The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 14 October 2017 | |
15 October 2017 Lochside Rovers are the Marine Harvest South Division 1 champions following the shinty action on Saturday 14 October 2017.
Marine Harvest Premiership Kyles Athletic 5 Glasgow Mid Argyll 3 It was a more low-key end to the season than they’d hoped for but Kyles Athletic rounded off their Marine Harvest Premiership campaign with a 5-3 win over already-relegated Glasgow Mid Argyll. The match was scheduled for Tighnabruaich but when it became clear on Thursday that the pitch would not be playable, Kyles agreed to reverse the fixture to Yoker. Kyles Athletic’s Roddy MacDonald was free of his two-match suspension following his sending off in the 2-1 defeat to Lovat on Saturday 9 September 2017. Scotland Head Coach Ronald Ross will be pleased that MacDonald not only got game time ahead of this coming weekend’s Marine Harvest Shinty / Hurling international against Ireland but that he also bagged two goals. Glasgow Mid Argyll welcomed Ryan Harrison back from suspension. However Garry Luke sat this one out for passing through the disciplinary points threshold whilst Euan Murray, Stuart Reid and Iain Luke were also missing. . GMA took the lead straight from the start. Brian Slattery won the throw up and Jamie McFadyen played the ball on to Seb MacMillan and he drove the ball high into the top right corner of the net. The Glasgow side increased their lead from the penalty spot on 33 minutes when referee Ross Brown penalised Cammy Keith for a “kick” inside the D. Craig Anderson took responsibility and sent the penalty into the top right corner of the net. Kyles pulled a goal back on the stroke of half-time when Grant Irvine’s ball was deflected into his own net by GMA keeper Robert Dunnings. Jamie MacFadyen restored GMA’s two-goal cushion a couple of minutes after the restart. Seb MacMillan played the ball through and Jamie MacFadyen, from inside the D, slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. Roddy MacDonald made it 3-2 just 5 minutes later when he netted from inside the D. And it was Roddy MacDonald again on 59 minutes who levelled the contest when he got a second from close range. GMA, who hadn’t played for three weeks, seemed to run out of steam and Kyles took advantage. Ross MacRae put them in front for the first time in the match on 69 minutes when he tapped the ball home from inside the box. Ross MacRae, who normally plays in defence, sealed the win on 86 minutes, again scoring from close range. The match ended on a sour not for the Tighnabruaich men as Sandy MacKenzie was sent off for violent conduct by referee Ross Brown. MacKenzie will now miss the start of the 2018 shinty season through suspension. Glasgow Mid Argyll showed for a large part of this game that they will be in the mix to make a speedy return to shinty’s top flight. Kyles deserve great credit for their part in an exciting title race. In the end, they had to settle for a second placed finish but their season was far from barren with the Artemis Macaulay Cup and the Gregor Cameron Glasgow Celtic Society Cup both gathered along the way.
Newtonmore 5 Oban Camanachd 0 Newtonmore signed off their season with a 5-0 win over and Oban Camanachd at The Eilan. Newtonmore manager Paul John MacKintosh named a strong squad, with eighteen players to choose from, and how he must have wished to have had such options throughout the season. Norman Campbell was still on holiday so Kenny Ross continued to deputise in goal. Conor Jones remained banned whilst Andy MacKintosh was still injured. Rory Kennedy, Ackie MacRae and Drew MacDonald were all restored to the starting line-up after missing the previous week’s draw with Lochaber. Fraser MacKintosh was also back and he started on the bench. Iain Richardson recovered from a knock picked up in the Lochaber game and he played the full game at wing centre. Chris Eccleston and Fraser Inglis continued to deputise for Oban Camanachd manager Iain Hay who was still on holiday. The Oban side were still without the injured Scott MacKillop whilst Gary McKerracher was unavailable. Andrew MacCuish started at full centre, flanked by Malcolm Clark and Aidan MacIntyre whilst Daniel Cameron and Daniel MacVicar were in the full forward positions. Youngsters Daniel MacCuish and Evan MacLellan were their reserves. Newtonmore opened the scoring in the second minute courtesy of a 25 yard Neil Stewart strike. It was a great goal with Michael Russell initially stretching to take down a clearance out of the Oban defence and Stewart’s well-struck shot sent the ball soaring high into the net. Oban Camanachd swapped wing centre