Scotland Womens Head Coach Stuart Reid is hoping to build on last year’s win over Dublin but he knows that his squad face an even tougher test against Co. Down in their Shinty / Camogie international at Pairc Esler, Newry on Saturday 25 October 2014.
Speaking ahead of the eagerly awaited game, Reid said, “Co. Down are Premier Junior All-Ireland champions. To put this in context, the Dublin side we beat by a couple of points last season had just been promoted to the same league as Co. Down where they finished in a credible third place. However when the sides met in the league stages, Co. Down won (5-17) 32-8 (0-8) in July so this is going to be a real challenge for us. However that is what we want. It is a natural progression for the team to play more difficult games and to test themselves. Alana Savage, who is in our squad for the first time, has two sisters on the Co. Down panel and she has spoken well of the side. We know that they are particularly strong down the middle of the park and it will be interesting to see how they cope with the cross-code rules. You usually spend the opening minutes of any such match assessing exactly where the opposition’s strengths and hopefully weaknesses are.”
Boss Reid, who has had a change of job to deal with over the last couple of weeks, has a fully fit squad to choose from. He said, “We had a wee scare when our goalie Elizabeth MacGregor reported a knee injury but she is fine and all the girls are raring to go. There are four new caps in the squad this year - Skye Camanachd’s Caitlin MacLean, Niamh Donnelly from Aberdour, Glasgow Mid Argyll’s Alannah Savage and Lochaber’s Kirsty MacDonald - and we have selected 20 players, one more than last year, to give us more cover. They all deserve to be involved.”
Scotland trained at the Bught Park before last weekend’s senior international and preparations have gone well. “A few league fixtures were rescheduled to later in the season which meant we had one less preparation session compared to last year but that’s not a big issue and it does mean that some of the players have being playing competitive shinty until more recently,” added Reid who is in his second year in charge.
The match is a 1pm throw up which pleases Reid. “The later throw-in allows for more preparation time. The game was very early last year, in the morning in fact, but we still attracted a good crowd and we are hoping for the same again this time around.
Glasgow Mid Argyll’s Laura McCafferty will once again captain the Scotland side.
There is one change to the Scotland backroom team with Brian Slattery replacing Yvonne Connaughton who is unavailable for the trip. Slattery, who plays for Aberdeen University, was a physio at the recent Commonwealth Games. Scott Campbell and Eoghan Stewart remain as Reid’s assistants.
Scotland Women’s Squad from:
Elizabeth McGregor – Badenoch & Strathspey
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Rachel McCafferty – Glasgow Mid Argyll
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Laura McCafferty – Glasgow Mid Argyll (captain)
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Kirsty Delaney – Lochaber
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Jeanette McGregor – Badenoch & Strathspey
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Vicki Henderson – Aberdour
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Kathleen Cameron -Lochaber
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Caitlin MacLean – Skye Camanachd
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Kirsty Deans – Badenoch & Strathspey
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Kirsten Munro – Glasgow Mid Argyll
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Niamh Donnelly – Aberdour
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Alannah Savage – Glasgow Mid Argyll
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Katy Smith – Aberdour
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Katie Drain – Glasgow Mid Argyll
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Lorna MacRae – Skye Camanachd
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Laura Gallacher – Lovat
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Lisa Norman – Glasgow Mid Argyll
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Rhona McIntyre – Badenoch & Strathspey
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Katie Booth – Aberdour
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Kirsty MacDonald – Lochaber
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Reserves
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Taryn Neilson – Aberdour
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Hazel Hunter – Strathglass
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Kirsty Gray – Glasgow Mid Argyll
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The previous Scotland Ladies international results are:
2009 - Ireland (2-2) 8-0 (0-0) Scotland ….. at Bught Park
2010 - Ireland (6-9) 27-8 (2-2) Scotland ….. at Ratoath
2011 - Scotland (8-3) 27-3 (1-0) British Universities ….. at Bught Park
2012 - Clare (1-2) 5-21 (5-6) Scotland ….. at Doora
2013 - Scotland (3-4) 13-11 (2-5) Dublin ….. at Bught Park
Series Details
The Shinty / Hurling senior international second test between Ireland and Scotland takes place at Pairc Esler, Newry, Northern Ireland on Saturday 25 October 2014. Throw-in is at 5pm and the game will be broadcast by live TG4 in Ireland and on BBC Alba in Scotland the following day.
Scotland U21 and Ireland U21 also meet in their Shinty / Hurling international at Pairc Esler, Newry on Saturday 25 October 2014. Throw-in is at 3pm.
Scotland’s Senior Women face a Shinty / Camogie clash with a Co. Down select at Pairc Esler, Newry on Saturday 25 October 2014. Throw-in is at 1pm.
Entry to all matches is FREE!
(Picture courtesy of Neil G Paterson)