Skye Camanachd 3 Fort William 1 | |
17 October 2016 Skye Camanachd kept their Marine Harvest Premiership survival hopes alive when they beat Fort William 3-1 at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 15 October 2016. Skye boss John MacLeod was on holiday but tuned in to Cuillin FM’s online broadcast of the match from warmer climes. Donnie MacDonald and Aonghas MacDonald looked after the side and they were without Ally “Spod” MacLeod, who had a hand injury, Neil John Campbell with a knee injury whilst Iain Nicolson was working. The big pre-match team news for the Islanders was that Jordan Murchison had passed a fitness test on a hamstring injury. Gilleasbuig MacDonald had recovered from a shoulder injury picked up against Kinlochshiel the previous Saturday. DJ Gilpin was a late addition and he started on the bench. This was Fort William’s final match of the season and co-managers Victor Smith and Adam Robertson were without Bryan Simpson through work commitments whilst Sean Cameron was also missing. Indeed the An Aird side’s resources were stretched as they also had a second team fixture against the Glenurquhart seconds at Blairbeg on the same day. So much so that Victor Smith and Adam Robertson along with trainer Henry Milne made up their substitutes bench. A late Jordan Murchison goal had earned Skye a 2-2 draw when the sides met at An Aird earlier in the season. After a rain-free fortnight in Portree, the weather turned damp on the morning of the game. However the pitch was firm and the rain was a minor distraction as the bottom two sides in the division took their starting places for this 2.30pm throw up and Skye played towards the Skeabost end of the ground in the first half. Skye attacked from the throw up but it was Fort William who had the first shot at goal and Skye keeper Jamie Gannon palmed away Graham Campbell’s effort for a corner. At the other end, Paul MacKay saved from Jordan Murchison and Kenny Campbell shot wide moments later as both teams went in search of the opening goal. Daniel Stewart launched a dipping ball on the Skye goal from fully 40 yards out. Jamie Gannon watched the ball carefully and got his hand to the ball to deflect it away for a corner. With the rain getting heavier, Skye took the lead after 13 minutes. James Pringle played in a good shy from the left and Kenny Campbell controlled the dropping ball before playing it short to Will Cowie who took a touch at the left of the D before blasting the ball into the net, over Fort William keeper Paul MacKay’s left shoulder, to make it 1-0. Just 3 minutes later, Fort goalie Paul MacKay made a good save with his hand from a James Pringle shot from distance and Skye had to settle for a corner. Skye continued to press and Paul MacKay made a superb save with his caman, above his head, to keep out a fierce Will Cowie shot from the left. The Fort goal survived again when MacKay saved with his feet to thwart Jordan Murchison. Good play from Danny Morrison saw him release Will Cowie down the Skye right. Cowie slipped the ball past Sean Cruickshank and bore in on goal before being upended by a James Tangney sliding tackle which earned the Fort defender the first booking of the game. A Jordon Murchison shot looped over the top following the resultant set piece. The Skye wing centres swapped wings with their Fort William counter-parts doing like-wise. MacKay then used his club to good effect to parry a goal-bound Kenny Campbell back-hand effort from wide on the left as Skye threatened to over-run their opponents. But for all Skye’s first half pressure, they were unable to add to their tally so they took their single goal advantage into the break. Skye doubled their lead a couple of minutes after the restart. Danny Morrison won the ball in midfield as Alexander MacMillan and Arran MacPhee tried to play a one-two. Morrison played the ball down the Skye left to Will Cowie who fed the ball to Kenny Campbell. Campbell’s first time ball to the back post fell to far for Neil MacVicar who had to check out to the wing to retrieve the ball. Fort William had the chance to clear MacVicar’s ball into the danger-area but they failed to do so and Danny Morrison, who had pushed forward after starting the move, finished it in style as he crashed the ball high into the net to make it 2-0. Fort William responded well and they immediately set siege on the Skye goal from the restart. Daniel Stewart was their main goal threat and he saw a shot saved with his left foot by Skye keeper Jamie Gannon at the expense of a corner. Gannon then used his legs to keep out another Stewart shot with Skye defender John Gillies quickly onto the rebound to play the ball away for a shy. The visitors were on a role and Calum Shepherd passed to Arran MacPhee who sent the ball in to Daniel Stewart. Skye first blocked and then pushed Stewart’s strike out to defence but only as far as Arran MacPhee and he played the ball back to Daniel Stewart whose shot was deflected away for a corner. Gannon saved with his feet from Daniel Stewart on 59 minutes and the Skye goal some-how survived the resultant corner from Alexander MacMillan as the ball was played right across the D and Gannon did just enough to put off Graham Campbell and Fort William were awarded another corner. A Fort William goal was coming and it arrived on the hour mark. Victor Smith, who had come off the bench to replace John Forbes moments earlier, came deep to control a bouncing ball following a Jay MacLeod shy from the left. Smith turned and sent a superb shot, from at least 25 yards out, into the top corner of the