The wet weather continued to blight the start to the new shinty season although the majority of games did beat the elements on Saturday 9 April 2016
Gregor Cameron Consultancy Glasgow Celtic Society Cup - First Round
Glenorchy P Oban Celtic P
The final Gregor Cameron Consultancy Glasgow Celtic Society Cup first round tie between Glenorchy and Oban Celtic was postponed for the third time of asking as Mart Park was unplayable.
The teams will try again this coming Saturday and they have still to meet in the first round of the Balliemore Cup, with that tie to be played in Oban.
Balliemore Cup - First Round
Inveraray 0 Kilmallie 1
The tie of the Balliemore Cup first round was the 3pm throw up between Marine Harvest National Division title rivals Kilmallie and Inveraray. This encounter was originally scheduled for the Canal Parks but was switched to the Winterton on Saturday morning because of an unplayable field.
Kilmallie were without Craig MacIsaac, Peter Carmichael, Liam Cameron and Liam MacDonald in their RBS MacTavish Cup first round defeat to Skye last weekend and all but the injured MacDonald returned for this one. Mark MacPherson’s squad was tested though as Duncan Rodger and Steven McAllister were missing as was Ryan Stewart who suffered a hamstring injury against Skye.
Inveraray boss Ruaraidh Graham fielded a strong side including the returning Garry MacPherson. David Robertson was back from injury and he started on the bench alongside Fraser Watt.
The pitch was soft but playable and Kilmallie took the lead after 12 minutes when Michael Rodger, who had been well-shadowed by Ally Munro, got away from his marker to score a well-taken goal.
Referee Lachie Wood showed an early yellow card to Kilmallie defender Craig MacIsaac who was eventually moved up front in the first half.
Inveraray had a chance to level when wing centre David MacPherson got away from Innes Blackhall but his back-post shot rose over the bar.
Inveraray deployed Nicolas Crawford in attack and he found himself one-on-one with Kilmallie keeper Shane Gillies who made an excellent save.
Shane Gillies was called into action once more just before the break and he made a fantastic stop from a Garry MacPherson shot.
Inveraray player / manager Ruaraidh Graham came on for an injured Grant Griffin in the second half and, on another day, he could have scored a couple of goals.
Inveraray goalie Scott MacLachlan was also busy in goals although his saves were more of a routine nature.
Both defences were solid and Kilmallie moved Michael Rodger back into their rear-guard to help protect their lead.
David Robertson’s return from a back injury is a boost for Inveraray but they are finding goals hard to come by.
Kilmallie are one of the fancied teams in this tournament and they will be at home to Ballachulish or Glasgow Mid Argyll in the quarter-finals on Saturday 21 May 2016.
Strathglass 1 Bute 1 (after extra-time - Strathglass won 1-0 on penalties)
Another tie which caught the eye was the 3pm throw up between Marine Harvest North Division 1 table-toppers Strathglass and Bute from the Marine Harvest National Division. This one could hardly have been closer and it eventually took penalties to separate the sides.
Bute’s Arran Dunn was free of suspension.
James Craig put Bute ahead after 35 minutes. However Barry John Phimmister drew Strathglass level on 41 minutes.
With no goals in the second half, referee Archie Ritchie took the tie to an extra time period.
There was no further scoring so the outcome was settled by a penalty shoot-out. After ten spot-hits, Strathglass stalwart Donald Fraser was the only player to score, mainly because of some very good goalkeeping.
Strathglass will now host Taynuilt in the quarter-finals.
Caberfeidh 2 Inverness 1
Caberfeidh progressed in the Balliemore Cup after they beat Inverness 2-1 in their 3pm throw up at Castle Leod
Inverness defender David Campbell sat this one out as he served the second match of a two game ban for passing through the disciplinary points threshold. However Craig Nicholson returned following a hand injury and he made a substitute appearance for the last 15 minutes of the game.
The sides met at the same venue on league duty on the second Saturday of the shinty season with Cabers running out 4-1 winners. This, in comparison, was a much closer affair.
Martin MacDonald gave Cabers the lead after 19 minutes after a move, which started in the midfield, cut open the Inverness defence.
Ally MacLennan scored a crucial second just a minute before the interval. A rebound fell perfectly for the Cabers talisman and he couldn’t miss.
James Cameron pulled a goal back for Inverness with 10 minutes remaining. Cameron held the ball up, turned the full back, before hitting a hard, waist-high shot past the keeper to make it 2-1
There was to be no comeback though so Cabers won the day.
