The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 12 June 2010. | |
16 June 2010 There were semi final places in two national competitions up for grabs as the Artemis Macaulay Cup and Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup reached the quarter final stage on Saturday 12 June 2010. The match of the day was the Artemis Macaulay Cup quarter final tie between Newtonmore and Kingussie at the Eilan. Whilst Kingussie held the upper hand with a couple of wins from their earlier encounters this season, both sides had injury problems ahead of this one. The tie came too soon for ‘More’s Danny MacRae although he is nearing a return to fitness. Norman Campbell was only fit enough to make a 10 minute appearance as a second half substitute in the home attack. Kingussie suffered a major blow at the start of the week when it was confirmed that influential wing back Ally MacLeod suffered a broken thumb in last week’s victory over Kyles Athletic. Lee Bain was only fit enough to start on the bench but Fraser Munro and Louis Munro returned after injury. This wasn’t a classic in front of a large crowd at the Eilan and both sides will feel they had chances to win it although Kingussie enjoyed more of the possession. Newtonmore’s David Cheyne beat Andrew Borthwick in the Kingussie goal to open the scoring on 35 minutes. However they only held this advantage for 60 seconds until Ronald Ross blasted a shot past Michael Ritchie to level the tie at the break. Ritchie in the home goal produced a few good saves throughout the game, especially one from a Thomas Borthwick rocket 5 minutes into the second half. The winner came on 67 minutes when Ronald Ross continued his incredible goal scoring record against his side’s great rivals to clinch a semi final spot. There was one piece of bad news for Kingussie when defender Greg MacRae received a blow to the face resulting in a fractured cheekbone. This will sideline the MacRae for 6-8 weeks and he will of course miss the Co-operative Cup Final against Kilmallie this weekend. The other north tie saw Fort William travel to Balgate to play a depleted Lovat side. Lovat were one of several sides who had players attending this weekend’s RockNess Music Festival. They encouraged some players who had not been involved this season to play rather than decimate their second string who had an important Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup tie at Inveraray. Therefore players such as Raymond Rennie made his first appearance of the season and Martin Anderson was also included. U17 forward Greg Matheson was also allowed to travel with the second team. Fort William were without defender John MacLeod who had a hand injury and long term casualty Duncan Rodgers. However Gary Innes returned after missing last week’s league victory over Inveraray. Forward James Clark was also back in their starting line-up after injury. Things looked ominous for Lovat when Fort William went 4-0 up inside the first 16 minutes. Gary Innes scored a brace on 4 and 16 minutes, either side of a 10 minute strike from James Clark, and Gordie MacKinnon netted on 15 minutes. Bryan Simpson scored on 36 minutes to give Fort William a 5-0 half time lead. However some resolute defending, good goalkeeping from Stuart MacDonald and poor finishing meant that the Fort only added to their tally once more when Gordie MacKinnon scored his second goal just 10 minutes from time. The sides meet again at the same venue next weekend in league action when Lovat should be nearer their full side. . In the south half of the draw, there was a 12 noon throw up at the Winterton where Inveraray and Glasgow Mid Argyll clashed. The visitors enjoyed a morale boosting league win over Glenurquhart last weekend but they could hardly have been given a tougher Macaulay draw as Inveraray held a 100% home record ahead of the tie. In the end, Inveraray were too strong for Mid Argyll and ran out 7-0 winners. The effective Russell MacKinlay scored on 22 and 28 minutes to give Inveraray a 2-0 lead and Chris Crawford added another on the stroke of half time. MacKinlay completed his hat-trick a minute into the second half and Gary MacPherson made it 5-0 on 53 minutes. MacPherson added his second 10 minutes later whilst Ruaraidh Graham completed the scoring on 75 minutes. There was a derby tie at Tighnabruaich where Kyles Athletic welcomed Bute. This was the third time the sides had met in three different competitions over the last four weekends. Kyles won both previous encounters but it took penalties to separate the teams at Tighnabruaich in the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup whilst they won an epic Scottish Hydro Premier Division clash 8-4 a fortnight ago. It turned out to be third time lucky for Bute as a Robert Walker goal gave them a 1-0 victory. Bute now meet Inveraray in the semi finals. The Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup also reached the quarter final stage. Holders Fort William met Marine Harvest North Division 2 champions Glenurquhart at An Aird. Both teams won through to the Strathdearn Cup semi finals during the week but one would not make it to the last four of this competition. Sean Cameron and Sean Cruickshank scored for Fort William but a Ruaraidh Cameron double and a goal from Ewan Fraser gave the Glen a fantastic extra time win. Inveraray and Lovat meet in a 3pm throw up at the Winterton. The home side have been struggling in Marine Harvest South Division 1 this season whilst Lovat have been inconsistent by their own standards. However Lovat’s decision to try and maintain the strength of their reserve side, even although their first team was short, paid dividends as they ran out 4-0 winners. Greg Matheson scored