Memory Lane – Season 1986 / 87 – Part 43. | |
05 January 2010 The Macaulay Cup Saturday 7 March 1987 – Macaulay Cup Second Round (Replay) – Fort William were proving to be a bogey side for Skye Camanachd during the 1986 / 87 shinty season and this match did nothing to dispel this theory as the Islanders went down 3-2 in this Macaulay Cup second round replay. The home side knew that they had a lucky escape in Portree when a last minute Deek Cameron goal earned them a replay. Skye’s downfall once again was to prove to be their inability to make the most of the chances they created and there were many similarities to the Islanders MacTavish Cup semi final defeat against Newtonmore. Skye had sufficient possession, which they readily converted into goal scoring opportunities, but the hardest part of the game is always sticking the ball into the back of the net. Skye played with the wind in the first half as the rain poured down on the Claggan pitch. However it was the home side which quickly seized the initiative as early goals from the prolific Ron MacLeod and John Wood gave them a 2-0 lead. The closest Skye came in the first half was a shot from player / manager Calum Murchison which whistled past Graeme MacMillan’s post. Playing into the wind in the second half, Skye were dominant the game but they found the It was going to take something special to beat MacMillan and it came on 67 minutes when Peter Gordon smashed an unstoppable shot into the net to reduce the deficit. Just when Skye seemed to have a glimmer of hope it was cruelly snatched away on 75 minutes when Ron MacLeod netted his second and Calum Murchison made it 3-2 just minutes from the end to set up a grand stand finish but There were many aspects of Skye’s performance for player / manager Murchison to be pleased about but his quandary was to find a solution to his team’s shyness in front of goal before the forthcoming Camanachd Cup Clash with Kingussie. |