The Portree High School Girls team made a successful trip to Kingussie High School on Friday 26 June 2009 with Coach Eoghan Stewart and Willie Cowie to compete in the final round of the Womens Camanachd Association Highland Schools Girls League.
The Portree High School youngsters beat Dingwall Academy 2-0 in their opening game with Maree MacKinnon and Lorna MacRae the scorers.
Portree lost to the two most experienced sides in the competition - Lochaber High School and Kingussie High School – however the gap between Portree and these sides is definitely narrowing.
The highlight of the day was a magnificent 3-1 victory over a much older and more experienced Kinlochleven High School. Ilana Paterson scored a penalty to open the scoring but Kinlochleven were soon level with a scrappy goal. Both teams fought hard but wonderful strikes from Lorna Macrae, who was an attacking force all day, and a goal from Maree Mackinnon who was tireless in midfield, gave Portree the spoils.
The Kingussie and Lochaber Girls finish joint first on the day with Portree in 3rd place – their best placing in the competition to date.
Portree had a strong defensive base in the form of Paterson, Katie MacDonald and Jenny Morrison who showed good blocking skills. Youngsters Helen Lamont, Alannah Beaton and Murryn Adams all contributed well and Sophie Tinney and Emma Nicolson showed energy upfront.
Kingussie were crowned overall Highland Schools Girls League champions with Lochaber in second place. Kinlochleven were 3rd - putting Portree’s win over them in an even better light - with Dingwall 4th and Portree 5th.
Portree have a young squad. Most of their players are juniors and will be eligible to play in next year’s competition. The team gained plaudits from Skye Camanachd coach Willie Cowie, who the girls thanked for driving the minibus. Team coach Eoghan Stewart was very proud at what was without doubt Portree’s best performance as a team since girls’ training started back in 2007.
The Womens Camanachd Association will run the league again next year and hopefully Portree will host another round as it did in October 2008.
Portree High School Girls from; Ilana Paterson, (captain), Sophie Tinney, Rosalind Lamont, Helen Lamont, Lorna MacRae, Maree MacKinnon, Jenny Morrison, Emma Nicolson, Murryn Adams, Alannah Beaton, Katie MacDonald,