High are seeking disciplined effort

Dundee High’s young team have plenty promise, but some results on the penalty count are most needed going into the fourth week of their BT National League One campaign, writes Steve Scott.

Once again discipline was the main cause allowing Selkirk to stay in range and snatch victory at Mayfield last week, with coach Colin Sangster most annoyed a nine-point advantage was surrendered with five minutes left in the contest.

Even then, Dundee had a penalty under the posts which would have tied the game but, like Edinburgh the night before, they opted to scrummage and tried to win – with sadly the same result.

The club complete three weeks of Border clashes with the newly promoted Kelso at Poynder Park this weekend.

The dynamic Paddy Hamilton made a Mayfield return with a try (and a yellow card) last week but the club will lose Fijian flier Isao ‘Ice’ Matacagi, deployed with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in Cyprus for three months.

Kirkcaldy’s excellent start to the National Two season meets its toughest test maybe all season as they head to Dumfries for a match-up against the only other team to have recorded three wins in their opening three victories.

The Saints came up last year losing just two games in their National Three winning campaign, and were unbeaten at home. They haven’t missed a beat in National Two, with wins at Whitecraigs and Lasswade under their belt.

The Blues, however, continue to roll impressively and their nine tries in the hammering of Aberdeenshire last week were shared between just two players.

Rhys Bonner had a hat-trick, while No 8 Dayle Turner scored six, a club record, and only two of them were the result of a Blues’ scrummaging surge.

Howe remain without a win although there were signs of encouragement with the performance away to Hamilton, where they just missed out on a losing bonus. They host West of Scotland.

There’s a separation already in National Three, five teams having lost three from three including Perthshire, who went down at home to Ardrossan.

Shire might console themselves that they’ve played three of the top six already and there’s going to be plenty fixtures coming against other sides who have made a slow start. Before then, they have a difficult test against a stuffy St Boswells in the Borders tomorrow.

Alloa are the early pacesetters in Caledonia One and the Gryphons take their 100% record to Caithness, in second on points differential.

Strathmore and Harris lie third and fourth having won two from two, and have home fixtures against Dunfermline and Glenrothes respectively. Strathie’s win at Glenrothes last week indicates they will be promotion challengers.

In Caley Two there’s another clash of unbeaten teams with free-scoring Hillfoots (two three-figure wins under their belt already) visiting Bridgehaugh.

The third team unbeaten so far, Blairgowrie, travel to Morgan.

Division Three Midlands has seven sides yet to taste defeat and, in an uncanny fixtures coincidence, there is only one game in which two of them meet. Two of the six have three wins: Waid, who travel to Perthshire II, and Angus Development, who are at Crieff and Strathearn.

The Braidholm side are unbeaten but have played just the one game so far.