Uist Lift The HebCelt Cup For First Time With 3-0 Win. | |
20 July 2009 Uist Camanachd lifted the Hebridean Celtic Festival Shinty Challenge Cup on Saturday 18 July 2009 with a strong 3-0 victory against 2008 winners Camanachd Leòdhais at The match was preceded by an impeccably observed minute silence in memory of Craig Morrison, the Camanachd Leòdhais player who was tragically killed in an accident just a fortnight ago. Uist manager Lee Thompson had to call on the services of musician brothers, Alan and Robert Nairn from Ardnamurchan at short notice and also gave a competitive shinty debut to 14 year old Fraser Binns from Harris but the unfamiliar feel of his team was not to be a hindrance as the game continued. After the tumultuous weeks before the match, the Leòdhasaich were happy to have a team together on the park and they started the stronger of the two sides as the consistent rain throughout the morning came to an end. There was consistent pressure from Lewis as Michael MacDonald and Calum Stamper failed to connect with a flurry of opportunities and this profligacy up front meant that Lewis would pay the price later. Uist started to grow stronger and Eoghan MacIsaac and Steven Morrison were powerful on the wings and were giving ex-U17 international Sean MacLeod and Duncan Edwards a torrid time and they were unable to help out Scott Murray who himself was involved in a hard battle with Nairn at full centre. It was Craig Anderson of Glasgow Mid Argyll, on holiday in Uist, who opened the scoring on 25 minutes with a shot cracked from the edge of the D. Alasdair Ferguson, making his senior Uist debut at 15 then sent in a looping shot from 25 yards which deceived Conor MacDonald as the Southern Islanders made it 2-0 in short measure. Lewis fought back and play was relatively even but their defence failed to clear their lines as In the second half, the Uibhistich had the upper hand but were unable to extend their advantage. Anderson of Uist and Micheal MacDonald of Lewis were both booked for dissent as the battle raged on. Referee Eoghan Stewart awarded Uist a penalty for a kick against the Uist keeper with 10 minutes of the match left. However Paul Duke topped the ball and it failed to even reach the edge of the D. Lewis finished strongly as they looked for a consolation score but the final whistle sounded and Uist celebrated their historic win. Uist player-manager Thompson also capped his day with the man of the match award after an indomitable performance at full back and he received the trophy from BBC ALBA’s Niall Iain MacDonald. It was an excellent day for the sport throughout the Western Isles and hopefully will see both Lewis and Uist gain more competitive experience in the coming years. |