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Scotland (0-14) 14-5 (0-5) Ireland | |
22 October 2016 Scotland out-scored Ireland to win 14-5 and lift the Marine Harvest Quaich following their Shinty / Hurling International at the Bught Park, Inverness on Saturday 22 October 2016. The Scots recorded a 24-14 home win last year whilst they succeeded 23-14 in the Highland Capital in 2014. These encounters conjured up ten goals between them but there was to be a goal drought in this latest meeting. This year saw a return to a one-off contest, in preference to the two test affair, with the Marine Harvest Quaich at stake. It was a crisp but still afternoon in Inverness and the game clearly caught the imagination as a sizeable crowd filled the main stand and the touchline in front for this 2pm throw up which was broadcast live on BBC2 Scotland. Scotland Head Coach Ronald Ross selected a squad which was a mixture of experience and freshness. He highlighted dead-ball expert Kevin Bartlett, who had scored more points for his country than anyone else, as being a key player and that was to prove to be the case. There were new caps for Lorne Dickie, Greg Matheson, Andy MacKintosh and Thomas Borthwick and the latter two were given starts. Ireland Head Coach Jeffrey Lynskey was forced to make late changes to his squad. Tipperary hurlers John McGrath and Noel McGrath were needed back home for Gaelic football commitments whilst Mayo’s Cathal Freeman was another absentee. There were call-ups for Cian Dillon, who was part of the Clare squad which lifted the 2013 All Ireland title, and David Reidy, a highly rated youngster who joined the Clare senior panel in 2014. Tipperary’s Michael Breen added quality whilst Shane Dooley, so often the hammer of the Scots in the past, also returned to the international scene. The players were led onto the field by the Royal British Legion Inverness Pipe Band before being introduced to Camanachd Association President Jim Barr, GAA’s Pat Daley, Inverness Provost Helen Carmichael as well as Steve Bracken from long-time sponsors Marine Harvest. Ireland played towards the town end in the first half but there wasn’t even a minute on the clock when Scotland captain John Barr was brought down as he surged forward from midfield and Kevin Bartlett sent the resultant free ball between the posts to give Scotland a 2-0 lead. A trip on Paul Divilly moments later gave the Irish a chance from wide on the left but Shane Dooley lifted the ball wide of target. Steven MacDonald took position in front of the main stand to send a long side-line ball from the middle of the pitch just the wrong side of the post. Ireland had pushed Cha Dwyer forward and he took a Shane Nolan pass before sending a high shot for goal just the wrong side of Stuart MacDonald’s post with the keeper flying to his left to cover his goal. The Irish were settling into the game and Cha Dwyer played a great side-line cut from wide on the left and, with the ball dropping in on goal, keeper MacDonald was forced to tip the ball over the bar to make it 2-1. A push in the back on Glen MacKintosh gave Kevin Bartlett another chance and, with jostling in the goalmouth, Bartlett had to retake the dead ball but his strike on goal was parried by keeper Eoin Reilly. Cha Dwyer took a chance to square the match when the ball broke to him on 17 minutes and the Irish start to the match was better than in recent years. Keith MacRae broke down the Scotland left and was fouled by both James Toher and then Damian Healy, the latter after the whistle had gone, and Kevin Bartlett punished the Irish with a perfect hit between the posts to put Scotland 4-2 in front. A nice passing move down the Scotland right saw Daniel Cameron latch onto a long goal-hit from Stuart MacDonald. Cameron sent a sublime pass down the wing to Kevin Bartlett whose first touch wrong-footed the defender. Bartlett cut in on goal but was brought down by James Toher. Keith MacRae crashed the loose ball high into the net on his back-hand but the whistle had gone before he hit the ball. Ireland’s Brian Murphy stretched to get the merest of touches on Kevin Bartlett’s free so the ball between the posts only earned Scotland a single point. Kevin Bartlett was