The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 30 July 2022 | |
31 July 2022 Oban Camanachd and Kingussie will contest the 2022 Artemis Macaulay Cup Final following the shinty action on Saturday 30 July 2022.
Artemis Macaulay Cup - Semi Finals Kyles Athletic 1 Oban Camanachd 3 Oban Camanachd are through to this year’s Artemis Macaulay Cup Final after coming from behind to beat Kyles Athletic 3-1 in their 3pm throw up at Mossfield. Kyles manager Robert Baxter was without skipper Innes MacDonald who suffered a broken hand in the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup quarter-final win over Glasgow Mid Argyll in their last outing. Baxter was dealt a further blow when Andrew King picked up a hamstring injury in training so he also missed out. Oban Camanachd boss Gareth Evans had Scott MacMillan, Evan MacLellan and Connor Howe back whilst Scott Mckillop left a wedding early to take a place on the bench. Oban Camanachd opened with the wind advantage but Kyles made the better start. Oban Camanachd replaced David Cameron with Daniel Madej midway through the first half in a bid to ask more questions of Kyles Athletic full back Callum Miller. Although Kyles had the better of the first half, Oban Camanachd claimed for a penalty when Louie MacFarlane went down inside the D but referee Des McNulty waved away their pleas. They also had an effort ruled out when Louie MacFarlane had the ball in the net. With Ross MacRae dominating the centre line, Roddy MacDonald had been causing Oban Camanachd problems throughout the first half and he gave the Tighnabruaich men a 38 minute lead. The goal came from a well-worked free-hit and Roddy MacDonald fan forward to strike the ball and it bounced into the bottom corner of the net, to Cammy Sutherland’s left, from 5 yards outside the D. There were strong words in the Oban camp at the interval and the team looked a better proposition after the restart. Gareth Evans made a key switch just 5 minutes into the second half with Daniel Cameron pushed forward from defence to attack. Oban Camanachd equalised on 55 minutes with Daniel MacVicar scoring his ninth goal of the season. Blair MacFarlane cleared the ball up the park where it was gathered by Daniel Cameron who played it into Daniel MacVicar’s path and he swept the ball into the far corner of the net on the half volley. Substitute Daniel Madej put the Oban side ahead on 64 minutes. There was a battle for possession following a Camanachd corner and the ball spun into the air where Madej reacted quickest to crack home a volley from close range. And it was Daniel Madej again with 20 minutes remaining following good combination play from Evan MacLellan and Daniel MacVicar. Daniel Cameron saw his shot cut out by Callum Miller but Madej was again first to the ball, slotting it home from close range to make it 3-1. Daniel Cameron dropped back to full centre for the remainder of the match. Scott MacMillan came off with Ross Campbell introduced. Wing centre Evan MacLellan turned in a good second half performance with Daniel Sloss preventing Roddy MacDonald from having the same influence as during the first period. . The Artemis man of the match accolade went to Oban Camanachd’s Daniel MacVicar. The 2022 Artemis Macaulay Cup Final between Oban Camanachd and Kingussie takes place at Mossfield on Sunday 21 August 2022. Oban Camanachd have their designated “Free Saturday” this coming weekend so are without a fixture and the Macaulay Final is the second part of a double-header against Kingussie as the sides meet in the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup semi-finals at An Aird on Sunday 14 August 2022. Both matches will be broadcast live on BBC ALBA.