Inverness co-managers Drew McNeil and Allan MacRae will have taken great heart in the performance of young wing centre William MacKinnon who had an outstanding game.
Aberdour 3 Col Glen 1
A powerful first half performance helped Aberdour to a 3-1 win over Col Glen in their 3pm throw up at Silver Sands.
Col Glen made a good start but Angus Thorburn put Aberdour in front with a goal after 20 minutes.
Roddy MacColl brace on 26 and 32 minutes made it 3-0 at half time. Kevin Latimer set up McColl’s first before the prolific scorer added a second shortly after.
McColl had a chance to complete his hat-trick in the second half when referee David Mitchell awarded the home side a penalty for a kick. However the Aberdour danger-man didn’t hit the ball as he would have liked and the chance was gone.
Scott MacVicar pulled a goal back for Col Glen with a fierce strike a couple of minutes from time but it’s Aberdour who go forward to meet Caberfeidh at Castle Leod in the last eight of the competition.
Ballachulish P Glasgow Mid Argyll P
The tie between Glasgow Mid Argyll and Ballachulish was postponed on Saturday morning as the Jubilee Park was unplayable.
Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup – First Round
Glenurquhart 2 Lochside Rovers 1 (after extra time)
There was an eye-catching Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup first round tie between the Glenurquhart second team and Lochside Rovers at Blairbeg.
Glenurquhart were forced to take the field without six of the players who played against the Kinlochshiel second team the previous weekend. Stuart Reid, Calum Smith, Arran MacDonald, Rory MacLean, James MacPherson and Cairn Urquhart were all part of the 22-player squad which made the trip to New York City to take part in Tartan Week on Saturday 9 April 2016 play an exhibition shinty match at Dyckman Soccer Field on Sunday 10 April 2016. However they were able to give Conner Golabek the number 9 shirt and he was to make a telling contribution.
Lochside Rovers’ Jordan Kerr finally started his two match ban for his red card in the team’s last outing; a 2-0 defeat to Oban Celtic on Saturday 19 March 2016. However there were places for Iain MacMillan, Keith MacMillan and Robert Alexander.
Lochside Rovers stuck first with Keith Burnett giving the Oban side a 32 minute lead.
Connor Golabek got the Glen back on level terms when he found the back of the net on 59 minutes.
And that’s the way it stayed until referee Martin MacLean’s final whistle so the tie went into an extra-time period.
The winning goal came on 103 minutes when Connor Golabek got his second to clinch a second round spot at home to Lochcarron.
Caberfeidh 7 SCOTS Camanachd 2
The Caberfeidh reserves and forces side SCOTS Camanachd took part in the first match of the day; a noon throw up at Castle Leod.
There was an early exchange of goals as Gavin McLaughlan put Cabers ahead after 4 minutes only for Colin Irving to level on 8 minutes.
Two goals in a couple of minutes then gave the home side the edge. Former Inverness player Brian Mackain got his first goal since his pre-season switch on 23 minutes and Gavin McLaughlan got his second 60 seconds later to make it 3-1 and the home side took this lead into the break.
Cabers started to pull away in the second half with Gavin McLaughlan completing his hat-trick on 61 minutes and Stuart Kryzanowski making it 5-1 on 70 minutes.
The SCOTS showed plenty fight though and former Skye Camanachd player Ian Munro pulled a goal back to make it 5-2 with 10 minutes remaining.
Two late goals put gloss on the final outcome. Stuart Kryzanowski got his second just 3 minutes from time and James Rolfe rounded off the scoring a minute before referee Daniel MacRae’s full time whistle to make it 7-2.
The Caberfeidh colts will now host the winners of next weekend’s tie between the Kyles Athletic and Fort William second teams in the next round.
Glasgow Mid Argyll 0 Skye Camanachd 3
The Skye Camanachd seconds beat the Glasgow Mid Argyll seconds 3-0 in their 2pm throw up at Yoker
Skye showed no ill-effects to their early start and long journey south as John Angus MacInnes got onto the end of a Ryan Morrison pass to give his team the lead with just 3 minutes on the clock.
Former Skye player David Nicolson lined up at full back for GMA. However he had to come off after taking a knock in a challenge from John Angus MacInnes. He came back on later in the game at full forward where he was marked by Skye captain David Grant.
Skye thought they were about to score a second but referee Jon Gallagher blew the half time whistle just as John Angus MacInnes was about to shoot.
On a difficult surface, Skye had to wait until the tail-end of the tie to wrap up the win.
