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Highland aiming to move up to fourth spot in National One with triumph in Gala showdown

Highland head coach Davie Carson. Image: DC Thomson.
Highland head coach Davie Carson. Image: DC Thomson.

Highland head coach Davie Carson says a big performance will be required in order to leapfrog Gala in National One this weekend.

The Inverness outfit make the trip to the Borders, to face their fourth-placed opponents who are just a point ahead of them.

Although Highland triumphed 14-10 when the sides met at Canal Park earlier in the campaign, Carson expects a stiffer challenge this time around.

Carson said: “It’s one of our targets to finish as high up as we can.

“Gala are the next on the radar, just being a point ahead of us. There is not much between the two sides, when you look at results.

“Both have won nine games and lost six. After their mid-season dip they have come back in a good vein of form, they beat Kelso and they beat Melrose at Christmas.

“It’s going to be a big game for both sides and one we are looking forward to.

“We know how tough it’s going to be. Going down to the Borders is never easy. We beat them by four points at home, but it’s going to be a lot harder down there without a doubt.”

Lessons learned from cup-tie

Highland were last in action a fortnight ago, when they were defeated 40-21 by Premiership side Musselburgh in the Scottish Cup.

Carson, who welcomes back experienced campaigners Seumas Ross, Gordon Gregor and Sean Blair, feels the match was a learning curve ahead of the return to league action.

Gordon Gregor in action for Highland. Image: DC Thomson.

Carson added: “The cup game was something different for us with a very inexperienced side.

“It was a slow start. We came back really well, but the big thing was to realise we don’t need to kick the ball away.

“We need to go through the phases, as we have shown against the teams in our league.

“Against a Premiership side we showed that if we kept it to eight or nine phases, we scored two great tries at the end of the first half to go in ahead.

“It’s just ball retention, and stretching teams, as we have got the runners that can see the gaps once they have opened up.

“It’s a case of keeping that ball for as long as we can, looking after it, then the gaps will appear and we will get some tries.

“We have got to 40 or 50 points for a few weeks on the trot, which is a lot of tries in National One – no matter who we are playing.”

Orkney aiming to carry on momentum

Orkney are looking to pick up from where they left off, when they host Greenock Wanderers in National Three.

The islanders recorded a 23-22 victory over Howe of Fife in their last outing three weeks ago.

With scrum-half Willie Thomson and the experienced James Linklater unavailable, head coach Derek Robb hopes the long lay-off will not prove disruptive.

He said: “Just when we had a bit of momentum, there has been a two-week break because of the internationals.

Orkney head coach Derek Robb. Image: DC Thomson

“We don’t know how that will impact us, as well as one or two personnel changes.

“We have got a wee bit of depth that can fill those, and it shouldn’t drop too much in terms of quality.

“The previous two games have been the level we really need to be at, against West of Scotland and Howe of Fife.

“The commitment level and intensity of the squad was spot on. It makes life a lot easier for themselves on the pitch when that side of it is taken care of.”

Greenock have struggled for points, having won just one of their 13 matches this term.

Having triumphed 38-19 when the sides last met at Pickaquoy in October, Robb hopes his sixth-placed side can rack up another victory.

Robb added: “That day in particular was just lashing rain and gales.

“They were a fairly stuffy side in those conditions, and we couldn’t really get our game going.

“We made an awful lot of mistakes, but that was fairly early on in the season.

“I think we have progressed significantly since then.

“Like any game we have had this season, if we can get into our rhythm and on to the front foot we are capable of hurting teams.

“We hope we can do that this weekend – and keep progressing as we have since the turn of the year.”

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