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Kingussie 0 Skye Camanachd 1 | |
28 April 2014 Skye Camanachd made it four Marine Harvest North Division 1 wins out of four when they beat the Kingussie second team 1-0 at the Dell on Saturday 26 April 2014. Skye manager John MacLeod made three changes to the squad which beat Lochaber 3-2 after extra time in the previous weekend’s RBS MacTavish Plate competition. Shockie MacLennan returned from injury and he started on the bench. Neil MacVicar was working and David Grant was with the second team whilst Iain Murray was unable to travel so he also played for the reserves in Portree. Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod and Iain MacLellan were added to the squad. Kingussie boss Michael Falconer missed out through work commitments so club stalwart Jimmy Gow looked after a squad which included a mixture of youth and experience. Older heads Kevin Thain, Michael Clark, Ally MacLeod and Ronald Ross, who has been playing in defence, provided the backbone of the team whilst youngsters such as Chris Holleysong have been getting rave reviews. James Falconer remained on the injury list but Robbie MacPherson returned to the field of play after an absence of a number of years. Skye started brightly with a strong wind at their backs and a Kenny MacLeod shot from 20 yards went narrowly by the post on 4 minutes. A Danny Morrison shot was well saved by Kingussie keeper Russell Menzies on10 minutes. Skye continued to press and Danny Morrison fired wide on 18 minutes. On 27 minutes, a Kenny MacLeod snapshot from 15 yards went wide of target. With 10 minutes of the first half remaining, Skye manager John MacLeod introduced Shockie MacLennan at full forward in place of Kenny MacLeod. A long range shot from Danny Morrison whistled just over the bar a minute before the break. Kingussie had the elements in their favour at the start of the second period and they started running at the Kingussie defence, creating problems for the home team. Skye eventually broke the deadlock on 53 minutes. Some great lead-up play from Jordan Murchison created an opening for Shockie MacLennan and from fully 25 yards out, the substitute turned on his back-hand and lashed the ball home on the half volley. It was a terrific finish and the goal boosted Skye and they came close to doubling their advantage a minute later when Russell Menzies made a good save from Jordan Murchison’s shot. The Islanders had to reshuffle their pack on 58 minutes when Chris Rose had to come off with an ankle injury so Shockie MacLennan dropped back to buckshee back and Kenny MacLeod was re-introduced to forward line. Skye keeper Jamie Gannon was called upon to turn a Kevin Thain shot round the post a minute later. Kenny MacLeod had a shot from 15 yards saved by Russell Menzies on 71 minutes and just a couple of minutes later, MacLeod had to leave the pitch after a Ronald Ross challenge caught him on the ankle. Jordan Murchison rattled the upright with a shot from an acute angle on the right after 75 minutes and Murchison was replaced by Ally "Cleodi" MacLeod moments later. Danny Morrison was replaced by Iain MacLennan on 78 minutes. Skye put together some good passing moves without really threatening the Kingussie goal for the remainder of the game. The plus points for Skye were that their defence continues to look solid with Ally “Spod" MacLeod slotting in well at wing back. The centre line plugged away and Jordan Murchison and Shockie MacLennan carried most threat in the forward line. Best for Kingussie were defenders Ally MacLeod and Ronald Ross who disrupted the flow of the Skye forwards throughout the game. Youngster Callum Grant also impressed at the back and whilst Kevin Thain always looked a threat up front, he was well shackled by Steven Morrison. Kingussie from: Russell Menzies; Ally MacLeod, Callum Grant, Jake MacPherson, Ronald Ross; Lee Riddoch, Robbie MacPherson, Lewis Falconer; Michael Clark, Jack Anderson, Jeby Rumelio, Kevin Thain; subs Daniel Donald, Daniel Thain, Ruairidh Anderson, Roddy Young Skye Camanachd from: Jamie Gannon; Steven Morrison, Ally MacDonald, Ally “Spod” MacLeod, Chris Rose; Kenny Campbell, Gilleasbuig MacDonald (captain), Allan MacKinnon, Will Cowie, Danny Morrison, Jordan Murchison, Kenny MacLeod, subs Shockie MacLennan, Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod, Iain MacLellan Match Referee – Colin MacDonald (Picture of Shockie MacLennan celebrating the winning goal is by Donald Cameron. Click on the following link to see more shinty action photographs Donald Cameron ) |