Iain MacLellan pushed forward from wing centre to make it 2-0 after 87 minutes. MacLellan played a one-two with James Pringle and his shot took a deflection off a defenders leg on the way into the net.
Two of Skye’s young substitutes combined to get their team’s third goal a minute from time. Ross Gordon sent a shot from distance on target and whilst the keeper saved his effort, Ruaraidh MacLeod followed up to score from the rebound.
Skye’s third young sub, Sam MacPhee, came on during the second half to make his debut at reserve team level.
Skye will now travel to the Eilan to face the Newtonmore seconds in the next round.
Inverness 0 Lochaber 6
The Lochaber second team are through to the next round of the Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup after they beat the Inverness second team 6-0 at the Bught Park.
Stuart Matheson put Lochaber ahead on 8 minutes and Danny Delaney made it 2-0 on 20 minutes.
The match then belonged to Keith Neville who scored one of the Spean Bridge side’s goals in their 4-1 league win over Glengarry the previous weekend. Neville netted four times in the first half on 22, 25, 36 and 42 minutes to make it 6-0 at the break.
Surprisingly, there were no goals in the second half and the Lochaber colts will have an away-day against Tayforth to look forward to in the next round.
Oban Lorn 1 Lewis Camanachd 1 (after extra-time – Oban Lorn won 2-0 on penalties)
Oban Lorn and Lewis Camanachd met for the first time in a 3.30pm throw up at Ganavan. The Oban pitch passed a Saturday morning inspection so the tie went ahead.
Oban Lorn’s Calum MacLean and Daniel MacKinnon were both free of suspension.
Keeper Graham Cay was still missing for Lewis so Eoghan Stewart continued to deputise in goal.
Lewis forward Scott MacLeod forced and early save and although the visitors had the ball in the net a couple of minutes later, the effort was ruled out by referee Iain Kennedy for a kick.
Oban Lorn then enjoyed a period of pressure before play switched to the other end and Paul Duke sent a strike just past the post after Scott MacLeod saw his initial effort well saved.
Lewis player / manager Duncan MacIntyre shot wide and there were chances at both ends as the first half drew to a close.
However it was Oban Lorn who made the vital break-through when a shot from distance from former Lochside Rovers player Craig MacDougall flew into the back of the net to make it 1-0 on the stroke of half-time.
The end to end nature of the tie continued and whilst Lewis went on the ascendency from the restart, the Oban side dealt with the attacks on their goal and then made chances of their own.
Lewis almost drew level when a terrific strike from Will Church cracked off the crossbar but Paul Duke was on hand to slot the rebound into the back of the net with 65 minutes played.
Both sides had chances to win it during the regulation 90 minutes before referee Iain Kennedy took the contest into extra-time.
Paul Duke came within a whisker of giving Lewis the lead when his shot came off the keeper and deflected to safety off the post.
Oban Lorne then twice went close, with the second attempt well saved by Eoghan Stewart.
This one could have gone either way before Iain Kennedy signalled for a penalty shoot-out.
In the end, David Martin and Charlie Spreadbury scored from the spot to give Oban Lorn a 2-0 win.
Oban Lorn will now travel to play the winners of the tie between Kilmory and the Inveraray second team.
Beauly 6 Caithness 0
The tie between Caithness and the Beauly second team was reversed to Braeview Park during the week as Viewfirth Park, Thurso was waterlogged. And it was the home side who won through to the second round with a 6-0 win in this 1.30pm throw up.
Robbie Brindle gave Beauly the lead on 5 minutes and the same player added a second on 19 minutes. Young Brindle was proving to be too hot to handle for the non-league side and he completed his hat-trick to make it 3-0 with 5 first half minutes remaining.
It was Brindle again on target on 53 minutes and on 77 minutes to score his and Beauly’s fifth goals of the afternoon and round off a terrific individual display.
Rory Campbell rounded off the 6-0 win with a strike on 87 minutes.
Beauly will now travel to Smith Park to play Boleskine, who won their first round tie against Bute last weekend, in the second round.
Caithness have ambitions of joining Marine Harvest North Division 2 and they can be pleased with how they fared against Marine Harvest North Division 1 opposition.
Inveraray P Kilmory P
The tie between Kilmory and the Inveraray second team was switched to Strachurmore on Friday afternoon as MacRae Park was unplayable.
However Strachurmore failed a Saturday morning pitch inspection to the tie has been rescheduled for this coming Saturday.
Aberdour P Kingussie P
An unplayable field at Silver Sands led to the postponement of the noon encounter between Aberdour seconds and the Kingussie seconds and the teams will try again this coming Saturday with the winners travelling to Craigard to play Glengarry.
