The Shinty Round Up – Saturday 31 March 2012 | |
05 April 2012 There was a thrilling day’s league and cup shinty action on Saturday 31 March 2012.
Co-operative MacTavish Cup – First Round Kinlochshiel 2 Kingussie 6 Ronald Ross made a surprise first appearance of the season and he grabbed a hat-trick to help holders Kingussie to a 6-2 win over Kinlochshiel at Kirkton. Kingussie were otherwise along usual lines with the exception of defender Ally MacLeod who picked up an injury in training and they remain without Thomas Borthwick who is abroad. Kinlochshiel captain Gordie MacDonald missed last week’s win over Glenurquhart with a knee problem and he could be at least a couple of weeks away from a return. A tight hamstring restricted Fraser MacVicar to a substitute appearance last weekend but he was in the starting line-up for this one. The match started at the later time of 3pm so that local radio station Cuillin FM could broadcast the game live. Kingussie’s Lee Bain was given the task of man-marking Finlay MacRae. Kinlochshiel had the early pressure so when home keeper Graham Kennedy made a good double save from Greg Dawson and Ryan Borthwick, and Martin Dallas rammed the rebound into the net after 7 minutes, it against the run of play. Substitute Ronald Ross came on in place of the injured Iain Borthwick with Ryan Borthwick dropping back into defence. ‘Shiel leveled through Keith MacRae on 19 minutes and they then had a David Falconer goal disallowed shortly after. The visitors regain the lead on 39 minutes in spectacular style as a blistering Craig Dawson shot flew into the top corner of the net and Kingussie took control. Martin Dallas got his second on 43 minutes when he got on the end of a Ronald Ross pass with ‘Shiel claiming for offside. Referee Evan MacRae wasn’t interested and the goal gave the Kings a 3-1 lead at the break. Ronald Ross had been easing himself into the game and he made it 4-1 a minute into the second half when the ball broke to him at the edge of the D. Ross got his second on 63 minutes to make it 5-1 and end the game as a contest. Finlay MacRae pulled a goal back when he blasted a penalty into the roof of the net on 67 minutes. However there was no be no dramatic come-back as Ross went on to complete his hat-trick on 83 minutes with a predatory strike as he lost his marker and guided the ball past Kennedy to make it 6-2 in what was Russell Jones’ side’s best performance of the season. Louis Munro was an unsung hero for Kingussie in the middle of the park whilst John Don MacKenzie defended well for Kinlochshiel. Kingussie will be away to Kilmallie in the next round. Beauly 4 Lovat 3 Many suggested that the match of the day in the Co-operative MacTavish Cup first round would be the meeting between fierce rivals Beauly and Lovat at Braeview Park. And the game lived up to its billing with Marine Harvest North Division 1 Beauly edging out their Orion Group Premiership neighbours by the odd goal in seven. Both sides had each only dropped one league point in their respective divisions so far this season and they had not met in a “competitive” match since 2009 when Lovat won the Marine Harvest North Division 1 title and promotion to shinty’s top flight although their annual New Year Lovat Cup clash could hardly be considered uncompetitive! Last year’s first team keeper Martin Davidson took the decision to play outfield this term and he earned a place in the Beauly first team after scoring successive hat-tricks for the second string. Owen Ferguson gave Lovat the lead with a goal on 15 minutes but the home side squared the game 3 minutes from the break through Martin Davidson. However they were unable to take this lead into the break as Duncan Davidson, who has re-signed for the Balgate men from Kingussie, put Lovat back in front on the stroke of half-time. When Owen Ferguson put the visitors 3-1 up just 4 minutes into the second half, it looked as if the top division side were on their way to the last eight of the competition. However Martin Davidson got his second on 61 minutes and Conor Cormack made it 3-3 just 5 minutes later to the delight of the home support. There was to be more cheer for those in green as substitute Jamie MacLennan got a 79 minute winner to put Beauly through to the quarter finals. Glenurquhart 4 Inverness 2 Glenurquhart