It’s exactly 30 years since Skye Camanachd lifted the Camanachd Cup following their 4-1 win over Newtonmore at An Arid, Fort William on Saturday 2 June 1990.
Camanachd Cup Final - Saturday 2 June 1990
Skye Camanachd 4 Newtonmore 1
Skye Camanachd received countless “Good Luck” messages from local and national businesses, local politicians and celebrities such as the band Runrig ahead of the 83rd Camanachd Cup final. For the first and only time, the West Highland Free Press issued an apology for being unable to maintain their fine tradition of fair and impartial comment on this occasion! The paper even introduced their famous cartoon by Chris Tyler headed, “Will the last person to leave Skye please switch off the lights.”
Pre-match interest included television interviews in Portree involving the Cowie brothers Ross and Willie, Willie MacRae and Andy MacLean.
This might have been Skye’s first appearance in the final but their opponents Newtonmore were making their 47th appearance shinty’s premier event. Newtonmore legends Hugh Chisholm in goal and full forward David “Tarzan” Ritchie had 12 winners’ medals each! However Skye’s league performances during the season were such that many viewed them as favourites.
The Skye supporters bus, organised as ever by Finlay MacLean, set off from Skeabost at 9.30am, no doubt making a couple of stops for refreshments en route!
Grampian Television covered the match and showed highlights at 5pm on the Sunday. BBC Radio Scotland covered the match live with commentary from the legendary Alasdair Alexander and match summariser Hugh Dan MacLennan.
The final was set for An Aird, Fort William. Admission was £2.50 with £1.00 for senior citizens and 50p for children.
The Lochaber High School Pipe Band played for the crowd, estimated in excess of 6,000, in the lead up to the 3pm throw up.
The Skye Camanachd line up;
John MacKenzie
Duncan MacDougall
Ewen MacKinnon
Donnie MacDonald
Willie MacRae
Alasdair MacDonald
Caley MacLean (captain)
Andy MacLean
Willie Cowie
Peter Gordon
John MacRae
Calum Murchison
Substitutes
John Finlayson
Willie MacKinnon
David Pringle
John Angus Gillies
Team Manager – Ross Cowie
Trainer – Gerry Ackroyd
The Newtonmore line up;
Hugh Chisholm
Angus MacRae
Evan Cheyne
Paul John MacKintosh
John Russell
Richard Ralph
Jeffrey Kirk
Hamish Robertson
Norman MacArthur
Neil Ross
Peter Ross
David Ritchie
Substitutes
Mark Hay
Alistair MacLeod
Michael Macguire
Sandy Seller (captain)
Team Manager – John MacKenzie
The match referee was John Henderson, accompanied by goal judges Duffy Flanagan and Bobby MacLeod.
Skye were first to threaten. Newtonmore’s Paul John MacKintosh fouled Willie Cowie on the touchline. Cowie found John MacRae with the resultant free-hit but he was flagged offside.
Peter Gordon was starting to have an influence on the match and there were concerns on the Skye bench when he twisted his knee and lay on the ground in agony. His final seemed over. It later transpired that Gordon’s knee cap had twisted out of place. However once it was popped back into place, Gordon was on his feet and ready to carry on and to make his usual telling contribution to the Skye effort.
After 15 minutes, Willie MacRae played a ball out of defence to Andy MacLean who in turn found Willie Cowie. Cowie’s rasping shot was just inches over the crossbar.
Skye were not having it all their own way though and a move involving Norman MacArthur, Tarzan Ritchie, the 45 year old veteran playing in his 18th Camanachd Cup Final, and Neil Ross saw the ball fizz dangerously across the Skye goal.
Calum Murchison tested Hugh Chisholm in the Newtonmore goal when he collected a delightful reverse pass from Gordon to fire on target. Chisholm blocked the shot but the ball fell to the lurking Cowie who found John MacRae who knocked the ball into the net. However the Skye supporters’ cheers were short lived as referee Henderson ruled out the effort for offside.
Murchison again brought out a brilliant Chisholm save when he was on the end of a flowing move involving Willie MacRae, and Peter Gordon.
It was then Bodach MacKenzie’s turn to star in goal when he saved well from a Peter Ross free hit.
