Memory Lane – Season 1989 / 90 – Part 37 | |
09 January 2011 MacTavish Cup Final Kingussie 5 Skye Camanachd 3 This was a thoroughly entertaining cup final in front of a crowd in excess of 2.000 shinty supporters which included a large Skye support hoping to see their side win the MacTavish Cup for the first time since the inaugural competition nearly 100 years earlier. Regular Kingussie full back Michael Thain failed a late fitness test and took up a place on the bench but Russell Jones proved to be a more than adequate replacement. Skye Camanachd were at full strength. The usual Bught Park breeze blew but it provided a welcome relief for the players in this warm April day. The final was played at a blistering pace from the start and Skye settled first and started to control the midfield which allowed them to pressure the Kingussie defence. First Peter Gordon cracked a shot off the Kingussie post after just 4 minutes and then a flick from John MacRae played in Willie Cowie but he was forced to rush his shot as the King’s defence closed in. A Peter Gordon free hit found Willie Cowie in space and the Skye play-maker should have done better as his shot rose over Kingussie keeper Ian Anderson’s bar. Cowie fired over a minute later as Skye pressed for the opening goal. Skye Camanachd manager Ross Cowie made a tactical switch pushing Willie Cowie to the full forward position with Peter Gordon taking up the buckshee forward role as his side enjoyed all the early pressure. On 12 minutes Skye conjured up the best move of the game. Strong play in the Skye defence saw Willie MacRae play the ball forward to Ally “Stenscholl” MacDonald. As MacDonald looked up he saw Willie Cowie drift into space and he found the Skye forward with a precise forward ball. As the Kingussie defence rushed to close down Cowie, he slipped the ball to Peter Gordon whose snap-shot went just wide of the post. Skye went close again when a Peter Gordon free hit found Willie Cowie. However the Skye forward wasn’t quite prepared for the pass and although he recovered quickly, he was unable to hit the target. Kingussie gained confidence from weathering these Skye attacks and they began to push forward. Skye keeper John “Bodach” MacKenzie made a smart save from David Borthwick. Moments later MacKenzie was forced to scamper from his goal line to again thwart Borthwick at the expense of a corner. A cross-field Andy MacLean corner found Willie MacKinnon and he played in Willie Cowie. However Cowie was unable to get any power in his shot and the ball went harmlessly wide of goal. Skye full back Duncan MacDougall pulled a goal-ward Kingussie shot out of the air and cleared the danger as the game swung from end to end. Kingussie made the break-through on 28 minutes with a goal which was probably against the run of play. Kevin Thain picked up an Angus MacIsaac corner wide on the right and he rattled a low shot into the far corner of the net from 15 yards out. There was no chance of Skye folding though and the Islander’s full centre Caley MacLean surged forward from the throw up and he played a pass forward to John MacRae. MacRae’s shot was on target and Anderson saved well but Willie Cowie, in his new advanced role, was first to react and he slammed the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-1. Kevin Thain had the ball in the net again on 33 minutes but referee Billy MacLauchlan correctly ruled his strike out for offside. Thain was not to be denied though and he capitalised on some slackness in the Skye defence a minute later to put the Kings 2-1 in front. Skye again responded immediately and Peter Gordon hit the frame of the goal for the second time as his 20 yard sizzling shot came off the upright. With 5 minutes of the first half remaining, John MacRae collected a corner form the right and fed Willie Cowie who lost his marker and his low, bouncing shot evaded Anderson’s out-stretched caman to square the final at 2-2. The first 45 minutes demonstrated the best shinty skills at a breath-taking pace which showed the game at its best. Significantly Kingussie were able to take this performance into the second half whilst Skye were just unable to reach the highs of the first period. The Kingussie centre line began to dominate the game at the start of the second half and they were providing plenty ball for their forwards. Davie Anderson put his side back in the lead on 52 minutes when he almost ran the ball into the net to make it 3-2. The Kingussie forwards showed great movement and at times, they always seemed to have a free player in attack. Anderson was becoming a constant danger and he flashed a shot across goal on 54 minutes before forcing a good save from Skye keeper John “Bodach” MacKenzie on 58 minutes. Skye tried to get back on level terms for a third time and Willie Cowie and John MacRae combined down the right wing but Russell Jones moved in to calmly clear the danger. Jones ran forward with the ball and sent a massive clearance which found Davie Anderson on the King’s right. Anderson burst forward and sent a rasping drive into the net from the tightest of angles to give his side a 4-2 advantage. With 20 minutes remaining, Skye could have let their heads go down but they showed their determination to put a goal back within a couple of minutes when John MacRae knocked the ball down from above his head and into the net to reduce the Kingussie’s lead to a single goal at 4-3. Skye Camanachd manager Ross Cowie made another tactical switch by moving Willie Cowie back from full forward to his more accustomed position of buckshee forward. John MacRae took Cowie’s place on the sawdust. However Skye just weren’t getting enough ball to their forwards and it was the Sgiathanaichs defence which was forced to work hard as their opponents went for the fifth goal which would surely win the cup. Skye keeper John “Bodach” MacKenzie had his busiest spell in the game and the big keeper saved well from Kevin Thain, Ally Dallas and Davie Anderson as he established himself as the unofficial man of the match. Anderson had the ball in the Skye net on 87 minutes but his effort was ruled out by referee Billy MacLachlan for an infringement inside the D in the lead up to the goal. Skye pressed hard in the closing minutes to try and take the final into extra-time but they were hit with a classic sucker-punch as Kingussie broke up the field and Angus MacIsaac got on the end of a sweeping move to make it 5-3 in injury time. In the end Kingussie knew they had to produce a performance of the highest standard to win and they did just that to clinch the MacTavish Cup for the third year in a row. Skye were not far behind and if they had made more of their first half opportunities, then there could have been a different outcome. With the sides due to meet twice more in the season, Skye knew that they still had a real chance of winning a major trophy. Kingussie captain Iain Anderson was presented with the trophy and silver mounted caman by Alan Gammie of sponsors Bank of Scotland. Kingussie from; Ian Anderson (captain), Russell Jones, David Thomson, Stephen Borthwick, Rory Fraser, Ally Dallas, Jimmy Gow, Ross Grant, Davie Anderson, Kevin Thain, David Borthwick, Angus MacIsaac subs Michael Than, Michael Clark, Brian Shaw Skye Camanachd from; John MacKenzie, Duncan MacDougall, Ewen MacKinnon, Donnie MacDonald, Willie MacRae, Ally MacDonald, Caley MacLean (captain), Andy MacLean, Willie Cowie, Peter Gordon, John MacRae, Willie MacKinnon subs John Finlayson, Calum Murchison Match Referee – Billy MacLachlan Goal Judges – Brian Watts, Roy MacLean Linesmen – Mike Cameron, Ronnie Campbell, Finlay Ross, John McAskill |