Portree High School Girls Make Great League Start. | |
27 September 2009 Portree High School Girls got their season off to an almost perfect start when they came second in the first round of the School Girls’ League at Pairc nan Laoch on Friday 18 September 2009. As opposed to last year when an older Portree HS squad toiled in the opening matches in Inverness and appeared out of sorts in the second round of matches in Portree, this year the home fixtures brought out the best in the young school squad. Ardnamurchan HS defeated Portree played a young Dingwall side in their opening game and the young Islanders could not turn their pressure and several good chances into goals. The match ended goalless but Portree coach Eoghan Stewart ensured that his side focused on the positives from their performance ahead of their next match. Portree then faced Douglas / Lorna MacRae scored from a Sophie Tinney cross to give Portree the lead against Ardnamurchan HS in the next match. The girls were playing with skill and style which allowed coach Eoghan Stewart to introduce the substitutes throughout the game which ended 1-0 to the Islanders. An injury to a Douglas / Boclair player left them a player short so Portree HS’s Bethany MacLeod and Helen Lamond played a full game for This set up a top the table clash with Kinlochleven HS, who were the form team having dismantled Kingussie and all comers up until they met Portree. Although Kinlochleven HS were physically bigger and stronger than Portree HS, the Skye girls were not overawed and put in probably the best performance in the history of the team. Portree HS took control of the match and Nicola MacSween, Jenny Morrison and Maree MacKinnon were fierce tacklers in midfield. Lorna MacRae’s 2 goals split by a first goal from the fast and tireless Emma Nicolson - who has developed very quickly as a player this year - sealed a 3-0 win. Katie MacDonald was excellent at the back and Kirsty MacDonald was phenomenal in goals. This left Portree in pole position but facing a Lochaber HS side who had recovered from their loss against Going into the last two rounds of matches, 5 teams could still, with only Dingwall and Douglas / Boclair out the running. In the end Lochaber HS squeezed out a draw against Ardnamurchan HS to secure 15 points and top the table. Portree HS proved their mettle in their final game against Kingussie. Portree fell behind to the last year’s champions but levelled with a goal from Lorna MacRae - her fifth of the day - and they could even have won the match. The draw secured second place for Portree HS, their best ever finish. Portree HS finished on the same points as Kinlochleven HS but as they won the head to head match with their rivals, they were placed in the runners up spot. Eoghan Stewart thanked all the schools for coming and commented on the openness of the competition following a couple of years of Lochaber HS / Kingussie HS domination. There was also a massive increase in standards right across the board. Lindsay Mechie of Kinlochleven HS was the player of the tournament, having scored a magnificent screamer against Ardnamurchan HS. Joanne Gillanders of Lochaber HS was also a very strong candidate. The next venue for the competition is still to be decided. Portree High School from: Kirsty MacDonald, Bethany MacLeod, Sophie Tinney, Katie MacDonald, Rosalind Lamond, Helen Lamond, Jenny Morrison, Maree MacKinnon, Nicola MacSween, Emma Nicolson, Lorna MacRae, Ilana Paterson (captain) Special thanks are due to Willie Cowie for setting out the pitches and Wilma MacRuary from the Portree High School PE Department for all her help.
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