With 21 minutes on the clock, Skye made their pressure count. Calum Murchison sent a flick across goal and John MacRae beat Chisholm to the ball before knocking it goalwards. The ball came back of the post and MacRae reacted quicker than full back Angus MacRae to the tap the ball into the net and send the majority of the An Aird crowd wild with delight.
Chisholm again had to save well from Peter Gordon as Skye looked to increase their lead.
Peter Ross and Neil Ross both went close for Newtonmore as play raged from end to end. Peter Gordon set a 30 yard shot over the bar and Calum Murchison shot just past the post.
Norman MacArthur went close twice for Newtonmore and whilst it wasn’t Skye’s best first half performance of the season, it looked as if they were going to get to the interval ahead. Then Newtonmore struck. MacArthur’s shot was saved by Bodach MacKenzie but MacArthur was first to the rebound and he swept the ball into the net to level the final.
Douglas MacKinnon’s excellent “Home” series for television followed Skye on their trip to the final. He had access to the changing rooms at half time and his recording of events gave an interesting insight into how the second half would develop. Skye manager Ross Cowie demanded more of his players and he reminded them that the hopes of an island rested on their shoulders in the final 45 minutes.
Skye started the second half in determined fashion with captain Caley MacLean dominating the centre line, with able assistance from wing centres Alasdair “Stenscholl” MacDonald and Andy MacLean. Skye regained their lead in 52 minutes when a 25 yard rocket shot from Peter Gordon was well saved by Chisholm but Willie Cowie was on hand to despatch the rebound into the Newtonmore net.
Newtonmore, perhaps sensing that the final was starting to slip away, came back at Skye and MacKenzie saved well from Ritchie. Then MacArthur spurned a great chance when he shot wildly past.
Willie MacKinnon replaced Peter Gordon on the hour mark. Gordon had performed well but was clearly hampered by his earlier injury. A less determined player would have left the field much earlier but Gordon could take great satisfaction from his performance.
Bodach MacKenzie was the coolest man at An Aird when he blocked a MacArthur effort with his feet and flicked the ball for a corner as the whole Newtonmore forward line rushed in on him.
Newtonmore forced two corners in succession but the Skye defence, marshalled by uncompromising full back Duncan MacDougall, were in no mood to let the Badenoch giants back into the game. Along-side him the half back partnership of Ewen MacKinnon and Donnie “Digg” MacDonald optimised the youth and experience in the Skye ranks. At 18 years of age, MacKinnon was the youngest player on the park but his speed and tenacity won the day against more experienced opponents. At 33, MacDonald displayed the experience gained representing Skye Camanachd since the 1970s. He was to retire from shinty after the final and he was determined to ensure that he went out on a high.
Skye went back on the offensive and Willie MacKinnon was on the end of a flowing move but his shot whistled just past the post.
In 69 minutes, Skye put daylight between themselves and ‘More. John MacRae sent a great pass to Murchison and whilst Chisholm saved his effort, MacKinnon and MacRae followed in on the loose ball and MacRae rounded the keeper to tap the ball into the net for his second and Skye’s third goal of the afternoon.
The crowd sensed that Skye had one hand on the trophy and their hopes and aspirations were confirmed 3 minutes later with one of the great Camanachd Cup Final goals. Caley MacLean played a ball forward from midfield which found Willie Cowie 25 yards out with his back to goal. In one movement, Cowie lifted the ball in the air, swivelled and smashed the ball just as it was about to hit the ground, past Chisholm and into the net. It was a goal that had the whole crowd on their feet as excited television and radio commentators described it to the nation.
Skye had won the Camanachd Cup and everyone at An Aird knew it. There was still time for Murchison to again test Chisholm but he was not to score the goal his performance deserved. Cowie had the ball in the net again when he beat Chisholm to a ball in the air and knocked the ball over the line. However he was denied his hat-trick when the gaol was disallowed by referee Henderson who said Cowie had fouled the keeper. The decision seemed unfair.
Manager Cowie brought on John “Slippy” Finlayson at wing centre in place of Andy MacLean. Murchison and MacRae both went close again before the end but as the final whistle blew; it was the Skye supporters who ran onto the field to congratulate their heroes.
