The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 25 June 2022 | |
26 June 2022 Glasgow Mid Argyll lifted the Scottish Sea Farms Glasgow Celtic Society Cup and Kingussie and Lovat reached the Artemis Macaulay Cup semi-finals following the shinty action on Saturday 25 June 2022.
Scottish Sea Farms Glasgow Celtic Society Celtic Cup Final Glasgow Mid Argyll 1 Kyles Athletic 0 It was an historic day for Glasgow Mid Argyll who won the 117th Scottish Sea Farms Glasgow Celtic Society Cup Final, their first success in shinty’s oldest trophy since 1980, beating Kyles Athletic 1-0 at a blustery Peterson Park Yoker. The wind across the field offered no obvious advantage to either side but the extensive work on the pitch itself over recent weeks left it in fantastic condition. GMA boss Alan MacRae was missing Hamish Anderson and Calum McLay who were on holiday whilst Garry Luke’s ACL injury ruled him out. Defender Ryan Harrison and forward Ally McKerracher both had hamstring injuries. The former started and was to play a key role but the latter missed out. Kyles Athletic manager Robert Baxter masterminded last year’s success but he was missing key players Roddy MacDonald and Andrew King who were on a pre-booked holiday which had already been cancelled twice because of covid. Rupert Williamson and George Thomson started in defence with David Zavaroni named in the forward line. This 4.05pm throw was broadcast live on BBC ALBA. Kyles started on the front foot and Jonathon Oates in the GMA goal mad good early saves to deny Sorley Thomson following a free-hit and Robbie MacLeod after a sweeping move forward. The Glasgow side settled into the game though and they took the lead after 19 minutes following a free-hit in the middle of the park given when Jamie McFadyen was hauled back by George Thomson. John Sweeney sent the ball forward and Brian Slattery slipped a pass to John McNulty on the right and, with his back to goal, the former Glenorchy man turned and fired a glorious back-hand drive across the keeper with the head-height strike going inside John Whyte’s right post. Kyles responded and Sorley Thomson made a great run across goal before seeing his low shot rebound off the base of the keeper’s left post whilst at the other end, John Whyte saved low from John McNulty. The first half finished with a flurry when first Brian Slattery ran through on goal after charging down Callum Millar’s clearance but Millar recovered well to help win back possession. Then Robbie MacLeod was lucky to get away with a booking for a late swipe at his opponent whilst David Zavaroni had to go off to get a hand injury treated with Liam Arnott coming on but it remained 1-0 until the break. At half-time, the Glasgow Celtic Society once again honoured the winning team from 50 years ago when the surviving veterans from the 1972 Glasgow Mid Argyll side which beat Kyles Athletic 3-1 were introduced to the crowd. Kyles Athletic pressed from the restart but the GMA defence of Ryan Harrison, John Don MacKenzie, Finlay MacMillan and Jonnie MacAskill restricted them to few opportunities with Liam Arnott firing wide just after the hour. John Whyte saved from Ewen Fraser before clearing the ball under pressure following a rare Glasgow attack but most of the action remained at the other end. There was a spate of bookings with GMA’s former Kinlochshiel trio of John Don MacKenzie, Jonnie MacAskill and Oliver MacRae all yellow carded within quick succession. Kyles continued to attack and Jonathon Oates made the save of the match, palming away Conor Kennedy’s fierce back-hand strike from the right. David Zavaroni was next into the book for having too much to say to the referee and Kyles rolled the dice for the final 10 minutes with Callum Millar going from full back to full forward. It was a nervy wait for the GMA support but their side saw out the closing stages until Oban referee Alec MacVicar brought the final to a close and he was presented with the Jack Asher Memorial Whistle. The Donald J MacNiven Memorial Medal for man of the match was awarded to GMA full back Ryan Harrison who was simply outstanding throughout. For GMA manager Alan MacRae, it was a notable success in this south showpiece event after twice winning the north equivalent, the MacTavish Cup, with Lovat. All that was left was for Glasgow Mid Argyll captain John Don MacKenzie to raise the Scottish Sea Farms Glasgow Celtic Society Cup which now takes pride of place at the club after a long 42-year wait.
