The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 25 July 2015 | |
30 July 2015 Newtonmore and Inveraray will contest the 2015 Artemis MacAulay Cup Final following the shinty action on Saturday 25 July 2015.
Artemis MacAulay Cup – Semi Finals Newtonmore 4 Lovat 2 Newtonmore saw off a second half Lovat fight-back to beat the Balgate side 4-2 at Braeview Park. Norman Campbell and Steven MacDonald were back in the Newtonmore side and Rory Kennedy started at buckshee forward. Lovat boss John MacRitchie was on holiday so James Gallacher and Fraser Gallacher looked after the side. Michael MacKenzie started in defence with Danny Kelly pushed forward into attack in place of the absent Lewis Tawse. Callum Cruden was deployed at buckshee forward. Lovat started well and took the game to Newtonmore. Things did not look good for ‘More as Evan Menzies had to leave the field for concussion following a collision with Lovat buckshee back Craig Mainland, although he did return 5 minutes later, Then Paul MacArthur was withdrawn with a tight hamstring and he was replaced by Craig Ritchie. Newtonmore moved Cameron Binnie to buckshee back after around 15 minutes and they then started to dominate the tie. Evan Menzies put Newtonmore ahead on 21 minutes when he collected a Fraser MacKintosh pass after the winger had played the ball down the line. Menzies finished well from a tight angle. Just 3 minutes later, ‘More top scorer Glen MacKintosh punished a Daniel Grieve error to put his side 2-0 ahead. Lovat began to come more into the tie but their vulnerability at the back was underlined when Glen MacKintosh was allowed too much space and he turned and fired home his second goal of the game on the stroke of half-time to give Newtonmore what looked like an unassailable 3-0 interval lead. When referee Deek Cameron spotted an infringement by ‘More goalie Michael Ritchie a couple of minutes into the second half, he awarded the home side a penalty. Greg Matheson stepped up to convert to make it 3-1. Lovat took encouragement from this and with Kevin Bartlett now playing at full centre; the forwards were getting more of the ball. A fierce shot from distance from Lorne MacKay was well saved by Michael Ritchie, high to his left on the hour mark. Lovat got themselves right back into the tie on 61 minutes when Callum Cruden was first to react to a loose ball and he scored from close in to make it 3-2. It was now game-on and a fierce shot from Greg Matheson on 66 minutes fizzed inches wide of the Newtonmore goal. However it was all effectively over a minute later when Jamie Robinson, who had switched positions with Rory Kennedy, was left unmarked and he hit a screamer from 25 yards to make it 4-2. Newtonmore came close to adding to their tally with Fraser MacKintosh in particular driving past the Lovat defence on more than one occasion but his final shots were wide of goal. Although Lovat did well to come back into the game after being three goals down, the ‘More defence stood firm and it was a deserved win for Newtonmore. This was a good, fast encounter with a lot going on. If you blinked you would miss something with many positional and tactical changes and a few niggles off the ball added into the bargain.
