Oops they did it again!

Of course there are plenty Glen related posts backing up here at D-Central but then , having got a photo of young Ali Mac the Wing Centre is still waiting for a pic from Lewis in the Under-21s. Not only that, but the D was all set to go with snaps of Ewan Brady and Drew Maclennan in the North under-14s and under -17s when the terrible news arrived from over Culnakirk -Lovat had won North Division 1. The news, of course, could have been more terrible: the Glasaich might have had two trophies in the one season - three if you count the Macdonald Cup – and that would have been extremely upsetting.
Still the D always carries a piece about the winners of North Division 1 and this year no exception can be made. Well done to the Crofters although to be frank, the best thing you can say about them is that you have to be happy for their Mams, their girlfriends, their wives and their sisters having had to put up with all their capers all year.
At least it paid off and the girls surely won’t have to go with them to Bute, Oban and Tighnabruaich to watch them play in the same way as they felt obliged to be spectators in Beauly, Strathglass and Strathpeffer. The guys go up to the Premier and now the WAGs can have whole Saturdays in Debenhams and Next, not to mention Monsoon and La Senza ( Don't ask!)
Perhaps they might even manage a wee spin on the train to Glasgow when the lord and master in parading his caman skills on a wet Saturday on Mossfield.
It is certainly the way the girls in Drum think and why they were so desperate to see the Glen remain in the top division. But then perhaps the ladies of Kiltarlity are different? The Wing Centre remembers having a conversation with a worthy gentleman of a mischievous disposition many years ago.
“You know, young fellow” he said (it was a while ago) “a husband from the Glen and a wife from Kiltarlity make a fine combination.”
“Why is that, Alistair?” –for it was he...
“Well the Kiltarlity female is a very hard worker. She has to be: the men over there hardly do a hand’s turn. Then there is also the fact that living close to the big house she is always used to taking orders. What is more, young man, she will always be grateful to you for taking her out of Kiltarlity!”
All of which seems to suggest that this triumph is due to the combined efforts of Mary Ann, Mrs Bell, the Mrs MacRitchies (sen and jun), the Mrs Gallaghers (and young Miss Gallagher) Mrs Matheson and the Mrs Ferguson making sure they can have their Saturdays shopping in Eastgate but what’s the betting the guys think they did it themselves?
And ,as you can see from the photo, their Mams etc. are not going to be happy with them when they come back home in whatever state they clearly intend to get into. However, you do have to hand it to them for their late run especially when, having conceded to Beauly in the opening game, they picked up a win down at the Canal parks against Kilmallie who certainly were the team the Wing Centre fancied to go up this season- but then apart from the opening game of Lovat’s Premier season (against Kingussie) the Wing Centre did not see them play though the results were close enough. The guess is that in their Premier season they missed out on a top class striker – and it is possible that they have now found one ,though the goals for tally is a considerable way below that of Kilmallie. There is no doubt they have the keeper though
Enough already
Here in the Glen we have had the Sale of Work (successful-thanks to all) and we still have to play Inveraray. Before we know it will be the AGM and then Xmas and then Zandra’s Sixes and then let the Games begin all over again.



One more thing. The photo of Fraser Gal with the cup. For some reason this is the only way it will stay on the page. The Wing Centre has tried turning it round but somehow it seems to be more natural upside down-Antipodean as it were.
Thanks for the use of the picture to Neil Paterson whose website and e mail are given below. Worth a look especially for the photo of John Barr burying Tommy Walsh.

ngpaterson@btinternet.com
http://www.neilgpaterson.com



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Glen Boys provide Scotland with the X Factor

Hey look everybody! It’s Glen’s own Jedward - John Barr and Eddie Tembo -the terrible twins posing after Saturday’s Shinty/Hurling International. ‘Course they’re not really Irish, though Eddie is trying to pretend that he is. As you can see they are both broad enough to give the impression that they were weaned on rooster potatoes- but no these two rustics are purely haggis-fed and have in common their roots at the bottom of Drum’s Balmacaan Road where John’s granddad stays two doors away from where Eddie was brought up.
Did they play well? The answer is yes. John Barr put in an impressive defensive performance, hard in the tackle and always focused and when tearaway Tommy lost his All-Star cool near the end Mr B kept the whole thing in perspective and shrugged him off. Hugh Dan said “handbags” on the commentary : not quite right-there was more than a little not quite right in the commentary as Hugh would be the first to admit- because JB's single-minded sense of focus just refuses to allow him get involved in that sort of sad stuff, no matter who tries to dish it out.
Eddie came on just before halftime and did his bit to get the ball up to the front men and did so creating a chance which on a better day would have been buried.
The Wing Centre was part of the goodly crowd and he has to say the game was extremely entertaining: there was a real atmosphere of tension to the match though there was some frustration at the manner in which Scotland failed to claim several of the two-pointers which Irish careless and occasional indiscipline presented to them.
While he was there he came across The Sunday Herald guy and “Scoop” Calder of the Courier who were both raging at the fact that there were no programmes left and that the correct numbers for the players were being kept secret.
“See if you can spot Bill MacAllister of the P & J” suggested the Wing Centre.”If anyone can get the numbers it will be Bill”
True enough Bill seemed to be in the official party up on the podium but on closer inspection he turned out to be copying down details from a sheet which seemed to be owned by Eoghann the Commentator who was describing the whole process in great detail and at least two languages to the crowd.
“Bheil all the figearan right and ceart?” asked the Wing Centre ,trying to trick Eoghann into parting with the knowledge that was journalistic power.
“Right enough, tha iad accurate da-rireadh” said Eoghann – and so the Wing Centre scribbled them down and took them up to The Herald guy and Scoop who were rightly grateful. It was most certainly a coup because it was later to become clear that Iain Anderson and HD were working from a completely different list of names , though the size of Magic Johnston should have given at least a hint of his identity away.
“Having got you the names by using a touch of the old Ciamarathasibh” said the Wing Centre “you will have to let me use your report in the D”
“Sure “said the Herald guy “No probs”
“No disrespect, Herald guy” replied the Wing Centre “but if you don’t mind I’ll use what Scoop writes. He is usually more accurate since he has a later deadline”
“Fine “said Scoop, “Use it if you like- but take off a para or two so the Courier guys don’t recognise it”
Which is what the Wing Centre did- and that is why an approximate Courier report appears here in the D as follows :
“Scotland’s shinty players just failed to make it five wins in a row in the Shinty Hurling International series thanks to a goal in injury time from Ireland front man Shane Dooley. With the game tied at 11 points apiece and ref David Mitchell looking at his watch, a long ball fired out of the besieged Irish defence found Dooley one on one against Scotland defender Scott Campbell and the big Offaly forward rode the challenge and powered the ball past keeper Scott MacNeil to confirm Ireland in their winning three point margin.
The Scots however had started the game with a bang but it was clear from the start that the Irish management now have a clearer vision of how to tackle the mixed code game tactically. Their answer was to leave a spare defender at the back-in this case they plumped for Cork’s experienced Shane O’Neill who went on to win the medal for man of the match. O’Neill spent the afternoon sweeping up in front of his full backs and any tendency for Scotland to play the ball high down the middle was picked up by the All Ireland defender and returned with interest. The early advantage still however lay with Scotland, despite the fact that an early defensive error by fullback Alan Mackenzie allowed Dooley to pop the ball over the bar for the opening point. Scotland came roaring back and a shot from Ronald Ross brought a superb save from Irish keeper Paddy Mullaney a minute later. In ten minutes Scotland won a free hit in the midfield and from Norman Campbells hit, Hector Whitelaw guided the ball into the path of Ronald Ross and the big striker made no mistake from close range.
Shortly afterwards Ross added two more points from a free hit and Newtonmore’s Paul MacArthur did the same a minute later to make the score an apparently comfortable 7-1 on the 15 minute mark. Even by this early stage however it was clear that with O’Neill coming into his own in defence, the service to Ross began to dry up while at the other end of the field the Scotland defenders found it tough to contain Irelands ‘Hurler of the Year’, Tommy Walsh.
Walsh, Ireland’s captain on the day has exceptional stick control which he proved in 19 minutes when he ran wide of the Scotland defence and knocked the ball over to claw back a point. Dooley gratefully accepted another point scoring opportunity before Walsh showed why he has been a GAA Hurling All-Star for the past seven years. Pinching the ball in midfield, he outpaced Scotland defenders Angus Mackay and Ian Macdonald before he squeezed the ball over McNeill’s bar to bring the score back to 7-4. With Down’s John McIntosh getting another point back for Ireland the home side were beginning to look ragged though a snap shot from Niall Macphee saw them reach the halfway mark with a three point lead.
Ireland continued in the second half gradually chipping away at Scotland’s slender lead and while the introduction of Zambian born Eddie Tembo lifted the pressure on the midfield, single points from Shane Dooley, Steven Clynch and a double from Gareth “Magic “Johnston saw Ireland take the lead for the first time in the match. Further strikes from Kieran Divilly and Dooley yet again extended their lead while Scotland were frustrated by their inability to take their chances.
Then in a storming finish Scotland almost snatched the win. Substitute Shaun Nicholson put over for a much needed point and captain Gary Innes bagged two further points from a free hit to bring the scores level at 11-11. A final Scottish push saw David Cheyne with a chance to seal the match but he was pulled down though only a corner was awarded. The strike failed to be converted and the Irish defence scrambled the ball away and when it was hit upfield Dooley silenced the home crowd with his definitive strike.
A deserved victory then after a five year wait for the cream of Ireland’s hurlers but Scotland made them work hard for the win- and with a little more accuracy in their shooting from distance, Scotland would still be sitting on an unbeaten run.”
Not a bad report then if it were not for the fact that it failed to mention the chance that Ronald missed near the end, but then Scoop is a great fan of Ronaldo. Still no-one would grudge wee Tommy and his mates the trophy. They played well enough. Shame they just don’t have that Jedward X-Factor that the Shinty crowd loves and the two Drummers provide.



