Glenurquhart 0 Skye Camanachd 1 | |
11 May 2016 Skye Camanachd made it through to the Artemis MacAulay Cup quarter-finals after they beat Glenurquhart 1-0 in a close encounter at Blairbeg on Saturday 7 May 2016. Glenurquhart co-managers Billy MacLean and Dave Menzies were without Andrew Corrigan, Arran MacDonald and Euan Lloyd for this 2.30pm throw up. Skye boss John MacLeod made five changes to the squad which lost 2-0 to Kyles Athletic at Tighnabruaich a fortnight earlier. Jamie Gannon recovered from a jarred knee and he replaced Iain MacLeod in goal. Will Cowie and Allan MacKinnon were back and they joined Steven Morrison on the substitutes’ bench. Shockie MacLennan and Iain Nicolson also returned and they started in attack. Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod, James Pringle, Iain MacLellan and Aonghas MacDonald dropped out and were listed with the Skye second team. Chris MacLennan was still out with a broken thumb as was Iain Murray. Ally “Spod” MacLeod made his return from injury with the Skye seconds. A turn and shot from Shockie MacLennan from 15 yards out went just past the post on 6 minutes. Glen keeper Stuart MacKintosh did well to turn away a Jordan Murchison snapshot on 10 minutes. A good flowing move from the Skye forwards on 22 minutes ended with Danny Morrison’s strike going just past MacKintosh’s left-hand post. However it was by no means one-way traffic as Glens forwards Fraser Heath, David Smart and Neale Reid always looked set to pounce on any chances that fell their way. Stuart MacKintosh saved well with his feet from Danny Morrison on 28 minutes. MacKintosh again denied Morrison on 28 minutes when he saved the Skye forward’s long-range effort. Jordan Murchison was next to test the Glen goalie on 38 minutes but another good save with his hand from MacKintosh kept the game goalless. The deadlock was broken with just 2 first half minutes remaining. Three Skye forwards and three Glen defenders fought for possession on the edge of the D. The ball fell dropped perfectly to Shockie MacLennan who found just enough space to get a full swing in the ball and he sent a waist-high rocket-shot into the net to make it 1-0. Skye had keeper Jamie Gannon to thank on more than one occasion during the first half and he made another good save with his feet just before the break. Glenurquhart had a slight breeze in their favour in the second half and Neale Reid went close on 47 minutes with a shot that went just past the post. Skye made a tactical switch on 50 minutes, introducing Steven Morrison in place of Neil John Campbell. Jamie Gannon made the save of the game on 55 minutes when he stretched to keep out a Neale Reid piledriver which was heading for the roof of the net. Another Skye change on 65 minutes saw Will Cowie introduced in place of David MacInnes to freshen up the midfield. Glenurquhart were now going all-out for an equaliser but they found Skye the defence difficult to break-down and when they did get shots on goal, they were either hurried efforts which went wide or Skye keeper Jamie Gannon was equal to their efforts. Skye made their third change with 15 minutes remaining as Danny Morrison was withdrawn in favour of Allan MacKinnon in a straight swap at wing forward. Cairn Urquhart came on for the Glen but had to be replaced almost immediately after taking an accidental blow to the face. Skye came close to a second goal when Jordan Murchison slipped his marker and headed for goal. However he was brought down by a combination of Lewis MacLennan and James Hurwood on the edge of the D. Glenurquhart saw off the threat from the resultant free-hit. The Skye camp were delighted to hear referee Calum Girvan’s final whistle and there were a number of pleasing performances for John MacLeod and his coaching staff. Neil MacVicar and John Gillies were excellent in defence; with Gillies' dual with Fraser Heath particularly catching the eye. David MacInnes and Gilleasbuig MacDonald put in a power of work in midfield whilst Kenny Campbell was again outstanding. The Skye forwards worked hard and Shockie MacLennan’s goal means Skye can now look forward to a derby meeting with Kinlochshiel at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree in the Artemis MacAulay Cup quarter-finals on Saturday 11 June 2016. Glenurquhart from: Stuart MacKintosh; Lewis MacLennan, James Hurwood, Michael Brady, John Barr; Iain MacLeod, Ally MacKintosh (captain), David MacLennan; David Smart, Connor Golabeck, Fraser Heath, Neale Reid; subs Cairn Urquhart, Michael Fraser, Eddie Tembo, Lachlan Smith Skye Camanachd from: Jamie Gannon; Neil MacVicar (captain), John Gillies, Ally MacDonald, Neil John Campbell; David MacInnes, Gilleasbuig MacDonald, Kenneth Campbell; Danny Morrison, Jordan Murchison, Shockie MacLennan, Iain Nicolson subs Steven Morrison, Will Cowie, Allan MacKinnon Match Referee – Calum Girvan Scorers Glenurquhart None Skye Camanachd Shockie MacLennan (43) |