Aberdeen University P Kinlochshiel P
Aberdeen University’s Balgownie pitch was deemed unplayable on Saturday morning so the Students tie with the Kinlochshiel reserves was postponed. The sides will now meet this coming weekend.
Inveraray P Kilmory P
The tie between Kilmory and the Inveraray second team was switched to Strachurmore on Friday afternoon as MacRae Park was unplayable. However Strachurmore was also ruled unplayable on Saturday morning so the tie has been rearranged for this coming Saturday.
Kilmallie P Lovat P
The Kilmallie colts and the Lovat colts were left disappointed as their noon throw up at the Canal Parks was an early casualty of the wet weather. The match will now take place this Saturday.
Marine Harvest Premiership
Oban Camanachd 1 Kinlochshiel 0
Oban Camanachd sit proudly at the top of the Marine Harvest Premiership, thanks to a 1-0 win over Kinlochshiel at Mossfield.
Oban Camanachd won promotion to shinty’s top division at the end of the 2014 shinty season but they spent most of last year fighting relegation before rallying to preserve their top flight status. However this year has been a continuation of the good form shown at the end of last year.
Boss Iain Hay started with the same team that beat Kingussie a week earlier for this tricky encounter.
Kinlochshiel boss Colin Fraser also took his side into the match on the back of a league victory, beating Glenurquhart a week earlier.
Aidan MacIntyre has been in terrific form so far this season and he gave the Oban side the lead after 19 minutes. Wing centre MacIntyre dribbled the ball along the left wing before turning inside and hitting a low 40 yard shot along the ground which beat the keeper at his bottom left corner.
It proved to be the only goal of the game as both keepers - Gavin Stobbart for the Oban side and Scott Kennedy for 'Shiel - would go on to make good saves.
With previous leaders Kyles Athletic having their free-Saturday, the win leaves Oban Camanachd top of the table, a point ahead of second place Lovat.
Lovat 3 Kingussie 2
After an action-packed closing 15 minutes, Lovat finally fought off Kingussie to win 3-2 at Balgate
Lovat were without Calum MacAulay, Drew Howie, Martin Mainland and Callum Cruden - all out injured whilst Ryan Ferguson and Lorne Mackay were unavailable. Craig Mainland returned as did Michael MacKenzie and there was a place at wing forward for Graeme MacMillan. Young Scott MacKenzie retained his place in defence.
Kingussie keeper Craig Dawson returned for his first match of the season after injury and this allowed Rory MacGregor to play at wing forward. Rory MacKeachan was also back but Lee Bain was still out. James Hutchison came off injured at Mossfield last weekend but he was fit enough to start at full forward where he was closely marked by Daniel Grieve.
Greg Matheson got Lovat off to the perfect start when he netted after 2 minutes. A Lovat corner from the left was missed by the Kings defence and the ball fell nicely for Matheson to score.
Fraser Munro moved forward unmarked on 6 minutes and he collected the ball on left side of box. However despite two attempts, he couldn’t get shot on target.
Lovat’s Craig Mainland was forced off through injury after 36 minutes. Bailey MacKay came on in his place and Danny Kelly dropped back to buckshee back.
A couple of minutes later, a good save with his stick from Craig Dawson, just inside the post, denied Kevin Bartlett.
Kingussie made a brighter start to the second half and on 53 minutes, Thomas Borthwick turned Danny Kelly and his fierce shot flew past the post with some supporters thinking the ball was in the net.
The resulting goal hit was swiftly moved up-field to Graeme MacMillan and his low shot was pushed away with his stick by Craig Dawson.
Thomas Borthwick’s aerial shot from a shy on 63 minutes produced a good save from Stuart MacDonald.
With 20 minutes remaining, Kingussie made a switch as James Falconer replaced Savio Genini who was having a quiet game.
Lovat’s Mark Kelly came on for Graeme MacMillan on 73 minutes.
With 15 minutes remaining, the game hadn’t been a great spectacle and it lacked goalmouth action. That was all about to change. First, Thomas Borthwick ran in on goal and was impeded by Lovat goalkeeper Stuart MacDonald. Borthwick picked himself up to score with a very well struck penalty to make it 1-1.
Kingussie introduced Ryan MacWilliam in place of Jake MacPherson on 83 minutes.
Craig Mainland had come back on during the second half at wing centre and he sent a long shy down to the right corner to Lewis Tawse. Tawse’s cross-ball was well dealt with by Craig Dawson at the expense of a corner.
