Bonus-point victory eases relegation threat for Greens
Home comforts again yielded maximum returns for the Greens, who can now enjoy the festive period having lifted themselves clear of bottom spot in the North Conference of Caley 1.
The 30-14 bonus-point victory over Ross Sutherland on Saturday eases the threat hanging over Cameron Boyd’s troops of being part of the club’s first-ever relegation.
All the damage was done in an all-action, souped-up first-half display. Topped and tailed by tries for skipper Cole Wilson, they outgunned the visitors in all areas, with their 30-point lead a fair reflection of their dominance.
As in the previous week’s defeat away to Highland Seconds, their performance levels dipped significantly after the interval when they largely played second fiddle to the visitors whose two late tries were just reward for their gutsy fightback.
Led out at Millbank by young hooker Duncan MacMillan to mark his 50th cap, the Greens were quickly on the front foot with Ross not helping themselves with a string of unforced errors.
Ross resistance was broken on five minutes when Wilson latched onto a Euan MacDonald short feed to crash over.
The second try nine minutes later followed an impressive multi-phase sequence finished off by centre Douglas Webster.
Jamie Mowat landed the first conversion before Cameron Ryder added a penalty.
The third try, midway through the half, was created by two acrobatic offloads from Reece Coghill and MacDonald which gave Ryder an unopposed run-in.
Ross failed to heed the referee’s final warning about their fast-mounting penalty count, with fly-half Ally Kennedy paying the price when shown a yellow card.
After a second Ryder penalty, Caithness scored their fourth, bonus try in injury time when Wilson rampaged his way to the line after handing off a succession of would-be tacklers.
Ryder’s conversion was to be his team’s final impression on the scoreboard.
Ryder’s sin-binning soon after the restart helped Ross build a head of steam.
Eight minutes from time their quicksilver scrum-half Owen Corr took a quick tap penalty in his own half and outflanked the scramble defence to touch down. Full-back Henry Pearce added the wide-out conversion.
A minute from no side, Ross struck again when Gary Mackay’s last-ditch, goal-line tackle on Ellis Revie was deemed high. That resulted in a penalty try and a yellow card shown to the full-back.
Head coach Boyd said it was job done in terms of getting the victory which allowed them to jump two points clear of Ross and five above bottom side North Police.
“The first half was probably the best we’ve played this season,” he said. “It was very controlled, patient and clinical.
“We put them under a tremendous amount of pressure and kept the scoreboard ticking over.
“Overall, I was really pleased with the display. The boys gave absolutely everything and we achieved what we set out to achieve.”
The Greens’ three remaining fixtures are all at home, with Ellon first up on January 11.
Highland Seconds went top of the conference in style on Saturday as they humbled Aberdeenshire 82-10 in Inverness. The title race is shaping into a four-way affair with Highland two points above Mackie, with Shire and Ellon a point further back.
Caithness Seconds are scheduled to host Fraserburgh in Caley North 3 on Saturday (2pm).