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Glen beats Glen: an everyday story of shinty in the Highlands

Glengarry 0 Glenurquhart 3

“I see you’ve not put anything up about the Garry game” remarked Mr Reid as he stopped by to collect the lotto money at the Astro the other night. “Mind you if all you are going to do is to annoy them about the pitch, it’s probably just as well. The Glen have very happy memories of the Garry; after all it was at the Garry in 1977 that we picked up the Strathdearn, so you had better not be winding them up”
And with these words of wisdom and warning, Mr Reid disappeared off to the West End Garage for a ceilidh with George.
Now the Wing Centre, whatever others may think, does not regard himself as one who is content to let the grass grow under his feet and he did have in his notebook some rudimentary details about the game. It was after all a resounding triumph for Hendo and the Heroes, if not really adequate revenge for the early season defeat in the Strathdearn. Some of the oomph had gone out of the win for the Wing Centre seeing as the League had been well and truly won at Cabers two weeks before though he and the tribe still made the trip down to the Garry in a rainstorm.
The pitch was in splendid if somewhat soggy condition, though the turf was perhaps a little heavy for the youngsters to show off the free flowing shinty that marked their performances at Blairbeg earlier in the season.
The game opened with a clear intention from the Glen that they wanted to finish off the Garry right from the start and some early chances fell to Dave Smart and Calum Fraser but they failed to convert, the closest being Fraser whose drive just cleared the Garry bar. Shortly afterwards a long ball forward from Arran Macdonald found youngster Ewan Menzies who slipped the ball wide to Ewan “Boo-Boo” Fraser but his shot once again drifted over the bar on the 14 minute mark.
The breakthrough came in 29 minutes when the ball was released wide once again to “Boo-Boo” Fraser and this time instead of firing the ball in on goal, he dribbled through the Garry defence past full back Michael Brady to score a welcome opener for the Glen.
It was however by no means one way traffic. Garry have a fair team and one player who stood out was “Dee Dee” Cameron at full centre who gave Iain Macleod a busy afternoon. Cameron is an inspirational player and a good hitter but his strength is that he will run until he drops and never does he admit defeat. Also on his game was big forward Philip Gregory whose pace gave full back Iain Macdonald bother in the early part of the first half before the supply to him began to dry up. However, the Garry posted their intentions in this period and indeed won a series of corners particularly up on the road side ; fortunately for the Glen however these incursions came to nothing thanks to good defending from Macdonald ,Calum Smith , Drew Maclennan and Gary Smith.
Just before halftime, Glen doubled their lead as another through ball from Arran Macdonald found its way to Calum Fraser and he finished well to make it 2-0.
The second half turned out to be a dour frustrating struggle for the Glen midfield and forwards. Young Ewan Brady had an excellent game throughout and he had a difficult opponent in former Glen player Matthew Clark but despite all the youngster's efforts the attentions of the Garry defence on him in particular meant that he failed to find the net.
The third and final Glen goal came from youngster Kelvin Mackenzie who came on at left wing forward and his winning goal was probably the best worked strike of the whole afternoon. A ball up from the centreline was blocked by the Garry defence and fell to Ewan Brady. He fired it out wide and the onrushing Bradley Dickson steered the ball back across the D where Mackenzie was on hand to knock it home from three yards. It was most certainly a well worked goal and one well worth the long wait in the rain.
Mackenzie, who played a neat game against strong defenders, had two further chances- and indeed could have ended the day on a hat-trick but in each instance he pulled his shot wide at the crucial time.
Captain Ross MacAulay who has been out since the Kingussie game with a broken hand came on for the last ten minutes and was then on hand to accept the trophy from Fort William President Richard Gall.
The pic shows all the Glenners with Drum based sponsor Donnie Macphee of Mardon Ltd after they have accepted their medals and the trophy.
Now there are only two games left in the season the first team v Inveraray but with the rain falling as it is we may be waiting some time!
There is also the under-17s who have managed to get themselves through to their own big final, the London Shield, with a win on penalties against Oban Camanachd after a Kelvin Mackenzie strike saw them through to a full time draw. Calum Smith netted the decisive penalty. Glen’s opponents are Skye under 17s who beat Lochaber in their semi.



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Maclennan wonder goal wins point at Kyles

Kyles Athletic 3 Glenurquhart 3
An excellent result this for all that it was a game that meant nothing very much to either side. The Glen are happy because there is now an opportunity to finish the season in third place which is not bad except that it is not first or second- and on the evidence of the scores this season the sides which are above us are deservedly so. Still for this game it was not the full squad which went off down the A82: Paul Mackintosh had to step into the goals to take over from his cousin Stuart Mackintosh while a couple of Hendo’s Heroes made the trip as back up. Worse was to come en route when Billy Urquhart stopped off at a roadside cafe, had some “Cullen Skink” and was promptly sick to the extent that though he did start the match he was unable to complete it.
So here are the Glen at half time 2-0 down to Kyles and the Managers feeling a little hard done by at the way things had gone-the second goal ,a screamer into the postage stamp from Dunky Kerr was arguably out of play before it was hit into the net according to the Glenners present. Clearly the situation in the dressing room at half time was tense.
Step forward boy wonder Ewan Brady. Introduced as a second half sub he was smartly on hand to knock in a reb bound off the keeper from a Calum Miller shot. Neatly done and the goal chalked up without fuss.
Not that long afterwards the Glen support was treated to a rare delight- a goal from Eddie Tembo. What like? An excellent shot taken on the back hand and leaving the Kyles custodian with no chance. Then the disbelieving mob of Glenners was rewarded for their loyalty with a goal that would make the TV credits for goal of the season. The artiste no other than Lewis Maclennan. From inside his own half he flicked up the ball and belted it high in the air. Falling like a meteorite from the heavens it deceived both the Kyles keeper and full back and the Glen were entering the final quarter of the match with a 3-2 lead. Kyles came back but the Glen also had further chances until finally sadly with a chance to clear the ball the Glen defence elected to mishit a clearance to Kyles forward Davie Martin who, to misquote Bill McAllister, “was more accurate than a NASA space probe impacting in a mini-crater on the dark side of the moon ” which was a shame for the Glen but probably no more than Kyles deserved.
For Lewis the goal underlined the fact that so far in his career Kyles has been a lucky ground for him. However despite his fabulous strike, best for Glen on the day were John Barr, Ali Mackintosh,Paul Mackintosh and Andrew Corrigan.
Lewis deserves a picture- and since the Wing Centre was not at Kyles he went down to the training, forgot his real camera but took a snap on his phone. Back home he downloaded a few from the phone discovering as he did so a few forgotten beauts well worth preserving.
Particular favourites are Fort’s Camanachd Cup winning manager Drew MacNeil and Glen’s Trophy winning keeper Dave Emery showing that there is more to them than the simply macho image they treasure. Is that Hendo smiling at the Camera? Also there are Smack and Glen Active Sports Co-ordinator Matthew MacIver after the successful Robertson Cup School Sixes at Drum which they helped to organise. Well done guys.
So there is now nothing much left except the trip to the Garry to pick up the trophy for North Division 2 with the Heroes. At least at this time of the year there will be no midgies- though there is every chance of encountering some snakes in the lush Garry grass.

**For the ladies, there's a fashion tip from Lewis. If you want to look slim wear a dark number with vertical side panels in white.


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Hendo’s Heroes finally claim North Division 2 title.

Caberfeidh 3 Glenurquhart 4
A 79th minute goal from boy wonder Ewan Brady saw the Glen finally clinch the North Division 2 title after a tense afternoon at Castle Leod. The result came as more of a relief than as a fitting climax to the season and for long periods in the match the mood among the Glen spectators tended towards the pessimistic. The fear was real that the side would have to travel to Invergarry to clinch the title in the last game of the season if they were going to win it at all. Given recent shenanigans of a grass-like nature down in the other Glen, a trip there with winning intentions was not a happy prospect.
Now of course it does not matter- indeed playing the game at all has no point- and the Wing Centre will not even bother to go no matter when it is scheduled.
However, after the disappointment of last weekend’s 3-2 home defeat to Newtonmore the Glen side started their afternoon in the Strath in a tense mood and the early exchanges were marked by Cabers confidence in moving forward mixed with that all too characteristic Glen ineptitude in front of goal. Cabers pitch-for all that it is the Laird’s lawn- is soft and heavy. It demands a simplified type of hitting shinty which has traditionally suited Glen teams: however in recent outings the Glen have tended to play a passing game. Castle Leod on a wet October afternoon was not the place to retain that style but given that it had been so successful earlier in the season on dry pitches it was not a surprise that it tended to be the Glen’s default game. That it was the wrong game was proved in 22 minutes when Stewart Kryzanowski was sent through on the left and hammered the ball home with the Glen defence caught by surprise.
It was not however that the Glen were playing badly-indeed they had the edge in midfield where a bold decision by Managers Henderson and Cameron to play Ewan Brady at wing centre proved to be inspired. Brady quite simply had his most effective afternoon ever in the red and black jersey and he pumped ball after ball up the line. In the centre the team were driven on by Iain Macleod whose fighting spirit and determination began to enthuse the squad. The first Glen goal came in 29 minutes when Calum Fraser squeezed the ball over the line despite a series of heroic attempts to prevent a goal by Cabers keeper Donald Mellis A few minutes later Fraser doubled the score with a fine strike from the edge of the D and the points looked in the bag when he completed his hat trick in the 43rd minute.
3-1 just before half time: at that point it looked as though there would be an opportunity to congratulate the Cabers faithful on their massive new pavilion and generally shoot the breeze with Stewart Maclennan, Davie MacMaster, Robbie Taylor and the rest of the guys. The building which is going to replace the old green shed looks large enough to be a fair alternative to the Strath Ballroom itself and is sure to be a source of pride not only to Cabers but to shinty as a whole. Well done to them for taking the project on – along with the Strath Highland Games. (How daft were the toffs in the Cricket Club for not coming in on the deal?)
But just as the Wing Centre was looking forward to a half time blether and a dram from the hip flask with his fellow Drummers, disaster struck big time. Left wing back Calum Smith slipped on a muddy patch and the ball was flicked past Iain Macdonald at fullback and on to Cabers full forward Alan Ross who fired a beauty high into the net with no backswing. It was an excellent strike but coming just as it did before the halftime whistle blew it deflated the Glen contingent and made a clear statement that Cabers were going to pose serious problems in the second half.
Glen started the second half in fairly good fettle and for the first 20 or so minutes had the clear upper hand. Balls were fired into the Cabers defence – one decent strike brought a super save out of Mellis- but the finishing was just simply off. It did look, however, as though there just might be enough of a head of steam to see the Glen safely over the finishing line.
Cabers though had not given up and gradually it seemed as though they were coming back into the match largely thanks to the power of their own full centre Ian Macdonald who continued to bang the ball up from the middle of the centreline where too many Glen clearances seemed to drop.
With that amount of pressure something had to give and in the end to Glen frustration a penalty was awarded for hand ball against full back Macdonald. Was it a penalty? Ref Deke Cameron thought so- so did the goal judge. The Wing Centre? Blethering- he did not see it- but he did see two other incidents which could have equally been pens- a bit of footwork at one point by the Glen keeper which could have been called and some impeding of a Cabers forward by the Glen defence as the ball broke into the clear in front of goals- so the pen wasn’t entirely a surprise.
Ian Macdonald (Cabers) battered the ball- Dave Emery got some feet to it but could not prevent it crossing the line and so in 65 minutes the game was tied at 3-3 - and if the truth be told Cabers were in the ascendancy.
The last stages of the match were played in a nail biting frenzy. The Glen defence-the two Smiths, Donald Fraser and “Hilltopper” Macdonald began to put their clubs through the ball as if they had been born and bred in the Strath. Young Calum Smith and Donald Fraser both showed they had the guts it takes to dig in while Ian Macleod was inspirational in rallying the troops and keeping them going when the temptation was to hold on and wait for the ‘Garry match.
Supremos Hendo and big Mike Cameron also had a part to play with two brave substitutions which tilted the game in favour of the Glen. On came Arran Macdonald to add hitting power to the centreline and young Brady was pitched into the front line as the red and blacks strove frantically to get a winner-some winner-any winner. Youngster Ewan Menzies also came on the left wing and added some new pace to that flank. On at least two occasions he fired accurate balls in on keeper Mellis and with luck something better should have been made of the rebounds. There were also several occasions however when it was possible the Cabers lads would make the break through but then in 79 minutes Ewan Brady hit a ball which took a deflection and skipped past Cabers keeper Donald Mellis for what proved to be the winning goal.
Ten scary minutes followed before Deke blew the whistle and the snap which adorns this report could be taken. A satisfying end to the season for both the Glen and the Camanachd Association. Congratulations to all-but come on guys-it should never have been this hard.
The Camanachd Association? With a bound they are free – bet Astie pretends not to know why. At least he didn’t turn up at the Strath with the trophy and put the buidseachd on us. We can do that all on our own.

