Out of the mouths of babes…….

The Wing Centre had a little chat with Henry Corrigan at the close of the match against Lovat on Saturday past. Henry does not really share very much but he did say “Who’s that?”

“That” was Iain Kennedy the fellow from Fort William who was trying to get the lads from Kiltarlity and the boys from Drum to obey the rules ……. which they didn’t really do.

 Henry moved on. “Who’s that?” he said. It looked to the Wing Centre like Rory Maclean, the plumber from Torr Darrach who, if he is not reading a book, is always blethering. Like most up the Glenners, he likes a ceilidh and he was passing the afternoon in the company of some young ladies who may or may not have been intent in learning about Rory’s specialist subject of plumbing.

 “It’s Rory,” the Wing Centre said- at which point Henry lost interest (who can blame him? ) and he started crying. Which is really what the Wing Centre felt like doing after the Lovat game. In fact he actually did, just like Henry, start crying when he found out about the result of the second team game over at Kinlochshiel. 

The girls of course-typical of them-only went and won their game against Aberdour so at least the feminine side of Glenurquhart could celebrate somewhat -except there is nowhere left for us to celebrate in- unless it is at the chippie with a haddock supper.

Anyway, let’s start with the positives. It was good to see ref Stevie MacLachlan looking good after his close call a fortnight or so back. He was speaking with Mr Kennedy about what one can only imagine was referee’s stuff when the Wing Centre met up with him. Stevie was upbeat and with care and time he will be back. If Christian Eriksen can come back from similar problems to play in the Premier League then……you fill in the blanks.

As for the game v Lovat, at least the weather was dry and the crowd was eventually good-though we need to see as many new faces coming along as possible given that the village is growing. However, we will have to improve somewhat if we are to encourage them to come by providing them with something to cheer about.  Indeed, the first half did provide us with some hope although it did not look great in the first quarter when Lovat’s Greg Matheson did what he does best by smashing an unstoppable shot from an acute angle. In fact, Greg was so far out on the left that he was in danger of being run down on the A82 before he fired in the opener. The match was closely contested at this stage with Lovat getting a little more possession in the midfield and they might have made more use of their dominance though when Calum Cruden fired a shot from distance over the bar without testing the keeper. Other close work by Bailey Mackay looked promising but was thwarted by fine defensive work from Finlay Robertson.

Glen equalised in 19 minutes with an exceptionally well worked goal. For some time winger Alfie Macleod looked to have the edge on his opponent and having got the ball on the right he passed it neatly inside where Andrew Corrigan managed to fire it on to Lovat keeper Stuart Macdonald who was able to keep the ball out. Unfortunately, he was not able to kill the ball and Glen winger Daniel Maclean was on hand to slip the rebound neatly past the Lovat keeper to make it 1-1.

For the rest of the half the game was competitive and reasonably even – though the visitors from over the hill always looked likely to score. They even managed to get some shots on target but Stuart Mackintosh was always on hand to block and clear- and good centreline work from in particular Liam Robertson pushed some pressure on the Lovat backline. However the solid Howie along with Mainland and Dan Grieve- before he came off – were always too strong and sure in their hitting to be really troubled.

Then it all kicked off. Glen defender Fergus Robertson who was playing well had a rush of blood and swung through Greg Matheson not once but twice. The first swing was fair enough- the ball was there and Greg had his foot in front of it- it might have merited a yellow-but the second raised the tariff to red. Then there was a stramash at the end of which Lovat wing forward Lorne Mackay was also red-carded along with Fergus. Meanwhile Greg was left with a sore foot. Mr Kennedy dealt with the furore sensibly - he could have ended the match at that moment by dishing out a blizzard of yellow cards but he resisted that temptation - and the match carried on at 10 a side until the half-time break. To be fair also there were a couple of times later in the match when players went down with head knocks when he could have stopped the game before it went on to turn “ragged” -but that was in the second half and, in one of these ragged spells, the Glen conceded a penalty

However to stick with the plot, the second half followed a similar pattern to the first until a defensive slip by a Glen defender allowed Matheson another angled drive – and at 2-1 the game looked set to finish like that though the Glen youngsters - by that time John Cameron had come on - had their work cut out against tough tackling Lovat defenders who to be fair to them pushed the rules up to the very edge because they could.

