The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 8 October 2011. | |
09 October 2011 The wet weather wiped out several weekend shinty fixtures but Lovat took the opportunity to steal a march in the battle to avoid relegation from the Scottish Hydro Premier Division on Saturday 8 October 2011. Scottish Hydro Premier DivisionGlenorchy 0 Lovat 4 Lovat headed for Mart Park, Dalmally knowing that any slip-up could end their stay in the top division. It was Allan MacKechnie’s Glenorchy side’s penultimate game of the season and they are determined not to finish their stay in the top division without any points which made them dangerous opponents. Glenorchy took heart from the fact they drew 1-1 with Lovat at Dalmally in the first round of the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup before losing out in the replay at Balgate. The home side were again under-strength and they were officially relegated several weeks ago. Lovat bosses James Gallacher and John MacRitchie were without James Grieve and Fraser Gallacher because of injury and illness and Euan Ferguson and Martin Mainland were also unavailable. However they were boosted by Drew Howie’s substitute appearance against Kingussie last weekend and he was in the starting line-up for this one. The match took place on a very heavy pitch and referee Billy Wotherspoon thought hard before allowing the game to start. Lovat took the lead on 25 minutes thanks to an Owen Ferguson strike. Greg Matheson has scored some important goals for Lovat this season and he grabbed another 5 minutes before the break to give the visitors a 2-0 advantage. Greg Matheson struck again 4 minutes into the second half when he netted from a free-hit to make it 3-0. Owen Ferguson made the points safe when he scored on 81 minutes following a goalmouth scramble and the win lifts Lovat out of the relegation zone as they leap-frog Oban Camanachd into eighth place with 13 points. Lovat are level on points with seventh place Inveraray who have a better goal difference and both teams have one match remaining. Oban Camanachd drop into the second relegation spot and they are a point behind their rivals with two matches remaining in what is sure to be a tense finish at the bottom of the table. Kyles Athletic P Inveraray P An unplayable pitch at Tighnabruaich ruled out the match between Kyles Athletic and Inveraray and meant Kyles missed the chance to double their two point advantage over second place Newtonmore who were not in action. This is the fourth consecutive fixtured Saturday where the Kyles first and second teams have not been able to play at Tighnabruaich and with three home matches remaining for the senior team - against Kingussie Newtonmore and Inveraray - they must be concerned that the pitch situation could derail their title bid. Oban Camanachd P Kilmallie P The match between Oban Camanachd and Kilmallie was postponed as the pitch at Mossfield was unplayable. Marine Harvest South Division 1Kyles Athletic 1 Lochside Rovers 1 Kyles Athletic and Lochside Rovers shared the points following a 1-1 draw in their 12 noon throw up at Strachur. The venue was switched as Kyles’ Tighnabruaich pitch was unplayable. Peter Mobeck put Kyles Athletic ahead after 27 minutes but Daniel MacKinnon earned Lochside Rovers a share of the points when he levelled on 67 minutes. Kyles Athletic finish sixth whilst Lochside Rovers finish in third place. Kilmory P Bute P The match between Kilmory and Bute also fell foul to a pitch inspection. This is the only match still to be played in Marine Harvest South Division 1. Marine Harvest North Division 2Glengarry 0 Lovat 4 The meeting between Glengarry and Lovat was switched to Balgate as the Craigard pitch at Invergarry was unplayable. Lovat missed out on the opportunity to go fifth in the table when they went down 4-0 to their third placed rivals. ‘Garry had Arran Clark back in their line-up after he missed the defeat against Skye Camanachd last weekend and he was to make an important contribution. Lovat fielded a young side as their focus was on the crucial first team fixture against Glenorchy. The conditions at Balgate were difficult and the first half was scoreless. However Glengarry took the lead on 53 minutes when Arran Clark fired home and the same player made it 2-0 a couple of minutes later. Steven Cameron made it 3-0 on the hour mark whilst Ben Armitage sealed a 4-0 win with a goal 15 minutes from time. Kinlochshiel P Kilmallie P The match between Kinlochshiel and Kilmallie was put off because Kirkton failed a Saturday morning pitch inspection. |