The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 8 August 2015 | |
09 August 2015 Lovat are through to the SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Final and the Newtonmore second team lifted the Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup following the shinty action on Saturday 8 August 2015.
SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup – Semi Final Inveraray 1 Lovat 3 (after extra-tie) Lovat are through to the 2015 SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final after they beat Inveraray 3-1 in their 4.05pm throw up at An Aird. Inveraray were without John Kennedy who has a fractured finger. Chris Crawford was still out with a shoulder injury whilst David MacPherson, who has been suffering with a hamstring problem, was named on the substitutes’ bench. Grant Griffin was also a miss. A serious road accident on the A82 at Loch Lomond disrupted Inveraray boss Joe Fyffe’s plans further with Douglas Dando held up so Ally Munro was a late replacement in defence. Lovat boss John MacRitchie returned after missing the Balgate sides’ last two matches when he was on holiday. He had to do without the services of injured ace marksman Greg Matheson although he was named as substitute goal keeper. Defender Daniel Grieve served a one game ban for a disciplinary points accumulation and Fraser Gallacher was recovering from surgery. The match was televised live by BBC ALBA. Lovat, with wind advantage, didn’t allow the rejigged Inveraray defence time to settle and they took the lead with less than 2 minutes played. Callum Cruden played a terrific shy from the right onto the Inveraray goal and although keeper Graham MacPherson palmed the ball away, Lewis Tawse ran in and took the dropping ball first time, volleying it into the net for a glorious opener which made it 1-0. Garry MacPherson went close to conjuring up an immediate leveller from the restart as his shot from a tight angle on the left crashed off the crossbar and went out for a shy on the far side of the park. The game was very open and Graham MacPherson saved a Kevin Bartlett shot from the left with his foot on 14 minutes. MacPherson saved again with his feet on 18 minutes from Lorne MacKay following a set-piece on the right. Lovat’s Lorne MacKay went down in a tangle with Inveraray’s David Robertson on the half hour mark. Robertson fell on MacKay’s leg which twisted and the Lovat player was left in some distress and he was replaced by Jamie Matheson. And Matheson almost made an immediate impact with his first touch of the match. Kevin Bartlett took a touch to beat his marker and broke down the Lovat left and picked Matheson out in space in front of goal. However Matheson missed his first hit but recovered to shoot goalwards but Graham MacPherson turned his shot away. Lovat defender Michael MacKenzie was booked by referee Billy Wotherspoon for throwing his caman at the ball as Inveraray attacked on 40 minutes. Lewis MacNicol found Garry MacPherson from the free hit and MacPherson’s low shot from wide on the right went across Lovat goalie Stuart MacDonald and he flicked the ball away for a corner on the left. Inveraray continued to press and when a Euan McMurdo shot was deflected for a corner by Drew Howie, the Winterton side made the set-piece count. Ruairidh Graham played in the corner from the left and when the ball fell for top scorer Euan McMurdo, he took it under control before rifling in a terrific 20 yard drive which beat Stuart MacDonald just inside his left post to make it 1-1. Graham MacPherson saved a Danny Kelly ball from distance, which dropped into the D from wide on the left of the Lovat midfield, and the keeper raced off his line to clear the danger with 57 minutes played. Lovat responded and Kevin Bartlett played in Euan Ferguson on 66 minutes and he turned his man and ran into the D but his shot hit the side-netting. Inveraray’s Ally MacDonald was booked a couple of minutes later for a trip on Lewis Tawse as the Lovat scorer broke down the Lovat left. Lovat’s Danny Kelly was next into the book a minute later for speaking out of turn. Stuart MacDonald had to look lively as he turned away a Garry MacPherson shot following a free-hit on 77 minutes. At the other end, Graham MacPherson saved a low Kevin Bartlett shot from distance. After a period where Lovat had the better of the possession, Inveraray came more into the game in the closing stages of the second half. Inveraray made a change as Lewis Montgomery replacing Fraser Watt as the tie moved into injury time. With no further scoring, referee Billy Wotherspoon took the keenly contested affair into an extra-time period. Lovat had the wind advantage once more and Allan MacDonald played a long ball into the Lovat goal-area from the restart and Inveraray’s Garry MacPherson turned and slotted the ball home however he was harshly penalised by referee Billy Wotherspoon for a shove on Drew Howie. Inveraray veteran Ruairidh Graham was booked for a challenge on 97 minutes. Inveraray boss Joe Fyfe made another change with Scott Robertson coming on for Ally MacDonald. A Jamie Matheson shot was saved with feet by Graham MacPherson at expense corner. Craig Mainland was booked for a late challenge on Garry MacPherson. Inveraray made a third change as Fraser MacNicol came on for an injured Ally Munro. The second half of extra-time was barely a minute old when Euan Ferguson made just enough space to turn and shoot but the ball came back off the post. Lovat grabbed the decisive second goal from the resultant corner. And it was substitute Jamie Matheson who got onto a Euan Ferguson corner from the left and he struck the ball low into net, under Graham MacPherson’s feet, to make it 2-0 with 106 minutes played. Lovat had their tails up and Graham MacPherson got his caman to a Jamie Matheson shot from distance with the ball deflecting to safety off the post. Jamie Matheson’s eventful afternoon continued as he was yellow-carded for delaying a Euan McMurdo free-hit from midfield on 111 minutes. Lovat sealed their place in the final with just 5 minutes remaining. Euan Ferguson won possession and flicked the ball into the path of Kevin Bartlett who ran across the goal before shooting home from the left, across keeper MacPherson, into the far corner of the net to make it 3-1. Callum Cruden became the fourth Lovat player to be booked as he was judged to have been wasting time whilst taking a shy with just 3 minutes remaining. There were emotional scenes in the Lovat camp as the final whistle sounded and they will now watch on as Newtonmore and Kyles Athletic play the second SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup semi-final this coming weekend at the Taynuilt Sports Field. Inveraray defender Nicholas Crawford was named man of match by BBC ALBA match analyst Ally Ferguson.
Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup Final Newtonmore 5 Lochside Rovers 0 The Newtonmore second team lifted the Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup with a convincing 5-0 win over Lochside Rovers in their 1.30pm throw up at Jubilee Park. Newtonmore boss Cammy MacDonald was without the services of John MacKenzie who was on holiday. Newtonmore’s last appearance in this junior final ended in controversy when they beat Kingussie in the 2012 final but were eliminated from the competition for mistakenly fielding Calum Stewart after he had reached the threshold of five first team appearances. However how times change as three years later, Stewart was the man who made the difference in the 2015 final, netting all five Newtonmore goals on the day of his 21st birthday. There was little sign that the winning margin would be so great in and evenly contested the first half. Calum Stewart broke the deadlock after just 3 minutes when he shrugged off a couple of challenges before shooting from a tight angle, with the ball hitting Lochside keeper Beano Logan’s foot on the way into the net. Lochside Rovers had their chance during the first 45 minutes and they could have gone into the break ahead had it not been for some fine saves from ‘More keeper Owen Fraser. The turning point in the final came after 61 minutes. Calum Stewart collected the ball with his back to goal and he turned before striking the ball hard on his back-hand, low into the bottom corner of the net to make it 2-0 to the delight of the Newtonmore support. Calum Stewart completed his hat-trick on 67 minutes when he cut inside, again on his back-hand, and fired goalwards. Beano Logan got his stick to the ball but he couldn’t keep it out. Newtonmore were now in the grove and when Drew MacDonald ran towards goal on 71 minutes, he had a look up before cutting the ball back to Calum Stewart who sent a powerful shot into the top corner of the net to make it 4-0. Calum Stewart rounded off the scoring with his and Newtonmore’s fifth goal of the afternoon just 12 minutes later. Neil Stewart saw his shot was saved by Beano Logan but as the ball trickled over the keeper’s stick, Calum Stewart was first to react and he ran in to tap the ball into an empty net to make it 5-0. Lochside keeper Beano Logan deserves a mention for same fine saves but it was a good all-round team performance from Newtonmore which won them the trophy and for five-goal Calum Stewart, it was a 21st birthday he will always remember. Calum Girvan was the match referee.
Bullough Cup – Semi Final Aberdour 1 Kyles Athletic 10 The Kyles Athletic second team are through to the Bullough Cup Final after they beat Aberdour 10-1 in their noon throw up at Silver Sands. Sandy MacKenzie and Brandon Wilson each scored four times for Kyles with a Rupert Williamson brace making up their total. Alex Mitchell scored a consolation goal for Aberdour. Ewen MacDonald was the match referee
Marine Harvest Premiership Kyles Athletic 3 Kingussie 2 Kyles Athletic edged out a battling Kingussie side 3-2 at Tighnabruaich. Kyles were along usual lines which meant that Roddy MacDonald had passed a fitness test after coming off injured against Lochaber a week earlier. Rory MacGregor put Kingussie ahead on 22 minutes when his shot from distance flew into the Kyles net to make it 1-0. Robbie MacLeod drew Kyles level, making it 1-1 on 36 minutes and that’s the way it stayed until the interval. Kyles won the match during the period just after half-time. The second half was just 60 seconds home when Grant Irvine put the home side ahead for the first time in the match and Gordon Whyte made it 3-1 just a couple of minutes later. Another great Rory MacGregor strike from distance made it 3-2 on 69 minutes but Kyles stayed in front to record another league win. As well as taking the points, which mean second place Kyles are now just 3 points behind leaders Newtonmore with each side having seven league games remaining, Kyles will be happy that Roddy MacDonald played the full 90 minutes without any reaction to his injury ahead of this coming weekend’s televised SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup semi-final meeting with Newtonmore.