Kingussie 1 Lovat 0 Holders Kingussie can look forward to another trip to Oban as they reached the Artemis Macaulay Cup Final for the third successive time after beating Lovat 1-0 in their semi-final at Braeview Park, Beauly on Saturday. Kingussie manager John Gibson started Ryan Borthwick in defence in place of the injured Calum Grant. James Hutchison took the full centre role with Cameron Bremner dropping onto the bench where he was joined by Lee Bain and Louis Munro. Lovat boss Jamie Matheson was again without Greg Matheson, Lorne MacKay and the suspended Callum Cruden but Marc MacLachlan played despite the loss of two teeth in the previous week’s league defeat to Oban Camanachd. Fraser Heath was fielded at full centre. Lovat started with the strong wind in their favour but they had to rely on keeper Stuart MacDonald to save well, using his body to block Liam Borthwick’s close range strike whilst, at the other end, it took a fine Rory MacKeachan challenge to halt Bailey MacKay’s run through on goal after he had been played in by Marc MacLachlan. Home keeper Rory McGregor thwarted Marc MacLachlan when Lewis Tawse sent him through on goal but for all Lovat’s pressure, they didn’t create many clear-cur chances. Lovat’s Danny Kelly was booked by referee Deek Cameron for a body check which ended Roddy Young’s run forward with James Falconer shooting wide from the resultant set-piece. Just when it looked as if the first half would end goalless, Kingussie took the lead. Ryan Borthwick won possession at the back and when Ruaridh Anderson touched the ball back to James Hutchison, he sent it long to the right of the D. Roddy Young’s deft touch switched the dropping ball to James Falconer who still had plenty to do as he ran across the face of the goal to the left, taking the ball away from Lovat defender Craig Mainland, before sending a controlled back-hand shot over Lovat keeper Stuart MacDonald to make it 1-0 at the break. There was more work for referee Cameron as Drew Howie was booked for tripping James Falconer whilst Rory MacKeachan was also carded for a late shove on Graham MacMillan. The tie went through a scrappy phase but Kingussie didn’t look like losing a goal. Indeed they almost added to their count when Roddy Young went close with a back-hand strike from the left following Savio Genini’s free-hit before Genini tugged a shot wide from a good position after a surging run from Roddy Young. Then Stuart MacDonald denied James Falconer a second goal with a smart save, turning away a shot from the edge of the D before Louis Munro and Ruaridh Anderson both shot wide from separate set-pieces. In-between times, Craig Mainland was booked from bringing down James Falconer. Fraser Heath shot over following a rare Lovat attack but the pattern of play resumed towards the Lovat goal with Savio Genini, Ruaridh Anderson and Roddy Young trying their luck in what turned out to be a comfortable 1-0 win. Lovat lost the influential Craig Mainland to an ankle injury late in the tie. The injury will be assessed when the swelling goes down but the last thing the Balgate men need is another addition to their injury list. Kingussie defender Kieran MacPherson was excellent throughout and he was presented with the Artemis man of the match award by Davie Hamilton from the Macaulay Association. Kingussie will now play Oban Camanachd in the Artemis Macaulay Cup Final at Mossfield on Sunday 21 August 2022. This is the second part of a double-header against the Oban side as the clubs meet in the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup semi-final at An Aird on Sunday 14 August 2022. Both matches will be broadcast live on BBC ALBA.
Mowi Premiership Newtonmore 2 Kinlochshiel 2 Newtonmore came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Kinlochshiel in an entertaining Mowi Premiership encounter at the Eilan on Saturday. This was the third meeting between the sides this season and they went into the match with a win apiece. Newtonmore’s Fraser MacKintosh failed to recover from an injury picked up against Kingussie the previous week so Max Campbell started in his place. This was Kinlochshiel’s first match in three weeks but that didn’t stop them taking a 4 minute lead although there was a touch of fortune to the goal. Keith MacRae played a short pass to Ali Nixon, 25 yards out on the left, and he threaded a good ball into the danger area. ‘More defender Duncan MacPherson slipped and Archie MacRae took advantage, picking his spot to finish calmly from 10 yards out. The visitors had the chance to double their lead when referee Calum Girvan awarded them a penalty but Kenny Ross made a fine save to deny John MacRae. Michael Russell drew ‘More level with a well-worked goal on 38 minutes. The hosts broke up the park and Conor Jones sent the ball on to Max Campbell. Michael Russell lost his marker and made a great run up-field and was in acres of space when he took Campbell’s pass and he finished well from the edge of the D. Newtonmore were forced into a change soon after when Michael Russell came off injured. Youngster Brodie MacBean came on, and played well, with Struan Ross going to centre where he also caught the eye. Kinlochshiel went back in front on 65 minutes. Donald Nixon launched a long ball into the D which was chested down by Kenny Ross but when the ball bounced outside the D, John MacRae was on hand to turn it high into the net on the angle. Newtonmore struck back almost immediately with Max Campbell finding space to make it 2-2 just a couple of minutes later. Indeed ‘More could have won it when they were awarded a late penalty but although Conor Jones struck the ball well, ‘Shiel goalie Josh Grant made a good save.
Glasgow Mid Argyll 5 Kilmallie 0 Glasgow Mid Argyll put a bit of distance between themselves and the relegation zone by beating bottom side Kilmallie 5-0 at Peterson Park. Brian Slattery gave the Glasgow side a 20 minute lead with what proved to be the only goal of the first half. Chris Holleysong made it 2-0 on 49 minutes and John McNulty added a third just 3 minutes short of the hour. Chris Holleysong got his second on 73 minutes and Ross Fraser rounded off the scoring 8 minutes from time. GMA are now two points clear of the drop zone with Kilmallie and Fort William occupying the bottom two positions.