Oban Camanachd 0 Inveraray 2 A goal in each half saw Inveraray beat Oban Camanachd 2-0 in their semi-final at Mossfield. Oban Camanachd had Iain Hay in charge after he took over from Gus Campbell as first team boss. Hay was able to call on the services of Gary McKerracher and Scot MacMillan who both missed the SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup defeat to Newtonmore a fortnight earlier. Oban Camanachd were still without the injured Lorne Dickie. Inveraray player / co-manager Garry MacPherson was forced to watch from the sidelines as he served a one-game ban for a passing the disciplinary points threshold. Chris Crawford was still nursing a shoulder injury but David MacPherson returned after missing last week’s league defeat to Kyles Athletic with a hamstring problem. The experienced Ruairidh Graham started in the Inveraray forward line as did John Kennedy. There was a place for the returning Ally Munro on the bench and he made a substitute appearance later in the game. Inveraray went in front on 18 minutes. The goal came following an Inveraray corner. There was a scramble around the goal area and when the ball broke out to Euan McMurdo, he sent a sweet 25 yard drive high into the net to make it 1-0. Oban Camanachd’s cause wasn’t helped when Keith MacMillan suffered an injury in the second half. The clinching goal came 14 minutes from time when Lewis MacNicol made it 2-0 with a shot which beat Oban Camanachd keeper Gavin Stobbart at his post. There was a flash-point with around 10 minutes remaining when referee Lachie Wood consulted with goal judge Dougie Cameron before showing Oban Camanachd’s Scott MacMillan a red card for a head-butt Douglas Dando as the players took position ahead of a set piece. There was still time for Inveraray keeper Graham MacPherson, who was in good form all afternoon, to make a notable save following a shot from a tight angle. Oban Camanachd’s James MacMillan was named man of the match and he was presented with the award by Alan Hill from the Macaulay Association. So Inveraray will now meet Newtonmore in next month’s Artemis MacAulay Cup Final at Mossfield. Almost the whole of the Marine Harvest Premiership separates the sides however Inveraray’s only league win, and Newtonmore’s only league defeat, came when the sides were separated by a Grant Griffin goal at the Winterton during the opening month of the season. Oban Camanachd will now concentrate on top league survival and they will hope that a second half injury suffered by Keith MacMillan won’t keep him out for long.
Marine Harvest Premiership Lochaber 3 Glenurquhart 4 Lochaber’s winning streak came to an abrupt stop as they lost 4-3 to Glenurquhart at Spean Bridge. This was a second meeting between the sides on successive Saturdays with Lochaber winning 3-2 at Blairbeg a week earlier. Lochaber boss Ally Ferguson was without talisman Shaun Nicolson who suffered a broken thumb the previous week. Fraser Heath returned for the Glen but Ewan Brady, Michael Brady and Andrew Corrigan were missing whilst John Barr was suffering from a hamstring problem. Glen U17 player Lachie Smith was given a senior team debut. Conor Sweeney gave Lochaber a 15 minute lead but Fraser Heath levelled just 8 minutes later. James MacPherson put the Glen in front on 42 minutes but home side restored parity when Stuart Callison made it 2-2 just ahead of referee Innes Wood’s half-time whistle. Glenurquhart’s Fraser Heath scored twice on 55 and 70 minutes to put daylight between the sides. Stuart Callison got his second goal at the death but there wasn’t time for Lochaber to conjure up an equaliser. The fact each side has secured single goal wins on their opponents ground on successive Saturdays shows just how close it is between a number of sides in Shinty’s top division.
Kyles Athletic 10 Kinlochshiel 0 Kyles Athletic recorded an emphatic 10-0 win over Kinlochshiel in their 3pm throw up at Tighnabruaich. Kyles Athletic defender Andrew King and midfielder David Zavaroni were back in the side. Defender Donald Irvine played his final match ahead of a move to work abroad for around a year. Kinlochshiel were without Keith MacRae who suffered the recurrence of a hamstring injury. Gordie MacDonald was also missing so Neil Fraser was called up from the second team and he started in attack. ‘Shiel had an early chance when Duncan “Ach” MacRae found Neil Fraser but he knocked the ball the wrong side of the post. Grant Irvine finished off a trade-mark Kyles attack on 10 minutes, blasting the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-0. Dunkie Kerr ruthlessly punished a slip by a ‘Shiel defender to make it 2-0 just a minute later. John Whyte saved from Neil Fraser midway through the half and there was no real sign of the goal-glut that would follow. However Kyles added three more goals in the closing 9 minutes of the first half. Grant Irvine got his second on 36 minutes when he made a great run forward from midfield before beating ‘Shiel keeper Scott Kennedy to make it 3-0. Roddy MacDonald got in on the act to make 4-0 after evading a couple of challenges on 41 minutes. Dunkie Kerr got his second a couple of minutes later as he sent the ball high into the net to give Kyles a 5-0 half-time lead. Calum MacLean and Alasdair Nixon replaced Duncan “Ach” MacLean at the break as the visitors tried to change their fortunes. It was to no avail though as Roberto Zavaroni made it 6-0 a minute after the restart despite the best efforts of Scott Kennedy. Zavaroni got his second goal 5 minutes later and Grant Irvine completed his hat-trick on 59 minutes to make it 8-0. Kyles replaced Roddy MacDonald and Grant Irvine with Innes MacDonald and Ross MacRae but there was no let up for the over-worked ‘Shiel defence. There was still time for first senior goals for Kyles Scotland U17 international Ross MacRae on 74 minutes and Innes MacDonald, who has represented the Scots as a keeper at U17 and U21 level, with just 3 minutes remaining to round off the 10-0 win. Kyles leap-frog Kinlochshiel into third place in the league. They are just two points behind second place Glenurquhart but they have five games in hand. However it remains to be seen whether Kyles have left themselves too much to do to catch league leaders Newtonmore. Kyles are five points behind and have a game in hand and the sides have still to meet in a potentially crucial encounter at the Eilan.