ended a run of three consecutive defeats when they beat Marine Harvest North Division 1 side Inverness 4-2 in the 3pm throw up at Blairbeg. The Glen have struggled to get a settled side in recent weeks but Neale Reid’s return from injury last week was a boost and he continued in attack. John Barr was relieved of his defensive duties of last week and he also started up front. Inverness were without Somhairle MacDonald who was unavailable and James Cameron who served the second game of a two match ban. Two goals in two minutes from Ruairidh Cameron on 11 minutes and Neale Reid 60 seconds later put the home side 2-0 up. John Barr added a third before on 18 minutes before Ewan MacLeod replied for the visitors 3 minutes later. Barr got his second a minute later to make it 4-1 with only 22 minutes played. There was no further first half scoring so the Glen took their three goal lead into the break. The Glen’s second half performance did not live up to that of the first 45 minutes. There was some consolation for Inverness with Dougie Rankin scoring the only goal of the second half on 73 minutes. An away tie against Beauly in the next round is Glenurquhart’s reward. Strathglass 0 Skye Camanachd 2 Second half goals from Jordan Murchison and Danny Morrison put Skye into the quarter finals with a 2-0 win over Strathglass at Cannich. Click on the following link to read the match report in full Lochaber 3 Lochcarron 1 Lochaber and Lochcarron met for the second week in a row and for the third time this season. Following a share of the points at Battery Park on the opening day of the season, Lochaber came out on top at Spean last weekend. The throw up time was brought forward to 1pm to ease Lochcarron’s travel difficulties because of the Stromeferry roadworks. Scottish international Shaun Nicolson gave Lochaber the lead on 23 minutes and he rattled in another a couple of minutes later. Crisdean Finlayson gave Lochcarron hope with a 59 minute strike but Shaun Nicolson went on to complete his hat-trick with a 69 minute effort to wrap-up a 3-1 win. The victors travel to face Skye Camanachd in the next round and, remarkably Lochaber and Lochcarron have been drawn to face eachother again in the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup first round. The final quarter final tie will see Fort William at home to Newtonmore.
AJG Parcels Glasgow Celtic Society Cup – First round Glenorchy 1 Bute 4 Glenorchy, who are in second place in Marine Harvest South Division, had home advantage for their meeting with Bute at Dalmally. Bute replaced Glenorchy in shinty’s top division this season and they have made a decent start to life in the top flight. This form continued in the AGJ Parcels Glasgow Celtic Society Cup as first half goals from Robert Walker, Iain MacDonald, and Ruairidh Sloane and Robert Ferguson gave the Islanders a 4-1 win and passage into the next round where they have a home tie against Oban Camanachd. Alex MacPherson countered for Glenorchy from the penalty spot in the second half after Bute keeper Kevin Queen was penalised for a kick. Oban Celtic 4 Strachur 0 Kenny Wotherspoon scored a goal in each half as Oban Celtic beat Strachur 4-0 in Oban. Davy Hamilton, who manages the Oban side, was looking for a reaction from his players following their defeat at Aberdour last week and he seemed to get it. Strachur picked up their first Marine Harvest South Division 1 point last week when goals from Reece Campbell and Duncan MacNicol gave them a 2-2 draw at Kilmory. Ally McKerracher put the home side ahead after 27 minutes and Kenny Wotherspoon made it 2-0 a couple of minutes later. Lee Askew on 50 minutes and Kenny Wotherspoon with his second on 67 minutes sealed a 4-0 victory. Oban Celtic will be away to Taynuilt in the next round. Aberdour 1 Glasgow Mid Argyll 0 Aberdour proved their victory over Glasgow Mid Argyll a fortnight ago, when a 5 minute Kevin McKell goal gave them a surprise 1-0 win, was no fluke as they again beat the Yoker side 1-0 but this time in Fife. Craig Matheson scored the only goal of the game in the opening minute to give Aberdour their third win on the trot. Aberdour will travel to play Kilmory in the quarter finals. The final last eight tie will be the much anticipated clash between Inveraray and Kyles Athletic. Both sides had first round byes.
Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup Bute 0 Skye Camanachd 2 Skye Camanachd came out on top in the meeting between the Island clubs on Rothesay. Click on the following link to read the match report in full
Orion Group Premiership Newtonmore 3 Kyles Athletic 3 Newtonmore and Kyles Athletic fought out last year’s championship until the final minute of the final day of the season and these rivals shared the points when their first meeting of this term ended in a 3-3 draw at the Eilan. Kyles started the day two points behind leaders Newtonmore but they have a game in hand. Danny MacRae has scored five goals since his return from injury two games ago and he put ‘More ahead on 13 minutes in this 3pm throw up. Kyles have made a good start to the season despite being forced to change so many of their personnel for various reasons. Tom Whyte had scored twice in each of his last two outings and he leveled the game at the break with a 16 minute goal. Danny MacRae got his second 10 minutes into the second half before former Fort William player Ewen Campbell continued his good scoring run when he made it 2-2 on 62 minutes. Chris Sellar looked to have won the game for the reigning champions with a 71 minute strike, especially after the visitors had a goal disallowed, but the unfortunate Norman Campbell deflected an effort into his own goal 3 minutes from time to give Kyles a share of the points. Kenny MacDonald made several good stops in the visiting goal. Kilmallie 0 Inveraray 2 Kilmallie played Inveraray in their 3pm throw up at the Canal Parks. John Stewart returned for the home side after missing the draw with Bute a fortnight ago. Defender Allan MacDonald was only fit enough for a place on the bench and Iain Robertson, Martin Stewart, Martin Graham and Stephen McAlister were all absent. Inveraray were without top marksman Russell MacKinlay who tends not to travel to away games. Inveraray took the lead thanks to a Garry MacPherson strike in the second minute. Kilmallie enjoyed large periods of possession without really testing visiting keeper Graeme MacPherson. Neil Campbell added a second on 65 minutes to seal a 2-0 win and condemn Kilmallie to their fourth game without a win.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Kilmory 1 Taynuilt 1 The only match in this division saw Kilmory host Taynuilt. The visitors picked up their first point of the season with a 1-1 draw. Goals from Alex Cunningham and Stuart Scott gave the sides a point each. Alex Cunningham later turned sinner when he was red carded by referee Duncan Kelly as was Taynuilt’s Willie Gillies. The dropped point meant Kilmory missed the opportunity to go third in the table.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Newtonmore 5 Lovat 1 Calum Stewart scored twice as league leaders Newtonmore extended their lead at the top of the table with a 5-1 win over Lovat in a 12 noon throw up at the Eilan. The sides met at Balgate on the opening day of the season when a double each from youngsters Calum Stewart and Angus Gray gave Newtonmore a 4-1 victory. Newtonmore were without the suspended David Campbell whilst Scotland U21 cap James MacPherson was in the Lovat starting line-up. It was the visitors who took the lead as Darren Urquhart fired home on 37 minutes. However Connor Jones made it 1-1 a minute before the break. Just as they did against Glengarry the previous week, ‘More powered their way through the second half and a Calum Stewart double on 53 and 63 minutes, an own goal on 74 minutes and Evan Menzies eighth goal of the season completed a 5-1 win for the reigning champions. Glengarry 1 Kingussie 2 With Skye Camanachd in cup action, Glengarry missed out on the chance to go second in the table when they went down 2-1 to Kingussie at Craigard. Glengarry were without the suspended Michael Brady and Daniel MacLennan. Kingussie’s Stuart Downey was called up by the first team. Rory Borthwick put the visitors ahead on 10 minutes but Steven Cameron squared the game on 25 minutes. Rory MacGregor restored Kingussie’s advantage with what proved to be the winner on 54 minutes. Aberdeen University 1 Kinlochshiel 1 Aberdeen University had home advantage against Kinlochshiel and the side shared the points following a 1-1 draw. Former Skye Camanachd player Kenny MacLeod scored for the Students after 20 minutes with Neil Fraser replying for ‘Shiel 5 minutes later. Both sides have now registered five points in the league although the Students have played a game more. Glenurquhart 5 Lochaber 2 Ewan Menzies scored twice as Glenurquhart beat Lochaber 5-2 in their 12 noon throw up at Blairbeg. Calum Miller put the Glen ahead on 20 minutes and Ewan Menzies got his first on the half hour mark. However Lochaber pulled a goal back a minute before the break courtesy of an own goal. Keith Neville made it interesting when he made it 2-2 on the hour mark but the home side finished strongly and Daniel MacKintosh on 68 minutes, Calum Fraser a couple of minutes and Ewan Menzies with his second on 78 minutes sealed a 5-2 triumph.