Mowi National Division Lochaber 0 Skye Camanachd 4 Skye Camanachd boosted their promotion chances by beating Lochaber 4-0 at Spean Bridge. Although Skye controlled the game for large parts, Lochaber started well, winning a lot of second balls in the centre-line and it was a nervy opening 10 minutes for the Islanders until they made the break-though. The lead-up play to the goal included some nice one-touch shinty starting from John Gillies at full back, working forward through Connor Gilpin, Ross Gordon and up to Taylor Matheson. The Scotland under-17 forward’s first-time shot was on target and the keeper misjudged the ball and ended up over the line. Skye forwards Taylor Matheson, Ross Gordon and Jamie Gillies displayed some lovely link-up play in the first half with Will Cowie sitting further back as addition to the centre line. Taylor Matheson struck again with a low shot on 25 minutes but it wasn’t until the hour mark when Skye killed the game off. This time another sweeping move ended with Taylor Matheson finishing high into the net on the left hand side. Skye added a fourth soon after. A ball from the left wing found an unmarked Ross MacKinnon, who made a run forward from full centre, and he hit a rocket-shot off the crossbar but James Pringle was at the right place at the right time and he gave the keeper no chance as he blasted home the rebound.
Oban Celtic 4 Aberdour 0 Oban Celtic pulled away from the sides at the bottom of the table as they won for the third time in their last four outings, beating Aberdour 4-0 in their noon throw up at Mossfield. Celtic went into this game missing Andy Macdonald, Neil Carmichael, Craig MacDougall, Kieran Gallagher and Michael Mackinnon and with Scott Dempster just making the bench due to an injury sustained the previous week. So it was a much changed team that started in what was a ‘must win’ game. There was a welcome return for both George Macmillan and Robert Macintyre and there were places for three 15 year olds in Duncan MacEwan, Finlay Cameron and Gabriel Tidser and these young boys certainly did not disappoint on the day. From the resulting throw up, Celtic went straight up the park and after some more good work by Duncan MacEwan and Ewen Campbell, Daniel Macmillan was able to slot home again. The link up play between Lennon Campbell, Daniel Macmillan and the two young forwards was great to see and produced the goal of the game on 42 minutes with all four involved before Lennon Campbell chipped the ball across from wide on the by-line for Duncan MacEwan to strike a controlled volley into the net. The Oban Celtic managers were delighted with the way the team played - considering the changes - and especially with the three 15 year olds who all significantly added to the performance.
Mowi North Division 1 Lovat 1 Newtonmore 4 The Newtonmore seconds caught up on one of their games in hand when they beat the Lovat seconds 4-1 at Balgate on Tuesday 26 July 2022. ‘More took the lead on the half hour through Craig MacLeod. There was a scoring burst late in the half with Struan Ross making it 2-0 on 38 minutes but Dylan Brockie pulled a goal back a minute later. However with just a couple of first half minutes remaining, Struan Ross got his second so the visitors took a 3-1 lead into the break. That’s the way it stayed until a minute from time when Glen MacKintosh scored to seal a 4-1 win.
Fort William 4 Newtonmore 0 The Fort William seconds were surprise 4-0 winners over the Newtonmore seconds at An Aird in a match brought forward to Friday 29 July 2022. Fort William made the break-through just 5 minutes before the break with Jack Kearney scoring. Lewis Clark added a second 5 minutes into the second half. The same two players repeated the feat with a quick-fire double to seal victory with Jack Kearney scoring again on 75 minutes and Lewis Clark doing like-wise a couple of minutes later.
Kingussie 0 Glengarry 5 Shaun Nicolson grabbed a hat-trick as Glengarry beat the Kingussie colts 5-0 at the Dell. ‘Garry led 2-0 at the break through Shaun Nicolson on 19 minutes and Nick Dalgety on 39 minutes. Shaun Nicolson got his second 3 minutes into the second half with Raymond Robertson adding a fourth on 65 minutes. Shaun Nicolson completed his hat-trick just 5 minutes remaining to put Glengarry second in the division, a point behind leaders Kinlochshiel.
Lochcarron 3 Skye Camanachd 1 Lochcarron scored three times during the first half hour to see off the Skye Camanachd reserves 3-1 at Battery Park. Gregor Cushnie on 13 minutes and Crisdean Finlayson on 15 minutes gave Lochcarron some breathing space. Skye’s Ian MacPherson pulled a goal back on 19 minutes but Gregor Cushnie got his second to make it 3-1 on 29 minutes. After that scoring burst, it was perhaps a surprise that there was no further scoring in the remaining hour of the match.