Fort William 2 Kingussie 0 Duncan Rodger scored a goal in each half as seventh place Fort William beat eighth place Kingussie 2-0 at An Aird. Alexander MacMillan returned for Fort William but Bryan Simpson, Gordie MacKinnon and Arran MacPhee were all missing with Steven Stewart starting on the bench through injury. Lee Bain and Savio Genini were back for Kingussie after missing the defeat to Glenurquhart a fortnight earlier and John Gibson was on the bench. Duncan Rodger bulleted a shot just inside Kingussie keeper Craig Dawson’s post on 38 minutes to put the home side 1-0 ahead. However they were reduced to eleven players shortly after when Ewen Campbell was shown a straight red card by referee John MacGregor for lashing out at Kingussie defender Rory MacKeachan, leaving him with a cracked protective helmet. Kingussie pushed hard for an equaliser without really troubling Fort William goal Paul MacKay. And the Kings were hit on the counter-attack by Fort William with just 16 minutes remaining and it was Duncan Rodger who did the damage once more, making it 2-0. Seventh placed Fort’s win means that only three points separate them and second place Lochaber in the league.
Marine Harvest National Division Kilmallie 7 Glasgow Mid Argyll 0 Kilmallie stay in pole position in the Marine Harvest National Division after they beat Balliemore Cup runner-up Glasgow Mid Argyll 7-0 at the Canal Parks. Kilmallie boss Mark MacPherson was minus Liam MacDonald and Ryan Stewart. GMA manager George Hay travelled North without some of his regulars. Kilmallie were ahead within less than a minute with Michael Rodger getting the goal. Rodger got his and Kilmallie’s second on 11 minutes and when Arran Sandison added a third a couple of minutes later, things looked bleak for GMA. Michael Rodger completed his hat-trick on 23 minutes and he scored his fourth goal just 3-0 minutes after to make it 5-0 with more than an hour remaining. Martin Stewart netted on the stroke of half-time to make it 5-0 and the same player got his second on 70 minutes to round off an impressive 7-0 victory which maintains Kilmallie’s 100% record in the league.
Skye Camanachd 3 Inverness 2 Skye Camanachd stay second in the Marine Harvest National Division after their 3-2 win over Inverness in their 3pm throw up at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. Skye manager John MacLeod was without injured pair Steven Morrison and Shockie MacLennan whilst Inverness boss Drew Mcneil travelled with just twelve players with Somhairle MacDonald, Craig Nicolson and Davie Duncan amongst his absentees. Inverness started brightly and Skye had to withstand some early pressure. However the Islanders took the lead on 29 minutes when Danny Morrison collected a Will Cowie pass on the Skye right. Morrison tried to pick out Kenny Campbell but the ball rebounded back to him off an Inverness defender and he tucked the ball past keeper Adam MacMaster to make it 1-0. Skye doubled their lead on 34 minutes. There was a scramble in front of the Inverness goal and with no one in the visiting defence taking responsibility to clear the danger; Jordan Murchison pushed the ball into space before running forward to score from just inside the D. Kenny Campbell made it 3-0 just 5 minutes before the break with a low shot into the net after some terrific set-up play from Allan MacKinnon. Skye goalie Iain MacLeod made a tremendous save from James Cameron early in the second half but Cameron got his goal on 62 minutes when he sent a powerful shot into the back of the net following a cut-back on the left. Inverness cut Skye’s lead to a single goal on 71 minutes when Michael Price cut the ball back to Charlie MacDonald and he blasted the ball into the net to make it 3-2. Indeed Inverness came close to drawing level when James Cameron fired goalwards but Iain MacLeod made a brilliant save with his right foot. The win keeps Skye in the title race but they will have to produce an improved performance to match Balliemore Cup winners Beauly at Pairc nan Laoch next weekend.
