Tulloch League National Final – Portree Primary School 6 Rockfield Primary School 0. | |
21 June 2010 Portree Primary School retained the Tulloch League Trophy when they beat Rockfield 6-0 in the National Final at the Bught Park, Inverness on Saturday 19 June 2010. The final was the culmination of an extremely busy week for the Portree youngsters. They beat Lochaber in the quarter finals on Monday before defeating Kingussie in the semi finals the night after. Wednesday brought the Shinty World Cup at Drumnadrochit in the afternoon and a Talisker League match against Bracadale in the evening. The final took place after the Co-operative MacTavish Cup Final and was played on the outside Bught Park pitch which was on the small side for such a game. Rockfield won the toss of the coin and opted to play against the strong wind in the first half. Portree started brightly and they went ahead through Johnny Laing after just 5 minutes following a good passing move involving forwards Conor Ross, Ben Nicolson and Stewart Taylor. Portree continued to press and the forwards combined well again to allow Ben Nicolson made it 2-0 on 10 minutes. Portree continued to enjoy the bulk of the pressure and Iain P MacKenzie in the Islanders goal was rarely threatened. Connor Ross got the first of his two goals towards the end of the first half to make it 3-0. He gave the keeper no chance, blasting the ball into the roof of the net from a narrow angle, 15 yards from goal. Portree killed the game as a contest moments later when Johnny Laing got his second to make it 4-0 after he’d latched onto a loose ball on the edge of the “D”. Portree played with the wind in the second half and they had to contend with some robust challenges from their opponents who were no doubt feeling frustrated as to how the game was unfolding. Portree defender Niall McHugh showed that he was up for the challenge as his team stood firm. Mid-way through the second half, Portree went 5-0 ahead through Connor Ross. Iain Nicolson rounded off the scoring with a great goal. He won a tackle in the middle of the field and dribbled forward before shooingt home from long range. The Rockfield keeper got a bit of his stick to the ball but the shot was far too strong and ended up in the net. Rockfield enjoyed a bit more of the ball during the remainder of the second half and had a couple of attacks. However full back Donald Nicolson and keeper Iain P MacKenzie dealt with everything that came their way. In fact MacKenzie’s clearances and bye-hits were reaching the opposing goal line, even when playing into the wind. Top performers for Portree were Donald Nicolson, Caitlin MacLean, who has been outstanding throughout the competition, full centre James Pringle and wing centre Ally Murchison who continued his good form from the semi final win against Kingussie. A two goal performance from Connor Ross earned him the man-of-the-match award and as Portree captain, he was presented with the trophy at the Bught Park main stand. Portree also still have the National MacKay Cup Trophy to play for after successfully negotiating the first two rounds. Portree Primary School from; Iain P MacKenzie, Donald Nicolson, Niall McHugh, Jack Henderson, Caitlin MacLean, Ally Murchison, James Pringle, Iain Nicolson, Johnathan Laing, Stewart Taylor, Ben Nicolson, Connor Ross, (captain), Samuel Ritchie, Calum Williams, Iain R MacKenzie, Sean MacCallum. Coaches; David “the Quiet Man” Pringle, Davie “Silverado” Taylor and Ewen “Maverick” MacLean |