Skye Camanachd captain Caley MacLean (pictured) was presented with the Camanachd Cup and the skipper’s silver mounted caman by Peter Cullen from sponsors Glenmorangie.
The Albert Smith medal for man of the match went to Skye Camanachd buckshee back Willie MacRae who put in a faultless performance. His speed and energy throughout the game gave Skye the platform to mount attack after attack on the Newtonmore goal.
There had probably never been more popular winners of shinty’s greatest prize and this was confirmed in the many, many notes of congratulations received by the club in the weeks that followed. Newtonmore President, the late Sandy Russell, whose son John was one of More’s top performers, wrote the West Highland Free Press to congratulate the Islanders; a touch of class from one of shinty’s most influential figures. Skye were just two years short of their centenary celebrations but nothing was going to match how this victory was celebrated.
The huge crowd generated the finals greatest receipts – around £7,200 - for many years. In comparison Skye’s turnover for the season increased by over £4,000 to £18,408 demonstrating the price of success. The club received significant financial input from long term sponsors Portree Building and Contracting Services (PBCS), as well as over £4,000 from various donations after the match.
However where the attendance at the final might have been expected, the crowd that congregated in the Square in Portree to welcome their heroes had never been seen before or since. There was an optimistic expectation that the team might arrive home around 10.30pm but – in the days prior to mobile phones and text messages – a couple of calls along the way indicated that their arrival time would be somewhat later. A less dedicated support would have headed home, but such was the pride in their team that the Skye fans grew and grew in numbers until in excess of 2,000 people – including a minister’s wife – waited until around 2am for the home-coming.
The team were cheered of the bus as they took it in turns to lift the famous trophy. It’s fair to say that the celebrations didn’t just go long into the night but long into the following week.
The Road To The Final
Camanachd Cup First Round - Saturday 24 February 1990
Lovat 1 Skye Camanachd 4
The omens were good at Balgate as this match was played in torrential rain – conditions with which the Islanders were hardly unfamiliar. In fact the bad weather had resulted in an enforced lay-off for several weeks ahead of this tie.
Lovat were missing experienced defenders Charlie Mainland and Leslie Nairn and the Skye forwards tried to capitalise on this from the start. Lovat keeper Ally MacRae had to save from John MacRae in the first minute.
The pressure during the first 10 minutes came all from Skye but as always in such circumstances, if you don’t take your chances, you are often punished. With just 14 minutes gone, Lovat’s Davie Urquhart sent a shot from 20 yards past Skye keeper John “Bodach” MacKenzie to give the home side the advantage.
It took Skye a while to recover from losing a goal against the run of play but after 25 minutes they had an opportunity to level the tie when referee Brian Watts awarded a penalty for a kick by Lovat full back John Cumming. Skye’s John MacRae had the unenviable task of converting the spot-hit in such dreadful conditions and it was little surprise when Ally MacRae saved his strike.
This miss seemed to galvanise Skye and John MacRae in particular and just 4 minutes later, he turned two defenders and set up Willie MacKinnon to level the tie.
Lovat were not going to roll over though and Stuart MacRae forced a great save from Bodach MacKenzie after 34 minutes.
As half time approached, referee Watts awarded a controversial penalty to Lovat. Donnie “Digg” MacDonald was the Skye defender involved but confusion surrounded his offence. Pushing and playing on without a stick was the reason later given. Skye need not have worried though as the same tricky under-foot conditions which hampered John MacRae ensured that David Michie’s attempt missed the target and the match remained level at half time.
The difficult conditions continued in the second half but as the hour mark approached, it was Skye who took the initiative. Wing centre Andy MacLean was having a fine game and his through ball found John MacRae at the edge of the box and the powerful forward made no mistake to give Skye the lead.
Skye sensed victory and clever play between those skilful forwards Willie Cowie and Peter Gordon forced Ally MacRae in the Lovat goal into action. Skye continued to up the ante and a superb 40 yard pass from Willie Cowie found Peter Gordon, who in turn passed to John MacRae. MacRae found Ally “Stenscholl” MacDonald and he laid the ball off to Gordon, 12 yards from the Lovat goal. The keeper never saw the ball as Gordon’s shot nestled in the back of the net to make it 3-1.