Another clash in the Glen backline resulted in a penalty  which was saved by Stuart Mackintosh before Lewis Tawse eventually converted a chance late on to seal the match for Lovat. There was also a  fourth goal in the 95^th minute - how did the match last that long- which Graham Macmillan squeezed home to give a somewhat flattering gloss on the result but by that time the Glen defenders were taking down the advertising boards and getting ready to go home.

Despite all that the match was compelling stuff, competitive and compulsively enjoyable despite the result. The best thing about it though is that we have no pictures of the game to show how it went which is just as well-it will not be featuring in shinty memories in 40 years’ time.

The pictures we do have - from our special photographer on assignment come from Balmacara. They mark the only thing of note from a Glen perspective-the injury to big Calum Smith who had to leave the match in 15 minutes with a hand injury. He ended up in Broadford and was stitched - it would have been quicker than Raigmore.

Oh – and the girls won twice in the past week. The first team defeated Aberdour 7-1 with hat-tricks from Rebecca Van Loon and Zoe Smith and a single from Hazel Hunter while the seconds beat Lovat 9-6 with five goals from Freya Gault and four from Rowan Brockie. Pictures - just one of Hazel with grateful thanks to Neil Paterson.

Here we go again- Happy as can be……..

It’s been a while- and a lot of water has gone under the bridge since then- but the Wing Centre has taken it upon himself after more than two and a half fallow years to pick up the feather quill once more and to mix the metaphors to inject fresh life into the D.

But where on earth to start?  After so long away without an explanation -Covid was only part of it-the Wing Centre who won a Mowi Media Award in 2019 only to find himself and his whole sport cast aside by the National (really the Herald Sports desk which appears to believe the vicissitudes of the Old Firm is the only subject worth dealing with) when the sport returned in 2021.

Bitter? Moi? It would be easy to believe that metropolitan Scotland was engaged in a deliberate attempt to tell rural Scotland its needs and priorities did not count. Apparently, they came for our ferries, then they came for our wood-burning stoves but actually first they came for our Shinty.

But that is a by the by - the irony of which is lost on some folk. However, the real irony is that of Glengarry winning 2-1 at Blairbeg on an April afternoon of wind and rain leavened with a little sunshine at times.They haven't won here for ages. All that was needed was for someone to say “By gosh, . there’s a fair bit of warmth in that sun.”

And there was, for the whole two minutes it was in it. Glengarry of course coming from the bottom part of the Great Glen are not really used to the sun - they play best when the weather is cloudy with midgies but on Saturday they did not seem to be themselves but more of that later.

Indeed, the game opened with Urquhart’s fair Glen in the ascendancy to the extent that they opened the scoring within the first minute. With the direction of travel being towards the old shop end the very first attack yielded a result when Bradley Sneddon swept the ball forward to Neale Reid. His link up play with full forward Jed Stoddart lead to a chance with Jed fired home smartly to put the Glen ahead 1-0. Glen kept pressing and the Jedi Warrior had another strike on target in 10 minutes which the keeper did well to get.  This was followed up shortly afterwards with a snap shot from Charlie Macleod that drew another fine save from the Garry keeper.

For some reason that was it- Glenurquhart began to struggle in the midfield and Glengarry began to look dangerous and if it were not for at least two fine saves from keeper Shalom Brown and stalwart defending from full back Eddie Tembo, helped by James Keating and Ben Mackenzie Garry would surely have gone in ahead at half time. Wasteful shooting from the Garry did not help them though – and in the second half they continued in this manner. Eventually Glenurquhart who had rode their luck eventually ran out of good fortune and quick goals from Steven Cameron and Nick Dalgety in the 64^th and 69^th minute respectively clinched the game-though to be fair the Garry could have scored more. Fortunately for the home side the other two Garry front men Raymond Robertson and Brian Macdonald were not quite at it-and the score remained 2-1 though as the photo will show Garry had 14 men on the park at times which hardly seems fair. But what can you expect-the Garry clansmen spent centuries coming up the Great Glen stealing stuff from Frasers and Grants-they are still at it-only now its League points they steal.

And what else is new?

Well Glen were finally able to play shinty on the park behind the school. The field has been there since 2002 and last week permission was finally given for a shinty match to take place on the hallowed turf thanks to the efforts of Club President Garry Mackintosh and of Glen School Headteacher Mr T.J. Van Loon, himself a shinty player.

The first game on the field was between Glenurquhart Ladies and Strathglass with Strathglass gaining the victory- but the match result was not quite so important (he lied) as the fact that the pitch was in use.