in the thick of the action and he won the ball in midfield and played it into the goal area. Brian Murphy tried to clear the danger but Roddy MacDonald nipped in to steal possession and, from a tight angle on the right, his shot at goal went just over the bar and the Scots notched what was to be their only point from open play. A great run on the left from Shane Nolan, with Steven MacDonald in hot pursuit, was unceremoniously halted when Stuart MacDonald came off his line to block Nolan’s path. Scotland struggled to get the ball away and Shane Dooley battled for possession and he did really well to get the ball between the posts from wide on the left to make it 6-3 with 26 minutes played. Scotland immediately replaced forward Keith MacRae with Liam MacDonald. A trip by Paul Divilly on John Barr gave Kevin Bartlett another chance and he didn’t disappoint as he demonstrated his golfing prowess with a text-book swing which made it 8-3. The robust Fraser Heath was involved in several strong challenges and when Michael Breen kicked out at him in one tussle in front of the stand, Steven MacDonald’s ball into the goalmouth was eventually cleared out of play by Patrick Kelly. It looked too tight an angle for Kevin Bartlett to add to the Scots’ tally but the Lovat man, who confirmed earlier in the week that he will return to former club Caberfeidh for next season, sent a precise strike between the posts to make it 10-3 with just 4 first half minutes remaining. There were late chances at both ends. A Damian Healy shove on Thomas Borthwick resulted in another dead-ball opportunity but this time Kevin Bartlett pulled the ball wide from the middle of the park. Danny Cullen then sent a strike off-target as the Irish continued to squander the opportunities which came their way. The first half was closer than the 10-3 scoreline suggested but Scotland, and Kevin Bartlett in particular, were efficient and they took their chances when it counted. Both teams tried to impose themselves following the restart and John Barr and Patrick Kelly were spoken to by referee Innes Wood after a midfield clash. Ireland pressed and Stuart MacDonald made a brilliant save, diving to his right and stretching his caman to keep out a Micky Boyle shot and although the David Reidy forced the rebound home, the strike was correctly ruled out for offside. Both teams passed up dead-ball chances before Kevin Bartlett was fouled by Patrick Kelly and Bartlett steered the ball between the posts to make it 12-3 and, with 10 second half minutes played, the Scots were pulling away. Play immediately switched to the other end and Stuart MacDonald did well to deal with a high ball into the D from Micky Boyle. Referee Innes Wood had a word with Fraser Heath for a bone-crunching challenge which halted James Toher’s run down the left flank. When a Steven MacDonald kick was penalised on the Scots’ left, Cha Dwyer went for goal. His effort was brilliantly blocked by Lee Bain but Micky Burke sent the ball over the bar to reduce the deficit to 12-4. It was Ireland’s first score of the second half with 55 minutes gone. Roddy MacDonald was penalised for swinging his club towards Daniel Cullen but David Reidy missed the chance to cut the Scotland lead. After such a frenetic start to the second half, it was no surprise that the pace of the game dropped. Stuart MacDonald dived to his right and used his caman to keep out a Cha Dwyer shot. Dwyer sent the resultant 65 yard attempt wide of target. Mark MacDonald took over from Lee Bain in the Scotland defence whilst Lorne Dickie was given a debut shortly after. Cha Dwyer sent a shot from the left wide of goal as the Irish frustration showed. Kevin Bartlett had passed up a couple of chances before he added to Scotland’s tally with side-line cut just inside the post to make it 14-4 with 13 minutes remaining. Scotland gave Greg Matheson a debut and he gave the Scottish attack a different dimension. Irish keeper Eoin Reilly got one of the biggest cheers of the day when he took down a Keith MacRae ball from the left and soloed away from his goal. With Glen MacKintosh in chase, Reilly ran into the Scotland half before his high ball into the home defence was cleared to safety by Fraser Heath. Conor