One last thing -with Xmas on its way- you can pick up all your Glen merchandise by pasting this link here into your browser.
http://www.shintyshop.com/shop/12/index.htm



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Glen go out on the Town

Last Friday night (18/9/09) the Glenners -Hendo’s crew and the first team plus assorted Wags and the Committee -had a big date in the Town House. A Civic Reception no less - for being, amongst other things, the Marine Harvest Team of the Year and winning a couple of Leagues as well. It was an auspicious and enjoyable occasion as some of the snaps will show. Of course, not everybody could make it : some had other engagements, notably Russ and Geordie who were off en route to Oban to set up the Shintyshop stall at Mossfield. Also absent was Captain “Boy” Macdonald who has headed off to new employment in France and Calum Smith was unable to get back from College in time.
Big Arran also missed out while Gary Mackintosh has been suffering the effects of a shinty injury which has caused him to be laid up for a week or so. Big Mike and wee Billy were also unavoidably absent- a pity because they would have enjoyed the crack.
The Wing Centre, the Treasurer and the Secretary were there as were the Chieftain and the Chairman. All of them seemed every bit at home in the marbled halls as they were on the sidelines at Blairbeg.
Having stepped off the bus at the Gellions in the High Street the party crossed the road and entered the Gilded Palace of the Gaidhealtachd by – and this was needlessly modest for the Team of the Year - a side door. But then up the marble staircase, past the painted portraits of Chiefs and Generals to the old Council Chamber where it appears that Lloyd George made an attempt to settle the Irish Question in 1921.
There the side were greeted by the affable Deputy Provost Alex Graham and were treated to a free bar - not a concession the Invergarry Hotel would offer to Glenners - and a very enjoyable half hour was spent in the company of some very congenial councillors who appeared to be well disposed towards the indigenous sport. In the Wing Centre’s company were old friends like Councillor Roddy Balfour, Councillor Ken Macleod (The historians amongst the readership will remember that Ken was on the old Burgh council pre -1975) and of course Councillor Roy Pedersen who for all that he is an Aberdonian has west coast roots and is of course the father-in-law of Inverness Shinty Club’s own “Dink” Fraser. Thanks are of course due to the Councillor who made it all possible Abriachan’s own Margaret Davidson - and given that the Glen club is home to Abriachan’s only internationalists (Barr the Older and Barr the Younger) it was a good night to come from the High Plains.
Town manager David Haas (it is hard for someone of the Wing Centre’s vintage to use the word “city” in the context of Inverness) indicated that it was time to move through to the dining room and at the direction of the Town Officer the group went through leaving the top table to enter with due ceremony.
What a delight it gave the lads to see their old music teacher Mrs Sheila Bruce pounding away at the old Joanna : Mrs B was not however fazed to see the Glenners though she did give a nod of recognition to her former star pupil that talented accordionist (and goalie) Stuart “Smack” Macintosh. If only “Smack “had remembered the box , then a rare old ceilidh would have been on the cards. The fact that the guys were shinty players did not impress Mrs B too much however. She had taught hundreds of them – Strathglassers too - and truth to tell, even big James Clark picked up the ability to sing in tune to “Flower of Scotland” in her classes in Fort Augustus.
Also on the stage beside Mrs Bruce were the trophies which had come into the possession of the Glen over the past year : there is absolutely no truth in the malicious rumour that amongst the line up was the “Westfield Challenge Cup” (for cut flowers)which Helen and her Mam had pinched from the Glen Horticultural Society Trophy Cabinet. Nor was Paul Mac’s Meiklie Fishing Cup included.
The Treasurer then gave a fine grace - the meal was served: the Deputy Provost paid tribute to the team and its achievements- and then the Chairman replied on behalf of the Club. He gave a fine speech paying tribute to the Teams, the Committee, the managers, the youth coaches, helpers - and alluded to the fact that the 2nd Team were also in with a chance of the League. He concluded with a joke, at the start of which old hands exchanged uneasy glances because one doesn’t always know where the Chairman’s jokes are going to go. This one however did go -indeed went down well- and on that happy note the Glenners parted from the Councillors with regret but swearing to be lifelong friends.
The bus journey home to the green Glen was a cheerful affair and by the time the crowd got off the transport at the Scotmid Shop they had quite forgotten it was the Council which had given it planning permission in the first place.
Now the Wing Centre would like to win the Camanachd Cup. That victory would surely precipitate another Civic Reception and that looks like it is the only way he will manage to get a snap of himself sitting in the Provost’s Chair. He was about to pose in it last Friday when the Town Officer moved everyone through. Pity



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Glen are New Kings on the Dell – and will the Camanachd go to the Old Forts?

North Division 2
Kingussie 1 Glenurquhart 7
In the week of the Camanachd Cup final, it is a little parochial to be celebrating this result. There’s no point in not being honest – the eyes of the shinty world were not on Hendo’s Heroes last weekend as they travelled through to the Dell to take on the might of the Kings number 2s. Even the guys on the field went there in full knowledge that the biggest game at their level was taking part at the Bught Park and that the real game of shinty was a week away.
Still with a number of youngsters on the field- Ewan Menzies, Calum Smith, Ross MacDiarmid, Ewan Brady and Sam Cumming to name but five- it was not a side stuffed with unnamed seniors who made the trip to the High Chaparral. At the end the result was highly satisfying though the price which was paid- a broken thumb with six weeks on the sidelines for Ross MacAulay- seems rather a high one given that Ben Hosie is off to the States, Gary Mackintosh is sidelined and Drew Maclennan has a serious ankle injury. Hendo must now be beginning to feel what Fort boss Drew MacNeil was feeling half way through the season when he had half his top side out with injury. At least Drew got the guys back in time for the final while Hendo certainly faces the prospect of playing Cabers, Glengarry and Newtonmore with a depleted squad.
Still let’s celebrate the achievement while we can - though if reports coming from the Dell are anything to go by it took the Glen a fair time to sew up the game. The Dell though received the highest of praise - for its top class playing surface – if only Blairbeg could be looked after with the care and attention that Michael Clarke bestows on the Dell – and despite the Wing Centre’s misgivings about the journey down the A9, the well kept grass seemed to suit the Glen.
The opening goal was down to a neat finish from Calum Fraser and Billy Urquhart bagged the second before the half way break. The disappointing thing for the management however was that there were many other chances, which went a-begging in the first half.
The second half followed a similar pattern but the Glen did double their tally through a nice goal from David Smart and yet another strike from Calum Fraser. Then hold the back page - Stuart Morrison -they have to start him by hand these days - came on to the field for the first time since the Sutherland semi and within 15 minutes he had smashed in a hat-trick of beauties. Davie Anderson – yes Superdave himself –was the Kingussie marksman. It is possible Kingussie were a little understrength given that they had to cover for Andrew Borthwick and James Hutchison in the top team but somehow I doubt if Craig Dawson would have kept the Glen score down.
The title dream remains alive however – and the only thing to do now is keep focused.

That is what Kyles have to do this week too. Who is going to win?
The Wing Centre is a great fence sitter – and this is no different though the snaps, which introduce this blog, have a Kyles theme. Why – because back in the day (1994 to be exact) when Kyles won the Scottish last, they scraped past the Glen in the semi after extra time and for those youngsters who have never played a Camanachd Semi - and that means all of you including Smack and Mr Barr - here are pics which show your two managers in the thick of the action that day at Mossfield. How the Glen lost that game the Wing Centre will never know but lose it Glen did.
The other Kyles link with a glorious Glen past was taken by photographer Donald Mackay-how did he get that red tinge in the sky- on Saturday 17th August 1985 when the Glen played Kyles in an exhibition match to mark the centenary of the founding of Glenurquhart Shinty Club. Kenny Macdonald, Kyles’ goalie, is still between the posts, which might give you an idea of how slow time moves in Tighnabruaich. The presence of Stuart Morrison hat-trick hero of last week might equally say the same about the Glen - though the presence of his dad Graham in the same team also says a lot for the continuity of the game.
This was of course not the game in Tighnabruaich in 1979 where DP lost his contact lens occasioning a search of the end nearest the road. Two teams on their knees conducting a forensic search was a sight to behold and perhaps forget. Sadly, the lens was unfound - it remained unfound two years ago when for old times sake a few of that squad had a wee search for the lens. Then to complete the link the Glen took Davie MacVicar on to its books and he stayed for a wee while before going off to Skye in search of midgies more like the ones he left behind in Cowal.
Besides those deep links with Kyles, the only connection with Fort William is that the Wing Centre once saw Jock Sneddon buying chips down at the Drum Chippy- and it’s hard to build a relationship on that basis alone.
Who does the Wing Centre tip to win? The Fort that’s who. Why?
They have the injured guys and the suspended guys back at the right time - though how sharp Clark is there is no telling - and more importantly if the D didn’t back the Fort, then there would be no chance of Gary Innes coming up to play the box at the Hogmanay do. In the interests of Glen community solidarity it has to be An Gearasdan.