Marine Harvest National Division Glasgow Mid Argyll 0 Skye Camanachd 2 Skye Camanachd picked up two vital points thanks to a 2-0 win over Glasgow Mid Argyll at Peterson Park, Yoker. The GMA absentees included former west coast players Ben Dalgety and John Don MacKenzie. Skye were without former GMA player Iain Murray who was on holiday and Ally “Spod” MacLeod who picked up an injury at the Scotland U21 trials during the week so U14 player Ruairidh MacLeod was a late addition as a third substitute. Skye had a marathon 18 hour round-trip to complete the fixture after a road accident closed the A82 at Loch Lomond. Indeed the Islanders started the match with little chance of a warm up and before manager John MacLeod and some of his players were at the pitch including wing back Ally MacDonald and forward Kenny MacLeod. Therefore the first twelve players to arrive started the match at a minute after 4pm. Will Cowie started as an emergency defender. Skye played with the wind advantage in the first half and they took the lead on 36 minutes when Danny Morrison fired the ball low into the net to make it 1-0. Skye doubled their lead a minute before the break when the ball broke to Kenny Campbell and he sent a back-hand shot into the net to give Skye a 2-0 lead at the interval. The Skye defence coped well with GMA pressure in the second half. Skye’s Shockie MacLennan made a welcome return from injury. He started the match until Ally MacDonald arrived and then came back on for the final 20 minutes and it took a good save from GMA goalie Jonathon Oates to prevent him adding a third. Skye are now level on points with league leaders Kilmallie but the Coal side are three goals better off. Both sides have five fixtures remaining including a meeting at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree this coming weekend.
Marine Harvest North Division 1 Kingussie 4 Fort William 3 Table toppers Fort William colts suffered only their second league defeat of the season when they lost 4-3 to the Kingussie colts at the Dell. A Kevin Thain brace for the home side and a Sumas Gall strike in replay saw Kingussie lead 2-1 and the Kings stayed in front for the remainder of the game. Ruaridh Anderson for the home side and a second goal from Seumus Gall made it 3-2. Kevin Thain completed his hat-trick to make it 4-2 and although Fort William’s Duncan Rodger scored in stoppage time to make it 4-3, there was no time to get a leveller. The Fort William seconds now only lead the Newtonmore seconds by two points and ‘More have a game in hand. The sides meet in the Strathdearn Cup semi-final this coming weekend and they are still to meet at the Eilan on league duty.
Kinlochshiel P Lochcarron P The west coast derby between the Kinlochshiel second team and Lochcarron at Kirkton was postponed and the match was rescheduled for Saturday 22 August 2015.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Oban Celtic 2 Taynuilt 3 The match between Oban Celtic and Taynuilt at Ganavan was brought forward to Friday 7 August 2015 with a 6.30pm throw up. And it was the visitors who came from a goal down to win 3-2. Oban Celtic’s Lee Askew was free of suspension after serving a one game ban for passing the disciplinary points threshold. And he didn’t take long to make an impact as Askew fired the Oban side into a 20 minute lead. However Jamie MacFarlane drew Taynuilt level on 26 minutes and David Graham put them in front just 3 minutes later. Taynuilt’s Mark Bergant netted what proved to be a crucial third goal for Taynuilt a minute before the break. Oban Celtic’s Daniel Madej pulled a goal back to make it 3-2 on 62 minutes but Taynuilt stayed in front to take the points. Oban Celtic drop to third
Aberdour 0 Bute 2 Bute’s good recent form continued but they had to fight all the way to beat Aberdour 2-0 in their 3pm throw up at Silver Sands. After a goalless first half, Duncan Davidson gave Bute the lead on 68 minutes. Neil McKirdy sealed the win with a strike a minute from time. The win means Bute leap-frog Aberdour into second place in the league.
Inveraray 1 Strachur 1 The Inveraray second team and Strachur shared the points following a 1-1 draw in their noon throw up at the Winterton. Strachur’s Ross MacDonald was free of suspension. Both the goals came in the first half. Steven Bulloch a 14 minute lead. However when referee Jim Innes pointed to the penalty spot on 31 minutes, Robert Wood stepped up to convert. Inveraray remain at the top of the table. They lead second place Bute by four points but the Islanders have four games in hand.
