The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 2 April 2022 | |
03 April 2022 There was a mixture of league and cup action on Saturday 2 April 2022.
cottages.com MacTavish Cup – First Round Caberfeidh P Glenurquhart P The cottages.com MacTavish Cup first round tie between Caberfeidh and Glenurquhart at Castle Leod was delayed a week because of the Glen’s Free Saturday and it will now take place this coming Saturday due to covid restrictions. The winners will play Fort William at An Aird in the quarter-finals.
Mowi Premiership Lovat 1 Oban Camanachd 0 Graeme MacMillan’s goal on 9 minutes was just enough to separate Lovat and Oban Camanachd in their 3pm throw up at Balgate. Callum Cruden returned to Lovat’s starting after serving a three-match suspension which dated back to last season. A family wedding ruled out Greg Matheson and Danny Kelly. Joe Embleton dropped back into defence with Chris Johnston starting in midfield. Sam Stubbs took a place on the bench after scoring a hat-trick for the Lovat seconds earlier in the day whilst Martin Mainland and Bailey MacKay both returned to join him. Daniel Cameron and Daniel Sloss were unavailable for Oban Camanachd so Scott McKillop and Scott Robertson, for his first senior start, lined up alongside Garry Lord and Craig Easton in defence. Scott MacMillan was held in reserve alongside David Cameron and Ross Campbell. There was a minutes silence ahead of all weekend matches as shinty showed respect to former Camanachd Association President and Chieftain Donald Skinner who passed away recently. The Balgate surface was very bobbly and it took time for both teams to adapt to the conditions. Fraser Heath came close to giving Lovat a 4 minute lead, peeling away from his marker on the right before firing the ball into the side-netting. The hosts did get themselves in front on 9 minutes. A clearance out of defence sent Lovat up-field and Chris Johnston’s perfect ball from the left wing went over the visiting defence to an unmarked Graeme MacMillan who ran a few yards forward before composing himself and sending a 20 yard shot looping over Cameron Sutherland on the keeper’s left side. A good passing move on 16 minutes created a chance for Daniel MacVicar but he shot past the keeper’s left post. Lovat suffered a blow just after the half hour when they lost Fraser Heath with what looked like a hamstring injury. In truth, there were few first half chances after that with a similar pattern of play unfolding in the second half. Daniel Madej came close to pulling Oban Camanachd level on 65 minutes when he ran clear from his marker but his shot shaved the woodwork. Evan MacLellan also shot wide for the Oban side. Both defences were strong with Drew Howie and Daniel Grieve impressing for Lovat whilst Scott Robertson shone for Oban Camanachd. There was also a good tussle between Oban Camanachd defender Scott McKillop and Lovat’s Marc MacLachlan. There were good midfield battles but the lack of punch up front left both keepers largely untroubled in the second half. Graeme MacMillan worked tirelessly for Lovat with his overall contribution of man-of-the-match proportions. Blair MacFarlane was again excellent in the Oban Camanachd midfield.
Glasgow Mid Argyll 1 Kyles Athletic 1 Glasgow Mid Argyll picked up their first point of the season, drawing 1-1 with Kyles Athletic in their 3pm throw up at Peterson Park. GMA’s Ally McKerracher began a two-match suspension whilst Craig Anderson joined Ewen Fraser, Calum McLay and Garry Luke on the injury list. They included former Kingussie player Chris Holley-song. Conor Kennedy returned for Kyles but Colin MacDonald was still missing. Both goals came in a busy 5 minute spell towards the end of the first half with Oliver MacRae giving ‘Shiel a 40 minute lead as his shot went through the keeper’s legs. However a brilliant leveller from Roddy MacDonald on the stroke of half-time made it 1-1. MacDonald caught a high ball forward on the drop before striking the ball on the turn into the top corner of the net. GMA’s John Don MacKenzie was solid in defence whilst Kyles had keeper John Whyte to thank for a great double save a couple of minutes from time and he eventually palmed the ball away to safety
Kingussie 2 Kinlochshiel 1 Kingussie stay top of the Mowi Premiership after beating Kinlochshiel 2-1 at the Dell. With Kingussie manager John Gibson unavailable, Ali MacLeod took the side and with hamstring injuries depriving him of the services of James Hutchison and Fraser Munro, whilst Liam Borthwick remained out with a hand injury, he had to completely revamp his midfield. MacLeod opted for Cameron Bremner and Lee Riddoch flanking last year’s top scorer James Falconer who showed his versatility in the full centre role. Dylan Borthwick was missing and Ryan Borthwick and Lee Bain weren’t fully fit but took places on the bench alongside Cluanie Fraser and veteran James MacLean who answered the call to help out. Kinlochshiel manager Johnston Gill had pretty much a full squad to call on with Duncan Matheson returning to take his place in defence after missing the previous week’s defeat to Lovat. Archie MacRae was also back and he took a place on the bench. Kingussie did some early defending before gaining a 5 minute lead. Roddy Young came deep to win possession and he found Savio Genini on the right. However Genini was impeded as he wriggled free from Finlay MacRae giving the Kings a set-piece opportunity to the right of the D. Savio Genini took the