The resultant corner fell nicely for Kevin Bartlett and he scored with a low shot to put Lovat back in front with just 4 minutes remaining.
A minute later, a Lovat defender kicked the ball at the edge of the D. A short free-hit was slipped into the path of the onrushing Thomas Borthwick who rocketed the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-2.
There was a frantic end to the game with both teams pushing forward for a winning goal.
The drama peaked when the Kings defence cleared the ball up-field and Craig Mainland collected possession in the middle of the park with no other player near him. From fully 40 yards out, and to the delight of the Lovat support, Mainland steadied himself and his powerful shot went high over the Kings defence and dropped just under crossbar for what was a spectacular winning goal.
There was only time left for referee John Angus Gilles to throw the ball up between the full centres and blow the final whistle.
Thomas Borthwick was best for Kings with Kevin Bartlett and Craig Mainland shining for Lovat.
The final outcome was harsh on Kingussie who didn’t deserve to leave Balgate empty-handed but the points lift Lovat to second spot in the league.
Lochaber 0 Newtonmore 3
Newtonmore moved up to third place in the table after they beat Lochaber 3-0 at Spean Bridge.
There were concerns that the match might be called off on Saturday morning but Lochaber officials monitored the condition of the pitch before a noon pitch inspection gave the game the green light. The pitch was very soft in places which wasn’t a surprise considering the recent rainfall. However this made it difficult for the teams to play fluent shinty.
Lochaber boss Ally Ferguson was without the injured Brian MacDonald whilst full centre Neil MacDonald was ruled out with a hamstring injury sustained against Kyles Athletic the previous week.
Newtonmore were without a fixture last weekend and Michael Ritchie continued in goal as Owen Fraser served the second match of a two game ban. Manager Paul John MacKintosh had Paul MacArthur missing and Jamie Robinson was called into the squad after his appearance for the reserves the previous week.
Newtonmore took the lead on 13 minutes. Evan Menzies played in Glen MacKintosh down the ‘More left wing. MacKintosh cut the ball across the D where Fraser MacKintosh poked the ball home for what was a well-made goal.
Fraser MacKintosh, who spent the pre-season in India, has been in fine form since his return and his second goal on 59 minutes came at a good time for the visitors. A ball into the Lochaber defence caused the problem. The home side failed to deal with it and Fraser MacKintosh bobbled the ball over the goal line from a yard out whilst falling to his knees.
Newtonmore went 3-0 ahead following a corner on 73 minutes. Evan Menzies showed good control as he took the ball down and slipped it past Lochaber keeper Callum MacDonald from inside the D.
Lochaber put up a great fight and keeper Michael Ritchie came to his team’s rescue on a few occasions.
The match was scrappy at times and both teams have displayed better hitting. Norman Campbell was outstanding at full centre for Newtonmore. He will play in the RBS MacTavish Cup semi-final against Skye Camanachd this coming Saturday before having planned knee surgery which will keep him out for at least 6 weeks. This makes Jamie Robinson’s return all the more timely.
Third place Newtonmore are ahead of Kyles Athletic and Kingussie on goal difference whilst Lochaber stay in ninth spot, trailing Glenurquhart and Skye Camanachd again on goal difference.
Skye Camanachd P Fort William P
Skye Camanachd’s Pairc nan Laoch pitch was playable on Friday evening but the overnight rain meant for the postponement of their meeting with Fort William. The option of a fixture reversal to An Aird was looked at but it was also unplayable.
Skye Camanachd have had a frustrating start to the new term, having only managed to play on three of the six Saturdays of the new shinty season.
Fort William will try to notch their first league point when they welcome Kinlochshiel to An Aird this coming Saturday in the Marine Harvest Premiership’s only scheduled fixture.
Marine Harvest North Division 2
Strathspey Camanachd 0 Lochcarron 4
Lochcarron collected both points with a 4-0 win over Strathspey Camanachd at Grantown Grammar School.
The west coast side led 1-0 at the break before clinching the points in the second half.
Nick Dalgety scored twice with Peter MacKenzie, back in the side following a shoulder injury, and Lachlan Dean Morrice getting the others.
The win lifts Lochcarron into third place in the table, ahead of the Lochaber seconds on goal difference.
Marine Harvest South Division 2
Bute P Tayforth P
The meeting between Tayforth and the Bute seconds at the Meadows will be rescheduled for a later date.
(All throw ups were at 2.30pm unless the match report says differently. The match reports will be updated as more information becomes available)
(Picture of Glenurquhart second team co-manager Chris Surtees courtesy of Donald Cameron)