kick-off and were soon encamped in enemy territory chasing further reward.
Michael Gunn and Kevin Brims created the go forward before the ball was spun right to left for centre Douglas Webster to probe a gap and surge clear. Anderson’s conversion put his side 14-5 ahead with 12 minutes played.
The visitors’ scrum was dominant, with their power play regularly causing problems and on several occasions forcing members of the opposition front row to stand up. Referee Gavin Macdonald surprisingly chose to take no action against the latter infringements.
Midway through the half, a break triggered by Webster was sustained by a galloping run by right winger Drew Mathieson. The latter’s inside return pass just failed to reach Webster, who would have had a clear run-in.
Highland created danger with several long-range counters, with their lively scrum-half Cammy Grant at the heart of everything.
The home side had the better of the closing 10 minutes of the half which they largely spent in the opposition 22.
Caithness looked to have held out until a communication breakdown following a lineout saw possession coughed up and Highland blindside Svend Dale Pedersen took full advantage as he raced away to score.
Stand-off Ross Gibson’s conversion had his team 14-12 behind at the turnaround.
Boyd’s men thereafter failed to reproduce either the pep they had shown in attack and the grit in defence.
Highland increasingly turned the screw and their pressure paid off when they worked the blindside and Pedersen was on hand to grab his second on 50 minutes.
Within 10 minutes, the home camp were celebrating again when a sparky break from Grant created the platform for a siege on the line which ended with lock Grant Jamieson going over.
Gibson added another conversion and a penalty to leave the visitors vainly chasing a consolation bonus point.
The game had a fiery ending with Caithness lock Kevin Budge red-carded for a high tackle and then home centre Neori Yeutiyaroi being yellow-carded for a high shot on Greens centre Max Kennedy.
Boyd rated the performance the second best of the season to their 29-10 win in the earlier fixture between the sides.
“The first-half performance was excellent,” he said. “The only thing was that maybe our defensive heroics sapped the energy levels a bit for the second.
“It showed how we have progressed, as at the start of the season we would have conceded four or five tries given the pressure we were put under.
“At the same time, we should have converted more of the opportunities we had.”
Boyd was vexed that his pack were not rewarded for their set-piece ascendancy with the penalties it should have yielded.
Budge will be banned for Saturday’s match. Charlie Quinn, and Scott Webster remain crocked and Lachlan Jardine is unavailable.
Otherwise, it should be a similar squad to last weekend for a game in which a win is vital to the Greens’ survival hopes.
“It’s a huge game for us,” Boyd said. “A bonus-point win would lift us off the foot of the table.
“We just need to focus on what we need to do to keep improving and the results will flow on the back of that.”
Ross Sutherland go into the game on the back of four straight losses and a no-show in Aberdeen against North Police on Saturday, which saw them docked three points. That leaves the Invergordon men tied with North Police on 14 points, three above the bottom-placed Greens.
The scheduled top-of-the-table clash between Mackie and Aberdeenshire fell victim to a waterlogged pitch at Stonehaven.
Saturday’s game at Millbank kicks off at 2pm.