Ballachulish 0 Caberfeidh 6 Caberfeidh took the points as they beat Ballachulish 6-0 in their 3pm throw up at Jubilee Park. Balla’ were without Cain MacPhee who started a two game ban for passing the disciplinary points threshold. Cabers were along usual lines although Iain MacColl was still out through injury. Cabers couldn’t make the break-through during the first 45 minutes, mainly thanks to some superb goal-keeping from Ballachulish keeper Cameron Sutherland. However that changed a minute after the restart when David Mellis netted to put the Castle Leod side ahead. Mellis got his and Cabers second on 51 minutes. Ruairidh MacLennan on 65 minutes and player / manager Lee Nicol a couple of minutes later made it 4-0. Late strikes from a couple of Cabers youngsters put gloss on the win with Liam Symonds on 83 minutes and Blair Morrison 3 minutes from time sealing a 6-0 win. Ballachulish’s David Campbell and Ally MacLennan from Caberfeidh were both sent off by referee Billy Wotherspoon.
Marine Harvest North Division 1 Lovat 1 Newtonmore 6 The Newtonmore second team narrowed the gap on the Fort William seconds at the top of the table when they beat their Lovat counter-parts 6-1 in their noon meeting at Balgate. There were some heavy showers during the game and the contest was even more one sided than the score suggests with only some wayward shooting from the Newtonmore forward line preventing them turn all their pressure into more goals. Calum Stewart put Newtonmore ahead after 5 minutes. Two goals in two minutes from Scotland U17 cap Iain Robinson on 37 minutes and Conor Jones a minute later gave ‘More a comfortable 3-0 lead at the break. It could have been 4-0 had Calum MacCallum not expertly saved Iain Robinson’s well-struck penalty a couple of minutes before the interval. Iain Robinson was very lively for Newtonmore and he scored on 49 and 55 minutes to complete his hat-trick. He also hit the post after skipping past a Lovat defender and drawing goalkeeper MacCallum. Lovat took full forward Jamie Matheson back to full back on around the hour mark and although not fully fit, he did limit Newtonmore to just one more goal in the final half hour. Jonathon Janczak netted a consolation goal for Lovat on 73 minutes to make it 5-1. Much of Newtonmore’s pressure was coming from the excellent Kenny Ross at full centre as he fed the forwards with accurate passes throughout the whole game and Calum Stewart got his second 5 minutes before full-time to round off the 6-1 win.
Kinlochshiel 1 Beauly 1 The Kinlochshiel colts and the Beauly colts shared the points following a 1-1 draw at Kirkton. Kinlochshiel were still without Allan MacDiarmid whose facial injury sustained in the Strathdearn Cup tie win over the Kingussie seconds is more serious than first suspected. However Neil Fraser was on first team duty. With no first team game, Beauly young-gun Sandy Elrick was restored to the first team. Sandy Elrick put Kinlochshiel ahead after 10 minutes but Scott MacLean equalised on 38 minutes to make it 1-1.