As the village grows then it becomes clearer and clearer that the original sports facilities are simply under too much pressure from shinty alone. Have a look at this which Club Fixtures Secretary Louise Power put out this week

Tuesday 16th April 2024
U17's Kilmallie v Glen Urquhart 6.30pm throw up
Wednesday 17th April 2024
U17's Development Lovat v Glen Urquhart 6.30pm throw up
Thursday 18th April
WCA North 2 Glen Urquhart v Lovat 6.45pm throw up at Glen Urquhart High School pitch
Friday 19th April 2024
U14's Glen Urquhart v Caberfeidh 6 30pm throw up
Saturday 20th April 2024
WCA National Glen Urquhart v Aberdour 12 noon throw up
Men's North Kinlochshiel v Glen Urquhart 2.30pm throw up
Men's Premiership Glen Urquhart  v Lovat 3pm throw up
Sunday 21st April 2024
WCA U14's Tournament @ Lovat 11am start

That emphasises the fact that there is a crying need for more pitches in the Glen for shinty alone, and the way things are going with housebuilding in the area unless we move fast there soon will not be a piece of flat ground in the village on which to place a park. The flat fields between Lewiston and Balmacaan would make a lovely sports venue but the Wing Centre can’t see that happening.

Finally, the Wing Centre was up at Raigmore this past Wednesday- and who should he meet in the carpark but Glen full back Lachie Smith. 

The initial thought was that Lachie must have picked up an injury and was in to get a plaster on some part of his anatomy- but no the reason was a happy one. Lachie and his wife Clara have just had a wee boy Dougal-so congratulations to the pair of them- and wee Dougal who has a Glen shinty pedigree going back to his great grandpa who picked up a Strathdearn cup winners medal with the Glen side of 1977 who beat Ballachulish *. Where else but at the Garry. See how things go round and round…….

*It has been pointed out by Ally Mac (Sen) that wee Dougal's great-grandad was a member of one of the Glen's greatest cup winning teams-the side of '77 which also included Calum Fraser (Shewglie) as captain, Kenny Maclennan (Dixie's dad) , Frostie's father, Ken Fraser (Shewglie), Amanda's dad Ritchie and uncle Andrew (Amanda is the partner of Vincent at Lochletter Lodges), Mr Reid of Lewiston , present Club Chieftain Alan Bell, Alec Shaw (son of Mr Shaw, Divach)  , Donald Macdonald (brother of  Liz, Anne and Shona the Post Office). Also present on the field were the late Len Macrae (who hosted the post match celebrations at his home at Balmacaan)  , the late Davie Morrison (Fort Augustus) and though modesty almost forbids him mentioning it, the Wing Centre himself who actually played at buckshee back, a position which sums up his whole approach to life and which meant he was the Bradley of his day. No higher accolade could he seek.

Thanks to Neil Paterson for permission to use the photograph of Lachie, to T J Van Loon for the pic of the Glen/Strath Teams and to Neil Stoddart for the snap of the Glengarry coaches encroaching!!

Glen Superheroes keep MacTavish dreams alive

 It just shows you that you can never take sport for granted: things can happen that you would never think about. Last week Lovat defeated Oban Camanachd in a game they deserved fully to win while the Glen lost 5 goals against Lochaber, a side that were scraping to get a team together for the previous month. This week Glen defeat Lovat 3-2 in the MacTavish when even the most optimistic supporter of the red and blacks would not have voiced that hope out loud. So, what happened?

For one the defence were excellent. Stuart Mackintosh in goal had a fine game but more impressively the two wingbacks-Fergus Robertson and Chris Mack were fantastic.

They have always been good players but on Saturday against experienced Lovat forwards they turned in mature skilful performances which must have taken pressure of Lachie Smith at full back and based on this pundit’s observations he is a top class defender- which is only to be expected as he has played for Scotland under21s. 

Ali Mackintosh was solid at buckshee which allowed Mike Fraser at full centre to spray the ball about to the forwards  and that’s what created scoring chances.

It’s a real shame that over the last few games we don’t have any pictures from Neil P these days (though thankfully Tina Marshall came up trumps with one or two) but when he was anticipating their absence the Wing Centre has had to be creative with his pics- and a quick look through his toy-box allows him to set up some realistic scenarios.