free-hit, cutting a bouncing ball back to Ruaridh Anderson whose attempted shot broke for Roddy Young in a central position and his backhand strike looped high into the net. Kinlochshiel drew level just 5 minutes into the second half. Donald Nixon launched a huge hit-in from the right which Keith MacRae leapt to touch into the D. Kingussie keeper Rory MacGregor went to clear but the ball came off John MacRae, falling kindly for the Scotland forward and from the right of the D, he tucked the ball low into the net from a tight angle to make it 1-1. Rory MacGregor made a fine save to block Donald Nixon’s shot from wide on the right before palming the ball out for a corner whilst at the other end; Roddy Young was just a whisker away with a drive from wide on the right. Rory MacGregor stretched to turn Keith MacRae’s drive from the right over the bar and Kingussie took their one-goal advantage into the interval. The match didn’t stay level for long though as Kingussie regained the lead following a flowing counter-attack just 5 minutes later. ‘Shiel’s Ali Nixon volleyed a great ball forward from wide on the left and Rory MacGregor saved Keith MacRae’s shot at the expense of a corner on the ‘Shiel left. Ali Nixon and Jordan Fraser exchanged passes following a short corner before Nixon’s ball into the D was swept away by keeper MacGregor. Roddy Young showed a delightful touch to get away from Mark MacDonald before speeding down the left flank. MacDonald looked to have made a recovery tackle but Young stretched to move the ball across the D to Ruaridh Anderson on the right and he struck a terrific first-time backhand shot across keeper Josh Grant and into the far corner of the net, just inside the post, to make it 2-1. As the contest moved into the final 20 minutes, there were chances at both ends as Rory MacGregor palmed away Kinlochshiel substitute Archie MacRae’s effort from distance whilst Josh Grant dived to his right to deny Savio Genini. Then, good play from Savio Genini after gathering James Falconer’s ball forward saw him find Iain Fraser but his low shot from the right was saved with his right foot by goalie Grant with the ball going out for a corner. The visitors pushed Duncan Matheson up front late in the game as they went in search of an equaliser with David Falconer coming on in defence but Kingussie saw out the closing stages for their fourth successive league win which means they stay a point clear at the top of the league.
Newtonmore 3 Fort William 1 Newtonmore remain second in the table after they came from behind to beat Fort William 3-1 at the Eilan. Both teams were along usual lines for this clash and the hosts went close in the opening minute when Duncan MacPherson’s effort came back off the post. However it was the visitors who struck first with a good goal when Lewis Morrison’s first-time effort from a ball from the wing gave his side a 7 minute lead. ‘More’s Fraser MacKintosh saw an early effort disallowed before Duncan MacPherson turned the game Newtonmore’s way with a quick-fire double on 30 and 32 minutes. The former Boleskine player’s leveller was a strike on the run before he beat Fort keeper Paul MacKay from outside the D a couple of minutes later. Fort William’s chances were dealt a significant blow on 34 minutes when referee Martin MacLean sent off talisman Arran MacPhee. There was a scuffle and a squaring up between MacPhee and ‘More’s Max Campbell which resulted in the Fort man being red carded for his part so the visitors played out the final hour with only eleven players and ‘More deployed Steven Macdonald as the extra man.. ‘More continued to create first half chances and Conor Jones extended their lead on 42 minutes with the full centre pushing forward to take the ball down following a corner before flicking it into the net. There was no further scoring in this keenly contested affair during which there were a few incidents for referee MacLean to deal with. The win means ‘More remain a point behind league leaders Kingussie after four games with Oban Camanachd three points behind in third. Lovat have won both their fixtures and they only trail the Oban side on goal difference.
Mowi National Division Strathglass 9 Oban Celtic 0 Strathglass left Oban Celtic still looking for their first points of the season with a comfortable 9-0 win their 3pm throw up at Cannich. Strathglass played well in the game although Oban Celtic travelled light with their absentees including Lewis Mcphee, Michael MacKinnon, Duncan MacDonald, Jamie Forgrieve, Scott Dempster, George MacMillan and Lennon Campbell only able to take a place on the bench where he was an unused substitute. In an ominous sign of things to come, Strathglass had the ball in the net within seconds of throw up but the effort was ruled out for offside. The home side took early control of the game though with Penri Jones scoring on 3 minutes and 13 minutes, either side of Steven Hyslop’s 10 minute strike. Penri Jones was striking the ball well and he completed his hat-trick on 32 minutes with Michael Stokes opening his account just 3 minutes later to make it 5-0 at the break. Michael Stokes and Steven Hyslop both got their second goals on 52 minutes and 58 minutes respectively to make it 7-0. When a strike from distance deflected off Dylan Cooke’s club into the Oban Celtic net on 65 minutes it pretty much summed up the visitor’s Celtic’s day. Michael Stokes rounded off the scoring, completing his hat-trick on 82 minutes to make the final score 9-0.