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Glen keep Oban at bay

Glenurquhart 4 Oban Camanachd 2
It was twenty past four and the Wing Centre was heading to the pavilion at the end of a match which the Glen appeared to have won convincingly, when he met another of the old timers coming down the steps of the stand.
“How did that happen?” said the aged plumber, for it was he. There was no easy reply though it did bring to mind the old days of Oban Camanachd and the great “Pongo” Macmillan when the Glen used to play the Seasiders in “The John Collie Cup.” No doubt Colin Clarke or somebody had looked up the North League table and selected the Glen as opponents who were likely to put up a good fight but then lose : the problem was that it never worked out like that. No matter how crap a team the Glen put out or how many kids were willing to travel down to Ganavan (no Mossfield for the likes of the Glen) as long as we kept wee Billy in goal and more importantly put big Ron up on the dust, then it didn’t matter how pretty the Oban shinty was, the Glen simply banged the ball upfield where the story was always the same four words. Ron shoots: Ron scores. Except that is when one day Dougie Maclean shot and scored a winner from miles out.
Then there was the Camanachd Cup semi-final in Fort William in the early summer of 1988. Same story once again.
Not that Saturday's match was like that completely but it had its moments. Oban played well enough and certainly impressed but “Its goals that count “as Nigel himself said- and given that they had pinched two points in the reverse fixture at the start of the season then justice was served .
As usual the Glen opened brightly and within 5 minutes Neale Reid, who was to have an excellent game, fired in a snap shot but it flew over the bar. The evidence was though at this point that Oban were more solid and looked sharper up front. Big David Devine looked lively and Aidan Macintyre was extremely sharp- he crashed a ball into the net in 24 minutes only to have it ruled off-side but then two minutes later he put the visitors ahead with a sharp low strike past Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh. It was just as well for the Glen that this happened for it seemed to wake the side up and almost immediately there was a meaningful clash of camans between Glen full forward Gregor McCormack and the Oban full back which was dealt with by referee Deke Cameron.
Within a few minutes Billy Urquhart had a chance to level but was crowded off the ball by the committed and determined Oban defence and then Eddie Tembo had a drive which flashed past the post. The breakthrough came in 38 minutes when Neale Reid latched on a ball out on the left , swivelled and fired a low drive on goal which was parried by Oban keeper Robert Dunnings. His push out however fell to the inrushing Billy Urquhart who snapped up the chance from close range to level the tie.
The rest of the half showed increased Glen activity but no further goals though that was not to last long when the second period got under way. Again it was Neale Reid who pushed a ball on the Oban goals and once more Billy Urquhart was on hand to fire it home from the edge of the D.
The next twenty minutes was seesaw stuff and the going for the Glen in the centreline began to get tough. Oban had their share up front at this point too but most of what came through on the goals to Smack was on the ground and tricky enough to clear but not the sort of thing to really bother a keeper of his class. He does the straightforward business so well –the balls are cleared upfield so far and so firmly- that it is too easy to take him for granted. Also on the money were John Barr-the Wing Centre’s view is that he has been the player of the season- and Stuart Reid who had an equally sound game and so well did these guys play that while Oban ran and hunted in the midfield Andy Corrigan and “Dixon” Maclennan generally stopped them playing effectively enough to make any difference to the score line.
The Glen finally got a winning grip on the game when Lewis Maclennan scored a trademark distance special from the centreline. It’s not like he does it occasionally-he pulled the same thing against Newtonmore the previous week- and over the years there has been no-one at the Club who has his natural accuracy with a stick. Playing further back, his strike ratio has fallen from a few years ago but if he gets on the ball then if he plays it simple and long, the keeper is always forced into action.
The Glen then brought on Calum Miller and it wasn’t long before the big forward sealed the game. Once again it was Neale Reid who made the chance but the finish from Miller was top drawer-he controlled the ball, turned inside and drilled it low past Dunnings to make it number 4 with 20 minutes to go.
There were other chances but Oban were in determined mood and a fierce strike from the left by Scott Macmillan pulled one back for them. However, as it turned out it was, to recoin a cliché, too little too late and the Glen were content to hang on bringing on Iain Macdonald to shore up the defence. The big man did the business- and the Glen finished their Premier League season at Blairbeg with a win.
Yet there was unease at the end. The Glen did not appear to play all that well as a team despite some excellent individual displays. One of those individuals who put in a performance was Mr Reid (the senior junior) though his mam would have liked the snap better if he had taken out his mouth guard.



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Caber’s Youngsters Clobbered by Hendo’s Heroes .

The silence has now officially ended and the Wing centre has decided that the sensible thing to do in times of strain and trouble is to accentuate the positive- and what could be more positive than the comprehensive 5 goal victory against the young lads from Spa-town. Not that you would call Marty Maclean, the well-ancient Cabers keeper a youngster any more but to be fair to him he put in a good shift which helped to moderate the score .
The other impressive Caber’s players were genuinely young wing back , Declan Wilson , who was hard and determined in the tackle and Garry Maclennan whose attitude and interest in the game –he travels down from Skibo each week to play- is an example of what is good about the game.
The Glen opener came early in the match when wing forward Ewan Menzies latched on to a through ball from big Arran Macdonald and fired it home from about the penalty spot. The second strike came from Iain Macleod (he was to put in a double shift because later on he was called to help out against ‘More). Some neat work in the midfield and a pass inside from Ewan Brady and a touch back from Calum Fraser left Macleod with a chance on the edge of the D which he converted.
In between those chances which were well finished , the Glen created a host of opportunities around the edge of the box and even inside it but Maclean simply stopped the shots with body, feet or club and his all-round menacing appearance persuaded some of the Glen youngsters that after all, perhaps the ball ought to be his anyway.
Not that Cabers were a bad team. There were plenty times when they cleared the halfway line and penetrated the Glen backline only to come up against stout resistance from Glen defenders Ian Macdonald and Donald Fraser. Indeed such was the strength of the defence that keeper Garry Mackintosh had so little to do that some reports indicate he was seen eating a Jaffa-cake during the match.
The final Glen strike of the first half came from Calum “Jock” Fraser who after a corner had been taken in 42 minutes converted a difficult shot with a swift strike. Calum has been scoring regularly all season –doubtless he will tell the Wing Centre how many he has actually got up till now- and it has to be said that the way he converted his half chance in the Sutherland semi will probably stand as one of the Glen goals of the season not because it was spectacular but because it was sharp, understated and clinical which is always what is needed.
Elsewhere on the park Clan Smith was to the fore: Gary was his usual effective self while Calum gave quite an assured performance as a Wing Centre himself and showed that he has what it takes not to be fazed when the going gets tough. He took a nasty whack after the ball was away- made nothing of it which is always to be recommended- and continued at the same pace afterwards. Dave Smart showed all his touches- he just loves to gather , carry and work the ball- but his shooting was slightly off while Ewan Brady, as always had his exceptional moments.
The Glen finished the match in style with an early second half goal from Calum Fraser who tucked home a ball from close range just after the restart and then Ewan Menzies got his double with a long low shot which eluded Maclean in 67 minutes.
There was no further scoring and the game lost its way a little after that and it was a shame that the fans were deprived of a chance to see a final front line display from Ben Hosie but, given that he was due to leave Glen shinty for a year on a sports scholarship in the USA , it was as well that he sat this one out.
A pic with Ben receiving a wee presentation from the Chairman is appended to the Blog - as are snaps of the goal scorers and one or two other wee treats. The biggest of them is the following table.

1. Glen 14 12 2 0 56 11 26
2. King 15 11 1 3 57 24 23
3. Fort 12 9 1 2 47 13 19

This table makes good reading – and provided the field is playable immediately after the Games what the Heroes have to do is keep their nerve on the run in. At this stage of the season the Club must make this the priority. How The Heroes have avoided reaching the finals of the Sutherland and the Strathdearn remains a mystery.
The afternoon game was a disappointment though Lewis Maclennan’s opening goal in 10 minutes raised Glen hopes -falsely as it turned out. Indeed the opening minutes as always saw the Glen pour forward and created three early chances which deserved a better fate. The Glen goal when it came was a long range effort which moved in the air and beat ‘More keeper Mike Ritchie leaving everyone rather unfairly wondering how he could have let it in. Easy, it was swerving and clearly came out of the sun and any shot which stays up for a long time can trick a keeper. Ritchie isn’t the first and will not be the last to lose a goal like that.
As was to be expected Newtonmore lifted their game and fair enough the aggression. John Barr was the victim of a heavy challenge from Danny Macrae which went unpunished by ref Deke Cameron and from the resulting advantage Glen Mackintosh levelled the tie from close range in the 18th minute. Three minutes later, Paul MacArthur fired in a ground shot from 15 yards out which took a nasty bounce off the hard Blairbeg surface past Stuart Mackintosh to give the visitors the lead.
From that point on while it was true that the Glen were still in the game, the truth was that Newtonmore's control of the midfield grew ever stronger. That is simply all that is to it. Newtonmore dug in and physically won the centre and you have to say that with big, strong long hitting determined players the League is theirs - if, and it’s a big if, they can deal with Ronald Ross. They managed it in the MacTavish but there was more than a touch of good fortune there since Paul MacArthur’s wonder goal looks like a one in a season.
You would have any of the ’More boys in your team but the pick of the bunch for the Wing Centre at any rate was buckshee back Fraser Mackintosh who had an outstanding match .
It could have been so different though because in the 42nd minute, the Glen broke through and missed a simple pat home from close range with Ritchie nowhere. The ball came off the bar and from the clearance the ball was bashed upfield to Danny Macrae. That was the Newtonmore way all over the field and we could and should learn from them.
Macrae leaned over the ball, used his strength to hold off defenders who in a less gentle day should have grassed him and fired the ball over to Glen Mackintosh in acres of space with ample time to slot home from five yards leaving the keeper with no chance. Ooh the irony of a boy called Glen scoring in the Glen against the Glen - old Sandy Russell would have had a laugh.
The second half was a waste of time from a Glen point of view. Evan Menzies found the ball at his feet after a clearance struck Danny Macrae and he stuck it home and then Glen Mackintosh got his third. Glen heads were down; ‘More hearts were high but they won the game because they can finish well and were physically too hard for the Glen centres to hold. With Norman Campbell powerfully back in business on the D and Owen Fraser playing extremely well at the back they are a competent outfit.
To play them on a sticky Blairbeg - the grass was a problem for the short passing game - the Glen would have had to adapt to a hitting game. Anyone going into a tackle with Danny Macrae or Norman Campbell will get steamrolled; Paul MacArthur will run and run all day-he was excellent, while Fraser Mackintosh is never going to be beaten by players trying to dribble past him on the tight Blairbeg park - you have to knock it by him and keep him running.
Can Fort William beat them? It is possible with big Macphee and Gary Innes in the midfield but will Fort want to play that intensely when they have the Camanachd final to look forward to and the League is beyond reach. ‘More ought to go top if they want it enough.
Will they beat Kingussie? That is the big question. The ‘More team the Wing Centre saw were a team of mortals – big, strong, good hitters with one very good finisher - and a clear number of players coming back from or succumbing to injury. However, Ronald Ross is unplayable - but Glen Mackintosh is not; the fate of the League depends whether the other Kingussie players have the bottle for the battle.
It should be an interesting September. Enjoy the pics especially the one of Donald Dunain in his run around. Don’t Hendo and Big Mike look pleased? Well perhaps Mike does-Hendo still wants more goals!! The other snaps show the guys who got two goals each-Jock and Ewan while the Wing Centre was intrigued by the 'More choreography before the match. Are these guys going to surprise the Irish by doing a version of Riverdance?



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The Glen up the Tembo to Top Premier League for Two Weeks.