Artemis Macaulay Cup - Quarter Finals Caberfeidh 1 Kingussie 4 Caberfeidh took the lead against Kingussie for the third successive Saturday but the Kings won again, this time 4-1 at Castle Leod. Caberfeidh again scored first but, as before in their recent cottages.com MacTavish Cup Final and the Mowi Premiership encounters, Kingussie recovered to win the day, this time securing a place in the Artemis Macaulay Cup semi-finals with a 4-1 victory at Castle Leod. Caberfeidh’s Ally MacLennan missed his side’s league defeat against the Kings the previous weekend but he returned for this one. Kevin Bartlett was unavailable. Lee Bain and James Falconer remained amongst the Kingussie absentees but Cameron Bremner returned to take a place on the bench alongside Fraser Munro and George Taylor Ramsay. Kingussie made a good start to the game but couldn’t break through the home defence. So it was against the run of play that Caberfeidh took a 5 minute lead. Kingussie struggled to clear a ball into their defence and when Robert Mabon’s half-hit clearance fell to Craig Morrison around the penalty spot, the Caberfeidh hit-man turned and fired past Rory MacGregor to make it 1-0. Kingussie equalised just 10 minutes later with a similar goal. This time it was Cabers who struggled to clear their lines and when the ball landed with Liam Borthwick, he flicked possession to skipper Savio Genini on the penalty spot and he applied a typical Genini finish with his low centre of gravity and quick swing getting him by his marker and he fired the ball through keeper Iain McCall’s legs to make it 1-1. Caberfeidh responded in the best possible way by going back on the attack and Kingussie had keeper Rory MacGregor to thank for two terrific saves, both from Craig Morrison. First, on 23 minutes, Craig Morrison’s strike was heading for the top corner of the net before MacGregor stretched to turn the ball to safety and then, on the half-hour, Morrison twisted by his marker but his low shot was saved by the Kingussie custodian by his left-hand post. Kingussie were always a danger with their well organised forward line a constant threat and Caberfeidh would probably have been content to go into the break on level terms. However, just as they did in the MacTavish Final, the Kings hit their opponents with a double sucker-punch just before the interval. There was an element of luck to Roddy Young’s first goal on 44 minutes. Dylan Borthwick sent the ball forward and keeper Iain McCall stretched in an attempt to save Roddy Young’s low shot with his foot but he did little more than diverting the ball into his own net. Straight from the throw up, and with the contest moving into to stoppage time, he ball landed with Roddy Young who weaved by two defenders before slotting the ball by the keeper to give Kingussie a 3-1 half-time lead which stunned their opponents. The Kingussie forwards linked up well from the restart and the second half was just 5 minutes old when good play between the forward line ended with Roddy Young running towards the Caberfeidh defence on the right and he found the net to grab a hat-trick for the second successive Saturday. Caberfeidh refused to give up and Rory MacGregor pulled off two more stunning saves to deny both Craig Morrison and Ally MacLennan on 65 and 78 minutes. The win came at a cost though as Calum Grant suffered a hand injury and was later confirmed to have a broken finger. Team-mate Dylan Borthwick took a blow to the ankle which will also see him sidelined. This was a very entertaining game with Kingussie keeper Rory MacGregor and hat-trick hero Roddy Young sharing the man of the match accolades. There was a great tussle between two of shinty’s top players; Caberfeidh buckshee back Blair Morrison and Kingussie play-maker Ruaridh Anderson. Kingussie will play Lovat in the Artemis Macaulay Cup north semi-final with Kyles Athletic and Oban Camanachd already through to the south semis.
Kinlochshiel 2 Lovat 3 (After extra-time) It took extra-time to separate Kinlochshiel and Lovat in their 3pm throw up at Rèaraig. Kinlochshiel fielded a strong side with David Falconer starting at wing centre in place of Duncan “WD” MacRae, who was on the bench, whilst Lovat were missing Lorne MacKay and Callum Cruden. Fraser Heath scored for the fourth successive match to give Lovat a 26 minute lead. With Greg Matheson and Marc MacLachlan involved in the build-up, Heath touched the ball away from Duncan Matheson to the Lovat left before crashing a magnificent shot high into the net to make it 1-0. Kinlochshiel will feel they could not only have drawn level but got themselves in front before the interval other than for some inspired goalkeeping from Lovat custodian Stuart MacDonald who was again on top form. There was just 11 minutes of regulation time left when Jordan Fraser found a way past the Scotland keeper. Duncan Matheson, who had been pushed forward into attack, rolled a free-hit back and Jordan Fraser’s low shot went right into the corner of the goal, beating a diving MacDonald at his right post. With no further scoring, referee Deek Cameron took this thrilling tie to an extra-time period. Fraser Heath scored again on 104 minutes with what was his eighth goal over the last four matches. Marc MacLachlan and Graeme MacMillan exchanged passes from a corner on the left and when MacMillan touched the ball to Heath, he swivelled and swept the ball past Josh Grant to the keeper’s left side. However Kinlochshiel fought back again, levelling for a second time just 6 minutes later when Donald Nixon made a late run to the back post and he took one touch to take the ball into space on the right, at the edge of the D, before smashing a shot by the keeper’s head and into the far side of the net. The winning goal came with just two minutes remaining. Greg Matheson won possession following a clearance out of the home defence and he took the ball wide to the left. Meantime Marc MacLachlan had found space at the back post and was perfectly placed to drive Matheson’s cross home and send Lovat through to a semi-final meeting with Kingussie.