 Particularly good is the Glen defensive line up with  Smack as Batman, Lachie as Superman, Chris Mack as the Samurai Red Power Ranger, Fergus as Cain, Keeper of the House of Mystery  and Ali Mac as the Yellow Power Ranger. Go Go Power Rangers!!

And go they did right from the start.

The first goal for instance- it came within 40 seconds of the start and doubtless for reasons that every Fort William fan knows ref Deke Cameron would have approved. A ball comes up the line, Jed Stoddart knocks it forward and Stuart Macdonald come wide off his line to clear. However, his attempt does not clear the Glen front men and John Barr’s shot forward bounces towards an empty goal and is seen safely into the net by Dixie Maclennan.

For Stuart the Lovat keeper the only figure in the toybox that suits is the guy who drives old Macdonald’s tractor-note the blue jersey.

That was all the scoring for the first half although there were chances for the Glen to have gone in three goals ahead. A second might have come when Stuart Macdonald stopped a drive from John Barr only for the rebound to be knocked past the post.  Another should have been posted on the score sheet just before the break when a long high dropping on-target ball from Eddie Tembo at right midfield was knocked back into play by Stuart Macdonald. John Barr reacted quickly to take the ball in the air but his shot went agonisingly past the post.

Whatever Lovat were doing at the other end remained a mystery because the sun was bright and the enjoyment of a conversation about shinty related matters with Russell Ross and Roy Mackenzie was a great distraction. When the ball went past the post into the Barleyfield, it had to be retrieved- not too fast but equally importantly not too slowly. Throwing it back on with the intention of allowing unproductive time to pass unobtrusively is also an art form. The ball has to be rolled on slowly so that it doesn’t quite reach the keeper and he has to come back for it. Either that or it has to be thrown past him so he has to scamper after it.

The conversation with the two Glasaich was most enjoyable- it’s the only way to pass a sunny Saturday-watching shinty and talking about shinty. The talk touched on excellent players of the past. George Fraser of Strathglass was picked out as a top-class player: other players came up too. We wondered if Beauly legend Gerry Maclennan would bother putting up with some of the fancy dan forward play in evidence nowadays. We agreed that he was a good enough player and could cope with anything that was thrown at him- and in fact would throw it right back.

The second half allowed us to see the Lovat forwards at close quarters and they certainly fared no better. Greg Matheson just didn’t seem at it somehow- and nor did Lorne Mackay and Fraser Heath.

Then Glen scored again- away down at the houses. The ball was played out nicely from the Glen defence to Mike Fraser and he played a neat 1-2  with Ruaraidh Ralston who passed in side to Conor Golabek. Gola neatly turned his marker and fired home a sweet strike past Stuart Macdonald to further cause consternation in the Lovat camp.

Lovat however kept on pressing away and eventually were rewarded with a penalty given against Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh for smothering the ball when Lewis Tawse had a chance to score. Greg Matheson took the shot and just managed to beat Mackintosh at his right hand post though the keeper almost kept it out.

Glen continued to fight hard during the last quarter and were rewarded with a third goal because Lovat when pushing up were vulnerable to the long ball forward. Eventually one of those found John Barr one on one against his man. The big forward beat the defender and fired home a rasping shot into the bottom corner to make it 3-1 with barely 14 minutes left on the clock.

Here is a nice illustration of the Glen front men- Conor & JB-Robin and Big Bad Man

Lovat poured forward and Glen rejigged their backline to cover the gaps and this worked fine until the very last minute when Greg Matheson found himself free on the left just outside the box and made it 3-2 with a fine strike. Too little however and from a Lovat  point of view too late and the visitors who were worthy winners now go on to the next round.

For the moment it doesn’t matter what happens there but it’s as well to pause and reflect about how sport is never really predictable. The one other thing to say after this is how well the Lovat players took their loss. They were naturally disappointed but one and all they congratulated the winners- and you can't say fairer than that.

Thanks to Tina Marshall for the two real photos- and to Rossie Mason for his "guys".

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Hats off to the Glen – and to the Camanachd Association

 

Well not really- its more likely “Hats On” to them- because finally after some years of trying and some missed opportunities the principle of the compulsory wearing of helmets in shinty matches has been accepted by the member clubs. This happened on Friday 27th November at the AGM when an appropriate majority of the membership accepted the measure proposed by the Glen (and spoken for by Glen President Garry Mackintosh): the result is that for the first time in the history of the sport the principle of safety head gear has been enshrined in the by-laws.

