Skye Camanachd 3 Kilmallie 2. | |
23 May 2010 Skye Camanachd are the only non-Premier Division side through to the quarter finals of the Scottish Hydro following their thrilling extra time win over Kilmallie at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 22 May 2010. Skye Camanachd first team manager Aonghas MacDonald made 2 changes to the starting line up from last week’s win over Taynuilt. Kerr Gibb and Somhairle MacDonald returned to the side with John Moir dropping to the bench and Allan MacKinnon unavailable because of work commitments. AB Connor gave some physical presence to the attack with Iain Nicolson slotting back into defence. Gilleasbuig MacDonald started at full centre with Somhairle MacDonald recovering from a hamstring problem to play at full forward. Danny Morrison was called into the squad following his hat-trick for the second team last weekend and he started on the bench. Martin Bruce returned to the second team and Willie MacRae dropped out of the squad. Kilmallie joint managers Peter Jackson didn’t have their selection problems to seek. Suspension ruled out experience trio John Stewart, Michael Rodger and Peter Carmichael. Keeper Neil MacNiven and defender Ewan Stoddart were unable to make the trip as they were working. Full back Alan MacDonald was a late call off after going down with flu overnight. There was a fiery opening to the match and a sign of things to come for referee Ronnie Campbell when he flashed a yellow card yellow card at Kilmallie full forward Donald Lamont for a challenge which left Skye defender Jamie MacDonald requiring treatment to his ankle. Iain Morrison retained his place in the side following a debut hat-trick last week and he repaid his manager’s faith after just 10 minutes. Morrison collected the ball on the left, jinked past his marker and was the coolest man on the park as he lifted the ball past visiting keeper Kevin Toye to give Skye the lead. Skye’s Kerr Gibb and Kilmallie’s Mark MacPherson were spoken to by referee Campbell after 15 minutes - MacPherson for his challenge and Gibb for his reaction. Kilmallie forced a series of corners and home defenders Steven Morrison and Iain Nicolson were in the thick of the action as they defended resolutely. Skye spurned a great chance to double their lead on 23 minutes. Kevin Toye made a good save with his feet from a Somhairle MacDonald daisy-cutter. Iain Morrison shot goalwards from the rebound but his effort was blocked. The ball fell for AB Connor but his he fired just the wrong side of the post. Kilmallie came close to leveling on 27 minutes but Lamont shot wide of the target. Liam Cameron was next into the referee’s book on 37 minutes. He felt he had been fouled by Gilleasbuig MacDonald and brought the Skye player to the ground in frustration. Skye’s Jamie MacDonald was next into the referee’s book for what he judged to be reckless swinging. Referee Campbell played advantage before giving MacDonald the first yellow card of his career. This was to prove significant later in the match. Skye created a good opening on 43 minutes. Shockie MacLennan played a ball in from the right and Kenny Campbell and Iain Morrison combined to set up a chance for Somhairle MacDonald but he couldn’t hit the target and the home side had to settle for a one goal advantage at the break. Aonghas MacDonald made some positional changes at the break, moving Kenny Campbell to full centre, Somhairle MacDonald to buckshee forward and Gilleasbuig MacDonald to full forward. Kilmallie replaced Peter MacIntyre with Robbie MacFadyen and the tricky forward caused the Skye defence plenty of problems in the second half. There was a let-off for Skye after 51 minutes when Kilmallie came close to squaring the match but his effort went past the post. However they did level 3 minutes later. Robbie MacFadyen made space on the right before laying off the ball to Donald Lamont who slammed a shot low into the net. Skye introduced Alan Palmer after 62 minutes when he replaced Kerr Gibb. Gilleasbuig MacDonald came back into the centre line with Palmer taking on the full centre role. Kilmallie came close to taking the lead on 64 minutes when Lamont shot across goal. Jamie Gannon dived to his right to cover the target but the ball went just wide of the post. The large Portree crowd was totally absorbed in this thrilling match and there was a huge roar from the home fans when Skye regained the lead after 67 minutes. AB Connor was the provider as he drifted wide on the Skye left before playing a perfectly weighted ball to Somhairle MacDonald who didn’t break stride as he lashed the ball into the roof of the net. Kenny Campbell sent a great 25 yard drive goalwards on 75 minutes but Toye made a brilliant save just under the crossbar. Skye took Danny Morrison on in place of Iain Morrison and he found space to collect a Gilleasbuig MacDonald free hit on 81 minutes but his shot flashed wide of target. Skye were reduced to 11 players on 84 minutes when Jamie MacDonald picked up a second booking. MacDonald chased Kilmallie’s Robbie MacFadyen as he bore in on goal. As MacDonald challenged, he was adjudged to have fouled his opponent and Skye were left to see out the remainder of the tie a man short. Skye took AB Connor back in to defence whilst Kilmallie played free man Martin Stewart between the centre line and attack. This proved effective as Martin Stewart was picking up clearances from the Skye defence as the