The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 12 March 2011 | |
15 March 2011 The wintery weather played havoc with the shinty fixtures on Saturday 12 March 2011. There were 19 postponements due to pitch and road conditions and 3 abandoned matches as well as one conceded match. Scottish Hydro Premier Division Shinty’s top division was particularly badly hit by the weather. The only game to start was the match between reigning champions Newtonmore and Lovat at Balgate. Both teams were at full strength with Lovat boosted when Drew Howie declared himself fit to play. Lovat moved Lorne MacKay to full back in an attempt to thwart the threat of Danny MacRae. The home side actually took the lead three times in the game before being pegged back each time. Lovat struck first after just 9 minutes when Scotland U21 cap James MacPherson, who has been commuting to games from London, fired into the net. Danny MacRae levelled only for Greg Matheson to restore Lovat’s advantage with 19 minutes on the clock. ‘More squared the match again on 32 minutes and it was full forward Danny MacRae who added his second of the game. Lovat showed great spirit to take the lead for a third time through Owen Ferguson after 38 minutes but Danny MacRae completed his hat-trick to square the match at the break. With the worsening weather conditions and the players struggling to see the ball, referee Evan MacRae was forced to abandon the game before the start of the second half. There was to be no repeat of last season’s fiery 2-2 draw between Glenurquhart and Inveraray at Blairbeg as the match was postponed because of the poor road conditions. Inveraray had set off for their journey north but the conditions made it impossible for them to complete their journey. Oban Camanachd and Kyles Athletic both sides took maximum points from their opening day fixtures. However they were also left idle as their game at Mossfield was also postponed because of the poor road conditions. Glenorchy will have to wait to play their first home match since their return to the top flight as their game against Fort William was postponed as The Mart was unplayable. The game between Kingussie and Kilmallie was the first in the division to be postponed when the Dell failed a pitch inspection. Marine Harvest North Division 1 Beauly raced into a 3-0 lead within the first 13 minutes of their derby match against Inverness at Braeview Park. However David Higham pulling a goal back a couple of minutes later and Beauly held their two goal lead until the break. Beauly went 4-1 up on 52 minutes and added another goal 3 minutes later. Inverness pulled another goal back on 65 minutes. It looked as if Beauly would follow up their impressive win against Lochaber last weekend with another two points but with the conditions worsening, referee Innes Wood was forced to cancel the game with only 11 minutes remaining so the sides will have to do it all over again. Strathglass and Lochcarron met at Cannich and this match also suffered from the weather conditions. The conditions were fine at the start of the game but the snow started to fall at a steady rate as the game progressed. The players were struggling to see the ball and this led referee Daniel MacRae to call off the game on 23 minutes after consulting with both managers. The game was goalless at the time. The match between Caberfeidh and Lochaber at Castle Leod was postponed as the pitch was unplayable. The west coast derby between Skye Camanachd and Kinlochshiel was also postponed when the Pairc nan Laoch pitch failed a pitch inspection. Marine Harvest South Division 1 The whole league programme was wiped out. The game between Glasgow Mid Argyll and Taynuilt was switched to Taynuilt when Yoker failed a pitch inspection. However it was decided to call the game off because of the treacherous road conditions so Mid Argyll will have to wait to make their first league appearance of the season. The match between Ballachulish and Aberdour at Jubilee Park was postponed because of poor road conditions as was the game in Rothesay between Bute and Lochside Rovers. The Oban Celtic versus Kilmory game in Oban did not go ahead because of an unplayable field. Marine Harvest North Division 2 The players, officials and supporters braved the freezing conditions at Kirkton for the local derby between the Kinlochshiel and Skye Camanachd reserve sides which Shiel won 3-0. Click on the following link to read a full match reportKinlochshiel 3 Skye Camanachd 0 Newly promoted Lochaber enjoyed a 4-1 win over reigning champions Glenurquhart at Spean Bridge. Stuart Callison bagged a double for the home side whilst Alan Knox and Pat Toal grabbed the others. Glenurquhart included former Inverness players Fraser Heath and Liam Girvan in their side and it was another new-boy who got their goal - former Scotland Head Coach and Lochcarron player Fraser MacKenzie. The game between Kilmallie and Kingussie at the Canal Parks was a late call off with Skye referee John Angus Gillies just 20 minutes from the ground when the decision was made. The local derby between Glengarry and Fort William at Invergarry also fell foul of the weather. The match between Newtonmore and Lovat was called off when the Eilan was deemed unplayable. Marine Harvest South Division 2 The whole Marine Harvest South Division 2 programme was postponed. This includes the clash between Tayforth and Ballachulish, the meeting between Aberdour and Inveraray, the game between Col Glen and Bute and Strachur versus Glasgow Mid Argyll with the latter ruled out because of the road conditions. Marine Harvest North Division 3 It’s a big year for Aberdeen University as shinty’s oldest constituted club celebrates their 150th anniversary and the Students continued their good start to the season with a 4-0 home win against Lochbroom. Former Skye Camanachd player Kenny MacLeod helped himself to a hat-trick whilst David Fraser got the other. Ardnamurchan put last week’s team raising difficulties behind them when they hosted Beauly. However the visitors were in ruthless form as a Danny Marshall hat-trick helped them to a 7-1 win. Conor Cormack continued his come-back from injury with another goal whilst David Groat, Simon Holmes and Calum Morrison also netted in the snow. Boleskine were awarded the points for their clash with Strathglass at Farr as the visitors were unable to raise a team. The Bught Park was ruled unplayable which put paid to the game between Inverness and Caberfeidh. Battery Park also failed a pitch inspection so Lewis Camanachd’s trip to play Lochcarron was also postponed. |