It’s true that some of the commentators looking on from outside the game- and possibly a few actually inside the game - were somewhat underwhelmed by the fact that the proposal gives senior players i.e. those who have not been of the age group to have had to wear helmets at under-17 level – the opportunity of a waiver until 2030. However, everyone can guess that the issue will be revisited sooner rather than later- and it is pretty certain that some of these lads will change their minds. One thing that will probably help change their minds is when they have kids themselves-no parent will knowingly put his child in harm’s way. There do remain issues though: my conversations with players, mainly forwards, who now wear helmets and who did not used to do so is that they report a general lessening of all round awareness - they cannot quite sense where an opponent is behind them. Maybe - maybe not. Guess John can

The faceguard is another issue: does the CA’s helmet rule include the face guard? The answer is that it does. It is perfectly possible to wear a helmet without the faceguard but to do so you must sign the waiver. This will allow you to play the game and also be covered by the CA’s insurance safety net though it’s a moot point as to how long this situation of insurance waivers will be allowed to run on. Something tells the Wing Centre we shall be revisiting this topic at an AGM before too long.

As for the general issue of shinty injuries there has not been very much in the way of research since J G Maclean’s investigation back in the day (1987/88) at Raigmore Hospital- including of course injuries noted at Fort William’s Belford and in Oban. If one remembers correctly Dr Colin Fettes was involved and the results showed head injuries certainly plus hand and finger injuries were a feature.

The results were not at all surprising- one could have guessed their nature beforehand. Bear in mind also that the study did not cover the Isle of Skye (unless the injury required hospitalisation in Inverness) nor did it deal, unless I am mistaken, with those superficial cuts (facial) which were dealt with at local surgeries. Remember it took place in the Highlands when people like Doctor Sutherland and Doctor Wilkes used to turn out to deal with minor knocks on the day. As far as I have seen it’s only the Kilmallie guy who does that now.

Parking that thought where it is, it might be that the new Medical Dept at UHI would consider, at the behest of the CA, re-running this type of research and it might show whether with the introduction of protective gloves plus the helmet matters are improving.

It must be stressed however that the head injuries reported are superficial in many ways and do not in anyway compare with the deeper-seated concussive injuries which affect rugby and make it in this writer’s opinion a sport that, like boxing, should have no place in a school curriculum.  This concussive effect also sullies football with the dangers of dementia, as seen in the high-profile cases of WBAs Jeff Astle, Dundee United’s Ralph Milne and the Charlton brothers, a very real threat to its present form. It must also be noted that perhaps more youngsters in this Glen have broken bones falling off mountain bikes than have been hurt at the shinty.

However, hats off to President Garry Mac, the Glen committee (and GMA) for bringing up this issue at the AGM and getting the principle and end date accepted. Of course, there was a bit of whingeing on Twitter, understandably from medical men, that the new rules did not come in immediately but that is what Twitter is for.

That is the shinty year nearly done - and what has been hardest of all has been the disappearance of so many good shinty people without the opportunity to say a proper goodbye. The deaths of Invergarry’s Catherine Cameron, Lovat’s Mary Ann Henton and closer at hand of Janet Emery and Catriona (Kate) Mackintosh ( Strathglass / Glen ) have been very hard for their families and their clubs. Janet in particular ran our pavilion and tea counter for many years and is simply irreplaceable. Also no longer with us is referee and stick-maker John Sloggie. Indeed a  whole year has been wiped off the shinty map – and what we will come back to could get you down if you thought about it.

                                               

The Glen have kept busy though the club was for some reason unable to access the Astroturf after the clock change and with the latest lockdown we have sent our COVID-19 compliant paperwork to the CA so that when the Astro is eventually allowed to open, we get an opportunity to get on it - unlike what had happened before where we had to look on while Astros in Inverness were allowed to open but ours was not.

Other steps forward are that the club has become a registered charity with a SCIO number which should help with funding as we go forward (indeed it already has) and the Club has also embraced the new Chaplaincy Scheme as championed by the Camanachd Association with the Rev Sean Ankers of the Free Church taking on the role for the men’s side with his wife Virginia (Gin) doing likewise for the girls.

We have also managed with a great deal of effort to run our annual Swinndle Lottery and credit has to go to Andy Lloyd , Billy Maclean and Laura Quinn for getting it moving – and also to the players for selling the tickets in such restricted times. The proceeds are to be shared as always with the Glenurquhart Care Centre.