Glenurquhart 1 Fort William 0
Bute 1 Glenurquhart 2
It has been a heady fortnight in Shintyville-By-the-Loch. Both teams have topped their respective leagues and friends of the Glen out on the prairies, in the outback, on the veldt and on the pampas of Patagonia have been ringing up the D with words of congratulation. Naturally the D-meister passed these congratulations on to the guys in question but having taken over a fortnight to recover his power of speech after the wedding he has not been available to pump them out into the blogosphere. Naturally this is going to take two attempts because not only have the first team squad managed to beat Fort William and Bute but the Heroes quickly recovered from their Sutherland disappointment to win over Lovat and Kilmallie.
The Fort William result was one that was hard earned- and clearly given the fact that Gary Innes was also added to Fort’s absentees, fortune was certainly favouring the Glen. Certainly the absence of key players in the Fort side has come for them at a difficult time but truthfully three of the absentees brought matters on themselves through indiscipline. Gary Innes though, happened to be on Lewis on the very afternoon the Almighty decided to teach Calmac a lesson for putting on a Sunday ferry without first asking permission. Naturally the ferry broke down, Gary was late and the Fort consequently were off-key. On the other hand the Glen were still missing Dave “Dixie” Maclennan (he was to have a dramatic return against Bute) while Calum Millar was also carrying a nasty ankle injury which ruled him out.
For the Wing Centre the match was won generally because of the belief and determination shown by the Glen side. Neale Reid, Gregor McCormack , Billy Urquhart and Andrew Corrigan worked tirelessly and constantly pressurised the experienced Fort backs while Eddie Tembo simply enthused the centreline with his commitment. At the back John Barr was immense while Stuart Mackintosh simply stopped everything that came his way. The same was true of Stuart Reid, Dave Girvan, Andrew Macdonald and especially Ali Mackintosh. The goal however that split the teams was in the end all down to technique- and no one has better technique than Lewis Maclennan. He has been playing well in the centreline over the past few weeks- at first timing the ball no one can touch him-but in an attempt to win the match he had been slipped up forward where in 59 minutes he took a dropping ball in the air and fired it past Fort keeper Scott McNeill for the only goal of the game.
The rest of the match continued as before-fierce commitment from both sides- but Fort were not able to make inroads into the Glen defence while at the other end they were rather fortunate to keep the black-and-reds out. The point has to be made that ref Ron Kennedy controlled the game well, keeping a close handle on- let us say- some of the more forceful personalities in yellow shirts. Not that they can be blamed for being forceful: it is what is needed to tip the scales in the big league. It has been present in Kingussie teams, Oban sides and the Bute team. Perhaps the answer is for Glenners to do the same but in a controlled manner. It is only a form of method acting after all.
The Wing Centre did feel sorry for the Fort players though because Big Drew made them sit on the damp grass at the end of the match and gave them all a row, which was a shame because they were all really trying so far as the Wing Centre could see from the sidelines.
The Bute result was perhaps more surprising given that the Glen were held to a draw at home by the men from Rothesay. The Wing Centre, still being in rehab, did not make the game but he asked DP and Eric all about it.
“Pretty tight” was the verdict. “Indeed a draw would not have been an unfair result”
And that is the problem with sport. How well the Glen have played against for instance Kingussie , matching them all the way and then Ronald Ross nips away and scores four or five goals. Here the Glen opened through Dave Maclennan, back after an absence since his eye injury sustained v Lochaber and Neale Reid nabbed a beauty at the end. Bute only scored one.
The Wing Centre managed to procure a copy of “The Buteman”, not an easy task in the Glen where natives of Bute are harder to find than natives of Warsaw, but there he read an account of what appeared to be World War III.
“A LATE winner from Glenurquhart's Neale Reid saw Bute fall to defeat in a dramatic game in Rothesay on Saturday which almost ended in an all-out brawl between the two teams.
The islanders' frustration at enjoying most of the possession and creating the lion's share of the goal scoring opportunities saw the game reach boiling point more than once in the second half, with both teams almost coming to blows on a couple of occasions after a succession of undisciplined and rash tackles.
The game began in the worst possible way for the home side, with Glenurquhart opening the scoring in the second minute after a corner was hit into the D - and despite Bute's stand-in keeper Davie MacDonald putting in a block, the ball fell kindly for MacLennan to tap in the opening goal.
Bute were chasing the game from then on, pushing forward at every possible occasion. Good use was made of the wings in the first half to open the game up and keep their opponents away from the action, with the hosts' first few chances going to Strathie and John McCallum, whose shots went soaring high past Glenurquhart keeper Stuart Mackintosh's goal.
The pressure was mounting as Bute controlled play and continually pushed forward, Robert Walker almost netting an equaliser in the 20th minute after a long shy by team-mate Iain MacDonald saw him go one to one with Mackintosh, only for the Bute player to commit a foul as he was about to take the shot.
Glenurquhart had a couple of decent chances in the half, Andrew Corrigan's shot on goal in the 25th minute after Bute conceded a shy in their half being the most notable.
Bute upped the tempo as the first half neared its end, enjoying some long spells of possession, but it was their final touch which, not for the first time, stopped them levelling the match and taking the lead.
The home forwards were causing plenty of problems for Glenurquhart defenders John Barr Ali Mackintosh and Andrew MacDonald, who were caught off guard on several occasions but just about managed to soak up all the pressure the hosts could apply.
Roberto Zavaroni had the last opportunity of the half for Bute when he attempted to lob Mackintosh from the half way line, his shot sailing just over the bar.
Glenurquhart created the first chance of the second half from a corner, Corrigan's shot going wide, but tempers soon began to rise as the game intensified and took on a more aggressive and rough pace.
Bute soon tried to recapture their hold on the game, Zavaroni hitting another shot just outside the D which again went just wide of the goal.
Glenurquhart, though, seemed to have a new lease of life, creating more chances up front and applying continued pressure on the Bute keeper, and MacLennan almost doubled their lead in the 54th minute after his shots were blocked by MacDonald and defender Brian Liddle, before Corrigan had another opportunity following a good run by Neale Reid down the wing.
One of the best opportunities of the match came in the 74th minute when Reid hit the ball through to MacLennan in the D, and the unmarked Glenurquhart man would certainly have scored but for a last-gasp interception by Graham Fisher.
But with play swinging from end to end and each team turning up the heat on the other's defence, it was clear that frustration was beginning to build amongst the players.
However, all that frustration - in the Bute ranks at least - was forgotten in the 75th minute when Iain MacDonald's shy found Walker, who set off on a blistering run towards the Glenurquhart goal and went head-to-head with a defender before releasing the ball to Strathie, whose thundering shot left with flying into the back of the net.
The goal, though, came at a price for Bute, with Ali Carmichael, who had just come on for David Zavaroni, having to be carried off the pitch after he received a nasty gash to his thigh in the build up to the goal; Carmichael was taken straight to the hospital where he received several stitches.
And the islanders' joy at levelling the scores wasn't to last long: only a minute after Bute's equaliser, Reid took advantage of confusion in the home defence after an altercation between two players in the middle of the field saw the forward take advantage of the distraction, as play had not been stopped by the referee Duncan Kerr.
By now tempers had well and truly reached boiling point, and shortly after the goal half a dozen players got involved in an altercation after a Bute player was fouled, with the substituted Zavaroni even running onto the pitch to confront one of Glenurquhart players.” (The Buteman July 29th 2009- with name corrections inserted)
Now, as a report, that certainly beats the Inverness Courier and the Glen, despite topping the League, can only dream of such coverage in their local rag given that it is obsessed with Caley Thistle and determined to be a “big city” pretendy paper. Bute Shinty Team are indeed lucky to have their exploits so faithfully reported. What wouldn’t the Glen, Strathglass, Beauly and Lovat give for such serious coverage? Well done the Island!
However what the Wing Centre also took out of it was that some of the Bute boys perhaps need to watch their discipline.
Anyway, the wing centre is left with the thought that the Camanachd Semis will feature four teams all of whom Glenurquhart have beaten this season- which is another way of saying that deep down, beneath it all he would trade two maybe all four of these points to see the Glen play in the Camanachd Semis in a fortnight.
The pictures speak for themselves except that Lewis has got his jersey on the wrong way round. At least his Mum will be pleased he is smiling



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Mary chooses “Currachd Ruadh” for Wedding Hat

Imagine if the Wing Centre could get away with a headline like that? No chance- in fact there is more chance of Glenurquhart getting into the Sutherland Cup final with a 6-2 away victory over Fort William than of catching your attention with a cheap headline like that. That’s just tabloid stuff!
But then the trouble is that the Shinty hasn’t been so interesting of late - two away defeats to Kingussie are nothing to write from home about. Dickson’s injury is taking longer to heal than hoped for and Paul Mac appears to have hurt himself again which is more than a shame.
If reports from the Dell are anything to go by the Glen should have done better in the first game where our Corky got on the score sheet for the Glen (though it might have given us more pleasure if it had been their Corky who had got on the score sheet-for us! )
The second game saw the return of Mr Ross and he appears to be scoring lots of goals – and there is not much to be gained by noting the fact except to express wonderment that he takes it all so seriously. It would be nice if he were to meet a nice Polish girl - Inverness is full of them- and go off to live with her in Kracow or Gdansk or somewhere else he couldn’t get an Easyjet flight home to play on the Saturday.
Then there was Fort William in the Sutherland. The Wing Centre was walking to the bank to take out money to spend at the wedding when he bumped into a member of the Great Glen Public.
“Did you see the Courier?” said the MGGP
“No” said the Wing Centre quite genuinely since getting the papers is not one of his household chores.
“Well it seems that crowd from Lochaber pulled off their biggest heist in the Glen since they carried out the Raid of Inchbrine in 1692. That time they took the cattle; this time they’ve taken the Sutherland Cup and it’s not as if we can rely on the Young Crofters from over the hill to get it back”
Now the Wing Centre was at the game and thought that Fort William won because they scored more goals in the time allowed for scoring goals though he was bemused by the fact that the Glen had a goal disallowed because of a Fort William foul. But when the MGGP brought out a Courier the Wing Centre began to get roused: the way the Courier explained it Fort William had deliberately won the toss to get a home draw. They had then arranged a first team fixture at home against their alleged enemies from up the road (“Cattle stealers all of them-they were in it together in ’92 and they are still in it”- said the MGGP) changed the game to fit in with the West Highland Ferry services, done some voodoo to bring back the walking dead into their team and thereby won.
The MGGP began to backtrack concerned at the inflamed countenance of his companion.
“Hang on, Wing Centre,” said the MGGP. “Aren’t you going a bit too far with your conspiracy theory? The next thing you’ll be telling me is that there is a guy from Ballachulish running the Camanachd Association as well”
“You’re right DP” (for it was he)” That would never happen- and they did score more goals."
For the record Calum Fraser and Dave Smart scored two nice goals which counted and Dave and Ben Hosie had balls in the net which didn’t. Star of the show was Ryan Campbell of Fort a youngster who got three goals including the penalty which came after the disallowed Glen goal. Deke and Victor got the other goals and while the Fort Wing David Walker had an excellent game, it is also clear that Drew McNeil at the back can still do the business. For the Glen Calum Smith , Calum “Jock” Fraser and Gary Smith played well - the fact was that after shading the first half they fell away in the latter stages and must be disappointed - but not as mad as the Courier implies.
The better team won on the day (through gritted teeth) but doesn’t Deke have an annoying goal celebration? He charges up the field as if he was actually being chased by Iain Macdonald - he’s lucky he wasn’t on the day if only because Iain is being careful not to tire himself out this week since he is getting married.
That is of course the big Shinty story in the Glen this week - Iain Macdonald is tying the knot with Siobhan and the” D” wishes them all the very best on the big day and for the future.
Of course the talk in the Glen has been about dresses and hair do’s and fascinators and of course hats. The mother of the groom Mary Macdonald, our own Shinty Club secretary for many years, no doubt has already got her headgear organised. But just in case, the fashion advice from the Wing Centre is to try the Currachd Ruadh - those who have read the late Prof Peter English’s book on Glen shinty will know it is the ancient headgear associated with Glen Shinty. It is therefore traditional, historical and – on the right head - chic too. See for yourself.





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Bruising Encounter at Blairbeg - Ooh Ya Bute-y!

