Skye Camanachd 2 Fort William 1 | |
28 April 2015 Skye Camanachd are through to the RBS MacTavish Cup semi-finals after they beat Fort William 2-1 at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 25 April 2015. Skye Camanachd first team manager John MacLeod made two changes to the squad which beat Taynuilt 9-0 the previous weekend in the SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Preliminary Round. Alan Palmer and John MacKenzie were with the Skye second team so there were call-ups for reserve team captain David MacInnes and Stewart Grant. Shockie MacLennan remained out injured whilst Jamie Gannon failed a mid-week fitness test and Allan MacKinnon was unavailable. Victor Smith took sole charge of the Fort William side as fellow co-manager Adam Robertson was unavailable and Smith was assisted by Iain Fraser. The Marine Harvest Premiership side had defenders Stevie Stewart and James Tangney free of suspension after they missed last weekend’s 3-0 Marine Harvest Premiership defeat to Kinlochshiel. Defender Sean Cameron also missed the ‘Shiel defeat and he was also back for this tie. However Fort talisman Gordie MacKinnon was missing as he was on holiday whilst Bryan Simpson and Duncan Rodger were with the second team. This 2.30pm throw up was covered live on radio and online on Cuillin FM’s “Camanachd” Live show. There was a minute’s silence as a mark of respect for Mavis Nicolson, wife of the late John “the Caley” Nicolson, who had recently passed away. Skye Camanachd captain Gilleasbuig MacDonald won the toss of the coin and opted to play with the wind advantage in the first half which left his team shooting towards the Viewfield end of the ground. Fort William attacked from the throw up and Skye full back Steven Morrison had to be alert to turn a Cameron Grant ball into the goal area from the left, out for a corner. Skye got their first corner on 5 minutes when Paul MacKay had to come off his line to play the ball away, under pressure from Danny Morrison. Skye took the lead from after 6 minutes. They were awarded a free-hit following the resultant corner when Kenny Campbell was fouled. Jordan Murchison took the free-hit and he found Kenny Campbell darting forward to his left and Campbell crashed the ball high into the net on his backhand to make it 1-0. Skye had a further period of pressure which ended with Jordan Murchison shooting wide. Jordan Murchison played a dangerous ball from the left into the Fort William goal area in 13 minutes but there were no takers. Both sides probed but the defences were on top with Steven Morrison in charge for Skye and Sean Cruickshank in command for Fort William. Skye broke forward on 27 minutes as Gilleasbuig MacDonald won possession and he played a long ball forward. Jordan Murchison collected possession and played a one-two with Danny Morrison but Sean Cruickshank did just enough to put him off and Paul MacKay came off his line to clear the danger. Kenny MacLeod shot over a couple of minutes later after another quick passing move from the home team. Fort William responded and Daniel Stewart cut the ball back to Ewan Campbell following a free-hit on the half hour mark but he missed his hit and Neil MacVicar cleared the danger. Skye made a positional switch as Kenny Campbell went to full forward and Kenny MacLeod to wing centre. Both teams had periods of pressure in the closing stages of the first but both defences were on top, protecting their respective keepers until the break. Fort William now had the elements in their favour in the second half. Just 5 minutes into the second period, Iain Murray won possession following a Fort William shy and he picked out Danny Morrison on the Skye right. Kenny MacLeod played on Morrison’s pass and Paul MacKay did well to come off his line to deal with the bouncing ball into the D. However MacKay’s clearance went straight to Danny Morrison but his ball into the goal area went wide of the keeper’s post. Skye goalie Iain MacLeod made a tremendous save with his hand from a Ryan Campbell shoulder-high drive on 55 minutes with the ball cleared for a corner. However Fort William levelled from the resultant corner when Ewan Campbell