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Tayforth 6 Col Glen 0 David Arnott bagged a double as Tayforth were emphatic 6-0 home winners over Col Glen. This league was particularly tight ahead of the game with only two points separating the top six clubs. Brendan Dougan got Tayforth off to a great start with the opening goal in the very first minute. Calum Campbell made it 2-0 on 9 minutes and Jamie MacDonald made it 3-0 on 29 minutes. David Arnott continued the onslaught with a 39 minute strike but there was no further scoring until Callum Barton netted 10 minutes from time to make it 5-0. Arnott got his second just 3 minutes later as Tayforth ran out 6-0 winners. Lochside Rovers 2 Ballachulish 1 A Daniel MacKinnon goal 5 minutes from time gave Lochside Rovers a 2-1 win over Ballachulish in what was the match of the day in this division. Both sides started the day with the only 100% record in the league with Lochside winning their all their opening games and Ballachulish winning both of theirs so something had to give in this one. Daniel MacIntyre put Lochside Rovers ahead on 19 minutes but David MacPhee made it 1-1 on 61 minutes. Lochside left it late but Daniel MacKinnon got the winner 5 minutes from time. Kyles Athletic 7 Inveraray 0 Kyles Athletic swept aside derby rivals Inveraray in their second team clash. Roddy MacColl took his tally to nine goals for the season with a hat-trick. Roddy MacColl put Kyles ahead on with the only goal of the first half on 20 minutes. An own goal made it 2-0 just 5 minutes into the second half. David Martin scored the home sides third on 57 minutes and a Gavin Pirrie double on 60 and 65 minutes made in 5-0. Roddy MacColl completed his hat-trick with goals on 75 minutes and on the stroke of full time. Glasgow Mid Argyll 2 Aberdour 1 Donald Colville got both goals as Glasgow Mid Argyll had a 2-1 home win over Aberdour. The sides occupied the bottom two places in the table going into the game so this was a chance for both teams to collect some valuable points. GMA lost ten goals against Bute last week so the win was a boost for them. Tristan Grant countered for Aberdour.
Marine Harvest North Division 3 Lochbroom 1 Beauly 3 The match of the day in this division was the 1.30pm clash between Lochbroom and Beauly in Ullapool. Both sides had a 100% league record going into the game with Beauly ahead of their rivals in top spot on goal difference. Beauly were without Martin Davidson as his six goal haul in his last two outings earned him a first team place. Lochbroom took the lead on 15 minutes through Jamie Stewart. However second half goals from Conor Ross a minute after the restart, Scott MacLean on 73 minutes and Jordan Keil 8 minutes from time meant Beauly returned home with both points. Caberfeidh 1 Boleskine 3 Fifth place Caberfeidh went down 3-1 in a scrappy game against third place Boleskine at Castle Leod. An Arron Ross goal on 20 minutes put Caberfeidh ahead. However a Kevin Hunter effort a minute before the half time whistle squared the game. Raymond Robertson put the visitors in front on 49 minutes and Ewen Fraser netted a couple of minutes later to give Boleskine a 3-1 win. Lochcarron 3 Strathspey Camanachd 3 Following four home fixtures, Strathspey Camanachd took to the road for the first time this season as they headed for Battery Park to play Lochcarron. It was an historic day for the league’s newest side as an Andy Hay hat-trick earned them their first ever point in a 3-3 draw. Andy Hay put the Strath ahead on 10 minutes but David MacCuish equalised on the half hour mark. Lochcarron took a 2-1 lead into the break thanks to a Gregor Cushnie goal on 40 minutes. Andy Hay got his second on the hour mark and he put the visitors in front for the second time a couple of minutes later. Strathspey look to be a particularly fit side but they were caught out 7 minutes from time when Gregor Cushnie got his second to earn Lochcarron a point from a 3-3 draw.
Kilmallie 8 Strathglass 0 Kilmallie beat Strathglass 8-0 in their 12 noon throw up at the Canal Parks with Brian MacKay grabbing a hat-trick in the first half. He hit his opener on 20 minutes and added a second 6 minutes later. Seb MacMillan made it 3-0 on 38 minutes and Ross Manson added another goal a couple of minutes later. Manson got his second on 43 minutes and Brian MacKay completed his hat-trick 60 seconds later which gave Kilmallie a 6-0 half time lead. Seb MacMillan got his second on 61 minutes and Graham Mitchell completed the scoring 20 minutes from time. Inverness 0 Lewis Camanachd 1 Lewis Camanachd secured their first win of the season with a 1-0 win over Inverness in their 1pm throw up at the Bught Park. Scott Murray got the only goal of the game on 69 minutes when his thunderous strike from distance went in off the under-side of the crossbar. Donald Lamont was a stand out for the Islanders. |