Mowi South Division 1 Ballachulish 1 Glasgow Mid Argyll 1 Ballachulish and the Glasgow Mid Argyll seconds played out a 1-1 draw at the Jubilee Park. David Grant gave the home side a 13 minute lead. However Ross Brown, in his first match at the Jubilee since he played in the winning South under-21 side in the 2003 Grampian Cup, scored for the tenth game in a row on 24 minutes to ensure a share of the points.
Kyles Athletic 4 Cruachanside 1 The Kyles Athletic juniors notched just their second league win of the season when they beat Cruachanside 4-1 at Tighnabruaich. Kyles took a 10 minute lead through Neil Nicolson but Robbie Brown equalised on 20 minutes. Dave Martin scored on 37 minutes to give Kyles a 2-1 lead at the turnaround with another from Neil Nicolson on 47 minutes and a goal from Grant Profit on 52 minutes making the final score 4-1.
Mowi North Division 2 Boleskine 5 Lewis Camanachd 0 Boleskine climb to seventh in this nine team division by beating fifth placed Lewis Camanachd 5-0 in their 1pm throw up at Smith Park. Boleskine won the toss of the coin and they started with a strong wind behind them. The home side led through Scott Watson on 5 minutes after good play from Sean Fraser who sent a looping ball into the Lewis defence and Watson turned his marker before sending a low shot by the keeper at his left hand post. Lewis launched their first serious attack on 12 minutes with Ally Lamont gathering the ball up front but he shot high over the bar. Boleskine doubled their lead on 15 minutes when Callum Muir flicked a clever ball to right winger Sean Fraser who weaved by a couple of defenders before slotting the ball by the keeper at his left-hand post. Referee John Angus Gillies awarded Boleskine a penalty when Lewis keeper John MacAskill fell on the ball during a defensive melee. Young Fionn Dempster stepped up to take the spot-hit but keeper MacAskill redeemed himself with a good save. Boleskine added a third soon after when the excellent Neil Hope won possession in the forward line and he sent a shot screaming into the top left corner of the goal to make it 3-0 at the break. Lewis had the elements in the second half and they created a number of chances without really threatening the home goal although Boleskine keeper Lewis Smith was called into action on the hour to turn away Donald Lamont’s 20 yard strike. Lewis continued to press but their attacks lacked accuracy. Boleskine increased their lead with 10 minutes remaining when a well worked ball from Fionn Dempster to Craig Girvan saw the latter fire a 12 yard shot into the net to the keeper’s right side. There were just 5 minutes remaining when Liam Girvan completed the scoring. Neil Hope floated a nice ball into the D with Girvan’s flick beating keeper MacAskill. This was a good match and Boleskine took their chances whilst Lewis didn’t and there were only six fouls awarded throughout the entire 90 minutes. Boleskine’s Neil Hope turned in a man of the match performance whilst Fionn Dempster on the wing also caught the eye. Lewis were thankful for player / manager John MacAskill as the veteran saved them on several occasions including his penalty stop. Defender Michael MacLeod was also solid throughout.
Kilmallie 2 Aberdeen University 2 The Kilmallie second team and Aberdeen University drew 2-2 in their match at the Canal Parks. Former first team keeper Shane Gillies is relishing his role in attack and he gave Kilmallie a 4 minute lead. Lachie Dean Morris drew the Students level on 38 minutes with Willie Hunter putting them in front just 3 minutes before the break. Duncan MacDougall earned Kilmallie a point when he scored on 72 minutes to make it 2-2. Aberdeen University stay second with Kilmallie third so the result benefits the Beauly second team, who lead by a point at the top of the table, the most.
(All throw ups were at 2.30pm unless the match report states differently)
WCA Round Up There were just a couple of fixtures scheduled for Sunday 31 July 2022.
Mowi National Division Glasgow Mid Argyll 7 Ardnamurchan 0 Joan Nicolson scored all seven goals as Glasgow Mid Argyll defeated Ardnamurchan 7-0 in their 3pm throw up at Peterson Park.
Mowi North Division 2 Strathspey Camanachd v Skye Camanachd W/O The Skye Camanachd second team were given a walk-over when Strathspey Camanachd were unable to field a team for their match at Grantown Grammar School.