Glenurquhart 0 Strathglass 4 The derby meeting between the Glenurquhart second team and Strathglass at Blairbeg doubled up as the annual Ali Bhan Cup match. The Glen won 5-3 when the sides met at Cannich a fortnight earlier but with some absences in the Glen first team, they were forced to field a youthful side for this noon throw up. Stevie MacLachlan returned in goal for Strathglass after missing last weekend’s 6-1 win against the Kinlochshiel reserves. Josh Fraser gave the Strath a 10 minute lead. Darren Reid made it 2-0 on 35 minutes and Lewis Reid added a third a couple of minutes before the break. Darren Reid got his second goal of the game 11 minutes from time to seal a 4-0 win. Strathglass midfielder Seth Jones was named man of the match. The Cannich side now leap-frog the Glen seconds into third place in the league.
Lochcarron 2 Kingussie 5 The visitors took the honours with a 5-2 win when the Lochcarron and the Kingussie second teams met at Battery Park. The Kings were 6-2 winners when the sides met at the Dell six weeks earlier and they eventually took the points in this encounter too. Kevin Thain gave Kingussie the lead with a trademark goal. Peter MacKenzie equalised for Lochcarron but he had to go off shortly after with a hamstring injury. The home side took the lead through Sean MacCuish however Jake MacPherson restored parity. And that’s the way it stayed until the introduction of Kingussie substitute Ally Walker with around 30 minutes remaining and he made a telling contribution, bagging a hat-trick to give Kingussie a 5-2 win.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Bute 4 Lochside Rovers 0 The match of the day in this division was the 3pm throw up between Bute and Lochside Rovers at the Meadows and the Islanders took the points with a 4-0 win. Bute have been on-form in recent weeks and they are an especially tough proposition on their own pitch. Lochside Rovers’ Chris MacMillan was free of suspension after missing the defeat to the Kyles Athletic second team a couple of weeks ago. Gordon MacMillan put Bute ahead as the Bute forward line combined on 21 minutes with the only goal of the first half. Bute could have been further ahead at the interval had it not been for some fine saves from Lochside keeper Brian Logan. Duncan Davidson made it 2-0 a couple of minutes into the second half with the Oban side claiming for an infringement earlier in the move but referee Alan Harrison waved away their appeals. Bute talisman Robert Walker bagged a brace with strikes on 61 and 78 minutes to make it 4-0. His first was a 20 yard drive after the Lochside defence failed to clear their lines from a Tom McMillan free-hit whilst his second was a rebound off the keeper. The win means Bute leap-frog Lochside Rovers into second place and they are five points behind the Inveraray second team but they have four games in hand.
Kilmory P Glenorchy P The 2pm throw up between Kilmory and Glenorchy was postponed as MacRae Park was unplayable.
Oban Celtic P Taynuilt P The day’s first match was to be the 10am throw up between Oban Celtic and Taynuilt at Mossfield. However the match was postponed on Friday and it will be rescheduled for a later date.
Inveraray P Strachur P The game between the Inveraray second team and Strachur was postponed as the Winterton was ruled unplayable on Friday.
Kyles Athletic P Aberdour P The Kyles Athletic second team and Aberdour were scheduled to have a noon meeting at Tighnabruaich. However the game was called off on Friday as, with the Kyles first team due to host Kinlochshiel the following day, it was decided that the pitch couldn’t take two games.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Skye Camanachd 2 Caberfeidh 2 League leaders Skye Camanachd came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with third place Caberfeidh in their noon throw up at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. Skye laid siege on the Caberfeidh goal from the throw up and a combination of some great saves from visiting keeper Roy Mutter and some wayward finishing prevented the Islanders from taking the lead. And they were made to pay on 25 minutes when Gavin McLachlan punished some slack defending to put Cabers ahead. Worse was to follow for Skye as Ben MacDonald swivelled before firing home from a free-hit on the right with 33 minutes played. With Skye second team manger Davie Pringle unavailable, first team boss John MacLeod looked after the side and he delivered a stern half-time team talk and he saw his side attack from the restart. Skye pulled a goal back on 64 minutes when Iain Nicolson held the ball up before slipping a pass to John Gillies who crashed a clean shot into the net to make it 2-1. Skye drew level on 74 minutes. This time scorer John Gillies turned provider as he set up Iain Nicolson who sent a great drive high into the net to make it 2-2. Each side had a chance to score a winning goal before referee Evan MacRae’s final whistle. Skye had a let-off 4 minutes from time when defender Stewart Grant some-how managed to stretch across the goal-line as to clear the ball with Andrew MacMaster in close attendance. Then, with a minute to go, there was panic in the Caberfeidh defence as a Scott MacLachlan goal-hit fell at the feet of Skye full forward Iain Nicolson but he was unable to get any power in his shot and McLachlan blocked his effort before clearing the ball. With second place Glengarry losing to Aberdeen University, Skye stay top of the table.
