Skye Camanachd 0 Glenurquhart 1 (after extra time) | |
31 March 2014 It took extra time to separate Skye Camanachd and Glenurquhart in their RBS MacTavish Cup first round tie at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 29 March 2014. The Islanders might sit a couple of leagues below their opponents but they made the Orion Group Premiership side fight all the way for their one goal victory. Skye Camanachd first team manager John MacLeod was without Neil MacVicar who was working. Jordan Murchison was a late call-off for the same reason so Paul MacKinnon was called up from the second team. However Will Cowie passed a late fitness test after being troubled by a hamstring problem in the 3-0 league win over the Glenurquhart reserve side a fortnight earlier. Dave Menzies and Billy MacLean have returned to the managerial hot-seats at Glenurquhart, the team which lost out in a penalty shoot-out to Lovat in last year’s MacTavish Cup Final, and they have made a good start to this year’s league campaign. They were without defender Andrew Corrigan who has a hand injury. Injury also ruled out David Smart whilst Euan Lloyd and David MacLennan were other absentees. However Ally MacKintosh made a substitute appearance the previous week against Kingussie after missing the early part of the season through injury and he started in the middle of the park. There were late checks on Stuart Reid and James MacPherson who picked up knocks last week. The former started at full back whilst a not fully fit MacPherson was limited to a place on the bench. There was a debut for former Boleskine player Raymond Robertson in attack. Skye manager John MacLeod had done his homework ahead of this tie. As well as having seen his Skye side take on the Glen in a pre-season friendly at Blairbeg, he also saw their 1-0 defeat to Kingussie at the Dell the previous weekend – a game in which they were unfortunate not to take a point. The speedy Chris Rose was deployed at buckshee back whilst Steven Morrison and Shockie MacLennan were given strict marking jobs on Lewis MacLennan and Neale Reid respectively. Indeed the Kyleakin duo stuck to their tasks so diligently that no one would be surprised if they followed the Glen pair back to Drumnadrochit on Saturday evening! Glenurquhart played with the wind at their backs in the first half. There was an early break in play when Skye wing centre Allan MacKinnon had treatment to a cut mouth which later required eight stitches. Paul MacKinnon came on in his place until Allan MacKinnon was able to return assume his previous role. Danny Morrison looked to be Skye’s best bet for a goal and the closest the home side came in the first half was when last season’s top scorer juggled a Kenny Campbell ball from the right inside the D but Glen keeper Stuart MacKintosh made a vital intervention to get the ball away to safety with Morrison suffering a blow to the hand for his troubles. Play was punctured again when Kenny MacLeod required treatment to a cut head and although he was able to continue, Iain Murray wasn’t so fortunate and he had to leave the field with blurred vision after taking a blow to the face. Will Cowie dropped into midfield to take over from Murray. All injuries were accidental but made for a stop-start afternoon which didn’t help the flow of the match. Glenurquhart settled more into the game and Lewis MacLennan and Raymond Robertson fired in shots at the other end but their attempts went wide of target. And with the Skye defence in no mood to give anything away, that was about the sum total of the goalmouth action during the first 45 minutes. As the game went on, Skye were finding it difficult to penetrate a Glenurquhart defence which had only lost one goal this season – to Kingussie’s Savio Genini – although a Kenny MacLeod snap-shot went narrowly wide of target. The Glen may not be prolific scorers either but home custodian Jamie Gannon made a great save with his hand from a 20 yard Ally MacKintosh drive through a ruck of bodies. The visitors were now pressing the home defence and they seemed to win corner after corner. Jamie Gannon really came in to his own and he denied Eddie Tembo, Neale Reid, Raymond Robertson and Ewan Brady before referee Deek Cameron took the game into an extra-time period. Glenurquhart had introduced James MacPherson in the latter stages of the second half. The former Lovat player had started on the bench as he was troubled with a hamstring injury. And it was MacPherson who made the difference 3 minutes into extra time when he got on the end of a superb Lewis MacLennan flick to steer the ball past the out-rushing Jamie Gannon to make it 1-0. The goal came at a price though as MacPherson pulled his hamstring in the act of scoring and he had to leave the field and was replaced by Glen second team player / manager Iain MacLeod. With Jordan Murchison and Neil MacVicar missing, and Will Cowie deployed in a midfield role after Iain Murray left the pitch, Skye’s attacking options were curtailed There was a booking for Glen full back Stuart Reid for a swipe at the back of Kenny MacLeod’s legs - which the Skyeman didn’t appreciate. Having lost Gilleasbuig MacDonald through injuring during the 90 minutes, Skye suffered another set-back when Shockie MacLennan had to leave the field with an ankle knock and thus another attacking option was lost with MacLennan having taken up this role late in the game to great effect in Skye’s last two outings. Two late David Grant free-hits from his own half landed in the danger area and troubled the Glen defence but they saw off the threat. Will Cowie limped off the park late in the game and there was the amusing sight of Glen stalwart, and 1988 Albert Smith Medal winner, Ally MacKintosh – father of Glen pair Stuart MacKintosh and Ally MacKintosh – administering treatment to Cowie for cramp on the touchline in front of the Clubhouse area, much to the Skye youngster’s relief. Skye’s fitness, or rather their lack of it, let the team down on several occasions last season. However this year’s pre-season preparations have paid dividends and they were in the game right until the end. Glenurquhart finished the game on the attack and they did enough to deserve their place in the next round. Steven Morrison was once again superb in defence for Skye, backed up by Jamie Gannon, whilst Will Cowie dispelled any hamstring concerns with a terrific performance, especially when used at full centre – a tremendous responsibility for a 17 year old. Ally MacKintosh in the middle of the park was the pick of the Glenurquhart players. There had been positive comments about how well Michael Brady had settled in to life in the Glen defence following his move from Glengarry and he proved his worth once again with a sterling performance. Fraser Heath belies his young years whilst Eddie Tembo looks to have put his injury problems behind him and John Barr does what it says on the tin as he turned in an efficient, no frills performance. Last, but by no means least, a special mention for Skye medics Dr Wilson Banks and Helen Gilpin. They probably had their busiest afternoon at the shinty – tending to players from both sides - and the touchline resembled a scene from Holby City at some points during the afternoon. Their ongoing commitment and expertise is greatly appreciated by everyone at the club. Skye Camanachd from: Jamie Gannon; Steven Morrison, Shockie MacLennan, Ally MacDonald, Chris Ross; Allan MacKinnon, Iain Murray, Gilleasbuig MacDonald (captain); Will Cowie, Danny Morrison, Kenny MacLeod, Kenny Campbell; subs Paul MacKinnon, Ally “Spod” MacLeod, David Grant Glenurquhart from: Stuart MacKintosh; Stuart Reid, John Barr, Michael Brady, Fraser Heath; Eddie Tembo, Ally MacKintosh, Arran MacDonald; Ewan Brady, Neale Reid, Raymond Robertson, Lewis MacLennan subs Billy Urquhart, James MacPherson, Iain MacLeod, Ross MacAulay Match Referee – Deek Cameron The match balls were sponsored by Nor-Dan |