Lovat 5 Skye Camanachd 2 | |
16 May 2014 Skye Camanachd went down 5-2 to Lovat in their Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup second round tie at Balgate on Saturday 10 May 2014. Lovat did not have a first team game as their Orion Group Premiership match against Kyles Athletic was postponed. However their second team remained along usual lines with boss Graeme MacMillan having most of his usual squad to select from. The former Scotland goalie included former Skye player Iain Nicolson in their starting line-up. Paul MacKinnon, Chris Campbell, Ally “Viewfield” MacLeod, Magnus Burd and Andrew Banks all returned to the 17 man squad whilst Thomas Wilson was injured after suffering two hair-line fractures to his foot in the 4-2 defeat to Boleskine the previous weekend. Daniel Morrison, Ryan Morrison and Ally MacCrimmon also missed out. With Angie MacDonald and John Angus MacInnes on the field of play, Donnie Martin looked after the Skye side from the touchline. Kyle Pirie, who was of Skye’s top performers against Fort William the previous weekend, was left on the bench as he was suffering from a heavy cold. Lovat took full advantage of their early chances in the game and they took the lead after just 3 minutes. Skye keeper Iain MacLeod was unable to get the ball away and Thomas Fraser nipped in to make it 1-0. Thomas Fraser doubled Lovat advantage on 12 minutes when he got away from Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod and went on to get his second goal of the game. Rory Campbell made it 3-0 with a great shot on 16 minutes and this was probably the goal of the game. When Thomas Fraser completed his hat-trick on 25 minutes, following a Magnus Burd slip, the hosts were certainly in the driving seat. The Skye forwards had their share of possession during this period but Lovat seemed to punish every defensive error the Islanders made. Skye opened the second have in encouraging fashion and a Stephen Murchison shot came back off the post. A trade-mark Angie MacDonald turn and shot narrowed the deficit to 4-1 a couple of minutes into the second half. However when referee Robert Morrison, who officiated well throughout, penalised Magnus Burd and awarded the how side a penalty on 75 minutes, Alan MacPherson stepped up and his sweetly struck penalty gave Iain MacLeod no chance. Skye U17 player Conor Ross had come on as a second half substitute and he got his first goal at second team level with a well taken finish just 3 minutes later to make it 5-2. Skye must wish that they could have replicated their second half performance during the first 45 minutes. However a full strength Lovat will be formidable opponents in this tournament and it took some fine goalkeeping from Iain MacLeod to prevent them adding to their tally. Calum Gibb played well for Skye, especially when he dropped back to the wing back position. Substitute Ally “Viewfield” MacLeod chipped in with some good hitting whilst David MacInnes and Lovat’s Sandy Tulloch had a great contest in the middle of the park. John Angus MacInnes is also getting nearer full fitness for Skye which will be a boost in the weeks ahead. Next up for Skye is a home league match with Glengarry. Lovat from: Chris MacCallum; Martin Bell, Martin Mainland, Andrew Wallace, Tom Collings, Connal MacIllechiar, Sandy Tulloch, Sam Ferguson (captain); Iain Nicolson, Rory Campbell, Alan MacPherson, Thomas Fraser; subs Jimmy MacKenzie, Reece Munro, James White Skye Camanachd from: Iain MacLeod, Andrew Banks, Magnus Burd, Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod, DJ Gilpin, Calum Gibb, David MacInnes (captain), John Angus MacInnes, Paul MacKinnon, Stephen Murchison, Iain MacLellan, Angie MacDonald, subs Ally “Viewfield” MacLeod, Conor Ross, Kyle Pirie, Chris Campbell Match Referee – Robert Morrison |