Skye Camanachd 2 Beauly 2 Title contenders Skye Camanachd and Beauly drew 2-2 at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. There was a return to Skye after a 4-year spell with Kyles Athletic for Neil MacVicar and he started on the bench. Somhairle MacDonald and Taylor Matheson were missing. Beauly opted to play top scorer Ryan MacKay at buckshee back to help snuff out Skye’s attacking threat. Skye were quickly out of the blocks and they took the lead with only just over a minute on the clock. Jordan Murchison drew three Beauly defenders and appeared to be impeded but still managed to force the ball towards the D where Danny Morrison beat keeper MacKay Murray to make it 1-0. Euan MacCormick ‘s equaliser on 31 minutes came against the run of play with the youngster’s low shot bouncing over home keeper Murphy Henderson’s foot. Beauly took the lead a couple of minutes later. David MacLean got past his marker and although Murphy Henderson saved MacLean’s shot, the rebound rose into the air and Conor Ross got to the ball first to score. Skye made changes at the interval with Neil MacVicar coming on at full centre and with Ross Gordon and Iain MacLellan involved in the move, James Pringle ran in to make it 2-2 on 70 minutes. Both sides had chances to win during the final 20 minutes with Iain MacLellan spurning an opportunity for Skye and Sean Stewart shooting just wide at the death for Beauly. The sides meet again at the same venue in the cottages.com MacTavish Cup quarter-finals on Saturday 16 April 2022.
Lochaber P Aberdour P Lochaber’s clash with Aberdour at Spean Bridge was a covid-related postponement.
Highland Industrial Supplies Sutherland Cup - First Round Section 1 Lewis Camanachd 2 Boleskine 2 (Lewis won 2-0 on penalties) Shinty returned to Farr as Boleskine and Lewis Camanachd clashed in a 1pm throw up at Smith Park. This was actually Lewis Camanachd’s home tie but travel difficulties saw the venue rearranged. Neil Hope got Boleskine off to a great start with a goal in the opening minute. The hosts worked the ball from one end of the pitch to the other with Hope’s backhand strike from wide on the left going across the keeper. Callum Muir made it 2-0 on 25 minutes, firing home from the right off the D after a nice lay-off. Ali Lamont got Lewis back into it on 50 minutes; turning home Donald Lamont’s cut-back from the right. When referee John Matheson awarded Lewis a penalty with 15 minutes remaining, Scott MacLeod, who missed from the spot during the first half, held his nerve to send the ball into the top corner of the net to the keeper’s left to make it 2-2. There were chances at both ends with Stuart Campbell magnificent in the Lewis goal whilst Donald Lamont twice hit the post and also the crossbar for the Islanders. With no further scoring, this thrilling match went to a penalty shoot-out. Lewis keeper Stuart Campbell saved four spot-hits with the Islanders scoring twice through Scott MacLeod and Paddy Sinclair to secure Lewis Camanachd’s first-ever cup-tie success.
Aberdeen University P Strathspey Camanachd P Aberdeen University’s meeting with Strathspey Camanachd at Balgownie was a covid postponement.
Section 2 Fort William 0 Kingussie 2 The Kingussie colts beat the Fort William colts for the second successive Saturday, winning 2-0 at An Aird. Goals from Robert Shiells on 7 minutes and Russell Menzies on 33 minutes saw the Kings through to the second round. This was a good game and Kingussie had keeper Craig Dawson to thanks for some fine saves.
Lochside Rovers P Newtonmore P The much anticipated tie between the competitions two most recent winners, Lochside Rovers and the Newtonmore second team, was postponed because of covid restrictions. The sides will try again this coming Saturday.
Section 3 Glenurquhart 6 Inverness 0 The Glenurquhart seconds were too strong for the Inverness seconds, winning 6-0 at Blairbeg. James MacPherson hit an early double with goals on 2 minutes and 5 minutes and Angus MacCallum made it 3-0 on 9 minutes. James MacPherson completed his hat-trick on 21 minutes with Charlie MacLeod scoring a minute later. James MacPherson got his fourth goal of the afternoon on 27 minutes.
Skye Camanachd P Kinlochshiel P The noon throw up between the Skye Camanachd and Kinlochshiel second teams at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree was postponed because of covid restrictions affecting the visitors. The tie will now take place this coming Saturday.
