Highland battle for away success
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HIGHLAND returned to league business with a scrappy win over basement club Morgan Academy.
In a game that perhaps revealed their match rustiness, they eventually took control to win 8-18 after trailing at half-time.
Other than being very cold with an occasionally strong wind, the game was played in fine conditions. Highland’s strong pack was well tested by a large home pack and it was hard going. The visitors managed a couple of good spells of pressure but could not make them pay off once inside the home 22.
The missed opportunities made it easy for the home side to exert their own pressure and from a strong maul after a line-out they crossed the line for an unconverted try.
The game continued to be scrappy and, with both sides falling foul of the referee, a lot of penalties were awarded. However, Highland gave away more and this cost them, with one kicked by Morgan for an 8-0 advantage. It got worse for the visitors, with Eamon Guinan sinbinned near half-time.
From the restart Highland made a better showing and after doing well for a few minutes they were restored to 15 men. From here they took a measure of control and the penalty count began to go against the home side.
Craig Irvine kicked a penalty to make it 8-3 and he then followed up with an even better kick to shave the deficit to two points.
Highland kept up the pressure and managed to counter the strong runs from the Morgan number eight. The opportunities were now being taken and the first try came from Darren Macleod who touched down in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed, but Highland were now in the lead for the first time.
Further pressure was maintained by the forwards and by Irvine using the wind to kick the ball deep into the home half. The result was sealed as Gareth High touched down from a good maul for an 18-8 victory.
Coach Dave Carson was pleased to get the away win after such a long layoff and will be working the squad hard ready for the visit of Glenrothes next Saturday.
Highland’s under-18s played their last match of 2014 and had a hard fought 14-3 victory away to East Kilbride to maintain their title hopes.
They were well prepared for a potentially tough match as the home side had fought out some close encounters which belied their bottom of the table status.
The match was played in some poor conditions, with the strong wind and driving rain being a real leveller.
Highland succeeded in getting the better of the opening exchanges but the home side defended well while also benefiting from poor final handling by the visitors.
East Kilbride put some attacks through the midfield but these never threatened the Highland line due to some good tackling.
The game started to go Highland’s way after the home side lost a player to injury. From a good drive off a line-out, Calum Hay dived over for a try which was matched by a good conversion by Fionnlagh Call.
Highland kept up the pressure but good defensive play and some errors meant they did not add to their first-half score. The home side rallied and converted a late penalty to make it 7-3 at the break.
The second-half came with the conditions badly affecting the set-pieces and taking up a lot of time. Highland managed to regain control and from some nice handling, Alex Murray crossed the line in the corner. Call nailed the conversion via the post for an 11-point lead.
This gave the visitors some breathing space and although East Kilbride managed a good spell of pressure near the end, Highland’s defence held for a good win.
This sets up Highland nicely for their last match in January at home to Boroughmuir. Coach John Carson will have his squad primed after the holidays as a win will give the top spot, knowing that Currie have to win all of their remaining matches against some tough opponents just to draw level.
