The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Highland have wind in sails as Wolves are sent packing
HIGHLAND 38 STIRLING WOLVES 18
Highland are the sole representatives of the Caledonia area in the last eight of the Scottish Cup after removing rivals Stirling Wolves to claim their second National League 1 scalp in the prestigious competition.
Head coach Dave Carson said: “What we need now is a home tie here at Canal Park against a Premiership side. The draw can’t come quickly enough.”
The win was all the more meritorious given the recent flu bug at the club which laid low six players last week, plus injuries which meant it was an understrength side which took the field on a sunny but cold afternoon.
Not that it showed as an organised, determined home side took control early on but were shocked by a converted try to fall behind on 13 minutes when Wolves hooker Andrew Orr breached the home line for a try to which centre Mikey Heron added the extras.
On 21 minutes Highland were level after winger Steven Rutledge raced through a less-thanalert Wolves defence.
Stand-off Scott Fraser kicked the first of five conversions.
The visitors hit back with a penalty from Heron, only for the Inverness side to wrest back the lead when Fraser released Seumus Ross for the first of his three tries, duly converted by the excellent Fraser.
But it was Stirling who had the last word in the half after Heron kicked another penalty to close to within one point at 14-13.
Playing with the strengthening wind, Highland ran the second half, scoring three more tries.
Two of them fell to Ross plus a lone effort by lock Grant Jamieson and were all converted by Fraser who dropped a goal to give him a personal tally of 13 – again underlining the young talent at the club.
Wolves snapped back with one of their own when late in the game winger Keir Singleton got on the end of a neat kick from stand-off Craig Robertson, but the afternoon belonged to Inverness on a day when there were no other senior clubs in action in the area from Dundee to Shetland.