Highland edged out in Murrayfield contest
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A BIG travelling support cheered on Highland’s under-18s when they made the trip to Murrayfield on Sunday for the National Cup Final against Jed Thistle.
A crowd of over 1500 saw an entertaining game in which Thistle ran out 15-10 winners.
It was a close match for the first 20 minutes with both sides quick on the attack but stronger in defence. It was at this point that Jed captain and hooker Craig Cowan crossed for a try. Although centre Robbie Yourston missed the conversion, he made up for it with a later penalty and a half-time lead of 8-0.
At the restart, the centre pairing of Yourston and Rory Marshall were causing Highland problems from their strong runs and Marshall offloaded for scrum-half Gary Munro to touch down. Yourston’s conversion made it 15-0 to the borders side.
John Carson’s side rebounded and for the bulk of the remaining time they were in charge. They first put flanker Euan Milton in for a try and continued to attack, but they had as many as four tries pulled back due to errors which let Thistle off the hook.
Replacement Cameron Beattie grabbed a late try to reduce the deficit to 15-10 but it was too late for Highland, who were left to rue their earlier errors.
Nonetheless, it was a fantastic effort by Highland’s youngsters and a great day out for them and the travelling support. It is a great testament on how far Highland’s junior sides have progressed in recent seasons.
The season is not quite over as the under-18s now have the Caledonia Cup to look forward to with a trip to Orkney. They also still have to wait to see if Currie will draw level with them in the National League.
The year continues to look very promising for Highland’s first team after they recorded a satisfying 44-27 victory over Glenrothes at Canal Park.
Head coach Dave Carson was happy to pick up the five league points but he has things he wants to address, with 27 points leaked at home.
Highland got off to a good start and after seven minutes they were 12-0 up. Stuart MacDonald ran over for an unconverted try which was followed by one from Craig Irvine, who benefited by a nice pick-up from a scrum by Ed James. He passed to Oscar Baird who put Irvine through, after which the stand-off converted his own try.
The home side then let themselves down with poor defence allowing Glenrothes to go over for an unconverted try. This was followed by a pass being intercepted and, although winger Craig Findlater pulled down the runner short of the line, a penalty was conceded. The visitors’ scrum-half Michael Delorey took a quick tap and popped the ball neatly for a converted try to tie the game.
Highland seemed to have the attacking edge but their efforts were undermined by their defensive slips. They hit back with a try from Steven Rutledge, converted by Irvine, and this seemed to herald a better phase.
This was followed by a charging run from prop Stuart Watson, who knocked three players out of the way to crash over.
Yet the mistakes crept back in and a penalty near the home line was punished again by Glenrothes scrum-half Delorey, who again took a quick tap to set up an unconverted try for the half to end 26-17.
Carson emphasised the need to tighten up in defence and from the restart things seemed to be improving. First came two penalties from Irvine for a 32-17 advantage and Highland seemed to be taking charge.
But the errors returned and Highland could not keep the visitors out. Rory Cross went over for a try but Glenrothes came back with two unconverted tries to make it 39-27. There was a nervy finish until Findlater crossed for the final score to make it 44-27 and seal an important win.
Carson will be working at training to tighten up on defensive positioning and tackling in readiness for the big games coming up.
Glenrothes are more or less out of the running for the possible second promotion slot after this defeat.
