Boleskine 1 Skye Camanachd 5 | |
08 March 2015 The Skye Camanachd second team made a winning start to their Marine Harvest North Division 2 programme with a 5-1 win over Boleskine at Smith Park, Farr on Saturday 7 March 2015. Boleskine were without Matthew Ross for this 2.30pm throw up as the former Glengarry player was suspended. Skye second team manager Davie Pringle included Shaun Hedley in his squad with the former first team player missing most of last season through work commitments. With the Skye first team match being postponed, young keeper Iain MacLeod travelled with the reserves as did defender Ally MacDonald. David Grant also travelled but he started on the bench. Boleskine won the toss of the coin and opted to play against the strong wind in the first half. Skye started brightly and a John Gillies shot was well saved by the Boleskine keeper after just 5 minutes. Skye continued to press the home defence and Gillies again caused problems for the Boleskine rear-guard, shooting narrowly past the post on 8 minutes. John Angus MacInnes shot just wide of target on 14 minutes and he did like-wise seconds later as Skye pushed for the opening goal Skye made the breakthrough on 16 minutes when Iain MacLellan took a shot from an angle and John Gillies was on hand to turn the ball into the net to make it 1-0. A John Mackenzie shot rose over the top a couple of minutes later as Skye made full use of the wind advantage. Skye goalie Iain MacLeod saved well with his stick on 24 minutes to deny Boleskine an equaliser. Skye doubled their advantage on 25 minutes when a long-range effort from Stewart Grant deceived the home keeper Craig Pirrie and the ball ended up in the net. Skye goalie Ian MacLeod saved again on 27 minutes – this time with feet. A John Gillies snap-shot on the half-hour mark rebounded off the bar and a minute later, Gillies fired another shot off the bar when he looked sure to score. However John Gillies did make it 3-0 on 32 minutes with a neat finish from close range. Gillies had the ball in the net again following a great 25 yard strike just 5 minutes before the break only for referee Martin MacLean to disallow the goal for an offside infringement to the bemusement of the Skye forwards. Skye boss Davie Pringle took on Ryan Morrison in place of Iain MacLellan on 42 minutes and Morrison almost made an instant impact, shooting narrowly by the post from 18 yards. Skye looked home and dry a minute later when some nice movement between John Gillies and John Angus MacInnes from a free-hit saw the latter firing a great shot into the top corner to make it 4-0 at the break. Skye turned around playing into an ever increasing wind and they quickly made a change in defence with David Grant replacing John MacKenzie. This bolstered the Skye back-four which also included first team regular Ally MacDonald. Skye made a good start to the second period, pressing Boleskine defence and John Gillies made it 5-0, firing home with a smart finish to complete his hat-trick. A low 20 yard effort from James Pringle was saved by the home keeper a minute later. Iain MacLeod made a good stop with his feet on 65 minutes as Boleskine tried to get back into the game. Skye made another change with 14 year old Marcus Ross replacing Kyle Pirie in defence. Boleskine pulled a goal back on 68 minutes through ex-Inverness player Scott Watson who made it 5-1. With 10 minutes remaining, Iain MacLeod again kept the ball out of the net with his feet. The Skye players were on the receiving end of a couple of wild challenges in the closing stages as the game threatened to boil over but it was the Islanders who took the points with a 5-1 win. After a difficult 2014 league campaign, this was an excellent start to the new season by the Skye reserves, especially considering a weather interrupted pre-season meant this was first game since they beat Lochaber in the league on 6 September 2014. The Skye defensive unit was very solid with Neil John Campbell performing particularly well. Shaun Hedley caught the eye on his return to the Skye centre line where he joined brothers David and John Angus MacInnes to dominate the game. Youngsters James Pringle and John Gillies were outstanding for Skye and with a bit more luck; Gillies could have added to his three-goal haul. Boleskine from: Craig Pirrie: John Fraser, Sandy Fraser, Keith Nicolson, Neil Hope: Craig Hazle, Michael Pirrie, Sam Evans: Ewen Fraser, Scott Watson, Lewis Smith, Hamish Stoddart: subs Kevin Hepburn, Lorn Hughes, Graham Black Skye Camanachd from: Iain MacLeod; Ally MacDonald, Kyle Pirie, Neil John Campbell, Stewart Grant: James Pringle, David MacInnes, Shaun Hedley: John MacKenzie, John Gillies, Iain MacLellan, John Angus MacInnes: subs Ryan Morrison, David Grant, Marcus Ross, DJ Gilpin March Referee – Martin MacLean
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