The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 29 August 2015 | |
30 August 2015 Newtonmore lifted the 2015 Strathdearn Cup following the weather-affected shinty action on Saturday 29 August 2015.
Strathdearn Cup – Final Glengarry 1 Newtonmore 3 The Newtonmore second team lifted the Strathdearn Cup when they came from behind to beat Glengarry 3-1 in their 3pm at the Bught Park. Glengarry played with a strong wind at their backs in the first half and Steven Cameron shocked ‘More when he put ‘Garry ahead after 34 minutes. However Newtonmore had the elements in the second half and a fine back-hand shot from Calum Stewart flew into the top corner of the net on 51 minutes. Calum Stewart is on a rich vein of form in front of goal at the moment and he put his side in front for the first time on 61 minutes when he let the ball run across his body and he hit the ball low and hard into the bottom corner of the net. Calum Stewart completed his hat-trick on 69 minutes when he floated a ball in towards goal and the Glengarry keeper lost the flight of the ball which could have been influenced by the strong wind. Referee Andy MacLean’s final whistle signalled the Newtonmore celebrations and captain Martin Ivil was presented with the Strathdearn Cup which Cammy MacDonald’s side add to the Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup which they won three weeks earlier. They will now duel it out with the Fort William seconds as they try to win “the treble” and the sides meet at the Eilan in two weeks’ time.
Bullough Cup – Semi-Final Tayforth 5 Inveraray 1 Tayforth, who sit in second place in Marine Harvest South Division 2, beat the Inveraray second team, who top Marine Harvest South Division 1, 5-1 at Levenhall Links to reach the Bullough Cup Final. Orsten Gardner put Tayforth ahead after 10 minutes and Finlay Stark got their second after 21 minutes. Lewis Montgomery pulled a goal back for Inveraray just 3 minutes later to make it 2-1. However Orsten Gardner got his second on 43 minutes to make it 3-1 at the interval. Calum Barton put Tayforth 4-1 to the good after 56 minutes. Orsten Gardner rounded off a good afternoon for him and his team when he completed his hat-trick with 15 minutes remaining. Inveraray’s Ross Montgomery was sent off by referee Alan Harrison. Tayforth will now play the Kyles Athletic second team in the Bullough Cup Final on Saturday 26 September 2015.
Marine Harvest Premiership Lovat 1 Inveraray 1 Inveraray collected a valuable point thanks to a 1-1 draw with Lovat at Balgate. Lovat were without defenders Craig Mainland and Michael MacKenzie as they served a one-game suspension for exceeding the disciplinary points threshold. Injury continued to rule out Greg Matheson, Callum Cruden and Lorne MacKay. Youngster Scott MacKenzie played his first 90 minutes for the club in defence and Danny Kelly was at full centre. Inveraray had injury problems of their own and they were without Douglas Dando, John Kennedy, Chris Crawford and Grant Griffin. Fraser MacNicol was given a start in defence and David MacPherson, who has been suffering from a hamstring problem, started at wing centre. Youngster Scott MacLachlan took over from Graham MacPherson in goal with MacPherson announcing his retirement following Inveraray’s Artemis Macaulay Cup defeat to Newtonmore last Saturday. Nicholas Crawford was given a marking job on Lovat danger-man Kevin Bartlett. Inveraray had the wind advantage in the first half but Fraser Gallacher gave Lovat a 7 minute lead with a 20 yard strike which keeper Scott MacLachlan got his stick to but couldn’t keep out of the net. Inveraray took Fraser Watt on in place of Ruaridh Graham after around half an hour although Graham did return to the field in place of David MacPherson later in the game. Lewis MacNicol drew Inveraray level a minute before the interval when he found space and collected a Garry MacPherson pass and around 22 yards from goal, scoring from a central position. Lovat’s Jamie Matheson came off injured at half-time and he was replaced by Alan MacPherson who made his first appearance of the season. Most of Lovat’s attacks during an even first 45 minutes resulted in shots from distance which were dealt with by goalie Scott MacLachlan. Inveraray were more direct and they had the better of the second half. Lovat keeper Stuart MacDonald twice saved well from Fraser Watt and he also did well to keep out a David Robertson effort. This was Lovat’s last match ahead of the 2015 SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final against Kyles Athletic and they will hope to have their suspended players back ahead of the Mossfield final. They will be happy that both Martin Mainland and Ryan Ferguson got through the Inveraray match without a booking that would have seen them miss the club’s biggest match since 1953. Inveraray now trail second bottom Oban Camanachd by a point but they have played three games more. Eighth place Kingussie are four points better off than Inveraray but they have played a game more. Kingussie and Inveraray meet at the Dell in a fortnight.
