Skye Camanachd 5 Lovat 2. | |
04 October 2009 Skye Camanachd overcame Lovat 5-2 in their vital Marine Harvest North Division 1 match at Pairc na Laoch, Portree on Saturday 3 October 2009. Aonghas MacDonald’s side were without Allan MacKinnon who has a broken thumb and Donnie Campbell who missed out through work commitments. However Alan Palmer had recovered sufficiently from a knock on the arm to take a place on the bench. Lovat played with a very strong wind at their backs in the first half and keepers Jamie Gannon and Stuart MacDonald were in control as both sides came to terms with the conditions. On the half hour mark, a corner from Shockie MacLennan flashed across the Lovat goal with the Skye forwards unable to apply a finishing touch. Such was the end to end nature of the game that just a minute later, a great run and shot from Lovat’s Gavin Macaulay produced a great save and clearance from Scotland international keeper Jamie Gannon. On 35 minutes, Shockie MacLennan played in a great cross from the right which caught out the Lovat defence and was picked up by his brother Ally MacLennan. With Lovat keeper MacDonald dashing out of his goal, Ally MacLennan kept his composure and lifted the ball high into the net to give Skye the lead. The goal gave Skye a half time advantage which was more than they could have hoped for as they would surely have been happy to go into the break on level terms when playing into such a strong wind. Lovat moved Euen Ferguson to full forward at the start of the second period with Fraser Gallagher moving back to full centre. However Skye’s Dougie Rankin forced Stuart MacDonald into a couple of great saves with his legs at the start of the half when he thundered 2 great shots on target. Jamie Gannon was next into action when he saved a low Greg Matheson drive, turning the ball away for a corner. Somhairle MacDonald, who had a quiet first half, came to life on 49 minutes and he made a great run down the right wing before setting up Dougie Rankin who saw his deflected shot saved by MacDonald. Skye doubled their advantage on 52 minutes when a shot along the ground from Kenny Campbell went through a ruck of players, completely deceiving keeper MacDonald as it crept into the net at his right hand post. Shockie MacLennan won the ball in midfield on 55 minutes and played the ball forward to Somhairle MacDonald but Stuart MacDonald came to Lovat’s rescue again when he saved his namesake’s effort. A 57 minute shot from Jimmy MacKenzie was saved by Gannon at the expense of a corner. Skye then failed to clear the corner and Fraser Gallagher’s 25 yard effort took a deflection as it flew past the helpless Gannon into the net. The excellent Shockie MacLennan almost made it 3-1 when he broke from the right but his shot rose just over the bar. Steven Morrison was a rock in the Skye defence and he was forced to clear his lines on several occasions. Ian Nicolson was also in the thick of the action and he stopped one goal bound effort above his head with his caman. Skye were awarded a penalty on 71 minutes when a Shockie MacLennan corner from the right was kicked by Lovat’s Lorne MacKay. Dougie Rankin confidently slotted the spot hit low into the net to make the score 3-1. Lovat introduced James MacPherson in an effort get back into the game and Gannon had to look lively to save from Gallagher on 73 minutes. Skye sent their large support wild with delight when they made it 4-1 after a great flowing move. Kenny Campbell played in Rankin and he set up Somhairle MacDonald who fired the ball into the roof of the net. However just a minute later, the visitors were awarded a penalty by referee Deek Cameron for a kick in the Skye area. Greg Matheson made no mistake as he rocketed the ball high into the net. The Islanders had the final say though when Kerr Gibb played a great free hit into the Lovat danger area where he found Somhairle MacDonald. MacDonald pulled the ball down, found space and turned before sending a delightful shot past MacDonald at his right post to seal a 5-2 victory. So Skye end what has been a successful league campaign on a high. This was another good performance and the players will no doubt reflect on costly defeats to Caberfeidh in Portree and Beauly at Lovat know that 3 wins in their last 3 games will make then champions. They have home games against the bottom 2 clubs Lochcarron and Skye Camanachd from; Jamie Gannon, Steven Morrison, Ian Nicolson, John Moir, Jamie MacDonald, Shockie MacLennan, Gilleasbuig MacDonald, Kerr Gibb, Kenny Campbell (captain), Somhairle MacDonald, Ally MacLennan (Danny Morrison), Dougie Rankin subs Alan Palmer, Allan MacLeod, AB Connor, not used Match referee – Deek Cameron The match balls were sponsored by Nor-Dan. |