The North U14 side retained the Fraser MacPhee Trophy with a 7-0 win over the South U14 at the Dell, Kingussie on Sunday 3 October 2010.
The North went on the attack from the start and South keeper Ewan Harrison from Col Glen made what was to be series of fine saves throughout the game when he stopped a shot from Strathglass’ Josh Fraser with his right foot at the expense of a corner.
The North took the lead on 5 minutes when Glenurquhart’s Ewan Brady crashed a shot into the net off the under-side of the crossbar.
Skye’s Will Cowie rattled the crossbar a minute a later and the Skye man and full forward Brady were beginning to link up well in attack.
The North continued to press forward but and they went 2-0 up after 21 minutes. Kinlochshiel’s Conall Fraser played the ball from midfield to Ewan Brady on the North right wing. Brady’s cross found Will Cowie bursting into the danger area and he smashed the ball into the net.
The North were dominating the midfield with Beauly’s Calum Morrison particularly impressive at wing centre.
Ewan Brady became the second North player to hit the frame of the goal when hit a cross from the left off Harrison’s post on 26 minutes.
Brady hit the post again on 32 minutes and Kinlochshiel’s Oliver MacRae latched onto the rebound, only to see his shot saved with his feet by Harrison.
Ewan Harrison was called into action again a minute before the break and he did well to stop a 25 yard shot from Arran MacPhee of Fort William.
The North went 3-0 up on the stroke of half time when some keepy-upy from Ewan Brady made enough space for himself to turn and send a bouncing shot which beat Harrison low at his right post.
Brady hit the crossbar again 2 minutes into the second half and he beat his marker to set up a shooting chance for Will Cowie 5 minutes later but Harrison made a fantastic save from Cowie’s shot.
Will Cowie made it 4-0 for the North 12 minutes into the second period when his rocket shot flew into the net at the keeper’s left post.
The South did create some attacking moves with Oban Camanachd’s Connor Howe catching the eye. However they found North defenders Ruairidh Morrison of Skye Camanachd and Barry MacDonald of Lochaber particularly adept at protecting keeper Iain MacLeod of Skye Camanachd. Kingussie’s Rory MacKeachan and Kinlochshiel’s Ewan Falconer also played their part in what was a strong back line.
By this time the South had pulled Ballachulish’s Alex Whitaker back from full forward to add some physical presence to their midfield.
Both sides had began to use their rolling substitutes which allowed Lochcarron’s Joshua Holder to enter the fray just a day after winning the Scottish U17 Badminton Championships in Glasgow.
With 10 minutes remaining Cowie lifted the ball to Brady and he cut the ball across in front of goal to allow Holder to knock the ball into the net.
Joshua Holder then produced a good finish to make it 6-0 with 7 minutes remaining. North substitute Savio Genini released Brady with a good ball down the left wing and Brady’s cross into the middle was expertly finished by Holder.
Newtonmore’s Neil Stewart had also come on for the North and his athletic style of play helped continue to supply the forwards with possession.
Ewan Brady capped off a fine personal performance when he completed his hat-trick a minute from time. Savio Genini played in Oliver MacRae who crossed to Brady. The Glenurquhart youngster made space for himself before giving Harrison no chance with a fierce finish to make it 7-0.
The South battled manfully through-out the game and their Aberdour contingent in defence, particularly Cameron MacPhee, worked really hard throughout the game. Keeper Ewan Harrison was not at fault for any of the goals and made some great saves throughout the match.
The Fraser MacPhee Trophy has been contested between the North U14 and South U14 since 2003. The trophy is in memory of young Fort William player Fraser MacPhee who died following a tragic accident at home in 2002. Therefore it was fitting that the 2010 North captain was Fraser’s brother Arran MacPhee who also captains Fort William. And who better to present the trophy than older brother and Scottish internationalist Niall MacPhee who is of course Fort William’s Camanachd Cup winning captain.
The players were all presented with their medals at an after-match reception following a game which is one of the most anticipated events on the youth shinty calendar.
North U14 from; Iain MacLeod (Skye Camanachd), Ruairidh Morrison (Skye Camanachd), Ewan Falconer (Kinlochshiel), Rory MacKeachan (Kingussie), Barry MacDonald (Lochaber), Arran MacPhee (Fort William) (captain), Conall Fraser (Kinlochshiel), Calum Morrison (Beauly), Josh Fraser (Strathglass), Oliver MacRae (Kinlochshiel), Will Cowie (Skye Camanachd), Ewan Brady (Glenurquhart), Neil Stewart (Newtonmore), Joshua Holder (Lochcarron), Savio Genini (Kingussie)
Coaches - Jock Sneddon (Fort William) & Alasdair Bruce (Skye Camanachd)
South U14 from; Ewan Harrison (Col Glen), Finlay Williamson (Aberdour), Scott Struthers (Aberdour), Alan MacPhee (Oban Camanachd), Cameron MacCue (Aberdour), Iain Mitchell (Aberdour), Conor Guidici (Lochgoilhead), Angus Campbell (Strachur), Connor Howe (Oban Camanachd), Lewis Millar (Glasgow Gaels), Angus Thorburn (Aberdour), Ross MacLeod (Glasgow Mid Argyll), Neil MacFarlane (Oban Camanachd), Alex Whitaker (Ballachulish), Jamie MacVicar (Col Glen)
Coaches – John McGilp, Peter Carrick & Niall MacPhee
Match Referee – Lawrie Skudos (Newtonmore)