Youth Shinty Scotland Open With Tour Win Scotland under-17 opened this year’s Sitekit Ireland Tour with (7-10) 31-18 (3-9) win over Offaly under-16 at O’Connor Park on Monday 25 July 2022. A goal from Oban Camanachd’s Louie MacFarlane along with points from Fort William’s Cam Stephen, Archie MacRae and Cam Stephen again gave the Scots an early (1-3) 6-0 (0-0) lead. Taylor Matheson and an Archie MacRae brace with a single point from Euan MacCormick added to Scotland’s points count to make it (4-4)16-0 (0-0) before Offaly pulled a couple of points back. Offaly added a third point before Euan MacCormick got his second point with Louie MacFarlane showing his worth by adding another to make the half-time score Offaly (0-3) 3-18 (4-6) Scotland. An Ireland point and a Brodie MacBean point came early in the second half before substitute Iain Fraser scored Scotland’s fifth goal and the visitors now led (5-7) 22-4 (0-4). An Iain Fraser point and a third point from Euan MacCormick followed by Finlay “Stork” MacLennan finding the net, increased Scotland’s lead with two more Irish points making it (6-9) 27-6 (0-6). The sides agreed to tweak the rules to allow catching during the closing stages and Finlay “Stork” MacLennan and a first goal from Offaly made it (7-9) 30-9 (1-6). Offaly rallied adding two more goals and three more points to make it (7-9) 30-18 (3-9). However Cam Stephen added his third point to make the final score Offaly (3-9) 18-31 (7-10) Scotland. Glengarry’s Finlay Fraser was named Sitekit man of the match. Scotland under-17 from: Calum Nicolson (Skye Camanachd): Thomas MacKinnon (Beauly), Coll MacKay (Inveraray): Sean MacLellan (Fort William), Finlay Fraser Glengarry), George Taylor-Ramsay (Kingussie): Finlay “Stork” MacLennan (Beauly), Euan MacCormick (Beauly) (captain), Aidan Love (Kilmallie): Cam Stephen (Fort William, Craig MacDonald (Fort William), Taylor Matheson (Skye Camanachd): Louie MacFarlane (Oban Camanachd), Archie MacRae (Kinlochshiel): subs Jack Nelson (Strathspey), Brodie MacBean (Newtonmore), Marcus Planck (Bute), Iain Fraser (Kingussie) Young Scots Win Again The young Scots followed up their win over Offaly with a (3-3) 12-22 (5-7) victory over Dublin under-16 at Parnell Park on Tuesday 26 July 2022. This annual clash had been suspended for the last two years due to covid and Scotland under-21 Head Coach Alan MacRae, who looked after the side, made three changes to his starting line-up from the previous evening’s win over Offaly with Jack Nelson, Marcus Planck and Brodie MacBean replacing Coll MacKay, Finlay “Stork” MacLennan and Louie MacFarlane. It was clear that Scotland had benefited from the previous evening’s game as they took the early initiative with Archie MacRae notching a point and then scoring a goal. Craig MacDonald had a goal disallowed but another Archie MacRae point meant Scotland led (1-2) 5-0 (0-0). Craig MacDonald added a point to Scotland’s tally before Dublin pulled a couple of points back to make the interval score Dublin (0-2) 2-6 (1-3) Scotland. Archie MacRae got the first point of the second half before Brodie MacBean scored a goal to extend Scotland’s lead to (2-4) 10-2 (0-2). Finlay Fraser scored his first point of the tour with Taylor Matheson adding another before Oban Camanachd’s Louie MacFarlane scored his second goal of the tour to give Scotland a (3-6) 15-2 (0-2) lead. The sides again agreed to relax the rules to allow catching and Dublin responded by pulling a point and two goals back so Scotland’s lead was cut to (3-6) 15-9 (2-3). However Archie MacRae scored his second goal of the match to thwart any hopes of a fight-back. Iain Fraser’s goal followed by Craig MacDonald’s second point and a late Dublin goal made the final score Dublin (3-3) 12-22 (5-7) Scotland. Fort William’s Craig MacDonald was named Sitekit man of the match. Scotland under-17 from: Calum Nicolson (Skye Camanachd): Thomas MacKinnon (Beauly), Jack Nelson (Strathspey): Sean MacLellan (Fort William), Finlay Fraser Glengarry), George Taylor-Ramsay (Kingussie): Marcus Planck (Bute), Euan MacCormick (Beauly) (captain), Aidan Love (Kilmallie): Cam Stephen (Fort William, Craig MacDonald (Fort William), Taylor Matheson (Skye Camanachd): Brodie MacBean (Newtonmore), Archie MacRae (Kinlochshiel): subs Louie MacFarlane (Oban Camanachd), Iain Fraser (Kingussie), Finlay “Stork” MacLennan (Beauly), Coll MacKay (Inveraray) |