Memory Lane – Season 1986 / 87 – Part 16. | |
06 December 2009 Skye had to battle all the way for the 2 points against a Lovat side which sat second bottom of the table before the afternoon’s matches. The game was played on a heavy pitch and the conditions worsened following several heavy showers during the second half. It was visitors Lovat who seemed to adapt better as the weather deteriorated. However the opening stages in the match belonged to Skye and the Islanders raced into a 3-0 lead in the first 16 minutes. Player / manager Calum Murchison opened the scoring and Peter Gordon made it 2-0 shortly after. It was 3-0 when Calum Murchison saw his fierce shot blocked but the rebound fell to Shorty Murchison who first-timed the ball into the back of the net. Skye could and should have been further ahead as they created several other opportunities to increase their lead even further during the first period. Skye were then hit with a sucker-punch just before the break when Lovat’s Davie Urquhart finished off a break-away move to make the half time score 3-1. Ian “Dowel” MacLeod produced a great save at the start of the second half to deny Lovat’s own Skyeman Donald Neil Murchison and at the other end, Shorty Murchison set up Peter Gordon but his shot flashed across goal. Lovat were now started to get a stranglehold on the game as the weather took a turn for the worse. Full forward Donald Neil Murchison shot over and the conditions were so bad that during one Skye attack, that the ball completely disappeared in the mud. Lovat made it 3-2 when a Stuart MacRae shot crept in at the post despite the best efforts of the Skye keeper MacLeod. Caley MacLean started the match on the bench because of a muscle problem but he was introduced to try and help Skye regain their first half dominance. However the move back-fired when the injury flared up again and he spent the remainder of the game hobbling at full forward. Ian “Dowel” MacLeod produced a fine stop to deny Lovat a leveller and in a rare attack late in the game, Peter Gordon played in Calum Murchison but he shot just wide. Willie MacKinnon had an excellent first half for a Skye side which showed its best battling qualities to win the points Experienced defenders Leslie Nairn and Ian Cumming were stalwarts for a Lovat rear-guard which was under severe pressure in the first half. The win lifts Skye into third place in the league table, just a point behind leaders Kingussie. Skye’s next league fixture was at Drumnadrochit against Glenurquhart. |