Cormack came on for Fraser Heath just before James Toher dropped a 65 wide of the posts with only 7 minutes remaining. Ireland needed points and but the goal threats came at the other end and Roddy MacDonald played in Greg Matheson on the right of the D but keeper Eoin Reilly saved the Lovat man’s low shot. Reilly then saved from a Kevin Bartlett as he sprinted into the D and he then denied Greg Matheson who was quickly onto the rebound. The Irish keeper was again called into action as he stretched to get his stick to a Kevin Bartlett free from the left and he cleared the danger ahead of Greg Matheson who was looking to pounce on any scraps. Reilly then volleyed away a high ball into his goal area, playing the captain’s role to the full. There was a late Irish point when Micky Boyle took a pass from Cha Dwyer and sent the ball between the posts but, despite Ireland’s good start to the game, it was too little too late. Greg Matheson sent a late side-line ball from in front of the main stand into the D and, with the offside flagged raised, referee Innes Wood brought proceedings to a close. The game never hit the heights of previous encounters and it was poorer for the lack of goals. However there was plenty of effort and endeavour from both sides. There was a battle of minds on the touchline as well as on the field. Both managers had previous experience in the Shinty / Hurling arena with Ross taking charge of teams at Scotland U17 and U21 and Jeff Lynskey at Ireland U21 level. The Scotland Head Coach’s switches, whether tactical or just in personnel, all had positive outcomes and this helped gave his side the edge as they recorded a third successive home win in this contest. However there should be little doubt that Ireland will come back stronger when they host the 2017 clash. Marine Harvest Business Support Manager Steve Bracken presented the Marine Harvest Quaich to Scotland captain John Barr. Innes Wood, in his second compromise rules encounter, again showed himself to be man for their cross-code encounters. Scotland Head Coach Ronald Ross was a satisfied man and, after the final whistle, he said, ”This is the only outlet these guys have got to play at international level and the boys have trained hard for the last couple of months which culminated in today’s hard-fought victory. Last year we had a bit more time on the ball and we got the ball down and passed it. This year, the Irish closed us down a lot so it was more physical and we didn’t have the space to get into our passing ways but we gave it 100%. I thought Finlay MacRae and Rory Kennedy at the back were outstanding. We had no failures and our keeper Stuart MacDonald pulled off a couple of fantastic saves so, all in all, it was a great team performance.” Scotland from: Stuart MacDonald (Lovat); Steven MacDonald (Newtonmore), Finlay MacRae (Kinlochshiel); Andy MacKintosh (Newtonmore), Rory Kennedy (Newtonmore), Lee Bain (Kingussie); Daniel Cameron (Oban Camanachd), John Barr (Glenurquhart), Fraser Heath (Glenurquhart); Kevin Bartlett (Lovat), Roddy MacDonald (Kyles Athletic), Thomas Borthwick (Kingussie); Glen MacKintosh (Newtonmore), Keith MacRae (Kinlochshiel); subs Liam MacDonald (Kilmallie), Conor Cormack (Kinlochshiel), Lorne Dickie (Oban Camanachd), Mark MacDonald (Kinlochshiel), Greg Matheson (Lovat), John MacRae (Kinlochshiel) Head Coach – Ronald Ross Assistant Coach – Ally Ferguson Forwards Coach – Kevin Thain Trainer – Neil Bowman
Ireland from: Eoin Reilly (Laois) (captain); Mickey Burke (Meath), James Toher (Meath); Patrick Kelly (Kerry), Damien Healy (Meath), Bryan Murphy (Kerry); Cha Dwyer (Laois), Cian Dillon (Clare), Gerry Keegan (Kildare); Paul Divilly (Kildare), Michael Breen (Tipperary), Danny Cullen (Donegal); Shane Dooley (Offaly), Shane Nolan (Kerry); subs David Reidy (Clare), Mickey Boyle (Kerry), Karl Murray (Longford) Manager – Jeffrey Lynskey Assistant Coach – Gregory O’Kane Physios – Tony Spain & Diarmuid Horgan Doctor – Dr Padraic Quinn Kit – Roger Casey & Tommy Byrne
Match referee - Innes Wood Umpires - John Angus Gillies, Archie Ritchie, Neil Ferguson & Sean Cleere Fourth Official - Calum Girvan Linesmen - Andy MacLean & Iain Kennedy
(The picture comes courtesy of www.neilgpaterson.com) |