Skye put the result beyond doubt on 83 minutes when man of the match Ally “Stenscholl” MacDonald fired a 25 yard shot into the Lovat net.
Although this match was played in difficult conditions, it was played in a sporting manner with only one booking and this was a credit to both sides as well as referee Brian Watts.
Not many people would have seen Skye as potential Camanachd Cup winners on this performance. The draw for the second round was eagerly awaited and when the names came out of the hat, it could hardly have been more difficult for the Islanders – Skye Camanachd v Kingussie.
Camanachd Cup Second Round - Saturday 5 May 1990
Skye Camanachd 3 Kingussie 1
This match was originally scheduled for Saturday 24 March 1990 but fell foul to the wet weather that had dogged most of the season.
When the tie was played, the weather wasn’t that much better but the day found Skye Camanachd in a determined mood. Skye had reason to be confident; this was the third time the teams had met in as many weeks. Kingussie narrowly won the MacTavish Cup Final by 5 goals to 3 and the teams drew one each in a North Division 1 clash in Portree the previous week which would eventually deny Skye their first-ever North Division 1 title by a single goal. Was this to be third time lucky for Skye?
Many wondered how Skye would react to the disappointment of the previous week’s draw against Kingussie which almost certainly secured the Badenoch club the league title and the MacTavish Cup defeat against the same opponents.
A large Skye support braved the heavy rain and they engulfed all four sides of the King George V touchline.
Kingussie’s Kevin Thain sustained a head knock early in the game after being accidently struck by colleague Davie Anderson and he had to leave the field of play. As Kingussie assessed Thain’s injury – which later required treatment in the Belford Hospital, Fort William - Skye took advantage of the fact that their opponents were a man short. First Calum Murchison crashed a shot off the post with Kingussie keeper Ian Anderson beaten. Then Murchison set up John MacRae and to the delight of the large crowd; he expertly finished to give Skye the lead.
Thain was eventually replaced by Dallas Young a full 11 minutes later.
The torrential rain made the conditions under-foot very difficult but it was Skye who adapted better. Perhaps significantly, when the half time whistle blew, the Kingussie players sought refuge in the changing rooms whilst the Skye players braved the elements and gathered in the centre circle to hear instruction from manager Ross Cowie.
Calum Murchison, who had missed the two previous encounters against Kingussie because of work commitments, was revelling in the conditions and after 54 minutes he hit a wonderful 30 yard shot to double Skye’s lead. The cheer from the Skye support must have echoed all around Portree.
However cup holders Kingussie were not going to relinquish the trophy without a fight and they pressured the Skye goal for the next 25 minutes. Both keeper MacKenzie and full back Duncan MacDougall were in tremendous form and they stood up to the challenge until 10 minutes from the end when substitute Dallas Young pulled a goal back.
A nervy period for the home support ensued but the Islanders were not to be denied as Skye held on and, in the final minute, Calum Murchison sent the rain soaked crowd wild once more when he found the back of the net to seal a famous victory.
Skye were through to the semi-finals and the headline on John Willie Campbell’s radio report that evening screamed: “Kingussie are out of the Camanachd Cup!”
The fixtures backlog was such that the Camanachd Cup semi-final was scheduled for the following Saturday at the Bught Park, Inverness. And it wasn’t to get any easier as after seeing off Kingussie, Skye were now to face Fort William. Could the semi-final beat this game for excitement? The answer turned out to be, “Oh yes!”
Skye received a further boost when play-maker Willie Cowie was named the first-ever Marine Harvest National Player of the Year. The 28 year old was enjoying a very productive season and was a main player in the team’s most successful season ever. He was presented with the award by renound journalist Hugh MacIlvanney.
Camanachd Cup Semi Final - Saturday 12 May 1990
Skye Camanachd 4 Fort William 2 (AET)
This game had everything. Goals, extra time, a missed penalty, disallowed goals, a sending off, controversy over a goal judge decision, but most important of all, Skye won through to their first Camanachd Cup Final.
Fort William started the match looking like they meant business and they immediately put the Skye goal under pressure. Victor Smith looked to have scored direct from a shy but the goal judge ruled that the ball had entered the goal through the side netting.