Glenurquhart 1 Bute 1
This match was no classic but an action packed if somewhat dour encounter played in hot conditions with the Blairbeg surface providing some unforgiving bounces. On reflection from the Glen point of view it was a home point lost but at 4 o’clock on Saturday, the main feelings were not only of frustration but of relief. Clearly, the Glen were lucky to have come away with a point at all given the form that Bute keeper Kevin Queen displayed on the occasions he was put under pressure.
It could all have been so different if the early Glen attacks had had managed to hit the target but strikes from Neale Reid and Billy Urquhart sailed wide while it was Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh at the other end who had to be on his toes as Bute’s Robert Walker forced him to make a good save after hitting his shot on target.
Glen had an excellent opportunity in 23 minutes when a free hit was awarded after a trip on Billy Urquhart as he was about to break through on goal. From the set play at the edge of the D, Andrew Corrigan slipped the ball to Neale Reid but his drive was palmed away by the Bute keeper who was looking lively between the sticks.
The bulk of the possession went to the Glen in the first half although there were occasions when the strength of Hector Whitelaw up front allowed Bute to hold on to possession in attacking areas though when push came to shove, as with Hector it usually does, John Barr was on hand to clear the ball up front. The Glen front four played some superb interlinked shinty and one move in 42 minutes was top drawer in all but the final delivery. Andrew Macdonald drove the ball forward from defence to Eddie Tembo who flicked it through first time to Neil Reid who cut it back, also first time to Andrew Corrigan. Corrigan drew the defenders wide and knocked the ball in to Billy Urquhart but his shot, taken perhaps a tad too quickly, flew past the post and the chance was lost. The first half ended with a note of warning to the Glen however, as Bute winger John McCallum found himself in enough space to have a dig at goal but fortunately his drive was too high to pose a serious threat.
The early part of the second half saw Bute move more on to the offensive but again the story was one of defences on top and it looked as if matters were going to carry on in this vein until the 61st minute when a flare up in the middle of the park saw Bute’s David Whitelaw and Glen centre Lewis Maclennan both dismissed - Whitelaw for a foul and Maclennan for retaliation.
From the foul the reorganised Glen went on the attack but once again goalie Kevin Queen stepped in to make a good save from Billy Urquhart. Then at the other end the unthinkable happened : Bute worked a ball across to Hector Whitelaw who received it with his back to goal just outside the D, but such is the big man’s strength and determination that he managed to half turn and his strike went home to put the visitors into an unexpected lead. The goal lifted Bute’s spirits and shortly afterwards it took good work by Stuart Mackintosh to deny Stuart Strathie a second Bute goal.
The Glen however gradually came back and, though it looked for a while as if Bute’s last ditch defensive tactics were going to deny them justice, finally Calum Miller managed to get enough on a through ball from Andrew Corrigan to level the match. The Glen pressed on in an attempt to get a winner and some neat last minute play set up Eddie Tembo but his rocket strike from 15 yards was tipped over the bar by Queen. It proved to be the last significant action of the match.
Frustrating then and it is clear that the absence of David Maclennan in the midfield was a factor in the game as has been for some time the absence of Arran Macdonald and Paul Mackintosh whohave been injured. Today also the absence of Ben Hosie, carrying injury but also pressed in as sub for the Heroes at Fort William, was also perhaps a factor in the result.
The Heroes also drew but given they were venturing into enemy territory minus Iain Macdonald and Donald Fraser the result was much more acceptable. Indeed it gives them a real chance of fighting for honours by the end of the season
A tricky period now comes up what with holidays, seasonal work and the possibility of gaps in the programme – hard to believe that there are only 6 league games left for the top side.
Photos from this match were hard to come by but perhaps the mood is summed up by this snap of the squad showing their best side as they trudge in to the pavilion after the match. The other- a snap of the bruise caused to a faithful spectator by the Bute full back who hammered the ball into the crowd after the whistle had blown in an attempt to delay a Glen free hit. Careful guys, it might have been a bairn.



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Oh Look, Dad ! It’s them off the Telly.

Glenurquhart 2 Kingussie 0
All this week, Glenurquhart Shinty Club’s media stars were keeping a low profile but how did a group of home town boys have their heads turned by the paparazzi in such a short time. Well it all happened like this.
Just as the Wing-Centre was concentrating on the Glen Shinty Festival as helper to announcer Matthew MacIver, the rumour ran round the edge of the Astro-turf that not only were the Glen team of the year but that they were through.
“Through what ?” said Jimmac, who had master minded the whole event for the youngsters.
“To the final of the Marine Harvest, Clash of the Camans at An Aird”, said the child who could work the mobile phone.
Which meant that Whytie had to go round the various sideshows and pinch some kids to make up a full squad with subs and everything. Arran, who had been in charge of the “Speed Dribbling for Primary 7 and under” was also persuaded to go.
The full horror of what Smack had done at An Aird was quickly common knowledge. Mr Mackintosh had seemingly gone into goal and stopped all the Inveraray penalties- a thing which as a top class goalie he is always liable to do. Then his Blackberry had pinged out a reminder that he was due to play his accordion at some dance or other: now the Glen were into a final and no goalie had made the trip from the Heartland.
Davy Emery? Gone fishing. Garry Mac? Babysitting. Big Peter? At the golf. Ryan Brady? Needed for the festival. Tommy McKenna? Playing bowls.
Cometh the hour - cometh the man. Arise Sir Iain, Baronet of St Ninians and the Temple. You proved your worth when your Glen had need of you.
Quite simply stand in goalie Iain Macleod had a stand out game: he was in the zone the whole match. He is a competitor –the Wing Centre has observed this determination and drive in him when he was up against Kingussie in the reserve match earlier in the season - and he provided a secure platform for the win. He pulled off precisely 12 fine saves including one from Paul Gow which he took in the air and another direct from a corner which made for spectacular TV. The rest were with club and feet and must have undermined the confidence of the youngsters in the Kingussie front line as well as breaking the hearts of Kevin Thain and Paul Gow.
Let’s leave aside the absence of Ronald - goodness knows he will be back soon enough - but the Glen were a number of lads short themselves- what with Lewis Maclennan ,”Dickson” Maclennan and Drew Maclennan absent along with Paul Mackintosh and latterly Smack himself. Arran is still injured and Gregor McCormack also missed the roll call - so it was a depleted squad which faced up to a less powerful than usual Kingussie line up.
As a match it made happy watching in the Glen. Indeed Andrew Corrigan posted the Glen’s intentions within 5 minutes when he struck a powerful shot direct on to keeper Andrew Borthwick which the big man dealt with tidily.
After a period of nice play in which the Glen front men moved the ball about neatly, making full use of the wide An Aird wing spaces, the Glen took the lead. Andrew Corrigan who with Neale Reid was the pick of the Glen front men, fired a low ball across the middle. Calum Miller neatly dummied it and young Ben Hosie fed it through to Reid who smashed it home from the right hand side of the goal. Two minutes later Hosie again created a good chance when he played in Miller but the big forward had his shot saved by Borthwick. Glen continued to press as the half time whistle approached and Reid continued to turn the wing back finding space behind him on the wing while Macleod was doing his duty at the far end. Sadly the Kingussie defence showed their frustration with a nasty flick up into Corrigan’s face as he tried to run the ball through: the TV audience were then treated to the Kingussie defenders trying to claim that bad was good and that somehow the foul was not a foul. No doubt the Dell boys will get more media savvy as the year goes on because when they watch it again they will feel that they are better than that : at any rate Mr Cameron handled it well except that he should probably have booked Louis Munro for loose stick work.
There was also a careless swing at Billy Urquhart by another Kingussie youngster - and the Wing Centre admires their reaction in a perverse sort of way, he is also aware that it is not 1978 and with TV cameras present boys need to maintain discipline.
The winning Glen goal came in 61 minutes when B en Hosie flicked a ball in the air on to Calum Miller who knocked it on to Billy Urquhart. Superbill - now the Glen top scorer - fired it past Andrew Borthwick from 10 yards.
That was it really because the Kingussie forward line were never going to get past Barr, Reid , Mackintosh and Macdonald – and anything beyond them was dealt with by Macleod.
The real fun came in the last quarter when the media frenzy began. Glen players began to fall to the ground in order to be subbed. This allowed young lads like Calum Smith and Brad Dickson to come on and the experience of playing in a senior final will stay with them for ever.
Those who left the field were interviewed but none were better at the questions than the Managerial Double act, Bill and Dave. They look hard for a start what with the shinty scars on their faces: besides them Terry Butcher appears to be a wuss . Many a maidenly heart in Straths far and wide - though probably not the nearest one - must have skipped a beat at the brusque fluency with which they took to punditry.
The camera loves EJ of course just as much as EJ once loved the camera and he spoke well as did Billy Urquhart , Calum Miller and of course Mr Macdonald, captain of the side. If there was a real shinty industry with pundits at the table commenting on games then apart from Kenny Ross, the rest would have to be Glenners although none can sit in a deck chair in shorts as well as Gary Innes.
The Wing Centre was however waiting for a few words from John Barr who always handles the media well and Stuart Reid who is at ease in front of his own web cam. Why did hero of the day Iain Macleod not get interviewed? Still if the guys want to be real media stars like Jimmy Gow and Drew McNeill , they will have to win the Premier and the Macaulay - but before then the ywill have to put in half an hour each Wednesday at media training.
Back in the real world where the kids play shinty the glory in the Primary 5 section went to Kirkhill who after overcoming Loch Duich in the semi went on to beat Lovat in the big one, the Glen festival Shield. Lovat had knocked out Beauly in their semi.
In the Primary 7s Lovat were awarded the Peter English Quaich with a victory over Loch Duich after again beating Beauly in the semi. Loch Duich had themselves got there by beating Achtertyre in the semi.
Where did the Glen and Strathglass come in? Not at the top. But we hope to do better next year when we also hope that Skye and Glengarry and the Inverness Gaelic School will be able to attend.
The pictures here should be of the kids but the Wing Centre does not have any, so if James Gallagher or Alan Macpherson can access a snap of a winning team and is happy to send them here , up they will be loaded. Failing that we’ll just have to make do with the Glen. Thanks to BBC Alba for the stills and Iain Ferguson of the Write Image for the pics. Naturally we are pleased with Marine hHarvest for the opportunity to win something, even if our first siverware of the season happened to be wooden..



