Yellows grind out victory in bruising encounter against Medics
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Caithness Seconds emerged bruised, battered but unbeaten in the last of their games in the first half of their Caley North League 4 programme on Saturday.
They withstood a first-half pounding against Aberdeen University Medics and the loss of three players who ended up in the local casualty unit before grinding out a 28-19 victory.
Coach Cameron Boyd praised the resilience and never-say-die spirit of his team as they secured a place in the top four of the league before its split.
Four seven-pointers saw them prevail against their hosts, who scored three tries and two conversions
The Medics, strengthened by a handful of Deeside players, bossed the opening quarter with their two tries scant reward for their dominance.
"We were static and our defensive line was very poor," Boyd said. "We were letting them run at us and I feared the worst."
Caithness stand-off Jamie Mowat helped get the visitors a foothold in the game with some lusty clearance kicks and his efforts to inject bite into their attacks.
On 25 minutes, Mowat orchestrated a wide move which ended with winger Scott Mackay barnstorming through a couple of tackles to touch down.
Mackay shortly afterwards was forced off with a leg injury.
The shift in momentum was soon checked when a hard-running Medics centre helped create his side's third try.
Sloppy defence in the closing minutes of the first half allowed Caithness prop Hamish Coghill to cross unopposed.
Despite being under the cosh, the Yellows went into the break with a mini-feelgood factor, given that they trailed by just five points.
Caithness played with renewed vigour in the second half despite reshuffles after game-ending injuries to Conor Petrie, Duncan Mackay and Cameron Ryder.
Midway through the half, they grabbed the lead with a converted debut close-in try from Tom Storey.
Calum MacDonald then went over with 10 minutes left, with Mowat's fourth conversion of the day ending the scoring despite a late offensive from the hosts.
Coach Boyd said: "We were lucky to still be in touch at half-time, It seemed to take 20 minutes before some of us realised that the game had started. At the interval, we accepted that our defence wasn't good enough and we needed to up our game.
"It was night and day in the second half – I was really proud of them, especially with us having to cope with the injuries and the players coming on who had to play out of position."
Of the three walking wounded, Ryder dislocated a shoulder while Petrie and Mackay had soft-tissue damage to shoulders.
The result leaves Caithness tied at the top of the league with Highland and Dyce, though the latter have games in hand.
The split will see the trio and Deeside playing each other once to decide the final placings.
