Highland performance delights coach Carson

Highland maintained their promotion push in National League 2 with a solid mix of good attacking and defending which was all too much for Whitecraigs who were no match for the Inverness side in a 47-15 defeat.

The visitors raced into a 25-0 half-time lead, effectively taking the game away from the Glasgow side to the delight of Highland head coach Davie Carson.

He said: “This was an all-round performance of the highest order. We were superb in defence and clinical in our finishing.

“There were positives all over the pitch, not least from our new centre Rob Eatough who marked his debut with two tries. Generally it was a perfect outing for us and great preparation for our next games against Peebles and Biggar, the top two in the division. We had expected a bigger challenge from Whitecraigs but it didn’t materialise, probably because we throttled them early on in the game.”

Joint captain Stuart MacDonald had another fine day in the Highland pack, starting his afternoon with a great try, while Eatough was running rings round the home defence, scoring a brace of touchdowns before the break.

Meanwhile standoff Craig Irvine was dominating the midfield with his out of hand kicking, while keeping the scoreboard ticking over with two conversions and two penalties to give the Canal Park side an unassailable 25 point lead.

Whitecraigs came more into the game in the second half, scoring three unconverted tries through Ross MacDonald, Gary Emans and Ian Laidlaw but were never in with a shout of overtaking the Inverness side who added 22 more points with two tries from flanker Oscar Baird and one from Irvine, who also kicked two conversions and one penalty, to keep alive the dream of promotion.

Davie Carson: Pleased with the performance