Eventually, Orkney will win one of these thrilling matches which are settled in the last minute!

Strathmore emulated the most recent league visitors to the Picky Centre, Crieff and Strathearn, in winning the game with a score which left Orkney no time to respond. It was cruel on the hosts, who had seen a 10-0 lead evaporate before half time and them matched the table-topping visitors in every department throughout the second 40 minutes. And the nature of the try which gave the game to Strathmore owed as much to good fortune as to skill, when the big number eight John Westwood charged down an attempted clearance by John Dearness.
The bounce was kind for the forward and he was able to touch down just before the ball went dead.

Orkney may rue the missed seven points available early in the game, but by the same token, Strathmore also missed a kickable chance to add to their tally.
The opening ten minutes of the game gave no hint of the late drama to follow, as Orkney got off to a flier. Strathmore had barely touched the ball before the hosts were 10-0 up.

The first try was a great effort. Dearness and the rampaging Andy McGill made a couple of half breaks. The ball was set up for scrum half Roger Hall to swing out an excellent miss-pass to Al Watson, playing again in the centre, and Andrew Cromarty was up with play on the wing to go over in the corner.
The conversion was missed, but Orkney had the chance to extend their lead almost immediately when Strathmore moved up offside, giving the penalty on their 10-metre line. John Dearness stepped up, but he kick drifted just wide to the left.
No matter, because straight from the drop-out, Orkney put the ball back into Strathmore territory and after referee Brian Arciero blew for a scrum, he then penalised the visiting forwards for pushing too soon before the put-in.
Erlend Hutchison’s kick gave Orkney good field position and the throw-in. Orkney were given the put-in at a scrum following the throw, and Hall found Watson with quick ball and he then powered his way through a tackle to touch down.
The conversion attempt was sliced, much to Dearness’s audible frustration, but with Orkney totally dominant at this stage, it was difficult to see how Strathmore would get back into the game.

However, a huge kick-off from Kevin Soppit was allowed to bounce out of play close to the Orkney line, giving Strathmore excellent position, and was the spur they needed to get them into the game. From the line-out, Hall was tackled in his in-goal area, giving the scrum-five put in to Strathmore. Excellent work from the pack turned the ball over and the referee spotting an infringement to give Orkney the chance to clear. An Orkney knock-on then gave Strathmore the put-in close to the line, but the home defence stood firm against a big shove.

On 20 minutes, it was try scorer Cromarty’s turn to show his defensive capabilities with a tackle to save the day after Strathmore’s fullback, captain Robin Young, had come into the line. The visitors’ front row again were penalised at the scrum, and Hutchison cleared the immediate danger.

Orkney’s line was eventually breached on 26 minutes, and it was a good move the breached the defence. Scrum half Gary Wood made the initial break, he fed hooker Kyle Mitchell and he in turn sent second row Stuart Gray through to score under the posts. Soppit made no mistake with the conversion.

Shortly after the restart, the referee penalised Hall for not rolling away, and number ten Soppit stepped up to slot over the kick to bring his side level.
The stand-off was becoming more influential by the minute and almost got his side into the lead, linking with winger Ross Low, receiving a return pass and heading for the corner, where he was stopped just short. Strathmore continued to press, centre Mike Bruce side-stepping past Rodney Spence, but the move came to nothing thanks to a dropped pass. And with Orkney pressing, winger David Hull made a break, and when he was tackled, the referee again penalised the home players for not rolling away and gave Strathmore the chance to take the lead from a similar position to their previous penalty. This time, Soppit pushed his kick wide.

Then with half time approaching, Orkney were back on the attack. Hutchison put in a big kick down the centre of the pitch, and Cromarty sprinted off in chase, tackling the defender and turning his man. Orkney players followed up and the ball came out to Rodney Spence, who, finding himself isolated and short of options, put in an excellent grubber kick to the corner. Handling errors then cost Orkney the chance to retake the lead, and the referee blew for the interval.

Both teams upped the tempo at the start of the second half, and the game settled into an attritional battle, both packs battling to gain the upper hand.
For every time Strathmore got the big shove on, so Orkney held firm and then pushed their heavier opponents back. It was a period of half chances. For Orkney, John Dearness almost broke through when given the ball from a scrum, while Watson and Hutchison combined well before a knock-on halted progress.
For Strathmore, Soppit and Bruce made an excellent run-around move, feeding Low, who was held up.

With the game heading towards a tense final ten minutes, Raymond Moodie went flying down the left wing, having been found via quick ball from the scrum.
Strathmore stepped offside and the ball was put in the corner.
From the line-out, Orkney came close to scoring on each of three phases of play. Firstly, Rodney Spence was held up just short, the Dearness almost broke through and finally, Roger Hall – who by this stage was struggling with a shoulder injury - made one of his trademark darting runs, only to be stopped.
Credit must go to the Strathmore defenders, who stood firm against all their opponents threw at them.

With the game entering the final minutes, Orkney were looking threatening, with the game being played mainly in the Strathmore half. Following a kick from Hutchison, Moodie caught and turned his man, winning possession. Despite Hall breaking tackles, the move came to nought, and that seemed to be about that.
However, with seconds remaining, Strathmore went upfield, and although Orkney seemed to have the situation under control, Westwood’s moment of inspiration and good fortune settled affairs.

A draw would probably have been a fair result, but it was not to be.

Orkney: L. Thomson, A. Milne, E. Drever, S. Spence, R. Thomson, A. McGill, K. Pepper, K. Sinclair, R. Hall, J. Dearness, R. Spence, A. Watson, C. Risbridger, E. Hutchison, A. Cromarty. Replacements: D. Leisk, D. Sutherland, R. Moodie.

Strathmore: G. Dickson, K. Mitchell, C. Sim, S. Gray, K. Robertson, C. Bell, G. Nicol, J. Westwood, G. Wood, K. Soppit, M. Bruce, G. Crozier, D. Hull, R. Low, R. Young. Replacemements: P Hart, J. Leslie, D. Robertson.

Stuart Laundy (www.orcadian.co.uk)