In fact, it is with the girls that we finish this piece. They have

continued to train despite having had only one game in the restart after the lockdown. Well done to them and let’s hope we can actually get back to shinty next year.

Photographs? 

Some are relevant but others are just pics that make me happy. Thanks to Neil Paterson for his pictures and to whoever took the rest.

 

 

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Holding the Fort…. or, on the other hand, not holding them.

A final week of shinty saw Victor and Addie take Felix, Arran and a pile of youngsters up to Drum to play an equally young Glen side which, honestly would not have been as young as it was if all hands had been on deck. Should it have gone ahead in the conditions? Probably not given the gutter it made of the park though the drier weather this week should help its recovery.

In the end it was a good win for Fort -by 4 goals to 0- but the trouble with Covid games is that no-one actually sees them so if the Fort win in Drum and no-body actually sees them, did the game ever happen? 

The Wing Centre was walking through the rain contemplating this idea when he met Bodach a’Ghlinne.

“How did the Glen get on last Saturday?” said the Bodach.

“They lost 4-0”

“Who got the goals?”

“Victor got three and a young fellow got the fourth”

“Is Victor still playing for the Fort. He’s hardy. He must be away up in his 60s by now.”

Now there is not much point in saying anything to the Bodach when he gets an idea in his head – and you could see he was enthusiastic about the idea of Victor playing at an advanced age- and went on to say that he saw him here and there in finals and he saw him in an international jersey and he was so quick and could turn on a sixpence….. etcetera..... etcetera.

Then came the clincher.

“You know I think he was even better than Deke.”

Well most of us would disagree with that but the Bodach is the Bodach and the statement was allowed to stand unchallenged.

However it was good of the “Fellow who was better than Deke” and his mate Addie - who was better than Ronald Ross at least once - to come up to Blairbeg with his a team to play a mixed squad of Glenners. To be fair the pitch probably was on the edge of being playable and if it wasn’t for the fact the match was taking place early in the day when it was dry and bright then it might not have gone ahead. It must be remembered too that our opponents were from Fort William and guys there are used to playing water-shinty on An Aird so the conditions would always suit them.

However, before the game got under way referee Tina Marshall called a minute’s silence for the late Neil Clark a former Fort player of the Wing Centre’s generation. Neil was a lovely guy and a gentleman and the Wing Centre played against him back in the day when the Pulp Mill was in full flow, Claggan was the venue and fellows like Hughie, Sunny, Towser, Staffy and Copper were wearing the yellow jerseys. I think even Astie was playing back then.

“I heard he was even playing on Saturday as well,” said the Bodach. “You’ve got to hand it to him at his age.”

Of course, the Wing Centre had never seen the game and to clear matters up he gave Neil Paterson a call- and he provided a list of players

 

Paul Mackay / Stuart Disher (Keepers - one half each)

Hamish Shaw

Craig Macdonald

Astie Cameron

Jack Fraser

Rhys Kennedy

Johnny Foss

Gordon Stevenson

Arran Macphee

Victor Smith

Grant Disher

Cameron Stephen

So there it was - as clear as clear could be - both Victor and Astie were playing.

Despite turning out against such top opposition the Glen used some of their youngsters (qv)

Iain MacLeod (Keeper)

John Barr

Billy Urquhart

Josh Macdonald Haig

Thomas Stebbings

Jed Stoddart

Cameron Bremner

Frosty Macpherson

David Dixie MacLennan

Chris Mack

Jamie MacLennan

Finlay Robertson

Michael Fraser

Angus MacCallum

The game started evenly enough though it was clear from the outset that Fort William had the slight edge and though they had one or two chances- as was true at the other end where Dixie Maclennan and Frosty Macpherson got close to putting pressure on the Fort backline of Jack Fraser and Astie Cameron

However, in 25 minutes it was Victor Smith who struck the first telling blow when he gathered a ball some 20 yards out from goal and fired his shot home. There was now neat interpassing coming from the Fort front men with youngster Rhys Kennedy catching the eye and it was from his good work that goal number two came when a deflection off Glen keeper Iain Macleod fell kindly for Smith inside the box and his close-range finish put the Fort two up.

