Late heartbreak after Greens show they are ‘a match for anyone’
The Greens came up just short in their bid to reach the third round of the National Shield.
A last-minute try consigned them to a heartbreaking 36-31 defeat against Blairgowrie at Millbank on Saturday.
The sting in the tail came after an enthralling, seesaw contest in which neither side was able to decisively pull away.
When the Perthshire side opened up a 14-point gap five minutes after the turnaround, some among the Millbank faithful were starting to doubt.
But tries by Reece Coghill and Kevin Brims had them level with quarter of an hour to go and thereafter the Greens looked the more likely to prevail.
With skipper Cole Wilson and half a dozen other regulars restored to the squad, hopes were high that they would seriously challenge the Perthshire outfit who are flying high in the Caley 1 Midlands Conference.
These were boosted by a perfect start when they scored with their first foray into the opposition 22 within two minutes of the kick-off.
The position was created by a well-judged grubber by scrum-half Euan MacDonald. From the ensuing lineout drill, the Caithness pack powered their way towards the line with hooker Duncan MacMillan diving to claim the touchdown.
Blair replied in kind eight minutes later with a close-range try from prop Tom Bannon, converted by Jia Connelly.
Back came Caithness with Wilson feeding centre Douglas Webster who set off on a 30-metre run to the line, leaving four defenders grasping thin air in his wake.
Midway through the half, a well-executed three-quarters move released Blair winger John McLaren who scooted home.
The Greens regained control and forced a succession of penalties which another referee could well have marked with a yellow card.
Their failure to harvest any points from this spell was amplified when Blair replacement Fergus Barron defied a last-ditch tackle from Brims to stretch over to score.
Full-back Connelly’s perfect record off the tee gave the visitors a 21-10 half-time advantage.
A bright restart by the Greens was rewarded with a converted Wilson try but Blair proceeded to cash in on two defensive gremlins to forge 31-17 in front thanks to a Connelly penalty followed by a long-range run-in try by scrum half Rory Grant, which Connelly converted.
Back came the Greens with strong carries from Kevin Budge and Coghill re-establishing their territorial advantage and paving the way for two touchdowns.
First, Coghill dived on Jamie Mowat’s undercooked kick through in goal before Brims finished off a drive to the line.
Mowat’s third conversion drew his side level with just under 10 minutes remaining.
The Greens looked the better bet to go on and win but it was the visitors who delivered the killer blow at the death.
The ever-alert Grant took a quick penalty and his long, looping pass gave veteran right winger Davie Rattray-Paterson space to plunge over in the right corner.
Cue whoops of elation from the visiting camp followers and mournful sighs from the home support.
Cameron Boyd blamed “small mistakes” at crucial times for allowing Blairgowrie to build up a lead and ultimately costing his side Saturday’s National Shield tie.
The Caithness head coach was more than satisfied with the overall display that made a mockery of the sides’ respective positions at the bottom and second top of their respective conferences in Caley 1.
“I’ve always known our results in the league aren’t representative of us as a team,” Boyd said.
“When we have all our players available, we have shown that we are a match for anyone playing at our level.
“It was frustrating that small mistakes at crucial times let them build up a lead. I thought we did really well to get back into it and give ourselves a real chance of winning the game towards the end.”
Boyd was put through the mill by the twists urns and turns in a game whose result was in doubt right until the end.
“I have discovered that I no longer enjoy games that are really entertaining for the spectators,” he admitted.
Boyd reported a clean bill of health apart from young winger Grant Mackay, who came off following a head knock in a tackle. He will go through concussion protocols before returning to action.
Mark Anderson, who is back in Caithness after a spell working away, started at fly-half but came off towards the end of the first half with a tight hamstring.
Prop Mark Nicolson, playing his 200th match, also had to come off around the half-hour mark with what proved a “dead leg”, which soon eased, though it ended his involvement.
Nicolson got his first cap as a 16-year-old away to Greenock Wanderers and was a member of the Caley 1 title-winning side in 2018/ 2019.
Boyd said: “To win 200 caps in the front row is a tremendous achievement.
“Mark is a senior leader now and I hope we see him going on to get 250 or 300 caps.”
Caithness have five games left in the league which they hope will yield the points they need to avoid what would be a first-ever relegation, Their first is at home to leaders Aberdeenshire on November 23.
Aberdeenshire have been drawn away to Blairgowrie in the third round of the National Shield.
Shire booked their place on Saturday with a 58-38 home win against Midlands conference leaders Perthshire.
The North Conference is also represented in the last 16 by Ellon, who edged past Mackie 23-20 at Stonehaven.