David Lafferty and forward Lorn Dickie midway through the first half. But Michael Russell added a second on 27 minutes when he measured an inviting lob into the D and the ball skidded off the surface, beating Oban Camanachd keeper Gavin Stobbart to make it 2-0. Newtonmore looked comfortable with Ackie MacRae clearing his lines when Oban tried to break forward and Rory Kennedy commanding at the back and both limited their opponents to few opportunities. Evan Menzies made it 3-0 with just 4 first half minutes remaining. Gavin Stobbart saved well from Iain Robinson, who looked lively throughout, but Menzies put the rebound past both the keeper and Matt Rippon who was on the goal line. Newtonmore withdrew Rory Kennedy at the interval and Scotland Head Coach Ronald Ross will be delighted that one of his key defenders has got 45 minutes under his belt ahead of the weekend’s Marine Harvest Shinty / Hurling international against Ireland. Stuart Mitchell came on in Kennedy’s place. The pattern of play continued towards the Oban goal and when a 50 minute corner dropped at the back post, Evan Menzies and Matt Rippon went for the ball. Rippon went to clear the danger but ended up volleying the ball into the bottom corner of his own net. Jamie Robinson took over from Drew MacDonald in midfield a couple of minutes later. Glen MacKintosh had spurned a couple of chances before he made it 5-0 on 76 minutes. Scott MacMillan strode forward with the ball out of the Oban Camanachd defence. Ackie MacRae, who had pushed forward, read the run of the ball and he won possession. MacRae’s strike was stopped by Glen MacKintosh in space and the Scotland forward turned and sent a fierce shot high into the net. Fraser MacKintosh replaced Evan Menzies for the closing stages whilst Oban Camanachd lost Matt Rippon through injury late in the game. Newtonmore never looked like losing and Michael Russell had a superb game whilst Drew MacDonald was also really effective during his time on the park. Newtonmore may have missed out on the opportunity to make it eight successive league titles but any season which ends with the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup on the sideboard is a success, added of course to the MacTavish Cup won earlier on the year. Matt Rippon and Scott MacMillan earned pass marks for a disappointing Oban Camanachd side who lacked a finisher. Oban Camanachd’s next scheduled match is a home meeting with Lovat on Saturday 28 October 2017 whilst a trip to Kilmallie follows to complete the season the week after.
Marine Harvest National Division Oban Celtic 1 Inveraray 2 Oban Celtic finished their season off with a 2-1 defeat against Inveraray in a tight match at Mossfield. The sides had previously met three times during the season with Oban Celtic winning twice and Inveraray once. With Oban Celtic manager Kenny Wotherspoon on holiday, Davie Hamilton looked after the side and whilst Celtic trio Ross MacMillan, Michael MacKinnon and Fulton Ronald were all free of suspension, the latter was unavailable for this one. David MacInnes served the second match of a two-game ban. Ally McKerracher made a welcome return from injury and he was an influential figure once he settled into the match. Inveraray were without Ally Munro, Ally MacDonald and Nicolas Crawford. Inveraray broke the deadlock on 8 minutes. Ruaraidh Graham took an initial shot and Allan MacDonald followed up to bundle the ball home. Ross MacMillan drew Oban Celtic level a minute before the break. Daniel Madej played the ball down the line to Andy MacDonald who played it further down the wing to Ross MacMillan. MacMillan got past Robert Wood and although Scott MacLachlan initially stopped the ball, he couldn’t get it away and MacMillan tapped it into the net from the left to make it 1-1 at the break. The winning goal came on 77 minutes. Inveraray had possession in the corner on the right and Fraser Watt and Allan MacDonald played a one-two before Watt floated the ball goalwards and it beat the keeper on the opposite side to make it 2-1. Inveraray were reduced to eleven players for the closing stages when Allan MacDonald given a straight red card for a show of dissent to match official Ronnie Campbell who refereed the match well. Oban Celtic pushed for a leveler but Inveraray held out for the win which guarantees them a fourth place finish in their first season in the National. Both keepers – Iain MacFarlane for Oban Celtic and Inveraray’s Scott MacLachlan – made good saves in the game. Inveraray still have one match remaining when they travel to Fort William at the end of the month and they will be without the suspended Allan MacDonald for that one.