Glen then passed up a great chance to get back into the game when keeper Paul “Felix” Mackay was judged to have clearly kicked the ball inside the box as he scampered out to clear. Fort William goal-judge Willie Macdonald - now there was a man who actually was better then Deke - had no hesitation in raising his flag and Tina awarded a penalty. You would usually bet on Frosty Macpherson to fire a penalty home but though the Glen forward got the strike on target Felix  was good enough to stop Frosty’s low shot however and from that blow  the Glen were unable to recover

Glen came out after the break looking to rectify matters but weren’t able to make much headway though one contest that did enthral was the centreline duel between Glen’s Mike Fraser and Fort’s Arran Macphee. Honours were even but Macphee’s balls forward were made more effective use of by the Fort front men though they found Glen keeper Macleod in excellent form. He pulled off a number of excellent stops including one from Smith who attempted to glance a ball first time into the top corner only to find the Glen man pulling off a tremendous reflex save.

Fort had changed their keeper at the break with youngster Stuart Disher taking over between the sticks from Felix Mackay who found himself fired up to wing-forward. Young Disher looks a good prospect and he had to look lively on a couple of occasions as Glen tried to force their way back into the contest. It was not to be however and though the Glen back line of John Barr, Billy Urquhart , Cameron Bremner and Finlay Robertson had put in a good shift Smith proved that after all these years he still had it when in the 77^th minute he turned quickly away from his man and fired the ball low into the bottom corner to make it 3-0 . It was an excellent hat-trick and if the Covid Officer had not known the club was so strapped for cash, he would have let Victor take the match ball home.

At this point, the heavens opened and the pitch began to deteriorate rapidly especially in the goalmouth at the shop end. With the game so close to its conclusion ,Tina let the struggle continue and by the end, Fort had added another. This time Felix Mackay who was proving he could play a bit, had played the ball wide and 15-year-old Cameron Stephen following up the initial phase of play was on hand to finish the match off with an excellent shot to make it Fort 4 Glen 0.

Despite the weather then a good experience for all the players and another game completed in the time of Covid. Disappointing for the Glen who could have done with Lachie Smith, Conor Golabek and Liam Robertson to make the contest tighter - but let’s face it these days it’s the taking part that actually counts.

Many thanks to Tina Marshall for officiating- she did an excellent job- and thanks to Fort for travelling. Above all thanks to photographer Neil Paterson for providing some excellent illustrations of the afternoons sporting activity.

 

** It turned out that after this was sent to the President for approval, a phone call was received shortly afterwards.

“Were you at the game?”

“No sir. We cannot go because of the pandemic”

“Well for a start you were too kind to Fort William- and for another it was young Victor who got the goals not the old fellow”

“You mean Old Vic wasn’t playing.”

“Of course he wasn’t playing. What’s more Astie wasn't playing either; it was his wee fellow, young Astie who was there. That was a shame for us certainly. if Old Astie had been playing, we’d definitely have scored at least five. Young Alexander's a good player-he can read the game; old Astie is better at reading the tea leaves.”

“What do I do now?”

“Change the report.”

In the end and after the Wing Centre found out that the girls squad had lost to Inverness he didn’t feel he could be bothered -so here is the original.

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On Saturday the Neighbours came round to play in our Shinty Bubble

This week we had yet another two Covid-secure games of shinty- both of them against our near neighbours Beauly. To Drum people of this generation, Beauly always seems a little posh: they have a square, an upmarket tweed shop, a Deli, an Italian café (the Wing Centre’s special favourite) , a classy antique shop, Munro the Butchers and of course should they need it-and many of them do-Calum Fraser from Glenurquhart is there to test their eyes. Those of us of an older generation remember that it wasn’t always quite so posh however- and back in the day when the antecedents of the Wing Centre’s good lady were denizens of Ferry Road there used to be a regular column in the press called “The Chirpings of a Beauly Gutter-sparrow.” This column used to lay out the gossip and dirty laundry of the villagers for all to see and no doubt caused mirth and annoyance in equal measure.

What would the sparrow have said this week after the two games in Drum? We don’t actually know but there is a report about Saturday’s two games against the Glen on the Beauly Shinty Club Face book page. While the report was kind to the Glen in some ways it was also sketchy on Drum details and so it falls upon the Wing Centre to set the record straight.

Glen 2nds 1     Beauly 2nds 5

This was an interesting fixture for the Glen in that in order to accommodate Beauly’s young team- it was more or less their under 17s- the Glen felt obliged to stand down a number of their more experienced players and fill out the side with youngsters. The result was the Glen lined up as follows with the inclusion of a number of schoolboys who were making their debuts. Also included in the line up were ladies’ players Ishbel Barr and Hazel Hunter.