attempted to withstand the onslaught. Kilmallie sensed they now had a real chance to at least take the tie into extra time. Allan MacLeod blocked a blistering drive just 2 minutes later as Kilmallie pressed their advantage. Kilmallie equalised for a second time on 86 minutes. Skye keeper Jamie Gannon dived to his right to palm a shot away from target. However his clearance did not go as far from the goal as he wished and Liam MacDonald darted in to guide the ball into the net. Kilmallie pressed for a winner and Gannon had to look lively on a couple of occasions to keep his side in the tie and there was some relief for the home support as the referee blew his whistle to take the tie into extra time. There were probably many Skye supporters who would have settled for penalties there and then as Kilmallie looked to be the side on the ascendancy. However the spirit and determination shown by the Skye side for the last 30 minutes was absolutely magnificent. They attacked Kilmallie from the restart. Just 2 minutes had gone when Steven Morrison played a free hit out of defence which found Alan Palmer on the Skye left. Palmer played in Somhairle MacDonald who slipped the ball in for Danny Morrison. Kevin Toye raced from his goal to stop Morrison’s shot with his feet with Skye claiming in vain for a “kick” by the Kilmallie keeper. Jamie Gannon did well to stop a deflected 25 yard shot from Liam Cameron after 95 minutes and defender Allan MacLeod required treatment 5 minutes later for an accidental blow which caught him in the face. Kilmallie replaced Mark MacPherson with Mark Graham as they tried to regain the initiative. Kilmallie’s Steven MacAlister was booked for a swing which caught a Skye player on the head. Just a minute before the extra time interval, Skye took the lead for the third time in the match with the goal of the game. AB Connor cleared the ball from defence to Danny Morrison on the left wing. Morrison played the ball forward to Somhairle MacDonald who crossed to Alan Palmer. Palmer let the ball run across to his right before crashing an unstoppable head-high shot past Toye to send the Skye support into raptures. Skye almost increased their lead 60 seconds later when a Danny Morrison thunderbolt hit Toye on the chest before rebounding for a corner. Kilmallie replaced the tiring Stephen MacAlister with Lewis Birrell at the start of the second period of extra time. The whole match was played in extremely humid conditions and several players were showing signs of being affected by the heat. Jamie Gannon dealt well with a lofted ball from the right from Birrell after 110 minutes and you could feel the tension around the ground. Just 2 minutes later, Kilmallie’s Liam MacDonald missed a great chance when he shot wide from a corner. There was a good run and shot from Alan Palmer a minute later. The Skye players were showing admirable mental toughness as they refused to let the fact that they were a man short disadvantage them in any way. Iain Nicolson did a power of work in defence and Kenny Campbell was proving unbeatable in the centre line. Skye should have clinched their place in the quarter finals 3 minutes from time when Kenny Campbell won the ball in midfield and beat 2 opponents before bursting forward and playing a brilliant ball over the top which sent Somhairle MacDonald clean through on goal. However as Toye came out to narrow the angle, MacDonald’s shot crept agonisingly wide of the keeper’s right hand post. The drama wasn’t over yet. With everyone focused on MacDonald’s run in on goal, the referee’s attention was drawn to the fact that Kilmallie’s Martin Graham was lying motionless in the middle of the park. Skye Camanachd medic Dr Wilson Banks, who had a busy afternoon, was called onto the field to attend to the player. Graham had collided with one of his team-mates as they had tried to stop Campbell’s run and, after receiving treatment, he was helped from the field to warm applause from the concerned home support. Graham received treatment at Portree Hospital before being taken later to Broadford Hospital as a precautionary measure. Kilmallie made a final attempt to take the match to penalties but the Skye back line stood strong. Gilleasbuig MacDonald hit the turf after receiving an accidental blow to the chest on the Skye left. Then as the ball swung across field to the Skye right, Iain Nicolson was taken out by a crude Lewis Birrell challenge which earned another Kilmallie booking. Nicolson was carried from the field and replaced by John Moir for the closing minutes. The stoppages meant referee Campbell played 5 minutes additional time – which seemed like 50 minutes if you were a Skye fan – but when he eventually did blow for time, the Skye players were hailed by their supporters for an exhilarating performance. Skye now await Monday’s quarter final draw to see who they will face in the last 8. The draw is to be made by Run Rig’s Calum MacDonald and perhaps his Skye connection will bring the Islanders some luck. A home draw would be nice – no pressure Calum! Skye Camanachd from; Jamie Gannon, Steven Morrison (captain), Ian Nicolson, (John Moir), Jamie MacDonald, Allan MacLeod, Shockie MacLennan, Gilleasbuig MacDonald, Kerr Gibb, (Alan Palmer), Kenny Campbell, Iain Morrison, (Danny Morrison), AB Connor, Somhairle MacDonald, subs Andrew Banks, Aonghas MacDonald (not used) Match Referee – Ronnie Campbell The match balls were sponsored by Nor-Dan. |