Skye Camanachd Primaries became the inaugural winners of the Camanachd Association Trophy, beating Newtonmore Primaries 5-2 in the National Final at the Lochaber High School all-weather pitch on Saturday 14 September 2019.
Coaches Ali MacLeod and Robert MacQueen accompanied the squad for this new competition in the primary school age shinty calendar with the final taking place ahead of the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup Final.
Skye recorded wins over Balnain & Glen, Inverness and then Inverlochy earlier in the competition with a squad made up of pupils from through-out the Island.
The final was 10-a-side, lasting 30 minutes each-way, and would be played to a finish with the provision of extra time and penalties if necessary.
The weather both on the journey to Fort William and during this 11am throw up was awful. A strong wind and constant rain made it difficult for the players but they coped admirably and they were delighted that the game passed a Saturday morning inspection.
Skye started with the wind in their favour and they took full advantage, running up a 3-0 interval lead.
The opening goal came when a ball from the wing was played into the danger area and a Newtonmore defender, running towards his own goal, inadvertently turned the ball into his own net.
Skye added a second through Alasdair Stewart. This was a well-worked goal and, following some neat passing, Stewart sent the ball low into the corner of the net.
Seonaidh MacLeod made it 3-0 with the pick of the morning’s goals; a superb 20 yard shot into the top corner of the net.
Newtonmore had the elements in the second half and Skye knew they still had a lot of work to do.
However they put one hand on the trophy with two quick-fire goals early in the second half. First, Brodie MacQueen turned home a rebound off the keeper and then, Reid Constant finished well to make it 5-0.
Newtonmore fought back as expected and Skye had to see off some pressure on their goal.
Strikes from Lewis MacKintosh and Cameron Mitchell reduced the deficit to 5-2 and another ‘More effort came back of the crossbar which could have meant for an uncomfortable finish to the match for Skye.
However referee Andy MacLean’s final whistle sounded a Skye victory, rounding off a very successful tournament and a delighted Skye captain Seonaidh MacLeod was presented with the trophy afterwards.
Skye Camanachd Primaries from: Brodie MacQueen, Iain MacInnes, Archie Buchan, Jamie Ross, Oliver Langlands, Aonghas Nicolson, Donnie MacDiarmid, Seonaidh MacLeod, John Archie Tuncay, Alasdair Stewart, Ross Evans, Charlie Latton, Reid Constant
Match Referee – Andy MacLean
(Special thanks to Katie Drain for the photograph of the winning Skye squad)