Duncan MacDougall was booked by referee Brian Davis after only 8 minutes meaning that one wrong move over the next 112 minutes would result in an early bath.
Fort William had two more “goals” disallowed – one for offside and one which the goal judge ruled had hit the post and not crossed the line.
Bodach MacKenzie in the Skye goal saved well from Smith and a full 40 minutes passed before Skye won their first corner.
It wasn’t all Fort William though as John MacRae and Willie Cowie worked the Fort William defence when they had the ball.
Skye enjoyed more possession as the first half drew to a close and just when it looked as though the half would end goalless, a piece of individual brilliance from Peter Gordon gave Skye the lead when he fired an unstoppable first time 30 yard past Graham MacMillan and into the back of the net.
Skye took heart from this advantage and they opened the second half on the attack. Fort keeper MacMillan had to look lively as he saved well in quick succession from both Andy MacLean and Peter Gordon.
It was then Skye’s turn to have a strike chalked off when a Calum Murchison “goal” was disallowed for an earlier infringement.
After 58 minutes, Murchison battled for possession before sending the ball across the face of the goal where it was dummied by John MacRae and Willie Cowie nipped in to crash a low hard shot into the net.
Skye captain Caley MacLean was the next player to find himself into referee Davis’s book as Fort William fought back.
Deek Cameron missed a great chance when he fired over after 70 minutes but a minute later Victor Smith did find the net from a tight angle to make it 2-1 and it was clear that this game was going down to the wire.
MacMillan then saved well from a Willie Cowie rocket-shot and shortly after Drew McNeill became the first Fort William player to be booked.
This mattered little a couple of minutes later when Cameron levelled the game at two each.
The advantage swung Fort William’s way when Skye forward John MacRae was sent off for comments made to a goal judge. MacRae had not even been booked in the game and the controversy increased when it was later reported that the goal judge in question was listening to the commentary of a football match on his personal radio during the game. Incidentally, when the case was later reviewed by the Camanachd Association Disciplinary Committee, MacRae received no punishment.
Skye held on though and just when it looked as if the match was set for extra-time, referee Davis spotted and infringement in the Skye penalty area and awarded Fort William a penalty. The Skye support could barely watch and Fort’s Willie MacDonald was entrusted with the chance to put his team in the Camanachd Cup Final. Although MacDonald hit the ball well enough, Bodach MacKenzie produced the save of a lifetime, high above his head, to divert the shot to safety and to take the tie to extra-time.
The West Highland Free Press commented: “The half hour that followed was a story of supreme fitness and commitment on the part of the remaining eleven Skyemen as they lifted their game for a last all-out effort.”
Peter Gordon and Willie Cowie hit shots over the bar as Skye laid siege on the Fort William goal.
Calum Murchison sent a shot just past the post and a Peter Gordon drive was deflected for a corner.
Two minutes from the extra-time interval, Fort William succumbed to the intense Skye pressure. Andy MacLean delivered a corner from the right which found Willie Cowie in space on the far side of goal and he drove the ball low and hard past MacMillan in the Fort William goal and Skye led 3-2.
The Skye support were ecstatic and their cheers had barely died down when a quick Skye counter-attack saw Willie Cowie and Calum Murchison go two-on-two with the Fort defence. Cowie timed the move to perfection; carrying the ball forward before drawing Fort full back Astie Cameron and releasing a perfectly weighted pass to Murchison who blasted a shot high into the far corner of the net to make it 4-2.
Fort William had nothing to lose now and in the second period of extra time and they threw everything at the Skye defence. Even Cowie and Gordon were forced to help out the Skye backline. However both players still managed to find the time to come close to extending Skye’s lead.
Bodach Mackenzie in the Skye goal saved well from Drew McNeill and that was the closest Fort came to getting back into the game.
The final whistle was greeted with scenes of jubilation from the Skye support. This was a terrific Skye performance and the only hope was that they could continue this high standard of performance for one more game – their first ever Camanachd Cup Final.
Newtonmore’s route to the final began with a 3-2 win in Glasgow against Mid Argyll. They followed this up with a 4-1 home victory over Caberfeidh. They just edged out Oban Celtic in the semi-final in a seven-goal thriller – after initially taking a four-goal lead - to set up a place in the final against Skye Camanachd.