Last-play try for Greens after Mackie fightback in Caley 1 opener
The crowd at Millbank were treated to a nerve-tingling thriller as Caithness opened their Caley 1 season with a 45-41 victory over Mackie.
A last-play try settled a humdinger of a contest in which the visitors had mounted a Lazarus-style comeback to overhaul a 26-point deficit.
Having edged ahead with a 78th-minute penalty, they were denied when Caithness hooker Duncan MacMillan touched down after a lineout drive had pulverised the Mackie pack.
Saturday’s match was marred by a neck injury to visiting teenager Will Tulloch just before the hour mark which resulted in him being stretchered off and taken by ambulance to Caithness General Hospital.
The 18-year-old debutant was hurt after being tackled by the Greens’ replacement right winger Drew Mathieson. While he was attended to by first-aiders, the game was switched to the adjoining pitch.
Caithness opened with intent with a cycle of incisive attacks. Prop Mark Nicolson was stopped a metre short before new captain Cole Wilson opened his side’s account to touch down near the posts.
The Greens thought they were in again on five minutes when Kevin Brims had a free run to the line but Scott Webster’s cut-out pass was adjudged slightly forward.
The feelgood vibe in the home camp quickly vanished when Mackie responded with two scores in their first two attacks through winger Kieran Dyer and skipper Simon Morgan.
The Greens recaptured the lead when the Webster brothers combined, with Douglas’s deft offload sending Scott clear.
The second quarter saw the home side pull away as their strike runners feasted on their lion’s share of possession and territory.
Scrum-half Euan MacDonald profited from Scott Webster’s inside pass to cross and was just denied another by a desperate cover tackle.
A close-in counter from prop Mark Nicolson and Wilson’s second – a 40-metre solo effort – together with five conversions from full-back Aaron Brook had them 35-12 ahead at the interval.
Brook then added a penalty to leave his side seemingly home and hosed.
But the young Stonehaven side refused to buckle, with a try from lock Iwan Kelly and a penalty try reducing their deficit to 38-26 after 55 minutes.
The latter score came after they worked an overload on the left with Morgan setting Andrew MacArthur free. Scott Webster’s coat-hanger tackle on the scrum half as he prepared to touch down saw him yellow-carded.
Mackie exploited the man advantage and were very much in the box seat before the break in play caused by Tulloch’s injury.
Hooker Jake Igesund’s try following a driving maul made it 38-33 with seven minutes remaining.
Mackie were in full assault mode and two minutes from time a long-range counter saw full-back Findlay Rhind romp clear to touch down and level the scores.
Fly-half Ross Gray could not add to his haul of four conversions.
Caithness then won a penalty 35 metres out for a breakdown offence. Brook’s angled shot did not have the length.
Play then switched to the other end where Scott Webster was left isolated in dealing with a spiralling punt in his own 22 and was penalised for holding on after he was enveloped. Gray’s kick was good to edge his team in front.
Caithness botched one good scoring chance when they coughed up possession after a multi-phase attack near the line.
But when Mackie offended from the next play, a kick to the corner was the prelude to the well-orchestrated scoring drive from the lineout.
Brook’s conversion brought the curtain down on an absorbing affair.
Cameron Boyd was put through the gamut of emotions before being able to celebrate the Greens’ opening-day win over Mackie.
The head coach acknowledged his players allowed themselves to slip into cruise control after they had built a 38-12 lead early in the second half of the Caley North Conference 1 encounter at Millbank.
He was impressed with their first-half display when they wreaked havoc against the Stonehaven side.
“We were looking a lot more comfortable with the ball in hand and everybody looked to have a clear idea what their job was,” Boyd said.
“There was a lot of effort on a hot day and some of the guys who started got tired, but we had a really good bench and they did their job when they came on.”
The head coach felt his side failed to maintain the intensity after the break and allowed their opponents to seize the initiative.
“There are a few technical things we need to work on but the biggest thing was their mindset,” he said. “We definitely thought the game was won, which almost cost us dear.”
Boyd also believed his team should have scored more points in the first half.
He highlighted the performance of lock Reece Mowat and blindside flanker Tom Storey, who was making his first appearance after a year-long absence with an ankle injury.
Winger Gordie Macleod added to the casualty list on Saturday after aggravating a knee injury in his 299th appearance for the club.
That looks certain to rule him out of Saturday’s away match versus Aberdeenshire.
Centre Max Kennedy also remains sidelined and stand-off Jamie Mowat is struggling to recover from a foot injury.
Boyd said: “The measuring stick this season has to be our performances at home.
“Of course we will be aiming to win every game. But, with the nature of where the squad is at the moment, away games are going to be particularly tough due to availability of players to travel.”
Shire will have one familiar opponent in the form of former Green Jack Sibbald.
In the other Caley 1 fixture, Ross Sutherland had a convincing 57-19 win over Ellon.