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Lochaber men fail to reive the Glen -yet again

Premier League Glenurquhart 2 Lochaber 1


North Division 2

Glenurquhart 3 Kinlochshiel 0


The opening Glen goal came quickly in this Premier match. From the initial centre won by Lewis Maclennan the ball came wide to Neale Reid. He slipped the ball round the wingback and slid it inside to Andrew Corrigan who drew the Lochaber full back towards him before sending a pass out wide right to Billy Urquhart. Superbill-we now have to call him that - clipped the ball first time low past Lochaber keeper Angus Morrison. There were 38 seconds on the clock- and after worries about swine flu all week, it seemed a perfect opening to a game for the fans of the Black and Reds. Indeed even if wee Annie herself had been there in the Cattlethieves colours, she would have been delighted at such a clinical finish though she would never have admitted it.
If only the game had stayed in that vein- but sadly it didn’t.
The Glen did show up on top however for most of the first half hour with Billy Urquhart and Neale Reid looking at times as if they were going to run riot while Lewis Maclennan played the full centre role to perfection. The superb timing of his first time hits not only lifted the pressure on the centreline time and again but also placed the Lochaber back division repeated pressure .A few saves from Morrison plus a ball over the bar from Billy and a fierce drive into the side net from Neale Reid were however scant reward for all the Glen dominance in this period. There also began to grow a tiny suspicion that this Lochaber side were a team that could play good efficient shinty-no team managed by Ally Ferguson or Duncan Kelly was ever going to be poor-and if it were not for the fact that Andrew Macdonald, Ally Mackintosh, Stuart Reid and especially John Barr were fiercely competitive in their defensive tackles the Lochaber forwards might have had more time on the ball and thus had more opportunities to test Stuart Mackintosh. At this stage they did not though that was to change later in the match.
The turning point came in the 30th minute when Glen Wing Centre Dave “Dixon” Maclennan received a nasty head wound in a tackle. No blame to the Lochaber lad- the exchanges between the pair were always hard and quick in a match where the ante was gradually being upped- and Dixie was unlucky in that particular exchange. Up to that point, Dixie had just been on top in a very close contest but it was clear that the head knock was quite severe and so the match was held up until an ambulance could be called. The game was stopped for upwards of 15 minutes and when it restarted the Glen somehow got straight into top gear once again and how. With Andy Corrigan back in the centreline and Calum “Rhino” Miller on at full forward, the ball was hit out again to the right of the “D” where the big forward threw off the attentions of the Lochaber fullback and smashed the ball fiercely into the net to put the Glen two up.
From that point on in the restarted opening half the Glen began to wane a little: the wing centre picked out Lochaber buckshee back Neil Macdonald as the most obviously inspirational player. He stuck close to Eddie Tembo and gave everything in the tackle and truthfully began to influence things at the back to the extent that when the ball did come up the Glen forwards were able to make it stick up front less and less. Equally sharp was the right wing back and the class of Shaun Nicholson began to show through. In fact he brought a series of excellent saves out of Stuart Mackintosh of the sort the crowd loved to see and of the sort that made Shaun himself put his hand to his head in disbelief. But then if Shaun were to think about it for a moment he would reflect that “Smack” is a superb goalie, that saving these shots is what he is there for and after all, since Shaun was having to shoot from miles out it proves his forwards were not able to get anything on goal off the Glen back four. So they were good saves but nothing came back from Smack to set up the Lochaber forwards and one feels that even if it did the defenders would have smashed it away.
John Barr was at the heart of this defensive operation which was bolstered in the second half by Andy Corrigan moving into the defence where his speed added to the security and peace of mind of the management duo, while Ally Mac went into the centreline.
About halfway through the second half, Eddie Tembo came off and Gregor McCormack went on at right wing forward. From that point on the Lochaber pressure began to ease since the Glen began to hit the ball down the right hand channel and Greg was able to make it stick up there for longer than had been the case at the start of the game.
The Reivers’ camp followers on the far side also attempted to play their part and loudly protested every Glen challenge and it is with a hanging head that the Wing Centre admits that he began to do the same- shouting “kick” when it wasn’t, shouting “foul” when it might not have been. It’s the same old scenario that he wrote about in a National League game at Lochaber two/ three years back though at that time-there being so few spectators, it was the players who were doing it. Who would be a ref?
In the end young Zander Ferguson got a late goal back for Lochaber though from where the Wing Centre was stood it appeared that he kicked the ball first before he hit it in from the right. To be fair to him the Lochaber goal judge put up his flag at the time of the incident though he would be wise to say in Lochaber that he was simply acknowledging the goal. In the Glen we feel he was calling it right and fair play to him if he was. Whatever happened the goal stood but with 85 minutes on the clock Lochaber were unable to pinch a draw.
Not an easy match then but a satisfying win all the same against a team which took two points off the League leaders Fort William on Day 1 of the Premier season.

Earlier the Heroes kept up their winning streak with a 3-0 victory over a competent Kinlochshiel second squad. It took until the second half however before the Glen managed to make the onion bag bulge though a fair number of first half chances were wasted by the Glen or saved by the Shiel keeper. The break through came just after the interval when Calum Fraser finished nicely after being set up neatly by Stuart Morrison.
Morrison himself was next on hand in 50 minutes to put home a penalty awarded after Calum Fraser had been pulled down in the zone. Finally youngster Ewan Brady added to his impressive recent tally of goals by sinking a penalty granted after the ball had been kicked in the box by a Shiel defender .

One of this week’s pictures has its own charm- were the Lochaber men planning a long weekend away from home? They certainly took enough luggage with them.



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Glen hit Cabers for Six in the Sutherland

Sutherland Cup
Glenurquhart 6 Caberfeidh 1
This was yet another fine win for the Glen seconds notwithstanding the fact that it was to be overshadowed by the win against Kyles later in the afternoon. Make no mistake about it Mr MacLean’s Cabers outfit are no mugs and when ex-Boleskine player Garry Maclennan came on in the second half it was clear that the Blues intended to put up a fight. The Glen however have exceeded expectations this season so far and if they can keep their personnel together-including their youngsters – then there is every chance they can give Victor and Willie Can a game when the showdown eventually comes.
Key to the Glen’s success are the Old Heads - venerable players who would hold down a place in most first teams in North Division 1 and with a bit of training could have a stab at the Premier. The backbone of the side consists of Iain Macdonald at full back, Garry Smith at buckshee, Iain Macleod at full centre and Stuart Morrison and Calum Fraser up front. Add to that Dave “Chips” Smart and “Boo Boo” Fraser whom the Wing Centre considers could be in the top side if they wanted it and you have a team. Add to that a clutch of youngsters – two have already gone up to the Premier side - and the impression is that if the luck holds and we get some sensible referees then the Glen have a chance of more silver even although the Strathdearn was allowed to slip away at the ‘Garry.
The opening ten minutes at Blairbeg on Saturday saw the Glen serve up some lovely stuff with Ewan Brady, veteran Stuart Morrison and half forward Dave Smart putting together a series of interconnected plays which tested the Cabers defence. At the other end keeper Dave Emery, back between the stick after injury – Garry Mackintosh had deputised more than ably- also had to look lively to smother a Cabers attack.
In 18 minutes though Brady turned neatly and from the resultant through ball Stuart Morrison fired a fierce drive which came back off the keeper into the path of Brady who made no mistake with his finish.
The second Glen goal came in 25 minutes when Dave Smart picked up the ball at buckshee and drove a long ball home very much out of the blue. The Glen went three up in the next minute when a neat touch from Morrison fell on to the caman of Calum “Jock” Fraser and the big striker finished the move beautifully.
At that point, and for well into the second half, the game seemed to die somewhat – and while Cabers cannot be blamed for wanting to hang on the Glen seemed to lack some urgency in their approach. With recently injured first teamer Paul Mackintosh on the bench– and the Kyles boys arriving to prepare for the next match- it seemed as if the prevailing mood in everyone along the sideline- except Hendo and big Mike- was for the game to be over and done with.
Then Andrew MacMaster - a famous Cabers name- got a fine goal back for the Blues. 3-1 : if Cabers were to get another one could it all turn pear shaped. It was now decision time.
Would Paul Mac come on? In the absence of Corky and Stuart Mac there was every reason to believe he would be needed for the Premier match. In the end, with youngster Calum Smith having to go off because of a hand injury, Paul Mac received the call and within five minutes he had made his mark on the game with a fantastic strike into the roof of the net to make it four.
Paul Mac’s was the strike that galvanised the Glen. Young Kelvin Mackenzie then got his first start in the second team and caused the stand to jump to its feet as he ran through and fired a shot goal wards but it whistled just past the post. Brad Dickson who fetched and ran his heart out all afternoon began to push forward and all of a sudden Dave Smart completed his hat trick - the second one in as many weeks-with two excellent finishes and the Glen were coasting on the back of a 6-1 victory into the semi of the Sutherland. Let’s hope the draw is kind.

Two photos this week - one of Brad printed with the permission of Dave Fallows from his Shintyworld website (http://www.shintyworld.com) It is of a quality which the Wing Centre can only dream of and much beyond the capacities of however many megapixels are credited to his Nokia Phone . The old phone however was certainly up to the job of capturing young Kelvin on his debut.



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No Smiles from Kyles or The Great 5-0 Victory of the Currachd Ruadh over the boys from Kyles on 30th May 2009.

It’s been a lovely weekend -and the weather’s not been bad either. The Wing Centre driven inside because of the Sunday sun, was flicking through that great book “Shinty: A World Compendium” by HD when he realised that it used to be a tradition in the Glen and in other parts of the Shinty world for a verse or two to be written to commemorate particularly fine instances of the indigenous sport played in all its competitive majesty. In fact HD’s book is full of little ditties, duans and odes-one of which – incredible as it may seem -is actually of Glen origin.
The Wing Centre, given that the position of Prof of Poetry at Oxford is now vacant once again and aware that it is invariably filled by those who could be classified as belonging to a minority, feels that as a shinty loving Highlander he falls into the category of being a member of an ethnic minority - and as such all he requires to do is submit a poem to be considered as a candidate.
A full twenty minutes of planning and the use of a Rhyming Dictionary which his late Auntie won at school was enough to give him a start and inspired by the peerless play of Barr’s Band of Brothers and indeed filled with the divine afflatus, the following verses were quickly noted down by his amanuensis. Had he been able to access opium like many 19th century poets there is no doubt that “the metre might have been sweeter” but who really cares?

Ref Cameron throws the ball up true:
From the very first the Glen burst through.
It seems they have the Kyles on toast
but EJ’s shot flies past the post

For the first half-hour, Glen are in charge
while Kyles defenders push and barge
they win nothing-then from young Reid
a blistering drive-Glen take the lead.

On the dust stands big John Barr
a back who hits the ball quite far
and close beside him strides The Boy:
they foil the Kyles at every ploy

But careful, here comes Dunky Kerr
He fires a shot but Smack is there
He drives the loose ball up halfway
Where Bill and Ben come into play

As the half time break draws near
Kyles attempt to up a gear.
But what they do seems incidental
while at the side big Norm goes mental

The whistle blows, then out of the sun
to the pavilion Glen now run,
where on Jaffa cakes they soon are fed
while the managers both sip claret red.

But the mood inside won’t quite be rightie
till twinges are put right by Whytie.
The guys will only take the field again
After listening to Menzies and Maclean

While young Cork gallivants abroad
old Cork carries twice the load.
He’s got the water bottles right.
Now let’s knock Kyles right out of sight

The second half has not gone far
when Irvine pops one o’er the bar.
The Kyles support begins to rave
not at EJ’s drive, but Kenny’s save

But soon there’s cheering in the stand
when Hosie, Ben on his right hand
slots neatly home a low fast ball
to give the Glen its second goal

No Kyles attack can quite get through.
They’re blocked by young Maclennan, Drew
or else The Boy comes into play
and simply slips the ball away

Now’s the time that Glen hold fast.
With Girv and Dixon none get past
while Ally Mac does just the same
one more goal will kill the game.

The goal soon comes: Glen are on song
when Lewis hits a ball quite long.
Will EJ score? He looks quite set
but Bill it is who finds the net

Old gits sit cheerful in a row
Of course we call them “legends” now
Fraser the Manager’s in the stand
Noting Glen glories in his fair hand

And at his side-not much to say
is former man in black, DA.
But wait-now Rhino’s on the park.
He’s sure to light another spark

He gets the ball out on the side
Kyles have nowhere left to hide.
He fires it over in the air
Even Girv can score from there.