Glenurquhart P Newtonmore P Newtonmore missed the chance to return to league action when their noon meeting with Glenurquhart was postponed on Wednesday evening as the Blairbeg pitch was damaged following last week’s Glenurquhart Highland Games.
Fort William P Kyles Athletic P The heavy west coast rain in the Lochaber and Argyll areas led to the postponement of the noon throw up between Fort William and Kyles Athletic at An Aird. The match was also to double-up as the inaugural contest for the Drew Ferguson Memorial Trophy.
Oban Camanachd P Lochaber P The match between Oban Camanachd and Lochaber was postponed as Mossfield also fell foul of the heavy rain. This means Oban Camanachd still have eight matches remaining so they will be playing league games into November.
Marine Harvest National Division Skye Camanachd 6 Glasgow Mid Argyll 1 Skye Camanachd’s title charge remains on course following a 6-1 win over Glasgow Mid Argyll at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 29 August 2015. Skye Camanachd manager John MacLeod made three changes to the squad which beat Ballachulish in the league a week earlier. Danny Morrison and Kenny Campbell – who scored six goals between them in that game – were unavailable whilst John Gillies was also left out after picking up a knock whilst playing for the Skye Camanachd U17s during the week. They were replaced by Gilleasbuig MacDonald, a fit again Will Cowie and David MacInnes. Kenny MacLeod was still out having failed to recover from concussion. George Hay’s GMA side were Balliemore Cup runners up this season and they went into the match in third place in the league. Hay was without former Caberfeidh player Ewen Murray who served a one game ban for exceeding the disciplinary points threshold. The visitors travelled with just twelve players but they fielded a strong line-up. Former Kinlochshiel player John Don MacKenzie slotted in at full back in place of Ryan Harrison who was on holiday. Skye took the lead after just 5 minutes. Neil MacVicar won possession following a GMA goal hit and he found Allan MacKinnon who played in Iain Nicolson and he pushed the ball to Shockie MacLennan on the Skye right. MacLennan’s reverse pass found Nicolson and whilst Jonathon Oates in the GMA goal saved Nicolson’s shot, Jordan Murchison slammed the rebound into the net to make it 1-0. Skye took the direct route to double their advantage on 9 minutes. An Iain MacLeod goal-hit was knocked down by Allan MacKinnon to Gilleasbuig MacDonald who sent a drive down the middle and Shockie MacLennan flicked the ball on to Jordan Murchison who took a touch before scoring to make it 2-0. Murchison and MacLennan swapped roles on 27 minutes as Jordan Murchison collected possession in the centre circle and he held off a couple of challenges before bursting forward and he played a perfectly weighted pass to Shockie MacLennan who sent a well-struck low shot into the net to make it 3-0. GMA pulled a goal back just 3 minutes before the break when youngster Calum McLay rifled the ball into the net following a goalmouth scramble. Jordan Murchison completed his hat-trick just 4 minutes after the restart. Will Cowie won possession for Skye and he sent the ball forward to Shockie MacLennan and his reverse pass picked out Murchison who sent the ball low into the net to make it 4-1. Both sides slugged it out before Skye added two late goals to round off the 6-1 win. Iain Nicolson brought down a Neil MacVicar shy on 81 minutes and he crashed the ball over Jonathon Oates shoulder to make it 5-1. Jordan Murchison got his fourth goal of the afternoon with just a couple of minutes remaining. Murchison’s initial effort was blocked but his second attempted deceived keeper Jonathon Oates and the ball ended up in the back of the net to round off the 6-1 win. Jordan Murchison, Neil MacVicar and Gilleasbuig MacDonald shone for Skye. Craig Anderson, John Don MacKenzie and Conal Mulholland were best for GMA. League leaders Skye remain a couple of points ahead of second place Kilmallie.
