Scotland Head Coach Ronald Ross could hardly have been more pleased after watching his side’s 24-14 win over Ireland in their Shinty / Hurling international at the Bught Park on Saturday 24 October 2015.
Reflecting back on the game, Ross said, “It was a fantastic performance. The first half was as good as I’ve seen from a Scotland team. We kept the ball wide and we kept the ball on the deck. We played some lovely shinty and we scored three fantastic goals.”
When asked about individual performances, Ross was again full of praise for his squad. He said, “Defensively, the half back line was fantastic; in fact we had no failings at all. We wanted to take the wind in the first half and rack up the points and we did that and got ourselves ahead. We knew we would have to dig in in the second half and we did that. We kept our shape. They pushed Eoin Price and Patrick Maher forward after the break but we coped well with that. Eoin Price had started in a deeper position but when he went forward, he was picked up by Rory Kennedy and he is such a good man-marker. Steven MacDonald’s hitting and distribution took the pressure off us and he started a lot of good attacking moves. John Barr was superb in midfield and Glen MacKintosh did a power of work up front.”
There are still a couple of weeks to go until the sides meet at Croke Park. The Scots will make a change as keeper Stuart MacDonald will be on his honeymoon so the experienced Stuart MacKintosh will step in between the posts. Otherwise Ross should have the same players at his disposal. “It’s always a worry when the guys are still playing games,” added Ross. “You don’t want them to pick up injuries but at the same time, the match practice will stand them in good stead.”
Ross is also very aware that the Irish will likely bolster their squad ahead of the Croke Park clash. 2015 All-Star Maurice Shanahan should be included after missing the Inverness game and he’s unlikely to be the only Irish re-enforcement.
Saturday 21 November 2015 – Croke Park, Dublin
Hurling / Shinty International
Ireland Senior Men v Scotland Senior Men – Throw in 4.35pm
(Followed by 2015 Gaelic Football v Aussie Rules International)
(Picture courtesy of Neil G Paterson)