The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 8 May 2010. | |
10 May 2010 The first round of the Artemis Macaulay Cup took centre stage on Saturday 8 May 2010.
Holders Inveraray are safely through to the second round of the Artemis Macaulay Cup following a massive 10-0 win over Marine Harvest North Division 1 side Oban Celtic at Ganavan Inveraray beat their opponents 9-0 at the Winterton in the Celtic Society Cup the previous weekend and they went one goal better in this tie. Grant Griffin got them off to a great start when he scored in the opening minute. Gary MacPherson made it 2-0 just 3 minutes later and he made it 3-0 from the penalty spot after 16 minutes. Chris Crawford made it 4-0 after 24 minutes and Griffin added his second on 42 minutes. MacPherson completed his hat-trick a minute later to give the visitors a 6-0 half time lead. Grant Griffin then completed his hat-trick on 49 minutes and he scored his fourth on the hour mark to make it 8-0. Not to be out-done, MacPherson also scored his fourth goal 2 minutes later. David Robertson made it 10-0 on 71 minutes and with almost 20 minutes to go, Oban Celtic must have feared the worst. However there was no further scoring and Inveraray go through to the next round.
There was a close tussle at Yoker where the sides promoted to and relegated from last season’s top flight met as Glasgow Mid Argyll hosted Glenorchy. Mid Argyll emerged 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Ryan Stewart and Fulton Ross. This is their first win of the season which is sure to boost morale. Mid Argyll now travel to the Winterton to play Inveraray in the quarter finals.
It took two late goals before Bute finally saw off Marine Harvest South Division 1 opponents Kilmory at the Meadows. Robert Zavaroni put the home side ahead after 15 minutes but Callum McKinven ensured the sides went into the break all square thanks to a 30 minute strike. Zavaroni restored Bute’s advantage 3 minutes into the second half. Robert Walker made it 3-1 on 77 minutes and Zavaroni completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot 6 minutes from time to seal a 4-1 victory. Kilmory have continued their record of having gone out of all cup competitions at the first time of asking this season.
The top match in the South half of the draw was at Tighnabruaich where Kyles Athletic ran out 4-1 winners against Oban Camanachd. Second half goals from Scott MacMillan and Grant Irvine meant the sides drew one each when they met at Mossfield earlier in the season and this looked to be another tight affair when there was no scoring in the first half. Kyles’ Fraser MacDonald made the breakthrough on 55 minutes but Oban Camanachd leveled through Iain MacMillan on the hour mark. Peter Currie put Kyles 2-1 up after 65 minutes and MacDonald added his second 5 minutes later. Colin MacColl rounded off the scoring when he made it 4-1 with a goal 15 minutes from time. Kyles Athletic and Bute will now meet at Tighnabruaich in the next round.
Scottish Hydro Premier Division leaders Newtonmore were made to fight all the way against Marine Harvest North Division 1 side Lochaber at Spean Bridge. Lochaber were without the suspended Danny Delaney. The visitors missed defender Andy MacKintosh and forward Danny MacRae – both have hand injuries - and Norman Campbell. There was no scoring during a tight first 45 minutes with the home side looking good. Lachlan Campbell sent the home support into raptures when he sent a pinger of a shot into the back of the net after 73 minutes. The Spean Bridge side was just 5 minutes away from causing a major cup upset when Evan Menzies equalised when he collected a rebound and tapped the ball into an empty net after home keeper Jake Keenan had made a great save. This took the tie into extra time and ‘More took the lead on 98 minutes through David Cheyne. Cheyne wrapped the tie up with his second a minute later when he beat Keenan to make it 3-1. There was a further shock brewing as Lochaber first team manager Ally Ferguson and his assistant Jason Latto both stepped down from their respective roles after the game.
Kingussie set off for Canal Parks to play Marine Harvest North Division 1 hopefuls Kilmallie. The Kings were on a high after last weekend’s extra time triumph over Newtonmore. Kilmallie themselves have been in good form this season, suffering just one defeat. Kilmallie were without the suspended Michael Rodger. Defender Ally MacLeod has been a long term absentee for Kingussie who were also without the injured Iain Borthwick and Rory Fraser. James Hutchison was also missing which stretched manager Stevie Borthwick’s resources. Andrew Borthwick played in goal for Kingussie although he was clearly hampered by a knee injury. Ronald Ross gave Kingussie the lead after 28 minutes and the visitors took this lead into the break. Young Thomas Borthwick made it 2-0 on 50 minutes whilst Ross added his second a minute from the end. Kilmallie had John Stewart sent off by referee Billy Wotherspoon after 75 minutes when he received a straight red card following a clash with young Kingussie defender Stuart Downey. The winning margin could have been greater but for some fine saves from Kilmallie keeper Kevin Toye who was deputising for Neil MacNiven who missed out due to work commitments. Given their injury situation, Kingussie did well to win so comfortable and they now have a meeting with rivals Newtonmore at the Eilan to look forward to in the next round.
