Skye Camanachd Ladies 2 Aberdour Ladies 0 | |
20 May 2014 Skye Camanachd Ladies had a 2-0 Marine Harvest National Division 1 win over Aberdour at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 10 May 2014. Ilana Paterson is nearing a return from injury for Skye but this game came too soon for her. Catriona Gibb was unavailable but Lorna MacRae returned to Skye Camanachd Ladies Head Coach Sarah Corrigall’s starting line-up. Aberdour Ladies Coach Charlie Neilson had only nine available players so his side played the whole game a player short. The sides met at Silver Sands just a fortnight earlier when Aberdour ran out 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Katie Booth and Katy Smith with Caitlin MacLean countering for Skye. Conditions were almost perfect for this 2.30pm throw up. Lorna MacRae and Caitlin MacLean both had early chances which stemmed from an Emma Gordon corner on the right but they were unable to find the target. At the other end, Skye keeper Sarah Corrigall saved brilliantly from an Annie Butterworth shot when she turned the low drive away for a corner on the Aberdour right. Skye suffered a blow when captain Roz Lamond had to leave the field with what was later confirmed as a broken finger. Korri Henderson came on in her place. Corrigall saved a Katy Smith snap-shot with her feet from the resultant corner. Aberdour goalie Taryn Neilson made a good save with her foot from a Lorna MacRae shot on 10 minutes. Lorna MacRae was enjoying success coming deep and running at the Aberdour defence and one solo run ended when she shot over the bar. A Caitlin MacLean shot rose over as Skye got closer to breaking the deadlock. Taryn Neilson did well to deal with a long Lorna MacRae ball into the D and she cleared for a shy. Sarah Corrigall saved with her foot from Annie Butterworth and Corrigall’s huge clearance meant play quickly switched to the other end of the park where Lorna MacRae shot over. It hardly seemed that Aberdour were a player short and it took some good defending from Nicola MacSween to thwart another visitors attack. Skye took the lead on 26 minutes when persistence from Caitlin MacLean saw her win possession following a scramble in front of goal and she shot low into the net to make it 1-0. Lorna MacRae set up Caitlin MacLean from the restart but Taryn Neilson made an outstanding save with her caman, just under the crossbar, to deny Skye a second. However Skye and MacLean were not to be denied and as the ball broke to the Skye forward on her left side at the edge of the D, she sent a shot low into the net to make it 2-0 with 27 minutes played. Skye had hit Aberdour with two goals in two minutes but the Fife side rallied to stem the tide. After a period of Skye pressure, Annie Butterworth saw a shot saved with a foot by Sarah Corrigall. There was still time for Taryn Neilson to make another great save in the air from Lorna MacRae. With a couple of minutes of stoppage time added to the regulation 45 minutes, Skye took the 2-0 lead into the break and they made changes at the start of the second half with Caitlin MacLean dropping back to provide strength in defence with Anna MacDonald pushing into attack. Lorna MacRae also dropped back into midfield with Helen Lamond pushing forward. Skye had the better of the opening period of the second half but Mairi Bryson had a chance for the visitors on 52 minutes but she wasn’t able to get enough power in her shot and Sarah Corrigall saved with her feet before clearing the danger. Anna MacDonald collected a good pass from Helen Lamond and shot goalwards but Taryn Neilson saved well in the air with her caman to deflect the ball away for a corner. The pace of play dipped slightly midway through the half although a Jenna Beaton shot rose over the junction between post and bar and at the other end, when Mairi Bryson played Katie Booth in, Sarah Corrigall saved with her feet. A terrific 30 yard shot from Lorna MacRae dipped just over the crossbar but deserved a goal. Skye replaced Izzy Law with Fiona Lamond. With 9 minutes remaining, there was a goalmouth scramble following an Anna MacDonald shot. Referee Davie MacVicar spotted a kick inside the Aberdour D when visiting keeper Taryn Neilson dragged the ball with her foot. Lorna MacRae stepped up to take the spot-hit but she didn’t catch the ball as she would have wished and Taryn Neilson saved with her feet. Jenna Beaton latched onto the rebound but Aberdour eventually managed to scramble the ball away. Skye attacked again moments later and Taryn Neilson saved once more from Lorna MacRae and the keeper got the ball away although she took a knock in the process. Skye forced a series of corners but Taryn Neilson and her defence stood firm. Aberdour went all out for it in the closing stages and Katy Smith and Katie Booth combined to conjure up a chance for the visitors but Nicola MacSween saw off the threat. Sarah Corrigall saved from Katie Booth as Aberdour pressed to pull a goal back. Sarah Corrigall turned away a Katie Booth flick as the game moved into stoppage time. However there was to be no comeback and Skye took both points. Skye had good performances all over the pitch. It was a good team effort and it would be unfair to single any particular player out. Katy Smith and Katie Booth were always a threat for Aberdour whilst Natasha Andean was a rock in defence and Taryn Neilson shone in goal. You would hardly have known that they were a player short and Aberdour will hope to make their Silver Sands pitch a fortress as they only have one away league match remaining this season. The win means that although Skye Camanachd Ladies remain fourth in the league, they have cut the gap between themselves and third place Aberdour to a single point. There were no other Marine Harvest National Division 1 matches played at the weekend and Skye’s next outing would have been a Valarie Fraser Cup tie with Strathglass Ladies at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 24 May 2014 but the Cannich side have been unable to raise a team. Skye will now play Glengarry Ladies in the last four of ladies shinty’s premier competition. Skye Camanachd Ladies from: Sarah Corrigall; Roz Lamond (captain), Nicola MacSween, Anna MacDonald; Emma Gordon, Helen Lamond, Izzy Law; Lorna MacRae, Jenna Beaton, Caitlin MacLean, subs Fiona Lamond, Nicole MacRae, Korri Henderson Aberdour from: Taryn Neilson; Natasha Andean, Gillian Brown, Annie Butterworth; Niamh Donnelly (captain), Katy Smith, Katie Booth; Megan Nicolson, Mairi Bryson, subs none Match Referee – Davie MacVicar Scorers Skye Camanachd Caitlin MacLean (26, 27) Aberdour None The match balls were sponsored by Nor-Dan |