The game was quite evenly matched from the outset with  nothing much between the sides in the early exchanges. The Glen’s young midfield performed well with full centre Chris Mack putting in an excellent shift. Despite an  early knock to Ishbel Barr which meant that she had to leave the field, the Glen kept their focus and  Hazel Hunter who had taken up position at full-forward played a leading part in the match and although physically tested by Beauly full-back Ewan MacCormick,  her pace , her  skill and her constant switching of positions meant she was always a threat.

However it was at the other end that the opener came when after some neat forward play Finlay MacLennan found enough space away from his marker to knock the ball past Glen’s keeper  youngster Craig Fraser to put the visitors ahead with a fine finish.

For the rest of the half Beauly continued to have the greater possession but strong defending from and a couplie of good saves from Fraser meant Beauly were unable to extend their lead before half-time.

After the break, Beauly continued to push forward and were able to double their advantage through youngster Callum MacIver who profited from a slip by Glen full-back Callum Miller. This was a good little contest all afternoon. 15 year old MacIver is a pacy and wholehearted player who competes well but credit must also go to Miller who played him fairly and stuck to the spirit of the game all afternoon.

The Glen then came back into the game for a period, but the Beauly defence played well limited any shooting chances. Eventually in the 71^st minute a quick ball up the left-hand side from Chris Mack was knocked across by Ewan Carroll and fell invitingly for Hazel Hunter who outpaced her defender and first-timed the ball home past Beauly keeper Lennox Stewart from just outside of the “D”.

Though Hazel is no stranger to goal scoring in the ladies’ game, this was her first goal at senior level and delighted the committee members present who have seen her progress through the ranks at the club from the Primary teams upwards.

Beauly still had the edge though and as the Glen youngsters ran out of steam two examples of excellent finishing by Rory Tuach and a late strike from Finlay Maclennan saw referee John Matheson blow the final whistle on a final score of 5-1.

 

Glen 3 Beauly 1

Glen made a superb start in this match going 2-0 ahead inside the first three minutes-not the start that Beauly would have expected. This was in fact a good Beauly team with David Maclean back in their ranks after his spell at Newtonmore. Not that it made much difference to the Glen who were far from at full strength with their students Cameron McIntosh, Finlay Ralston and Fergus Robertson missing as well as Oliver Black who looks to be a long-term absentee after damaging ligaments in training.

The opening goal was an excellent one with the ball fired up from the hit off by Conor Golabek to David Maclennan. He laid it off quickly to Josh Macdonald-Haig and his excellent strike from a tight angle gave Beauly keeper Lee Dunbar no chance.

The second followed almost immediately when directly from the hit off Glen forced a corner. The strike was taken by Jamie Maclennan who profited from a piece of good fortune when the ball took a deflection of a divot on the pitch and flew past a helpless Dunbar to put the Glen two up with Beauly wondering what hit them.

To be fair to them, Beauly then began to play a bit and their physical centre-line began to win more of the bar but despite this they were unable to create any real chances – and with John Barr, Lachie Smith, Finlay Robertson and Cameron Bremner solid at the back, Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh had only one save to make. Half time score 2-0 for Glenurquhart.

The second half saw Beauly continue in positive mode and their front men were able to link up well and from time to time create chances. Glen keeper Mackintosh kept out a good attempt from Calum Flynn and they finally got their goal when Jack Macdonald was able to find the same divot on the pitch to wrong foot Mackintosh and bring the Greens back into the game.

Beauly were unable to profit from this fillip however and though they continued to play well the Glen defence remained secure-and the centre line of Mike Fraser, Liam Robertson and Conor Golabek proved hard to get past. Finally,  with the clock ticking down to the end of the game Glen’s Conor Golabek pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the box and fired it past Dunbar to make the final score 3-1 in favour of the Glen.

An entertaining game certainly- and we saw enough from Beauly to understand that with their wanderers back they are a side with potential. For the Glen the message is that their defence-most of whom have had recent Premier League experience- are a match for anyone. Elsewhere the players are a fair match for any other side and with the prospect of Saturday’s absentees being in the picture when the sport returns the future looks good.

Many thanks as always to Neil Patterson for the photographs.

 

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