Mowi Premiership Oban Camanachd 3 Fort William 0 Oban Camanachd moved two points clear of Kyles Athletic to consolidate fifth place in shinty’s top flight after beating Fort William 3-0 at Mossfield. Daniel Sloss, Blair MacFarlane and Ross Campbell all returned for Oban Camanachd who were at full strength for the first time this season. Malcolm Clark and his apprentice Louise MacFarlane were fielded at full forward whilst Daniel Madej, Ross Campbell and Scott Robertson made up a strong bench. Fort William were without Victor Smith and Alexander MacMillan, Greig Kelly and Mark Fraser were held in reserve. The pitch was in great condition but a swirling wind made it tricky for both sets of players. Fort William made the better start without really troubling Cameron Sutherland in the Oban goal. Connor Howe continued his good scoring run, giving Oban Camanachd a 29 minute lead with a special goal as his 30 yard strike from the right went into the far top corner of the net past a helpless Paul MacKay in the Fort William goal. The home side doubled their lead 5 minutes after. Daniel Cameron’s ball forward invited Malcolm Clark to run off the circle to meet it. Clark juggled the ball before flicking it towards goal where Daniel MacVicar ran in to score. With Daniel Sloss and Scott McKillop shining at the back, Oban Camanachd had a solid base to build on and they switched things about following Ross Campbell’s introduction. Blair MacFarlane was withdrawn, Scott MacMillan went to centre and Malcolm Clark went onto the wing. Campbell took over from Clark in attack where he played well. Daniel Madej and Scott Robertson were given late outings from the bench. With just a minute remaining, Evan MacLellan made a good run up the right and Louie MacFarlane peeled away from his marker before lashing MacLellan’s ball into the net to score a deserved goal. Fort William defended well with Alexander Cameron excellent at the back but they will be concerned about a first half knee injury suffered by Arran MacPhee and he must be a doubt as the sides meet again in the league on Saturday, this time at An Aird. Oban Camanachd’s Daniel Madej misses out as he is on holiday.
Ferguson Transport & Shipping Balliemore Cup – Quarter-Final Beauly P Skye Camanachd P The Ferguson Transport & Shipping Balliemore Cup quarter-final tie between Beauly and holders Skye Camanachd, a repeat of last year’s final, was postponed because of covid affecting the Beauly camp. The postponement poses a fixture headache for the Camanachd Association. Skye have their designated ‘Free Saturday’ this coming weekend whilst they host Kingussie in the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup quarter-finals the week after. That leaves Saturday 16 July 2022 as the next free date for the quarter-final between Skye and Beauly, with Col-Glen awaiting the winners in the semi-final, and the final is currently scheduled just seven days later on Saturday 23 July 2022. Meantime Skye defender Neil MacVicar faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a broken jaw in the previous week’s league win over Lochaber and joins Martin Pringle, Ruaraidh MacLeod in the Islanders’ injury list.
Mowi National Division Aberdour 1 Glenurquhart 2 Glenurquhart came from behind to beat Aberdour 2-1 in their 3pm throw up at Sliver Sands. David MacDougall gave the hosts the lead on 27 minutes but James MacPherson’s double on 44 and 60 minutes gave the Glen both points.
Inveraray 3 Lochaber 0 Inveraray returned to their winning ways, scoring three times in the second half to beat Lochaber 3-0 at the Winterton. Lochaber opened with a strong wind in their favour but they were unable to make their advantage count. Lewis MacNicol broke the deadlock on 58 minutes with his first goal of the season with Campbell Watt making it 2-0 on 67 minutes just after Fraser Watt’s penalty had been saved. Campbell Watt then turned provider, finding his brother Fraser Watt at the front post from a corner and he shot across the keeper to make it 3-0 on 76 minutes.
