Portree Primary School Finish Gilmour Sports First Shinty Runners Up - UPDATED! | |
04 March 2014 Four Skye teams set off for Fort William to take part in the Gilmour Sports National First Shinty Finals on Saturday 1 March 2014. This annual event brings together local tournament winners from as far North as Portree and as far South as Glasgow to compete in the Primary 7 (& under) and Primary 5 (& under) categories.
Primary 5 (& under) Tournament The Primary 5 (& under) event had a 12 noon start and it took place at Lochaber High School. Skye were represented by Portree and South End and they were joined by Beauly, Laggan, Bute, Glasgow Gaels, Inverlochy, Kilmory, Taynuilt, Dingwall, and Strathkelvin and the teams were split into two leagues of six teams. Following the league sections, Glasgow Gaels topped League A with Dingwall clinching second place. Defending champions Beauly clinched top spot in League B with Inverlochy finishing in second place. The first semi final was between Glasgow Gaels and Inverlochy with the Gaels running out 2-1 winners. The second semi final between Beauly and Dingwall was a cracker. Dingwall got off to a flying start by taking a three goal lead before Beauly staged a remarkable comeback to win 5-3. The final between Beauly and the Glasgow Gaels was another classic with both sets of players giving their all. However it was defending champions Beauly who came out on top with a narrow 2-1 victory. Inverlochy beat Dingwall to finish third. The fair play award went to Dingwall.
Primary 7 (& under) Tournament The Primary 7 (& under) event took place at the Nevis Centre, Fort William from 12 noon. Skye were represented by Dunvegan and Portree and they were joined by Glenurquhart, Kincraig, Kyles, Milngavie & Bearsden, Kinlochbervie, Inverlochy, Inveraray, Taynuilt, Dingwall, Glasgow Gaels and Kyle. The large crowd was treated to some wonderful shinty from the best primary school age teams in Scotland. The teams were split into two leagues which were both extremely competitive. Portree, coached by Willie MacDonald, won League A with five wins and a draw from their six matches whilst Kincraig took second spot. League B was won by Taynuilt, cached by Stephen Sloss, and they won four games and lost once out of five matches with Inverlochy edging out Kyles on goal difference to clinch second place. The first semi final saw Portree taking on Inverlochy. Portree were very impressive and put in a dominating performance to win 4-0 with Ross Gordon scoring twice and Abby MacLean and Gilleasbuig MacVicar getting the others. The second semi between Kincraig and Taynuilt was a cracking encounter with both sets of players giving everything and it took a golden goal from Taynuilt’s Kenni Gray to separate the teams. The Final between Taynuilt and Portree was dominated by Taynuilt who came flying out of the traps and eventually ran out 4-0 winners, thanks to a Blair MacFarlane hat-trick and a goal from Daniel Sloss, to be crowned 2014 Gilmour Sports P7 National First Shinty champions. The fair play award went to the stylish Inveraray team. Colin Hill from tournament sponsors Gilmour Sports presented the cup and medals to both sets of players and coaches. Every participating player from both tournaments received a t-shirt courtesy of Gilmour Sports.
“Excellent Day of First Shinty.” Camanachd Association National Development Officer, Ronald Ross, said, “Year or year we are treated to an excellent day of first shinty and this year was no different. The skill level and enthusiasm shown by participants and coaches was very encouraging and left me in no doubt that we were witnessing some future stars of shinty in action. I would like to thank Colin Hill from Gilmour Sports for their continued support of the event, along with all referees, helpers, coaches and players. It was another memorable day in the youth shinty calendar.” |