Skye Camanachd 3 Inveraray 0 | |
18 September 2017 It was trophy day as Skye Camanachd were presented with the Marine Harvest National Division trophy following their 3-0 win over Inveraray at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 16 September 2017. As well as being a league match, the sides played for the 2016 Thomas Ferguson Memorial Cup. A good sized crowd gathered for the game including a number of Thomas Ferguson’s former team mates which added to the occasion. Skye boss Willie Cowie made just one change to the squad which beat Caberfeidh in the league a week earlier. Keeper Iain MacLeod misses the final two matches of the season through work commitments, and the chance to again represent Scotland at U21 level, so Ryan Morrison, who was an unused substitute against Caberfeidh, took over in goal. Skye remained without the injured Jordan Murchison. This was a third long away trip for Inveraray within a month and boss Ruaraidh Graham travelled north without the experience of Nicholas Crawford, Douglas Dando and Ally MacDonald. The whole match and trophy presentations were broadcast LIVE on radio and online on Cuillin FM’s Camanachd LIVE show. It was an unusually warm day for the time of year and Skye played towards the Shulishadder end of the ground in the first half. Skye attacked from the throw up and Inveraray keeper Scott MacLachlan had to come off his line on a couple of occasions to deny James Pringle. There were further chances at both ends during the first quarter of the game. Skye’s Will Cowie shot wide as the home side’s good opening continued. However Inveraray came more into the game and Lewis Montgomery and Gary MacPherson both sent drives wide of the post. A turn and shot from Iain MacLellan came close to breaking the deadlock and, moments later, a good Skye move ended with a Will Cowie shot on the turn going narrowly wide. Inveraray responded and Lewis MacNicol took a Gary MacPherson pass and sent a strike over the junction between post and bar with 32 minutes played. However it was Skye who took the lead on 37 minutes. Will Cowie powered the ball home on his left side from a tight angle on the Skye left following good lead up play from Iain MacLellan. Skye finished the half on the attack, with Danny Morrison going close after an injury time corner, but they had to settle for a single goal advantage at the break. Inveraray player / manager Ruaraidh Graham switched Allan MacDonald from defence to attack at the interval. Robert Wood was withdrawn and Allan Cameron took the field. Skye also made a change with the introduction of Gibbs MacDonald for Kenny Campbell in midfield. James Pringle, just as he had done at the start of the first half, immediately surged forward from the restart but again, Scott MacLachlan was quickly off his line to clear the danger. Young Ruaraidh Graham went close for Inveraray 4 minutes after the restart before Skye started to turn on the style. Iain Nicolson’s low shot was saved and turned away for a corner by Inveraray goalie Scott MacLachlan and Will Cowie’s 20 yard drive went just past the keeper’s right post. A second Skye change on 54 minutes saw Allan MacLeod take over in defence from Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod. Allan MacLeod did well to get his body in the way of a shot from young Ruaraidh Graham who had found space at the back post to get onto Allan MacDonald’s cross. With the pitch at the Skeabost end goal starting to cut up slightly, Inveraray again had Scott MacLachlan to thank as he came off his line to halt Will Cowie’s run. Danny Morrison took a Stewart Grant pass but his shot from the left rose over the top but earned a round of applause from the home support. A Will Cowie effort was deflected for a corner before Scott MacLachlan took centre stage again, this time saving well from Iain MacLellan – who struck the ball well following Iain Nicolson’s pass - at the expense of another corner. Inveraray attacked on 72 minutes with Allan MacDonald’s effort going over the top. Skye doubled their lead on 73 minutes. Iain Nicolson set a testing ball into the Inveraray goal area. Ally Munro knocked the ball down but only into the path of Danny Morrison. MacLachlan made another good stop to keep out a Morrison’s strike but this time, Iain MacLellan gathered the rebound and steered it past the diving keeper to score. As the contest moved towards the final 15 minutes, Inveraray took youngster Hamish MacLennan on for young Ruaraidh Graham with Lewis Montgomery pushed up to play as a dual full forward with Allan MacDonald. With 10 minutes remaining, Skye captain Kenny Campbell returned in place of Stewart Grant who went off for a well earned rest. Skye goalie Ryan Morrison had to be alert, using his hand to keep out a dropping Gary MacPherson effort before playing the ball out for a corner. Lewis MacNicol went close from the resulting corner but he couldn’t get a shot on target. Daniel Morrison came on for Iain MacLellan for the closing minutes. Skye put gloss on the win with James Pringle making it 3-0 just 5 minutes from time. Pringle took down a Kenny Campbell ball from the left before shooting low into the net. There was still time from Scott MacLachlan to make an excellent save to his right to deny Will Cowie a second. Cowie’s blistering shot looked to be going high into the net before the keeper turned it away. Referee Graham Cameron was in control of the match throughout and his final whistle signalled the start of the Skye celebrations. It was a good Skye team performance with Will Cowie central to their creative play. Stuart Grant also played well whilst a commanding performance in the Skye defence meant Neil MacVicar was a deserved winner of the Glasgow Mid Argyll Shield as man of the match. Inveraray now had to absorb a lot of Skye pressure and Ally Munro had a fine game in their defence whilst keeper Scott MacLachlan was excellent. With Camanachd Association President-elect Keith Loades in attendance, John Angus Gillies from sponsors Marine Harvest presented the Marine Harvest National Division trophy to Skye captain Kenny Campbell. The sides also played for the 2016 Thomas Ferguson Memorial Cup which was presented to Skye captain Kenny Campbell by Sammy Gordon, a Skye Camanachd stalwart who was a team mate of Thomas Fergusons. Skye Camanachd from: Ryan Morrison; Ally MacDonald, Neil MacVicar, Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod, John Gillies; Iain Nicolson, Kenny Campbell (captain), Stewart Grant; Danny Morrison, James Pringle, Iain MacLellan, Will Cowie; subs Gilleasbuig MacDonald, Allan MacLeod, Connor Gilpin Inveraray from; Scott MacLachlan; Ross Montgomery, Ally Munro, Allan MacDonald, John Kennedy; Ruaraidh Graham (junior), Lewis MacNicol (captain), Ruaraidh Graham (senior); Lewis Montgomery, Fraser Watt, Gary MacPherson, Robert Wood; subs Allan Cameron, Hamish MacLennan Match Referee – Graham Cameron The match balls were sponsored by Nor-Dan Scorers Skye Camanachd Will Cowie (37) Iain MacLellan (73) James Pringle (85) Inveraray (None) The match balls were sponsored by Nor-Dan |