Section 4 Glasgow Mid Argyll 4 Kilmory 0 The Glasgow Mid Argyll reserves ran out 4-0 victors against Kilmory in their noon throw up at Peterson Park. Ross Brown netted on 17 minutes and 24 minutes with Nick Lavin adding another on 36 minutes to make it 3-0 at half-time. Former Oban Celtic player Mark Bain made it 4-0 on 62 minutes.
Inveraray 3 Strachur-Dunoon 2 (After extra-time) It took extra-time before Inveraray edged out Strachur-Dunoon 3-2 at the Winterton. Inveraray were 4-0 winners when the sides met in the league on the second day of the new shinty season but this was a much closer affair. Inveraray led on 10 minutes through Ewan Donnan but it was no surprise when Steven Turner shot past young Inveraray keeper Dillon Conn to level on 35 minutes. Graham Love put Strachur-Dunoon ahead when he sent the ball high into the net with 20 minutes remaining but a second from Ewan Donnan, finishing off a good passing move just 4 minutes later, made it 2-2. With no further scoring, referee Ewan MacDonald took the tie to an extra-time period and Allan MacDonald got the goal that made the difference just 4 minutes ahead of the dreaded penalty shoot-out. The goal came following a short corner as MacDonald bulleted the ball into the net at the second attempt to give Inveraray a deserved win.
Mowi North Division 1 Glengarry 0 Inverness 1 The Inverness first team edged out Glengarry 1-0 at Craigard. Ruaraidh Hughes scored the only goal of the game on 13 minutes to give Inverness their first league win of the season.
Lovat 6 Caberfeidh 0 The Lovat seconds scored four second half goals to beat the Caberfeidh seconds 6-0 in their noon throw up at Balgate. Sam Stubbs on 15 minutes and a goal from player / manager Raymond Rennie on 40 minutes gave the hosts a 2-0 interval lead. Sam Stubbs got his second a minute after the restart with Lewis Bryson adding a fourth on 63 minutes. Sam Stubbs, who got some first team action in Lovat’s win over Kinlochshiel last weekend, completed his hat-trick on 75 minutes with Caley Matheson adding his name to the scoresheet just 10 minutes from time.
Mowi South Division 1 Cruachanside 4 Kyles Athletic 0 Cruachanside collected their first points of the season, beating the Kyles Athletic juniors at 4-0 at the Taynuilt Sports Field. Kyles were missing the suspended David Zavaroni and they fell behind to Kyle MacFarlane’s goal on 16 minutes. Conor Sartain found the net on 20 and 35 minutes to make it 3-0 with Craig MacIntyre adding a fourth on 72 minutes.
Ballachulish 0 Col Glen 0 Ballachulish and Col Glen shared the points in a goalless draw at the Jubilee Park. Col Glen had the better of the game but just couldn’t find the net.
Bute P Tayforth P Tayforth were unable to raise a team for their match against Bute at the Meadows. Tayforth have had two points deducted and the game will be rescheduled.
Mowi North Division 2 Kilmallie 2 Lochaber 2 The Kilmallie second team and the Lochaber second team drew 2-2 in their derby at the Canal Parks. Martyn Cameron gave the home side a 2 minute lead with Duncan MacDougall adding a second on 17 minutes and it remained 2-0 until half-time. Kilmallie looked in control but Ryan Gunn pulled a goal back on 68 minutes and Lochaber earned a point when Innes Whyte netted on 90 minutes. Lochaber’s Ben MacDonald was on the touchline cheering his team on after recently going through an operation after suffering a serious head injury playing for the side.
Strathglass 2 Beauly 4 Jack MacDonald’s treble helped the Beauly colts defeat the Strathglass colts 4-2 in their noon throw up at Cannich. This was a game of two halves and the Strath led through Ali MacAdam’s goal on 15 minutes but Jack MacDonald pulled the sides level on 41 minutes. However there was still time for Sam Cumming to score on the stroke of half-time to give the hosts a 2-1 interval advantage. Beauly made changes at the interval and the second half was just a minute old when Jack MacDonald got his second with Kyle MacDonald giving Beauly the lead for the first time in the match on 50 minutes. Jack MacDonald completed his hat-trick on 55 minutes to make the final score 4-2.
Mowi South Division 2 Bute 4 Aberdour 2 The Bute seconds were 4-2 winners against the Aberdour seconds in their 12.30pm throw up at the Meadows. Veteran Iain McDonald gave the Islanders an 8 minute lead with Craig Speirs adding a second on 15 minutes. With Rory McDonald on 25 minutes and Neil McKirdy on 34 minutes, Bute looked out of sight. Aberdour rallied though and Logan Adam struck twice on 39 and 62 minutes to make the final score 4-2.
(All throw ups were at 2.30pm unless the match report states otherwise) |