net, beating Jamie Gannon at his left side. Skye full back Steven Morrison, who was forced off with a foot injury against Kinlochshiel a week earlier, had seemed uncomfortable since midway through the first half and he went off on 63 minutes with what was later confirmed as a hamstring problem. The ensuing reshuffle saw Neil MacVicar drop back to full back, Chris MacLennan move from the forward line to the defence and Iain Murray came on in attack. A Gilleasbuig MacDonald shy took a bounce and Danny Morrison’s hook-shot went just over the junction between post and bar as the home side tried to reassert themselves. Victor Smith came within a whisker of setting up a Fort William leveller midway through the second half when he went wide on the right to collect possession. Smith made enough space to play a delightful ball across the goal, with Padraig McNeill just unable to get on the end of it. Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod came on for Skye who went back on the attack on 68 minutes and James Tangney just managed to get the ball away for a corner with Danny Morrison set to pull the trigger. A Sean Cruickshank free-hit shortly after fell into the Skye D and Jamie Gannon stopped the ball with his feet before John Gillies swept it away for a shy with Padraig MacNeil looking to capitalise on any slip. A Graham Campbell strike was blocked and Victor Smith sent the rebound wide as the match moved into the final 15 minutes. Skye were living dangerously and Arran MacPhee picked up a clearance out of the Skye defence and his shot from the right took the slightest deflection off John Gillies and nestled in the outside of side-netting. Victor Smith then shot low across the goal and this time Neil MacVicar deflected the ball for another corner. Gannon then chested down a Victor Smith drive and played the ball out for a corner on the Fort William right. With the photographers moving towards the Skye goal in anticipation of an equaliser, Skye broke forward from the Fort William corner. Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod cleared the ball out of defence to Danny Morrison who took a touch in midfield before finding Iain Murray on the Skye right. Murray played a first-time ball in to Jordan Murchison who exchanged passes with Murray before Niall MacPhee cleared only as far as Will Cowie who shot goalwards on his left side. Paul MacKay saved with his foot and blocked Murchison’s effort from the rebound. Iain Murray retrieved the ball on the Skye right. His first cross was blocked but his second attempt picked out Will Cowie with the keeper out of his goal. With two defenders on the goal line, Cowie confidently crashed the ball home to make it 3-1 for what was his second goal of the game with 79 minutes played. Skye stayed on the attack without really troubling Paul MacKay but one break from the visitors with 5 minutes remaining saw Jamie save with his feet from Daniel Stewart and Victor Smith sent the rebound rising over the junction between post and bar. There was still time for Paul MacKay to save with his foot from Jordan Murchison and Sean Cruickshank swept the rebound away for a corner. A looping Victor Smith ball into the Skye D was chested down and cleared for a corner by keeper Gannon. Arran MacPhee then burst forward from the Fort midfield before sending a strike high over the bar from a Padraig McNeil corner. A poor goal-hit from Neil MacVicar caused panic in the Skye defence. The ball fell for Victor Smith but his low shot was saved with his legs by Jamie Gannon. Skye sprung forward in stoppage time and the last hit of the game was an Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod shot which went wide of goal. This was Skye’s second top flight win of the season. It leaves an incredibly tight mid-table in the division and, with Kingussie and Skye still to play their final league fixtures, only three points currently separate fifth placed Glenurquhart and ninth placed Skye Camanachd. Fort William can take much from this game into next season and Scotland U21 Head Coach Alan MacRae will be pleased to hear reports of Arran MacPhee’s energetic performance at full centre as he will when he is briefed on the contributions made by Skye duo Will Cowie and John Gillies. The upshot is that Skye must beat champions Newtonmore at the Eilan at the end of the month by two clear goals to beat the drop at Lochaber’s expense. That is unless Kingussie suffer a heavy defeat against Kyles Athletic at Tighnabruaich that same day which would mean a single goal Skye win could result in Kingussie’s relegation. It’s an unlikely permutation and with Newtonmore due to be presented with their seventh successive Marine Harvest Premiership trophy after the Skye match, they will be in no mood to lose their final game of the season so Skye’s chances seem remote at best. However they have maintained interest in the shinty programme until the final Premiership fixtures of the season. Skye Camanachd from: Jamie Gannon, Steven Morrison, John Gillies, Ally MacDonald, Neil MacVicar (captain); Chris MacLennan, Gilleasbuig MacDonald, James Pringle; Danny Morrison, Will Cowie, Jordan Murchison, Kenny Campbell; subs Ally “Cleodi” MacLeod, Iain Murray, DJ Gilpin, Aonghas MacDonald Fort William from: Paul MacKay; James Tangney, Calum Shepherd, Sean Cruickshank, Niall MacPhee; Alexander MacMillan, Arran MacPhee, Jay MacLeod; Daniel Stewart (captain), Padraig MacNeil, Graham Campbell, John Forbes; subs Victor Smith, Adam Robertson, Henry Milne Match Referee – Graham Cameron The match balls will be sponsored by Nor-Dan |