The Skye Camanachd U17s are through to the MacTavish Juvenile Cup Final following a 6-0 semi final win against Kilmallie at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Wednesday 1 June 2011.
Skye coach Davie MacVicar made one change from the side which beat Fort William U17 4-2 in the quarter finals only two days earlier with Iain Grant returning to the side at full back and he replaced Calum Gibb who was working.
Skye opened brightly and Jordan Murchison played a one-two with Magnus Burd after just 3 minutes but he delayed his shot and Frankie Innes cleared.
A good run from Will Cowie a minute created a shooting opportunity but the ball went wide of goal.
Kilmallie keeper Craig MacIsaac made a good save with his foot from a 6 minute Jordan Murchison effort and the ball diverted for a corner. Chris MacLennan took the corner on the right and Mark Mortimer blasted the cross just past the post.
MacIsaac saved well with his feet after 10 minutes, denying Murchison again.
However just seconds later, Skye took the lead. MacIsaac again saved a Murchison shot with his feet but this time Magnus Burd got on the end of the rebound and he managed to bundle the ball over the line to make it 1-0.
Skye keeper Iain MacLeod was called into action on 13 minutes when he turned a Martin Munro shot away for a corner.
Skye went 2-0 in front a minute later. Jordan Murchison got on the end of a Will Cowie corner from the left and he did well to make enough space for himself to drive the ball into the net.
Will Cowie and Magnus Burd linked up well on 25 minutes and MacIsaac did well to stop Cowie’s effort with his caman.
A good Skye move on 29 minutes involving Jordan Murchison, Will Cowie and Magnus Burd ended when Cowie sent a back-hand shot just inches over the junction between post and cross-bar.
Skye were spreading the ball about nicely and Angie MacPherson played a good ball to Will Cowie on the Skye left on 33 minutes. Cowie crossed into the middle and Magnus Burd’s shot went just wide of target.
A minute later Andrew Grant played in Jordan Murchison who teed up his shop before seeing MacIsaac save his effort with his feet.
Kilmallie almost pulled a goal back on 36 minutes with the last chance of the half. Farquhar MacRae collected an Alexander MacIsaac shy from the left. Skye buckshee back Ally MacLeod slipped on the greasy surface which gave MacRae the chance to shoot. However his shot whistled past keeper Iain MacLeod’s right post.
Skye almost made it 3-0 just 5 minutes into the second half. MacIsaac saved a Cowie shot but Magnus Burd just couldn’t get on the rebound.
However the young Islanders did make it 3-0 a couple of minutes later. Will Cowie played a ball from the left to Andrew Grant who fed Jordan Murchison with his back to goal. Murchison turned his marker before shooting low into the net.
Kilmallie’s Farquhar MacRae made a 20 yard run towards the Skye goal 11 minutes into the second half but his shot went wide.
Will Cowie collected a shy from the left a couple of minutes later and sent a bullet shot over the bar.
Magnus Burd scored his second goal of the game 17 minutes into the second half. Skye substitute John Gillies saw his effort saved by Craig MacIsaac but Burd was on hand to ram the rebound into the net to make it 4-0.
Skye increased their lead a couple of minutes later. Jordan Murchison got on the end of a Chris MacLennan corner from the right and Murchison fired a low, hard drive into the net to make it 5-0 and complete his hat-trick. This was in fact Murchison’s ninth goal in five days having scored four times against Lovat in the Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup the previous Saturday and a double in the U17 MacTavish Cup quarter final win over Fort William U17 a couple of days later.
Skye continued to press and they scored a sixth goal 23 minutes into the second half. Magnus Burd pulled a ball from midfield out of the air with his caman and played the ball back to Will Cowie who crashed an unstoppable drive into the roof of the net.
This turned out to be a comfortable win for Skye and they now have a MacTavish Juvenile Cup Final against Lochaber U17 at the Bught Park, Inverness on Saturday 18 June 2011 to look forward to. It was a good all-round team performance but Shaun Hedley in midfield and the goal-scorers Jordan Murchison, Will Cowie and Magnus Burd were the pick of the bunch.
Kilmallie were well served by keeper Craig MacIsaac and defender Frankie Innes.
Skye Camanachd U17 from; Iain MacLeod, Iain Grant, Ruairidh Morrison, Steven MacKinnon, Alasdair MacLeod, Chris MacLennan, Shaun Hedley (captain), Mark Mortimer, Jordan Murchison, Andrew Grant, Will Cowie, Magnus Burd subs Angie MacPherson, John Gillies, Ian MacPherson
Kilmallie U17 from; Craig MacIsaac, Neil Finlayson, Lee Downing, Sean Campbell, Frankie Innes, Mathew Duncan, Connor MacIsaac, Alexander MacIsaac, Farquhar MacRae, Martin Munro, Ross Manson, Connor MacRae subs Finlay Ireland, Craig Brown
Match Referee- Eoghan Stewart
The match balls were sponsored by Nor-Dan