Glengarry 2 Aberdeen University 4 Glengarry’s title chances suffered a blow when they lost 4-2 to Aberdeen University at Craigard. Early goals from Stuart Cameron on 6 minutes and Alex Duncan a couple of minutes later gave the Students a 2-0 advantage. Andrew Gilchrist pulled a goal back for ‘Garry on 23 minutes and Ken Henderson levelled the match 7 minutes after the restart. However the Aberdeen side were not to be denied and Stuart Cameron and Alex Duncan scored second goals respectively on 55 and 70 minutes to make it 4-2.
Inverness 0 Lochaber 7 The Lochaber second team returned from the Bught Park with both points as they beat the Lochaber seconds 7-0. Lochaber took control of the match late in the first half as Stuart Matheson scored twice on 31 and 36 minutes when Danny Delaney made it 3-0 a minute later. Delaney got his second and Lochaber’s fourth 3 minutes before the break. Danny Delaney completed his hat-trick on 57 minutes whilst Stuart Matheson did like-wise 10 minutes from time. Sean Kane completed the 7-0 win when he scored on 83 minutes.
Lewis Camanachd 4 Strathspey Camanachd 1 Lewis Camanachd beat Strathspey Camanachd 4-1 in their meeting at Shawbost. The visitors were determined to fulfil the fixture and they travelled with just eleven players. Edgars Peca returned to their club for his first appearance of the season and he started in goal which allowed Steven Shand to play in the forward line. Strathspey Ladies player Lucy Davies made her Marine Harvest North Division 2 debut. It was a good day for shinty and Will Church fired Lewis into an early lead before Strathspey have time to settle. Connor Chalmers lost his marker and he fired home to make it 2-0. A Paddy Sinclair effort rose over the top as Lewis threatened to over-run Strathspey. A third goal followed shortly after when Peter Gomez found the back of the net to give the home side a 3-0 interval lead. Connor Chalmers bundled the ball home for his third goal in two outings and there was only going to be one winner. The home side kept the pressure on and Will Church spun his marker and headed for goal. He was brought down outside the D so referee Archie Ritchie awarded a free-hit which came to nothing. Strathspey never gave up though and when Paul Duke deflected a high ball into the path of new signing JJ Grey, he made no mistake to make it 4-1.
Boleskine W/O v Kilmallie Boleskine were awarded the points and a customary 5-0 victory when the Kilmallie second team were unable to field a team for their match at Smith Park.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Col Glen 2 Aberdour 1 Col Glen drew level on points with league leaders Tayforth when they beat the Aberdour second team 2-1 at Glendaruel. Goals from Willie MacVicar and Conor Kennedy gave Col Glen the win with a Ewen Harrison own goal counting for the visitors. Col Glen only trail table toppers Tayforth on goal difference and the sides have two more fixtures each to play.
Ballachulish P Glasgow Mid Argyll P The Ballachulish and Glasgow Mid Argyll reserve sides agreed to reschedule their noon throw up at Jubilee Park to Saturday 15 August 2015.
Bute P Oban Lorn P The noon throw up between the Bute second team and Oban Lorn was postponed on Friday as, with the Bute first team due to play Lochside Rovers the next day, it was deemed that the Meadows couldn’t host two matches.
(All throw ups were at 2.30pm unless stated differently) (These reports will be updated as more information becomes available) |