a hat-trick on 24, 42 and 85 minutes whilst his older brother Jamie Matheson scored the other on 75 minutes to win a semi final spot. Lochside Rovers and Kingussie resumed acquaintances in Oban. There was an epic meeting between the sides last season which finished 6-6 before the Kings won on penalties. The sides proved equally difficult to separate this time around and they served another feast of goals in this tie. Kevin Thain has been Kingussie’s danger-man this season and he proved his worth with 5 goals in this one. Martin Dallas, Rory Borthwick and Ricky Grant also scored to give Kingussie an 8-6 win after extra time. Daniel MacKinnon scored a hat-trick for Lochside whilst David Lafferty, Lewis Cameron and David Devine got the others. There were two matches in Marine Harvest North Division 1. Kinlochshiel kept their recent good run going, and did their goal difference no harm, when they beat Strathglass 8-0 at Cannich. Shiel had John MacRae back from suspension but Neil Fraser remained out with a hamstring problem. Midfielder Steven Callander returned to the side. The Strath played well against Kilmallie last week before eventually going down 3-2 but they were found wanting on this occasion. ‘Shiel played against the wind in the first half but still ran up a 4-0 advantage. Finlay MacRae grabbed a first half hat-trick with goals on 12, 38 and 44 minutes whilst his brother John MacRae scored the other on 15 minutes. Keith MacRae joined his brothers on the goal sheet when he made it 5-0 a minute into the second half. Finlay MacRae scored his fourth on 72 minutes whilst substitute, and former Inverness player, Iain MacDonald made it 7-0 just 3 minutes later. Keith MacRae completed the scoring with his second on 83 minutes to keep the Kirkton side 4 points clear at the top of the table. Caberfeidh and second place Kilmallie met at Castle Leod. Cabers officially opened their impressive new changing room complex last weekend and they have been a match for any side on their own pitch this season. Kilmallie struggled to beat Strathglass at Cannich last weekend but their players did not let their attention drift to next week’s MacTavish Cup Final against Kingussie as they racked up an impressive 5-0 in. Mark Graham scored the only goal of the first half after 20 minutes. Donald Lamont made it 2-0 on 61 minutes. Scottish international John Stewart sealed the win with a hat-trick on 66, 75 and 87 minutes. Kilmallie look to be on form ahead of their trip to the Bught next weekend. Marine Harvest South Division 1 League leaders Glenorchy made it 8 wins out of 8 when they beat Kilmory 2-0 at Mart Park, Dalmally. Just 2 more wins from their remaining 6 games will secure their return to shinty’s top flight. There was a Marine Harvest North Division 2 derby at Kirkton where Kinlochshiel met Glengarry. The visitors knew that a single point would put them top of the table but both sides went out for the win. Kinlochshiel just edged the first half but the closest they came to scoring was when Duncan “Ach” MacRae beat his man in midfield but saw his shot deflected for a corner. ‘Garry started to press more in the second half and on 65 minutes. Steven Cameron set up a chance for Mathew Ross but he couldn’t get a shot on goal. A couple of minutes later, ‘Shiel’s Duncan “DA” MacRae played in substitute Neillie “Ach” MacRae just right of goal but his shot flashed across the face of the target. Steven Cameron was becoming more and more of a danger and he hit the side-netting from a corner on the right on 69 minutes. However he found his range on 72 minutes when his low shot was saved with his feet by Ian Cameron and cleared for a corner. The visitors took the lead a couple of minutes later when Stuart Gregory played in Cameron and he fired home from a tight angle on the right. ‘Garry full back Daniel MacLennan was excellent throughout the game and he showed his worth on 81 minutes when he cleared the ball off the line. Just when it looked as if Glengarry would return home with both points, Duncan “Ach” MacRae picked up a clearance in midfield and burst forward. He was allowed time to look up and fire a great 30 yard shot which deflected into the net off the keepers stick. There was only enough time for referee John MacLeod to throw the ball up between the full centres before the final whistle sounded. This was a good point earned by ‘Shiel whilst Glengarry’s point takes them to the top of the table again. The match between Newtonmore and Kilmallie at the Eilan has been removed from the Camanachd Association fixture list. In Marine Harvest South Division 2, the match between leaders Kyles Athletic and Aberdour in Fife was removed from the Camanachd Association fixture list. Second place Glasgow Mid Argyll and bottom side Bute met at Yoker. Before the match, Mid Argyll sat 5 points above their opponents with Bute having 4 games in hand. However Mid Argyll ran out convincing 6-1 winners thanks to doubles from Donald Colville and Craig Anderson and strikes from Angie MacFarlane and David Smith. Ruaraidh Soane replied for Bute. The match between Tayforth and Col Glen in Perth was postponed. Second place Aberdeen University went 2 points clear at the top of Marine Harvest North Division 3 with a 3-1 home win over Caberfeidh. Cabers were 4-0 winners when the sides met at Castle Leod thanks to doubles from Alan Ross and Iain MacDonald. However there was to be no repeat this time as Aberdeen racked up 3 goals, 2 of which came from former Skye Camanachd duo Kenny MacLeod and Jamie Beaton whilst Elliot Moir got the other. Garry MacLennan scored for Caberfeidh. The match between Lochbroom and Strathglass in Ullapool was removed from the Camanachd Association fixture list. |