Lovat U17 0 Skye Camanachd U17 5 | |
13 May 2012 Skye Camanachd U17 had their first win of the season when they beat Lovat U17 5-0 at Balgate on Tuesday 8 May 2012. Skye Youth Coach Davie MacVicar travelled to Kiltarlity without Chris MacLennan, Andrew Grant, Angie Macpherson and Ruaridh Morrison. The absences led to call ups for Ally MacCrimmon, Calum MacInnes, Lorna MacRae and Connor Henderson. Lovat were also understrength with Danny Kelly and Connal MacIllechiar notable absentees. Skye had Lovat on the defensive right from the first whistle and were inches away from an opening goal on 5 minutes when Stephen Murchison set up Ally MacCrimmon but shot was charged down by Lovat full back Michael MacKenzie at the expense of a corner. Moments later, Lovat keeper Matthew MacInnes pulled of the first of a series of excellent saves when he stopped a Will Cowie grounder from 20 yards. As Skye continued to pressure the Lovat goal, Angie Grant and Stephen Murchison both fired wide following good work from Kyle Pirie on the right wing. Despite Skye's early pressure it was Lovat who almost broke the deadlock when a long range Bradley McHardy drive was saved by Skye keeper Raymond Gillies at the expense of a corner. From the resultant corner Gillies again had to look sharp in saving from Laura Gallacher. Skye turned to attack again when Jack Latton fired the ball wide to Angie Grant who sent a superb cross field pass into the onrushing Will Cowie who controlled the ball with the deftest of touches before flicking the ball into the far corner of the Lovat net almost in the same movement to make it 1-0. The goal gave the Skye team a real boost and in their next attack, Cowie carried the ball from midfield to the edge of the D before sending in a thunderous drive that brought a reflex save from MacInnes in the Lovat goal. With Lovat having trouble getting the ball out of their own half, Skye soon went two up when Angie Grant blasted home from close range after being set up by Stephen Murchison. The closing moments of the first half were beginning to resemble a shootout as Cowie and Murchison hit the post in quick succession. When the ball was cleared only as far as Murchison he dispatched a fierce grounder on goals only to see MacInnes get his foot to the ball and onto the post before Mackenzie completed the clearance. With the whole Skye forward line working in unison MacInnes pulled off further saves from Angie Grant and MacCrimmon before half time. Skye started the second half in similar fashion with another MacCrimmon drive going just wide. With Skye controlling the midfield areas, D J Gilpin then slipped the ball to Angie Grant who turned his marker before unleashing a blistering drive that brought another astonishing reflex save from MacInnes. MacCrimmon was proving a handful for Lovat full back MacKenzie and 15 minutes into the second half Skye went 3-0 up when MacCrimmon slipped the ball to Stephen Murchison on the edge of the D and he hammered the ball high into the roof of the net. Skye manager Davie MacVicar then introduced Lorna MacRae for Ally MacCrimmon with Stephen Murchison moving to full forward and MacRae taking the wing forward role in her first game for the under 17s. It was almost a dream debut as MacRae brought another splendid save from Lovat keeper MacInnes with only her second touch of the ball. It wasn't all one way traffic however and Raymond Gillies proved his worth when he saved a Ronan MacMillan pile driver after a poor defensive clearance had fallen to the Lovat forward. Skye continued to take the game to Lovat and were rewarded with a fourth goal when Angie Grant fired home following a Will Cowie pass. Calum MacInnes was introduced at full forward in place of Stephen Murchison for the closing quarter of an hour in what was his first game at under 17 level. When Lovat keeper Matthew MacInnes pulled off another superb save from Will Cowie, Calum MacInnes was on hand at the edge of the D to thrash the ball into the roof of the net to round off the scoring and a 5-0 win. Cowie was denied a second goal that his all round play deserved when another sweetly struck shot cannoned off the base of the Lovat post. This was a fine team effort from Skye whose best performers were Jack Latton, Will Cowie, Angie Grant and Kyle Pirie who put in a superb display at right wing centre. Best for Lovat were keeper Matthew MacInnes and Laura Gallacher who covered every inch of the pitch and put in some jarring tackles. Lovat U17 from; (to follow) Skye Camanachd U17 from; (to follow) Referee - |