The match of the day in the North part of the draw was the all-Scottish Hydro Premier Division clash between Glenurquhart and Fort William at Blairbeg. Goals from Bryan Simpson, Victor Smith and Gary Innes gave Fort William a 3-1 win when the sides met at the same venue in the league earlier in the season. The Glen may have struggled to recapture their form of last season, and injuries have contributed towards this, but they returned to form in this one. Andrew Corrigan was given the job of marking the Fort’s play-maker Gary Innes and this tactic worked for most of the game. An own goal put Fort William ahead but Calum Fraser beat Paul MacKay on 69 minutes which eventually led to the match entering an extra time period. Glenurquhart had a great chance to take the lead when referee Duncan Kelly awarded them a penalty. With none of their forwards stepping forward to take the hit, defender John Barr took responsibility. However he never caught the ball as he would have liked and the chance was gone. Fort William went ahead after 109 minutes under controversial circumstances with the Glen claiming for a “kick” as Gordie MacKinnon put them ahead after a great run through the home defence.
The final tie in the North was at Balgate where Lovat met Skye Camanachd. The sides drew 1-1 when they met at the same venue in Marine Harvest South Division 1 last season. But it was Lovat who took the spoils this time with a 1-0 win. Skye Camanachd first team manager Aonghas MacDonald made one change to the starting line up from last week’s MacTavish Cup tie against Fort William. Jamie MacDonald returned to the defence with AB Connor dropping onto the bench. There were also changes on the bench as Alan Palmer missed out because of a university exam and Neil MacVicar and Martin Bruce returned to second string action. Norman MacLeod came back into the 15 man squad. Lovat were without 16 year old Greg Matheson who picked up a foot injury in their reserve side’s defeat to Newtonmore in midweek. Forward James MacPherson started on the bench. Skye started well with Somhairle MacDonald asking questions of the Lovat defence and one ball across the Lovat goal just required a touch to give the Islanders the lead but there were no takers. Lovat captain Euan Ferguson threatened on their first attack but he shot wide of the target. Skye suffered a major blow on 22 minutes when Somhairle MacDonald aggravated a hamstring problem as he shot for goal. He was unable to continue and had to be replaced by Danny Morrison. A neat knockdown from Allan MacKinnon set up a chance for Dougie Rankin but he couldn’t find the target. Lovat’s Fraser Gallacher was spoken to by referee Ron Kennedy after a clash with Allan MacLeod left the Skye defender on the ground. Jamie Gannon sprung into action before the break when he saved well from a Euen Ferguson shot across goal. The second half continued in a similar vein with little between the sides. Gannon again saved well from Euen Ferguson, this time with his foot. Skye replaced full forward Dougie Rankin with Norman MacLeod in a bid to add some impetuous to their attack. Lovat keeper Stuart MacDonald made a good save with his feet to deny Kenny Campbell on 64 minutes and a minute later, Jamie Gannon made a brilliant stop above his head to keep out a Gavin Macaulay rocket shot. Owen Ferguson had a shot deflected wide on 72 minutes and Lovat took the lead from the resultant corner. Fraser Gallacher was allowed space on the left to unleash a thunderous drive into the roof of the net. Skye replaced forward Allan MacKinnon with defender AB Connor and pushed Iain Nicolson into the attack. Jamie Gannon had to look lively on 76 minutes to save with his feet to prevent Gallacher scoring a second. However the rebound fell for Owen Ferguson right in front of goal but his shot went over the bar. Lovat’s full centre Gavin Cruden was booked for a crude challenge on Skye’s Gilleasbuig MacDonald a minute later. Kenny Campbell made a good run down the right on 81 minutes but his shot went wide of goal. Both Kenny Campbell and Shockie MacLennan suffered knocks and with all 3 substitutes used, MacLennan had to move to full forward for the remainder of the game. Skye created a great chance to equalise on 86 minutes with the move of the match. Danny Morrison came deep to receive a ball from defence and he sent a delightful pass down the left wing to Iain Nicolson. Nicolson sprinted clear of his marker before sending a perfectly weighted cross into the danger area. The cross found Kenny Campbell right in front on goal but he knocked the ball wide of the post. Jamie Gannon saved with his legs from Owen Ferguson as Lovat countered. Skye made one final push and a Danny Morrison effort went wide of target. A long ball forward from Steven Morrison found Shockie MacLennan. He played the ball across goal But Norman MacLeod shot wide. Skye’s final opportunity came from a corner which flew across goal. Lovat held on and they will now meet Fort William at Balgate in the next round. The whole Skye back line, especially captain Steven Morrison, were excellent throughout the game and will feel unfortunate to be on the losing side. However the Islanders will need to get back into the habit of converting chances after 2 weeks against Premier Division opposition.