Inverness 0 Kilmallie 4 Kilmallie scored two goals in each half to beat Inverness 4-0 in their noon meeting at the Bught Park. Kilmallie took the lead after 19 minutes. Martin Stewart was allowed too much space and he sent a good shot from distance into the net. Michael Rodger doubled Kilmallie’s advantage. The skilful Rodger gave Inverness defender Peter Grace a difficult time and his strike came on 28 minutes and it remained 2-0 until the half-time break. Inverness player / manager Drew Mcneil came on in attack with around 30 minutes remaining. Kilmallie added two late goals. First Liam Cameron was allowed to run forward with the ball from his midfield wing centre position and he got past Daniel Palombo before scoring from close range with 78 minutes played. Then full centre Stephen MacAllister added his name to the score-sheet just 4 minutes from time when he burst forward to score following a shy to make it 4-0. MacAllister remained up front for the closing minutes. With Kilmallie and Skye both winning, it’s pretty much as you were at the top of the table. Skye lead by two points and each side has two games remaining – starting with an encounter at the Canal Parks in a fortnight’s time.
Caberfeidh 4 Beauly 3 Caberfeidh staged a superb late come-back to beat Beauly 4-3 in their encounter at Castle Leod. Ally MacLennan was free of his two match ban for Caberfeidh. Beauly were still without the injured Marc MacLachlan. Beauly raced into an early 2-0 lead with Robbie Brindle scoring after 5 minutes and David MacLean getting a second a couple of minutes later. Liam Symonds pulled a goal back for Cabers after 23 minutes but a Sandy Elrick strike on 37 minutes gave Beauly a 3-1 lead at the break. And that’s the way it stayed until 7 minutes from time when a goal from Caberfeidh player / manager Lee Nicol launched a come-back to make it 3-2. Cabers’ Colin MacLennan scored a minute later to make it 3-3 and it was the returning Ally MacLennan who won the points for the home side with a goal after 86 minutes which made it 4-3. Cabers remain fifth and despite losing, Beauly move up to third because of Glasgow Mid Argyll’s heavy defeat to Skye Camanachd.
Marine Harvest North Division 1 Beauly 1 Kinlochshiel 1 The Beauly colts and the Kinlochshiel colts shared the points following a 1-1 draw at Braeview Park. Beauly went in front after 10 minutes with Ross Forbes getting the goal. However a Chris Townsend strike 15 minutes from time earned Kinlochshiel a point. Beauly stay sixth and Kinlochshiel remain a place below in the league table.
Lochcarron 1 Lovat 4 Lochcarron went down 4-1 to the Lovat second team at Battery Park. This was the final league game for the season for both sides and the outcome would decide which of them finished bottom of the table. Lovat went into the match two points but Lochcarron had the better goal difference so any home win would see them escape relegation. Rory Campbell scored on 20 and 26 minutes to give Lovat a 2-0 lead at the break. Rory Campbell completed his hat-trick on 72 minutes whilst Cameron MacMillan followed up his midweek goal for the Lovat U17s to make it 4-0 on 78 minutes. Nick Dalgety pulled a goal back for Lochcarron 5 minutes from time to make it 4-1. So Lochcarron finish bottom of the table on 3 points whilst the Lovat seconds end up second bottom with seven points.