Mowi North Division 1 Glengarry 13 Caberfeidh 2 Glengarry rattled in thirteen goals to crush the Caberfeidh colts 13-2 at Craigard. Cabers actually went in front through Ruairidh MacLeman on 2 minutes but Nick Dalgety on 7 minutes, Shaun Nicolson on 11 minutes and Rhuairaidh MacDonald’s goal on 18 minutes had ‘Garry quickly in control. Shaun Nicolson completed his hat-trick with efforts on 20 and 23 minutes to make it 5-1 and Nick Dalgety got his second on 32 minutes. A second from Rhuairaidh MacDonald on 37 minutes, Nick Dalgety’s hat-strike strike on 39 minutes and a fourth from Shaun Nicolson on 42 minutes made it 9-1 at the turnaround. Shaun Nicolson got his fifth a minute into the second half whilst youngster Jack West scored for the second successive Saturday on 57 minutes. Ian MacDonald gave Cabers some consolation on 68 minutes but Shaun Nicolson was running riot, completing a double-hat-trick on 73 minutes whilst Nick Dalgety got his fourth on 81 minutes to make it 13-2. With the Single Team Competition Cup Final against Col Glen on Saturday 16 July 2022, Glengarry, who go third in the league, are hitting form at the right time.
Kinlochshiel 2 Glenurquhart 0 The Kinlochshiel juniors beat the Glenurquhart juniors 2-0 in their noon throw up at Rèaraig. Kieran Martin put the hosts ahead a couple of minutes after the hour with a great back-hand shot into the roof of the net and Duncan MacMillan sealed victory on 87 minutes with a brilliant strike from right of the penalty spot.
Fort William 4 Lochcarron 0 The Fort William second team beat Lochcarron 4-0 at An Aird. Fort’s David Wright was suspended for this one but a quick-fire double from Cam Ross on 13 minutes and Jack Kearney a minute later had the hosts two up whilst a second from Jack Kearney on 35 minutes made it 3-0 at the break. Cam Ross got his second on 55 minutes to make it 4-0.
Newtonmore P Lovat P The clash between the Newtonmore reserves and the Lovat reserves at the Eilan was postponed when Lovat were unable to field a team.
Kingussie P Skye Camanachd P The match between the Kingussie colts and the Skye Camanachd colts at the Dell was called off on Friday because of a covid outbreak affecting several Skye players.
Mowi South Division 1 Ballachulish 1 Lochside Rovers 5 Lochside Rovers turned in a strong second half performance to beat Ballachulish 5-1 at the Jubilee Park. Lochside benefited from Oban Camanachd having a full squad and David Cameron started with Brian MacCallum, who saved a penalty, in goal in place to Dougie MacDonald who was working. Innes Jackson gave Lochside the lead in the opening minute with what proved to be the only goal of the first half. The Oban side repeated the feat as Lewis Buchanan netted a minute after the restart and although Mikey Donald made it 2-1 on 57 minutes, Matthew Sloss restored Lochside’s two-goal cushion a couple of minutes later. Innes Jackson on 78 minutes and another from Lewis Buchanan just 3 minutes from time made the final score 5-1.
Mowi North Division 2 Strathglass 1 Inverness 0 The Strathglass seconds and the Inverness seconds played a rearranged fixture at Cannich on Wednesday 22 June 2022. Ally MacAdams gave ‘Glass a 7 minute lead with what proved to be the only goal of the game.
Lochaber 0 Kilmallie 1 There was a reserve team derby between Lochaber and Kilmallie at Spean Bridge on Friday 24 June 2022. The only goal of this 6.30pm throw up came when Martyn Cameron gave Kilmallie a 26 minute lead. Lochaber’s Innes Whyte was sent off by referee John Matheson with 12 minutes remaining.
Beauly 12 Strathglass 2 The Beauly colts were too strong for the Strathglass colts, winning 12-2 in their noon throw up at Braeview Park. Beauly led through Finlay MacLennan on 8 minutes and Fraser Cameron a couple of minutes later. Scott Cameron on 21 minutes and Fraser Cameron’s second just 60 seconds later made it 4-0. Robbie Stokes pulled a goal back on 31 minutes only for Finlay MacLennan to get his second on 43 minutes and Beauly led 5-1 at half-time. Michael Stokes pulled another back for ‘Glass on 52 minutes however, straight from the restart, Kyle McDonald made it 6-2 and he got his second on 53 minutes. The goals kept flowing and Fraser Cameron completed his hat-trick on 57 minutes followed by a quick double from Lee Dunbar on 65 minutes and then Finlay MacLennan’s hat-trick clincher on 66 minutes. Callum Flynn rounded off the scoring with a brace on 77 and 79 minutes.