It took a Keith MacRae strike 5 minutes from time to give Kinlochshiel had a narrow win over Inverness in Marine Harvest North Division 1 last Saturday but it was his brothers John and Finlay who stole the show this weekend. John MacRae gave Shiel the lead after 4 minutes and Fraser MacVicar made it 2-0 on 10 minutes. John MacRae hit a third for Shiel on 21 minutes and a 40 minute Finlay MacRae effort ensured the home side went into the break with a 4-0 lead. John MacRae went on to complete his hat-trick 10 minutes into the second half and Finlay MacRae made it 6-0 on 77 minutes. The win lifts Shiel up to third equal place in the table.
Beauly had an impressive win over Caberfeidh last weekend with hit-man Jamie MacLennan bagging a hat-trick. The green and whites made the short journey to Cannich to play second bottom Strathglass and they raced into a 4-0 lead thanks to goals from Marc MacLachlan, Connor Ross, Barrie MacDonald and Sean Stewart. Strathglass responded with two late goals from Donald Fraser but they left themselves with too much to do to get anything out of the game.
There was a thrilling finale to the clash between Lochcarron and Caberfeidh at Battery Park. Gregor Cushnie gave Lochcarron the lead after 20 minutes and they held this advantage into the break. Stuart Krzyzanoski made it 1-1 after 50 minutes but Cushnie restored the home side’s lead 5 minutes later. Martin MacDonald made the match all square at 2-2 just 4 minutes from the end. However Cushnie looked to have won it for Lochcarron with a goal in the 90 minute. But the Lochcarron cheers turned to groans when Martin MacDonald scored his second deep into injury time – 6 minutes to be precise – to win a share of the points for Cabers.
In the only fixture in Marine Harvest South Division 1, brought together the bottom two sides in the league as foot of the table Inveraray went down 2-1 to second bottom Taynuilt at the Winterton.
Glenurquhart proved too strong for the Glenurquhart second string in their Marine Harvest North Division 2 meeting at Canal Parks. Veteran Stuart Morrison gave the Glen the lead in this noon throw up with a goal after 7 minutes. Daniel MacKintosh made it 2-0 on 16 minutes and David Smart made it 3-0 on 30 minutes. Ross MacAulay made it 4-0 just 5 minutes from the half time whistle. Mark Graham pulled a goal back for Kilmallie on 55 minutes but Morrison added his second to make it 5-1 on 69 minutes. Graham scored his second 5 minutes from time but Kelvin MacKenzie got the final goal of the game when he made it 6-2 a minute from time.
Beauly gave a good account of themselves before going down 5-2 to Kingussie at the Dell. The visitors actually took the lead on 12 minutes when Scott MacLean fired home. Kingussie veteran Kevin Thain leveled on 20 minutes and he put his side a head 3 minutes later. Beauly’s Danny Marshall made it 2-2 a couple of minutes into the second half as Beauly refused to lie down. However Martin Dallas put Kingussie ahead for the second time on 54 minutes and Thain completed his hat-trick 3 minutes later. Rory Borthwick made the final score 5-2 to the home side with a goal 5 minutes from the end.
Skye Camanachd second team manager Davie MacVicar made 2 changes to the squad which beat Lewis. Neil MacVicar dropped out with a hand injury picked up at work and Danny Morrison was on first team duty. MacVicar himself came in to make up a 14 man squad. Skye were boosted ahead of the game when Jordan Murchison declared himself fit to play despite dislocating his toe playing football the previous weekend. Fort William introduced 2008 Camanachd Cup winning captain Chris Bamber into the side at buckshee back and he had a heavy influence on the game. The home side played with the wind in the first half but it was Skye who caused the hosts problems in the opening minutes and Angie MacDonald drilled a shot wide after being set up by Ally MacDonald. Daniel Stewart gave Fort William the lead after 7 minutes when he collected the ball wide on the right and cut in towards the penalty spot before firing the ball low past Ross Graham in the Skye goal. Jordan Murchison made it 1-1 just 3 minutes later. The youngster killed a cross ball in the air before firing it past Fort William keeper John Wood to net a special goal. Angie MacDonald missed a chance to put the Islanders ahead and Wood saved well from a shot from Skye’s Stewart Grant. Skye lost defender Shaun Hedley when he received a blow on the knee and had to be replaced by Daniel Morison. The substitute came into the centre line and Iain Morrison dropped back into defence. Daniel Stewart scored his second on 35 minutes when he shot home from the edge of the D after the Skye defence had failed to clear the ball. Michael Slezas scored a killer third goal on the stroke of half time. Some good movement in the Fort attack created the chance and he shot into the roof of the net from 15 yards. Two goals in a couple of minutes put Fort William out of sight. Josh McGhee made it 4-1 on 65 minutes when he played a one-two with Stewart before netting from the penalty spot. Josh McGhee beat two Skye defenders on 66 minutes and set up Daniel Stewart to complete his hat-trick from close-in. McGhee added his second on 70 minutes when the Skye defence were caught ball watching following a good Fort William move. Skye rallied and player / manager Davie MacVicar, on as a substitute for Ally MacLeod, pulled a goal back on 85 minutes to make the final score 6-2. MacVicar played in Ally MacDonald who played a one-two with Angie MacDonald. However Fort keeper Wood got to the ball first and cleared for a corner. Stewart Grant’s corner was cleared in the air by Kyle Grant but the ball fell to MacVicar at the penalty spot. As the Fort defence rushed out, he slotted the ball low past Wood into the corner of the net. Fort William’s Daniel Stewart and Skye’s David Grant were both booked by referee John MacPhee for having too much to say for themselves. Full back David Grant was Skye’s top performer in a side which lacks a bit of experience at present. Forward Jordan Murchison showed some nice touches.
