The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 7 November 2015 | |
07 November 2015 The main shinty focus was on Oban for the second successive Saturday and the final league championship of the season was decided as Bute clinched the Marine Harvest South Division 1 title following the shinty action on Saturday 7 November 2015.
Marine Harvest Premiership Kyles Athletic P Oban Camanachd P With Kyles’ Tighnabruaich pitch ruled unplayable 24 hours earlier, the match between Kyles Athletic and Oban Camanachd was switched to Yoker with a 1.30pm throw up. However there was Saturday morning disappointment when Yoker also failed a pitch inspection so the game was postponed. With Oban Camanachd in action against Newtonmore at Mossfield next weekend, the Camanachd Association will be keen that this game is played ahead of the Marine Harvest Premiership play-off between Kilmallie and Kingussie on Saturday 29 November 2015.
Marine Harvest National Division The Marine Harvest Premiership fixtures are complete.
Marine Harvest North Division 1 The Marine Harvest North Division 1 fixtures are complete.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Oban Celtic 0 Bute 6 Bute were in no mood for slip-ups as they clinched the Marine Harvest South Division 1 title with a 6-0 win over Oban Celtic at Mossfield. Bute went into the match level on points with Lochside Rovers with each side having one game remaining. However Bute crucially had the better goal difference – 15 goals better than their rivals – so they knew that victory in this clash would guarantee them the title. Bute were without James Craig who started a two match ban following his red card against Strachur last weekend. Bute took control of the game early on and there were only 2 minutes on the clock when Robert Walker gave them the lead when he slammed home a rebound after a Gordon MacMillan shot had been saved. Duncan Davidson made it 2-0 on 18 minutes when he picked up a Tom MacMillan pass around 20 yards from goal before striking the ball home. A quick-fire double from youngster Craig MacKay on 24 and 29 minutes made it 4-0. MacKay’s first saw the wing centre push forward from the left to score at the back post. He then slammed a Robert Walker free-hit past Oban Celtic goalie Scott Mossman to leave his side with one hand on the trophy. Robert Walker notched a fifth just 5 minutes before the break with his second goal of the afternoon which put the champions-elect out of sight at the interval. Bute were dominant and Robert Walker, Duncan Davidson and full centre David Whitelaw all went close with Scott Mossman performing well in the Oban Celtic goal. Bute substitutes Adam Stirling, Scott Dunn and John Beattie were all given a second half run out. Robert Walker showed that he had lost none of his scoring prowess, completing his hat-trick with his sixteenth goal in the five matches since his return from injury. A mis-hit Duncan Davidson shot fell kindly for Walker and the strike was his twenty-third of the season - to make it 6-0 on 79 minutes. Referee John Wood’s final whistle confirmed Bute as league winners and Camanachd Association President Jim Barr was on hand for the trophy presentation and Bute captain and keeper Kevin Queen lifted the Marine Harvest South Division 1 trophy as the Islanders got ready to celebrate. Oban Celtic end the season in third spot and although they are nine points behind the top two, there were still in the title race until the closing weeks of the season. Bute declined the opportunity to remain in the Marine Harvest National Division this season after finishing bottom of shinty’s second tier at the end of the 2014 campaign. Their aim was to rebuild in Marine Harvest South Division 1 and, after dropping to fifth spot in early June after a spate of cup fixtures, the Islanders began a steady climb up the table to eventually finish top of the pile. Ted McDonald’s side must now decide whether to accept promotion to the Marine Harvest National Division where they would surely continue their progress. The matter will be discussed at the club’s forthcoming Annual General Meeting.
Glenorchy 0 Lochside Rovers 4 Lochside Rovers finish a credible second following their 4-0 win over Glenorchy at Ganavan. This was Glenorchy’s home fixture but their Mart Park pitch failed a Saturday morning pitch inspection. Therefore the game was switched to Ganavan. Scotland U21 player John McNulty was free of suspension for Glenorchy after serving a three game ban. Teenager Daniel MacVicar forced himself into the Oban Camanachd first team in the latter part of the season but with the senior game against Kyles Athletic postponed, Lochside were able to call on the services of the young forward. And it was MacVicar who fired his side into the lead just 11 minutes after referee Deek Cameron started the game. He collected the ball in a wide area before shooting into the corner of the net to make it 1-0. Daniel MacVicar got his and Lochside’s second on 31 minutes. This time MacVicar took on his marker and moved the ball wide before crashing a shot high into the middle of the net to make it 2-0. Any hopes Glenorchy had of a comeback were dashed when Brian MacCallum scored 5 minutes after the restart to make it 3-0. MacCallum got his second to make it 4-0 with just 12 minutes remaining when he collected a pass just outside the D before slotting the ball low into the net. In the end, Lochside just missed out on the title on goal difference but Gareth Evan’s side have had a good year and they continue to blood young talent for the Oban Camanachd first team. Glenorchy end the season in eighth place and they will regroup ahead of the 2016 season.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 The Marine Harvest North Division 2 fixtures are complete.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Ballachulish P Aberdour P The match between the Ballachulish and Aberdour second teams was postponed for the second successive Saturday as Jubilee Park was unplayable.
(All throw ups were at 1.30pm unless stated differently) (These reports will be updated as more information becomes available) |