Marine Harvest North Division 1 Kinlochshiel P Beauly P The meeting between the Kinlochshiel seconds and the Beauly seconds was postponed on Friday afternoon as Kirkton was ruled unplayable.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Lochside Rovers 8 Kyles Athletic 0 Lochside Rovers are Marine Harvest South Division 1 champions after they defeated the Kyles Athletic second team 8-0 at Ganavan. Craig MacDougall was sidelined for Lochside as he served a one-match suspension for passing through the disciplinary points threshold and in all, manager Gareth Evans was without half a dozen players though holiday commitments and first team call-ups. There was a first pick for 16 year old Euan Logan who started on the bench. Kyles Athletic boss Peter Mobeck travelled with just eleven players so Lochside played the game with a double full centre. However Kyles were able to include Colin MacDonald. Lochside got off to a great start, taking the lead in the opening minute. Daniel Sloss played the ball up the park to Lennon Campbell who found Michael MacQueen and he took a good touch before shooting home from the edge of the D. It was Michael MacQueen who scored again on 16 minutes. MacQueen got in front of his marker to collect a long ball from Chrissie MacMillan and he struck a half-volley shoulder-high into the net. 14 year old Ross Campbell has been given a run in the Lochside team in recent weeks and he looks as if he has been playing there all season. And it was Campbell who added a third on 21 minutes. Scott Robertson on the wing played the ball to the back post where Campbell produced a nice first-time finish into the bottom corner of the net. The goals kept flowing and Lewis Buchanan made it 4-0 on the half hour mark. There was a good exchange of passes between Iain MacFarlane and Lennon Campbell before Michael MacQueen picked out Lewis Buchanan and he fired the ball low into the corner of the net. Lennon Campbell scored twice more before the break. Campbell finished well after taking a Michael MacQueen pass on 33 minutes and, just a couple of minutes before the break, Campbell produced a good back-hand strike after a great ball from Chrissie MacMillan found Lewis Buchanan. Ewan Logan came off the bench at the break and he added a sixth with a debut goal on 51 minutes. Lennon Campbell’s shot from the angle was saved with his feet by the Kyles keeper but Logan was first to react to score. Lennon Campbell completed his hat-trick with 9 minutes remaining. Lewis Buchanan played the ball over the top where Campbell ran onto it and, without breaking stride; he smashed the ball into the top corner of the net to claim a special goal. On a heavy park, Lochside played a significant part of the game with a 14 year old, two 15 year olds and a 16 year old in their forward line which bodes well for the future. Lochside have looked favourites to win the league for some weeks now and with two games to go, they have shown remarkable consistency, only dropping four points all season, scoring 74 goals whilst only conceding 12 times.
Bute W/O v Glenorchy The Bute second team were awarded the points when Glenorchy were unable to raise a team for their 3pm throw up at The Meadows. Bute’s last match was against Col Glen in mid-August and they will try again against Taynuilt this Saturday. Glenorchy haven’t played since early September and this is the third time they have been unable to raise a team since then. They are scheduled to travel to play Col Glen this coming Saturday.
Ballachulish P Kilmory P There was disappointment for Kilmory as they were left idle for the fourth successive Saturday due to an unplayable field. Their match against Ballachulish at The Jubilee Park will be rescheduled. Ballachulish don’t have a league fixture this Saturday whilst Kilmory travel to take on the Kyles Athletic colts.
Taynuilt P Col Glen P Taynuilt’s meeting with Col Glen at The Taynuilt Sports Field was postponed on Friday because of an unplayable field.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Glengarry W/O v Lovat Champions Glengarry were to be presented with the Marine Harvest North Division 2 trophy following their match against the Lovat second team at Craigard. However Lovat were unable to raise a team so ‘Garry were awarded the points. This was ‘Garry’s last match of a season in which they have only dropped four league points and the club decided to go ahead with the trophy presentation regardless. So with Camanachd Association President Jim Bar on hand, Glengarry captain John MacKinnon lifted the Marine Harvest North Division 2 trophy before the players gathered for a social evening.