Fort William P Strathglass P An unplayable pitch led to the postponement of the 3pm throw up between the Fort William second and Strathglass 0-0 at An Aird.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Kyles Athletic 3 Lochside Rovers 5 Lochside Rovers go second in the table following their 5-3 win over the Kyles athletic second team at Tighnabruaich. Both sides had their respective first team games postponed which meant Kyles were able to include Matthew MacColl whilst Lochside were able to call on the services of Daniel Cameron and Scott MacMillan who was free of suspension. Daniel Cameron opened the scoring when he gave the Oban side a 10 minute lead. However the advantage swung Kyles way when Christopher Blair equalised on 38 minutes and then Douglas Nicolson scored a minute later to put the home side 2-1 in front. The end to end nature of the match continued and it would be Lochside Rovers who lead at the break. Scott MacMillan netted after 40 minutes to make it 2-2 and Craig MacDougall made it 3-2 to the visitors at half time. Michael MacQueen put Lochside 4-2 to the good a couple of minutes after the restart. Matthew MacColl narrowed the deficit when he made it 4-3 on the hour mark. However Daniel Cameron notched his second goal of the game to make it 5-3 just a couple of minutes later. The two points mean Lochside Rovers move up to second place in the league.
Aberdour 3 Kilmory 0 Aberdour leap-frog the Kyles Athletic second team into sixth place in the table after their 3-0 win over Kilmory at Silver Sands. Aberdour made a good start to the game and they pressed the Kilmory goal. Aberdour’s Jack Mitchell broke through the Kilmory defence on 18 minutes and he slotted the ball into the top of the net to make it 1-0. Home forward Jack Mitchell was proving a handful for the Kilmory back-line and there was a flash-point when Mitchell took a blow which sparked players from both sides to get involved. The game was temporarily stopped but referee Euan Pearson resisted the temptation to issue any cards. The game restarted but there was a strange aura around the ground until the interval. Aberdour regained the momentum after the break and continued to dominate but the experienced Kilmory defence held out. Jack Mitchell, now playing at wing centre, broke through to score his second goal after 53 minutes to make it 2-0. Indeed Mitchell was unlucky not to grab a hat-trick but the Kilmory keeper pulled off a tremendous save to deny him. Kilmory’s Bruce Johnston was shown a straight card by referee Euan Pearson for late swing on Jack Mitchell and the 16 year old required a trip to hospital. Aberdour’s John Martin Philips was next to see red for using bad language in frustration after claiming he’s been fouled. Another Aberdour 16 year old, Tom Abbott, rounded off the 3-0 win with a strike after 72 minutes. Abbot made a great run across the D to collect a pass from Angus Thorburn and he tucked the ball past the keeper from a tight angle. Aberdour will be happy with the two points and they have three league games remaining. Kilmory stay second bottom with four games to go.
Oban Celtic P Bute P The intriguing 3pm clash between Oban Celtic and Bute will be rescheduled as Ganavan was unplayable.
Taynuilt P Glenorchy P The 4.15pm throw up between Taynuilt and Glenorchy was postponed as the Taynuilt Sports Field was unplayable.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Boleskine 9 Strathspey Camanachd 0 Boleskine were emphatic 9-0 winners against Strathspey Camanachd at Smith Park. Ewan Fraser was Boleskine’s top scorer with four goals. Former Inverness player Scott Watson grabbed a hat-trick whilst Gavin Butterworth bagged a brace. Boleskine now only trail fifth place Lochaber on goal difference but they have played a game more.
Lewis Camanachd W/O v Lochaber Lochaber were unable to raise a team for their trip to Shawbost so Lewis Camanachd were awarded the points and the customary 5-0 win. The points lift Lewis above the Kilmallie second team into seventh place in the table. Lochaber were docked a point but they remain in fifth spot.
Kilmallie P Inverness P The clash between the Kilmallie second team and the Inverness second team was postponed as the Canal Parks was unplayable.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Bute P Col Glen P Col Glen missed the chance to clinch the Marine Harvest South Division 2 title when their match against the Bute second team was postponed as the Meadows was unplayable.
Oban Lorn P Ballachulish P The noon throw up between Oban Lorn and the Ballachulish second team was postponed as the heavy rain left the Ganavan pitch unplayable.
Glenorchy P Aberdour P The meeting between the Glenorchy and Aberdour second teams was postponed as Mart Park was deemed unplayable.
(All throw ups were at 2.30pm unless stated differently) (These reports will be updated as more information becomes available) |