was first onto a rebound to score after Skye goalie Iain MacLeod had again saved well; this time from Arran MacPhee. Fort William attacked from the restart and Steven Morrison brought down scorer Ewan Campbell just outside the D as he bore in on goal. Referee Evan MacRae booked Fort William’s Ryan Campbell for his reaction to the foul. Ally MacDonald cleared the danger from the Fort free-hit. Daniel Stewart sent a shot over the junction between post and bar following a Cameron Grant free-hit on the left after Skye were penalised for a “kick”. Skye pinned Fort William back and Steven Stewart brought down Jordan Murchison, shoving him in the back just to the left of the penalty spot on 64 minutes. Sean Cruickshank, who was excellent in defence for the visitors throughout the game, put the resulting Skye free-hit out for a corner. When Ryan Campbell fed the ball to Ewan Campbell seconds later, Ally “Spod” MacLeod did well to get in a challenge which prevented Ewan Campbell from shooting on target. Skye keeper Iain MacLeod took a knock when clearing the ball ahead of Ewan Campbell and it was now Fort William’s turn to press for a second goal. Fort William boss Victor Smith made a change with Graham Campbell coming on at full forward after 66 minutes, replacing Ewan Campbell in attack. As the tie moved into the final 20 minutes, the prospect of extra-time and even penalties loomed large and the next goal was going to be of the utmost importance. Skye made their first change on 74 minutes as Chris MacLennan took over from Kenny MacLeod in the Skye forward line. Skye threatened the Fort William goal on 76 minutes when Chris MacLennan crossed and a ball driven into the danger-area by Danny Morrison was “kicked” by Sean Cruickshank, giving Skye a free-hit just outside the D. However Fort William defended the set-piece well and Alexander MacMillan broke forward with the ball. Skye had to defend a couple of Fort William attacks with Ally MacDonald prominent in the home defence as the An Aird side had the better of the closing stages. . With so much at stake, tempers were rising and when the winning goal came, it was for the Islanders with just 5 minutes remaining. Skye’s Will Cowie collected a pass from Kenny Campbell around the penalty spot and he teed up Jordan Murchison who darted onto the pass before driving the ball low into the net to make it 2-1. Just after the restart, Skye keeper Iain MacLeod kept calm as he flicked a bouncing ball into the D for the safety of a corner as Fort William looked to draw level for a second time. Skye defender Ally “Spod” MacLeod cleared the corner. Skye were forced to make a change as Iain Murray limped off, replaced by David MacInnes with just 3 minutes remaining. A Skye break forward late in the game saw Kenny Campbell pick out Jordan Murchison on the Skye left. However Murchison’s cross was just too far ahead of Chis MacLennan who had dashed forward at the back post. As the tie, which was scrappy at times, moved into a couple of minutes stoppage time, Steven Stewart pushed forward for Fort William but Skye held their line as a dangerous Arran MacPhee ball went past the post. Referee Evan MacRae’s final whistle signalled a Skye victory and a place in the last four of the all-North competition. Skye will now meet Glenurquhart in the last four of the RBS MacTavish Cup on Saturday 23 March 2015. The venue (Pairc nan Laoch or Blairbeg) will be decided by a toss of the coin at the Camanachd Association Offices on Monday 27 April 2015. Skye Camanachd from: Iain MacLeod: Steven Morrison, Ally MacDonald, Ally “Spod" MacLeod, Neil MacVicar: Kenny Campbell, Iain Murray, Gilleasbuig MacDonald (captain): Will Cowie, Jordan Murchison, Danny Morrison, Kenny MacLeod: subs Chris MacLennan, David MacInnes, Stewart Grant Fort William from: Paul MacKay: Sean Cameron, Steven Stewart (captain), James Tangney, Sean Cruickshank: Alexander MacMillan, Niall MacPhee, Cameron Grant: Arran MacPhee, Daniel Stewart, Ryan Campbell, Ewan Campbell: subs Graham Campbell, Lewis Morrison, Victor Smith Match Referee – Evan MacRae Goal Judges – Donnie Martin, Davie MacVicar The match balls were sponsored by Nor-Dan |