The match between second place Lovat and Newtonmore at Balgate was brought forward to Wednesday 5 May 2010. Lovat missed out on the opportunity to go top of Marine Harvest North Division 2 for a few days when they went down 4-1 to Newtonmore at Balgate. The game was brought forward from the weekend at the request of Newtonmore. Lovat got off to a good start when Owen Ferguson gave them the lead after just 4 minutes. However the lead only lasted 3 minutes until Newtonmore leveled through full forward David Wilde. It was the visitors who took an advantage into the half-time break when Chris Sellar struck after 36 minutes. Sellar added his second to make it 3-1 on 53 minutes. ‘More made the points safe when David Wilde scored his second on 62 minutes to seal a 4-1 win. Lovat lost Greg Matheson following a knock to his foot.
Kinlochshiel made the short journey to Invergarry to play Glengarry and returned home with a point after a 1-1 draw. Player / manager Colin Fraser gave Shiel a 70 minute lead but George James Hendry equalised after 82 minutes.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 leaders Kyles Athletic beat Strachur in the 12 noon throw up at Tighnabruaich thanks to a Roddie MacColl strike. The sides drew 0-0 when they met earlier in the season and this was another close affair.
Col Glen and Glasgow Mid Argyll shared the points in a 1-1 draw. Mid Argyll romped to a 6-1 win when the sides met at Yoker earlier in the season but this was a better performance from the home side who scored through Peter Shuttleworth. Euan Forsyth found the net for Mid Argyll.
The match between Tayforth and Aberdour in Perth was postponed as the pitch was unplayable.
It was top v bottom in Marine Harvest North Division 3 as leaders Lochaber headed for Ardnamurchan. The Spean Bridge side haven’t found goals too hard to come by this season and they continued their ruthless streak in this one. The visitors scored 5 goals in a devastating 12 minute first half burst. Veteran Angus Morrison gave them the lead after 10 minutes and Alan Knox scored their second just 3 minutes later. Knox added his second on 17 minutes and Conor Sweeney made it four on 19 minutes. Pat Toal added a fifth just 2 minutes later. A further double from Angus Morrison on 30 and 39 minutes completed his hat-trick to give Lochaber 7 first half goals. There was only one second half goal as Alan Knox completed his hat-trick 5 minutes from the end. Ally Nudds scored a consolation goal for Ardnamurchan and the match finished 8-1 in Lochaber’s favour.
Aberdeen University’s title chances took a blow when they went down 4-0 to Caberfeidh at Castle Leod. Full forward Alan Ross put Cabers ahead after 15 minutes and Iain MacDonald ensured they went into the half time break with a 2-0 advantage on 27 minutes. MacDonald made it 3-0 just 2 minutes into the second half and Ross also scored his second goal of the game on 75 minutes to clinch a 4-0 win. Lochaber are now 2 points clear at the top of the table.
The noon throw up at Battery Park saw Lochbroom continue their good run with a 2-1 win over near neighbours Lochcarron. The visitors took the lead after 20 minutes and they took this advantage into the break. They went 2-0 up early into the second half thanks to a cracking strike from Jamie MacFadyen. Lochcarron pulled a goal back in the 89 minute thanks to Kieran Murray but Lochbroom held on to take the points. This is Lochbroom’s fifth successive league win which see them in third place in the table.
Boleskine ran out 4-2 winners in their derby with Inverness at the Bught Park. The visitors built up a 4-0 half time lead thanks to a hat-trick from Raymond Robertson after 30, 35 and 45 minutes and a 31 minute Ian Grant strike. However Inverness fought back in the second half with goals from young Graeme MacMillan on the hour mark and James Munro 2 minutes later. |