Kilmallie 3 Caberfeidh 0 Fourth placed Kilmallie seconds beat third placed Caberfeidh 3-0 at The Canal Parks. Scotland U21 player Innes Blackhall was given a run out for the Kilmallie reserves and he scored twice with Dean Williamson getting the other.
Lochcarron P Strathglass P The game between Lochcarron and Strathglass was called off on Friday as Lochcarron’s Battery Park pitch was unplayable.
Boleskine v Lochaber W/O The Lochaber seconds were awarded the points when Boleskine were unable to field a team for their meeting at Smith Park.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Inveraray 2 Dunoon Camanachd 0 It was title celebration day for the Inveraray second team as they were presented with the Marine Harvest South Division 2 trophy following their 2-0 win over Dunoon at The Winterton. The match was switched to Sunday 15 October 2017 with a 2pm throw up. Inveraray were without captain Allan Cameron, Lewis Cameron and David MacPherson. Gregor Mather played the full 90 minutes in goal in place of Graham MacPherson. Dunoon travelled with just nine players so John Smylie and Inveraray youngsters Jack Blackwood and Calum MacDonald turned out for them and all had great games. The first half ended goalless but Euan McMurdo, who had a fine game at full centre, put Inveraray ahead on 75 minutes when he shot across the keeper from the left. Hamish MacLennan made it 2-0 with 5 minutes remaining. Inveraray’s David Robertson had a frustrating time up front, hitting the post and finding the young Dunoon goal keeper in fine form, but when Robertson played a free-hit to Hamish MacLellan, the youngster struck the ball home on the volley. Inveraray had lots of pressure and deserved the win whilst John Smylie had an excellent game at full back for Dunoon. With skipper Allan Cameron unavailable, Robert Wood, who started the season with the captain’s armband before playing the majority of the season with the first team, stepped up to accept the trophy from Steve Bracken from sponsors Marine Harvest which is added to the Bullough Cup won earlier in the season. Dunoon are scheduled to host Oban Lorn this Saturday.
Bute W/O v Glasgow Mid Argyll The Glasgow Mid Argyll seconds were unable to raise a team for their noon throw up against the Bute seconds at The Meadows. The Islanders have been awarded the points. The Bute colts have two matches remaining starting with this Saturday’s home meeting with Strachur. The GMA seconds have now completed their league programme.
(All throw ups were at 2.30pm unless the match report states otherwise)
Roll of Honour The competition winners in the men’s game are now known. Marine Harvest Premiership – Kinlochshiel Marine Harvest National Division – Skye Camanachd Marine Harvest North Division 1 – Newtonmore Marine Harvest South Division 1 – Lochside Rovers Marine Harvest North Division 2 – Glengarry Marine Harvest South Division 2 – Inveraray The cup successes were as follows: Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup – Newtonmore Artemis Macaulay Cup – Kyles Athletic MacTavish Cup – Newtonmore Gregor Cameron Glasgow Celtic Society Cup – Kyles Athletic Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup – Lochside Rovers Strathdearn Cup - Kingussie Bullough Cup - Inveraray
WCA Round Up Just the one match went ahead following the women’s scheduled shinty action for Sunday 15 October 2017.
Marine Harvest National Division 1 Skye Camanachd P Lochaber P The crucial league meeting between Skye Camanachd and Lochaber at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree has been rescheduled for Saturday 4 November 2017. Skye need a point to confirm a second successive Marine Harvest National Division 1 title. However a Lochaber win will give them the advantage in the title race.
Fort William W/O v Lovat The leagues two newly promoted sides were due to meet at An Aird However Lovat were again unable to raise a team so Lochaber have been awarded the points.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Lochaber 8 Inverness 0 The Lochaber seconds turned in a fine performance to maintain their unbeaten run with an 8-0 win over Inverness at Spean Bridge. Rebecca MacLean, Rebecca Masson and Claire Delaney all scored twice with Shanna Michie and Stephanie Spiers also netting. It was a first Lochaber goal for Stephanie Spears in which she dribbled the ball into the D before netting.
Glengarry v Strathspey W/O Glengarry were unable to raise a team for their 1.30pm throw up with Strathspey at Craigard. Strathspey were awarded the points.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Lorn P Cowal & Bute P The game between Lorn and Cowal & Bute was postponed because of an unplayable field. The game will be rescheduled. |