Glenorchy P Kilmory P Kilmory were unable to raise a team for their trip to the Mart Park to play Glenorchy. Kilmory have been deducted two points and the match will be rescheduled for a later date.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Skye Camanachd 2 Kilmallie 0 The Skye Camanachd second team stay top of the table after they beat the Kilmallie second team 2-0 in their noon throw up at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. Skye agreed to Kilmallie’s request to bring the throw up forward to noon as several of the visiting players had first team player Seb MacMillan’s wedding to attend later in the day. Skye second team manager Davie Pringle made four changes to the squad which drew 2-2 with the Caberfeidh seconds in the league at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree a fortnight earlier. Iain Nicolson was with the Skye first team whilst Angie MacDonald and John MacKenzie were unavailable and Chris Rose was a late call-off. However Neil John Campbell was able to play after early indications that he wouldn’t make it. Youngsters Kyle Pirie, Calum Gibb, Ryan Morrison, Ross Nicolson made up the fifteen-man squad. Pringle missed the Cabers draw but he was back for this one. Kilmallie hadn’t played since they beat the Caberfeidh second team 5-2 at the Canal Parks on Saturday 27 June 2015. Andrew McAlister and Jordan MacPhee were free of suspension for Kilmallie after missing that game. McAllister started at full centre but MacPhee was missing. The Canal Parks side had no first team game so they fielded first team manager Mark MacPherson at buckshee back. The home side made a good start to the game and after passing up a couple of early chances, they took the lead after 11 minutes. John Gillies controlled an Iain MacLellan corner from the left and he took a touch before sending the ball high into the Kilmallie net to make it 1-0. Kilmallie had the chance to level on 24 minutes when goal judge Donnie Martin signalled for a penalty after Kyle Pirie kicked the ball inside the D following a goalmouth scramble. Ross MacKenzie took the spot-hit but Skye keeper Jamie Gannon stretched to his right to keep the ball out with his left foot. Kilmallie goalie Frankie Innes made a brilliant save to tip away a John Angus MacInnes drive which was heading for the net, just under the crossbar. Ross MacKenzie almost punished the Skye defence for failing to clear their lines midway through the half but his shot from the left went into the side netting. Skye clinched the win on 74 minutes. John Angus MacInnes needed no second invitation to crash the ball from the Skye left, over keeper Frankie Innes’ left shoulder, into the top corner of the next to make it 2-0. The win keeps Skye top of Marine Harvest North Division 2 ahead of next weekend’s trip to Spean Bridge to play the Lochaber seconds.
Glengarry 4 Strathspey Camanachd 1 Second place Glengarry are hot on Skye’s heels after they over-came Strathspey Camanachd 4-1 at Craigard. John MacKinnon gave ‘Garry the lead on 16 minutes with the only goal of the first half. When referee Jon Gallagher pointed to the penalty spot on 54 minutes, Ruairidh MacDonald took responsibility to score. Andrew Gilchrist made it 3-0 on 65 minutes and Stephen Brady added a fourth on 71 minutes. Strathspey’s Mark MacDonald pulled a goal back 5 minutes from time to make it 4-1. Glengarry remain a couple of points behind Skye Camanachd in the league and each team has five games to go including a potential title-decider at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree.
Aberdeen University 11 Inverness 0 Aberdeen University and the Inverness second team met for the second successive Saturday; this time at Balgownie. The sides drew 2-2 at the Bught Park last weekend but the Students took the honours this time around with a resounding 11-0 victory. Willie Hunter was missing for the home side. The Students raced into a 2-0 lead with Kenny Cushnie on 17 minutes and Alex Duncan a couple of minutes later putting them 2-0 ahead. Indeed the home side powered on to lead 6-0 at the break. Alex Duncan got his second to make it 3-0 on 29 minutes and Stuart Cameron got their fourth a couple of minutes later. Kenny Cushnie got his second on 35 minutes and Alex Duncan completed his hat-trick a couple of minutes before the break to make it 6-0. The home goals continued into the second half. Alex Duncan got his fourth just 3 minutes after the restart to make it 7-0. Aberdeen University player / manager Jamie Beaton added his name to the scoresheet on 57 minutes whilst Stuart Cameron got his second to make it 9-0 on the hour mark. Stuart Cameron completed his hat-trick on 83 minutes to make it ten and Alex Duncan rounded off a tremendous individual performance when he made it 11-0 a minute later. The win means Aberdeen University climb above the Caberfeidh reserves into second place in the table.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Tayforth P Glenorchy P The meeting between Tayforth and the Glenorchy seconds at Levenhall Links, Musselburgh has been rescheduled for Saturday 22 August 2015.
Bute P Glasgow Mid Argyll P The game between the Bute and Glasgow Mid Argyll second teams at the Meadows has been rescheduled for Saturday 29 August 2015.
(All throw ups were at 2pm unless stated differently) (These reports will be updated as more information becomes available) |