Ally Morrison Reflects On The 2008 Season. | |
22 October 2008 Outgoing Skye Camanachd first team manager Ally Morrison reflected on a successful season for his team when he spoke to Cuillin fm presenter Drew Millar recently. Morrison said that he was looking forward to a break from shinty “for a while” as he has managed the Skye Camanachd first team for the last 3 seasons as well as being second team manager for the 3 seasons prior to that. He also coached youth shinty players in the South end of the island for 8 years which ran along-side his stint as second team manager. Ally was pleased with the 2008 season, especially as he has built such a young side with 8 teenagers – Steven Morrison, John Moir, Kerr Gibb, Jamie MacDonald, Ally MacLennan, Alan Palmer, Iain Nicolson and Shockie MacLennan - featuring in the Balliemore Cup Final winning side. It was a new Skye Camanachd side which started the season and this was reflected in the early results as the side lost their first 3 games including an opening day shock defeat to Morrison felt that the turning point was two cup wins over Tayforth where the team scored a total of 17 goals over both games. League performances improved and the manager felt that a 5th place finish was a fair reflection and a reasonable finish. He pointed out that North Division 1 was a very competitive league and a very difficult division to get out of. The Balliemore Cup win was a fantastic achievement and included some great performances. After a resounding 11-0 home win against Tayforth, the team travelled to Skye recovered from being 2-1 down, to take the game to extra time, winning with an Iain Nicolson strike 2 minutes from the end. Morrison paid tribute to the terrific support that Skye had at the semi final with over 100 people supporting the islanders and often out-cheering the home support. An even bigger support travelled to Beauly to see the team take on Kilmallie and Morrison felt this was the icing on the cake. Kilmallie are a good cup side and the manager was worried when his side went a goal down, just after the break. However Skye – lifted by the crowd – played some terrific shinty in the remainder of the second half and once they levelled the match, there was only going to be one winner. Morrison said that Skye always seemed to have a great support for the big games. However the crowds at home games in Portree have been disappointing. He hoped that more people will come out to watch the team next season because the shinty they are playing is certainly well worth watching. There are many big games played in Portree and a big crowd will lift the team in these games. Looking forward to the 2009 season, Morrison felt his successor will have a very difficult job getting out of North Division 1. There are so many good sides in the league, and even although Glenurquhart have been promoted, they will be replaced by Lovat who are also a good side. There is even the possibility that Lochaber or Strathglass could also be relegated from the Premier League, making North Division 1 even stronger. It is always difficult to win any of the senior cup competitions with the likes of Kingussie, Morrison feels that the players need to believe in themselves during the season ahead. They know that they can match the bigger teams and they need to repeat the Balliemore Cup performances against Glenurquhart and Kilmallie on a more regular basis. There is always room for improvement in terms of fitness but Morrison felt that the team certainly matched Glenurquhart and Kilmallie in the cup ties, finishing strongly in both games. Ally is looking forward to watching games next season, without the responsibility of managing the team. He promises fellow Skye Camanachd followers John the Caley and Moira that he will be quieter and calmer on the touchline in the season ahead. |