Delightful double as football and rugby sides gain victories

March 12, 2016 at 5:03 pm

The Orkney FC side which defeated Thurso 3-2 in a fiery encounter at the KGS this afternoon.

There were wins for two of the county’s sports teams this afternoon as the county’s footballers progressed to a cup final, while Orkney RFC ground out a hard-fought victory at Pickaquoy.

Orkney FC played host to Thurso FC in a Ness Cup semi-final clash, and the defending champions now have the opportunity of retaining the trophy after defeating ten-men Thurso 3-2 in a fiery encounter at the KGS.

Thurso opened the scoring after ten minutes before strikes from Chris Simpson, Axel Bondoux and Chris Hellewell put the islanders in complete control. The visitors did get one back just seconds after Hellewell’s tap-in, but a red card for the visitors midway through the second half meant that Orkney saw the game out in fairly comfortable fashion.

Orkney face a wait to find out who they meet in the final, with the winner of Halkirk v Golspie playing Invergordon in the other semi-final.

Meanwhile, the county’s rugby players also had reason to celebrate as they came from behind to secure a narrow 20-18 victory against Edinburgh side RHC Cougars in the BT National League Division 3.

The home side had trailed 12-13 at half time but an early James Linklater penalty, and a unconverted try from Jon Tait put Orkney 20-13 ahead. However, a breakaway try for the Cougars, which went unconverted, set up a nervy final quarter, at a wet Pickaquoy pitch.

The home side held out though to leave Orkney celebrating a delightful sporting double.