Lewis Camanachd W/O v Strathspey Camanachd Lewis Camanachd were awarded the points when Strathspey Camanachd were unable to raise a team for their game at Shawbost.
Mowi South Division 2 Aberdour 1 Inveraray 2 Ewan Donnan’s brace helped the Inveraray colts beat the Aberdour colts 2-0 in their noon throw up at Sliver Sands. The game was just 7 minutes old when Ewan Donnan’s superb strike from distance gave Inveraray the lead. Robin Bremner levelled from close range on 37 minutes but Ewan Donnan got the winner for second placed Inveraray, capitalising on a defensive lapse and finishing calmly from inside the D with just 10 minutes remaining.
Ardnamurchan 2 Kilmory 0 Ardnamurchan stay top of the league after goals early in each half gained a 2-0 win against third placed Kilmory at Strontian. Aaron Mellis got Ard’ off to a great start with a goal after 2 minutes and the second half was just a couple of minutes old when Duncan Gorman doubled their advantage.
Boleskine P Inverness P The clash between Boleskine and the Inverness seconds at Smith Park was a covid postponement.
(All throw ups were at 2pm unless the match report states differently)
WCA Round Up There were Women’s Camanachd Association national and regional fixtures with most games taking place on Sunday 26 June 2022.
Mowi National Division Glasgow Mid Argyll 0 Badenoch 3 Kirsty Deans grabbed a second half hat-trick to give Badenoch a 3-0 win over Glasgow Mid Argyll in their 2pm throw up at Yoker.
Lochaber 4 Aberdour 0 Lochaber beat Aberdour 4-0 in their noon throw up at Spean Bridge. Shannon Wilson scored twice with Mairi Duncan and Katie Higgins getting the others.
Skye Camanachd W/O v Inverness Inverness were unable to field a team for their match against Skye Camanachd at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree so the Islanders were awarded the points.
Mowi North Division 2 Skye Camanachd B 1 Kinlochshiel A 6 Kinlochshiel defeated the Skye Camanachd second team 6-1 in their 7pm throw up at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Thursday 23 June 2022. Catherine Robertson scored for Skye but hat-tricks from both Lexie MacKenzie and Lorna MacRae gave ‘Shiel the points.
Glenurquhart 9 Inverness B 1 Glenurquhart were too strong for Inverness B, winning 9-2 in their noon on Saturday 25 June 2022. The prolific Hazel Hunter scored six times with Kirsty Smith, Ishbel Barr and Amanda MacLennan also netting. Isla McNeil and Chloe Mutch netted for Inverness.
Lovat 6 Glengarry 2 Lovat defeated Glengarry 6-2 in their 2pm throw up at Balgate. Fiona Urquhart scored five times with Laura Gallacher getting the other. Elaine Cameron and Emily Gordon got the ‘Garry goals.
Badenoch B P Strathglass P The 1pm throw up between Badenoch B and Strathglass at the Dell was called off as Strathglass were unable to raise a team.
Mowi South Division 2: Oban Lorn P Uddingston P The clash between Oban Lorn and Uddingston at Mossfield has been rescheduled for Sunday 28 August 2022.
Glasgow Mid Argyll P B Tayforth P The fixture between the Glasgow Mid Argyll second team and Tayforth will be rescheduled.
Youth Shinty The Newtonmore primaries had a good day out as they lifted the Tulloch Cup in Fort William on Wednesday 22 June 2022. Newtonmore sailed through their group stage matches undefeated before playing Glenurquhart & Balnain in the final. It was a terrific contest with Newtonmore eventually winning 5-3 to and their captain Finlay Chisholm raised the trophy. The Glenurquhart youngsters showed their talent by winning the Royal Bank of Scotland Camanachd Association Cup on Monday, beating Caberfeidh 1-0 at Balgate in the final. Meantime the popular Kincraig Sixes took place at Invereshie on Sunday including the local shinty teams and a few from further afield. Lochaber beat Kingussie in the primary 1-3 final with Kincraig defeating Newtonmore 3-1 in the primary 4-5 final. The primary 6-7 final between Kingussie and Newtonmore went all the way to a penalty shoot-out. Goals from Arran Campbell and Kyle Mutch twice pegged Newtonmore back to make it 2-2 after extra-time. Kingussie won the penalty shoot-out and their skipper Ciaren Wilson was presented with the trophy. |