Girv takes it down: he pops it in
Some girls dance round the kitchen bin
Another drive this time from Tembo
Goes over the bar en route for Embo

But finally ,it’s left to Gregor
who feeds on “D” scraps like a beggar
to nick the final glorious goal
and make five up the final total*

Now black and reds are wreathed in smiles
for such a win against the Kyles.
If it wasn’t before, it’s now quite sure
That Kyles have heard of the Currachd Ruadh

So there we have it, a genuine praise poem and match report rolled into one! There is of course no other possible photo that can illustrate the spirit of the Glen than that of Girv himself, goal scorer, role model and of course farmer. The other is of course Fraser Mackenzie, Scotland Manager. He’s only in here because he has some Glen blood coursing through his veins. DA? He is a real Fraser isn’t he? That’s OK then. Wee Billy and Hendo are of course there as of right.

By the way, it wouldn’t do to get too carried away with one win though even against a side like Kyles. Sean Nicholson of Lochaber scored three against Strathglass and while that in itself might not be a bad thing, it does make him a bit of a danger to the Glen next time out.

*goal/total- this rhyme might appear barbarous to those unfamiliar with the dialect of English which has replaced the ancient Gaelic tongue among the modern inhabitants of Glenurquhart and indeed the whole of the Aird. Both words consist of two syllables and in the second, the “t” is omitted and replaced by a glottal stop. Thus we have “Go-ahl”/To-ahl” which is in essence a perfect rhyme, in a manner of speaking.



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Sunshine shinty in the Glen, but dark clouds on the horizon for the indigenous sport.

Glenurquhart 6 Glenorchy 1
Skye 0 Hendo’s Bairns and Grandpas 8


Hey Mr Wing Centre, why the sad headline? Certainly not on account of the two matches in which the Glen participated this past weekend. Not even the fact that Caley Thistle were relegated from the Premier. Oh dear! What a pity. Never mind – after all Glen’s own “Ikey “ Fraser ,smart boy, stays up in the Premier with Motherwell which looks more and more like a clever move on his part.
No, the problem for the Wing Centre is the news which he received that Inverness Shinty Club are in danger of being pushed off the Bught Park in favour of a football club. If shinty folk sometimes feel paranoid that’s not because there is no one trying to get at them because there always is even if some of them don’t realise they are doing it.
Indeed if the Wing Centre were to write an essay entitled “What shinty teaches you about life.” then the main thrust would be that you should prepare to be marginalised, patronised or otherwise “dissed”. Good training if you want to be a politician or a public service worker, but on the whole not a sensible way to live your life. But more of that anon -and in another blog. It is enough to say that its time the Cameron Cattlethieves in Alton Towers got down to a bit of politicking with the Provost of Inversnecky.
Back in the real world, away from the sporting politics of Newville on Ness, the Glen forward line had a useful afternoon – and for the supporters of the home side, if not for those of Glenorchy it was a rare day when the result was never in doubt
However before we start, some words of caution. Glenorchy were under strength in as much as whoever else was missing from their squad, the absence of Alan MacKechnie at full back left a massive hole in the defence. The “D “has referred to MacKechnie before ,having been impressed with him as a force of nature of the John Barr-type when the two Glens went to war in the National League a few seasons ago. His absence was greatly missed.
The Glen of course were without players too but that did not stop Andrew Corrigan knocking home the first goal in 6 minutes after Neale Reid’s goal bound shot came back off ‘Orchy keeper Graham MacKechnie . Glen continued to press for the next period but it seemed even to the biased observers on the side line that they were being too elaborate in front of goals and chances to put more pressure on the Glenorchy keeper were not taken swiftly enough. Indeed in the 17th minute a snap shot by ‘Orchy’s Kieran Mackay forced Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh to make a smart save.
Then the tide turned in the Glen’s favour about the 20 minutes mark. First Dave Girvan had a drive saved by MacKechnie and then some neat work between Neale Reid and Eddie Tembo, with referee Macrae playing advantage after a foul on Tembo, left Glen’s top scorer Billy Urquhart to open his personal account for the day.
Minutes later a Neale Reid shot was saved by the keeper and shortly after a cross from Dave Maclennan was pulled out of the air by full centre Lewis Maclennan who dispatched a left hand drive past MacKechnie.
The second half continued in similar vein because shortly after the restart last week’s poster boy Billy Urquhart got on the end of a ball in by Neale Reid to put the Glen four up and in 60 mins Superbill completed his hat-trick after getting on the end of a little slip ball from Corrigan.
Glen continued the pressure and in the 85th minute they made it 6 in a most bizarre way. Corrigan took the corner on the right and the ball spun up off the stick of ‘Orchy wing back James Livingstone and sneaked in at MacKechnie‘s post. If that was a lucky goal the one at the other end was all down to carelessness –suffice it to say with 89 minutes on the clock Ewan Murray scored for Glenorchy.
And that was it on the day apart from the news from Skye which must have surprised even MacVicar and Malky because they were bound to have had a better side than travelled to Drum recently.
Apparently not because up there, amidst a great deal of mist, there was a fair amount of mellow fruitfulness for the Glen in terms of goals. Eight is a lot and for those who wish to read all about them the suggestion is that you flip to the Skye Camanachd website. It is worth recording that Ben Hosie and Dave Smart also joined the hat-trick club while Ewan Brady and Brad Dickson got the singles. Good games were had by Macleod, Macdonald and Smith while Sam Cumming got another run out in a big team. Well done guys.
After reflecting on the day and cheering up a bit, it’s always nice to have some pics and here they are. Visiting legend Burton Morrison chats on the sideline with Fort Augustus legend Graham Morrison and all round Great Glen legend DP Mackintosh. One supposes they were talking about the Macdonald Cup (1975) because all three are pictured in Peter’s book together having just won that final – and in the absence of anyone to contradict, that will have been the last occasion they were snapped together in the one team. Young Al and Boy are pictured in the “Up the Glen” corner in the changing room. The other? It’s The Man. Back out of Africa and into the team. But the barnet? Cool on the extras in Shaft but in the Glen? ? There is definitely a money-making sponsored event there. Don’t tell the Treasurer.....




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Urquhart Scores Twice for Glen but Hendo’s Heroes Score More.

Glenurquhart 2 Lovat 1 (MacAulay Cup)
Newtonmore 1 Glenurquhart 6 (North Div 2)

It might not last for long so making hay while the sun shines is a sentiment Saturday’s defeated Crofters would share. At the moment Glen shinty is living in dreamland. The top team negotiated a tricky MacAulay fixture against a Lovat side which never gives up by 2 goals to 1 while the youngsters put 6 goals past Newtonmore on the Eilean.
“When was the last time a Glen side put six goals past a Newtonmore side at the Eilean?” asked Mr Calder
“Not since a while -a very long while” was as accurate an answer as can be got in the Glen and given that we don’t have John Willie or Joe Taylor on hand with their note books then we are not going to find out. Indeed it is doubtful if Rab Ritchie himself is old enough to remember.
The good thing about Lovat as far as Glenners are concerned is that they are not Strathglass - and they bring with them a nice crowd of visitors over the hill. In fact the two sets of supporters get on extremely well – and if it wasn’t for the fact that the Treasurer likes a wee constitutional round the field himself he would probably let Mary Ann do the collection for him. Indeed she would probably be more persuasive and attentive to the collection than he is: half the time he’s watching the game over his shoulder and the other half he is pestering people who have obviously no money like backpackers and the subs for the other team.
This week the Glen started with a revamped front line with Eddie Tembo, Ben Hosie, Neil Reid and Billy Urquhart as the front four while Lewis Maclennan took up the full centre berth. He was specially chosen to go up against Ewan Ferguson, whom everyone on this side of the hill knows is the key player in the Crofters side, given that he is actually a real farmer like Girv.
Like the Glen with Arran Macdonald and Paul Mackintosh missing, Lovat were without the injured Martin Bell and Fraser Gallagher but it has to be said that the absence of these players on both sides did not spoil the game as a spectacle.
Glen were as always fast out of the blocks and were quickly firing the ball up into attack. The first strike of consequence came in five minutes when EJ regaining his Ireland form, fired a ball, albeit narrowly - over the cross bar from about the penalty spot. In the end the miss did not matter because soon after Neale Reid fired a sharp shot in on the keeper and Billy Urquhart was quickly in hand to ram the ball home from the rebound.
Reid now surely looks back to the form he was in last season - numerous times he got past his man in the tightest of corners with little flicks and bursts of speed. All he needs to do now is hit the target himself a couple of times and the Glen will surely be on their way.
Also performing well was Ben Hosie: his touches opened up the play and his stepovers and dummying of the ball on a dry hard pitch had Lovat’s James White is a tiz for most of the early part of the game.
Glen went two ahead after wing centre Ali Mackintosh fired a free hit up from – again Billy Urquhart was on hand to tuck the loose ball away in 11 minutes. For a moment or two the Wing Centre thought that perhaps he was back at Kirkton last season when the Glen racked up 4 quick goals against ‘Shiel. However, Lovat are made of stern stuff. They never give up and when Raymond Rennie nipped off his marker controlled the ball neatly and tucked a low strike inside keeper Stuart Mackintosh’s right hand post it seemed like game on. By this stage Lewis was tiring in the midfield and the thought was beginning to grow in Glen heads that this might be one of Lovat’s “get out of jail “days.
Except it wasn’t because when the second half began Eddie Tembo shifted into the full centre berth ostensibly for ten minutes and Lewis went up front to the forward role he is well suited to play.
Lovat did not really show in the second period and the fact that Glen did not score was down to a series of extraordinary saves from Lovat keeper Stuart Macdonald. Within 15 minutes he saved three marvellous strikes from Lewis Maclennan two with the feet and the third was an instinctive poke over the bar of a ball that ricocheted off a Lovat defender’s stick and seemed net bound all the way till he turned it over.
Later still Ben Hosie did some neat juggling with the ball in the heart of the Lovat defence but his drive whistled past. In the end it was Glen who went through but while Lovat could have rescued something if luck had been with them, the absence of Fraser Gallagher and Martin Bell was too much for them to cope with.
While all this was going on Hendo and Mike’s crowd of kids and grandpas were having a memorable day down in Badenoch. From what the Wing Centre heard the backs could have taken their snowboards down and got off the bus at Aviemore for all the use that was made of them.
The story of that match was as follows: Boy wonder Ewan Brady opened the scoring in 10 minutes and in 12 Brad Dickson found the net only to be ruled off side.
Newtonmore’s Chris Sellar equalised in 29 before the Glen were awarded a penalty. Stuart Morrison took the penalty but his shot was saved by 16 year old ‘More keeper Douglas Gray but fortunately Ewan Brady reacted quickest and hit the rebound home.
Finally in 36 minutes young Brady got his hat –trick with an accomplished finish.
If the first half belonged to Brady, the second was the property of Calum “Jock” Fraser. The big striker was quickly on target two minutes after halftime and he then brought the Glen to a tally of 5 goals in the 52 minute. Hendo then used the first of his young subs when he swapped Calum Smith for Ewan Menzies. Jock completed his hat trick with a fine goal in 65 minutes and at that point Hendo put on youngsters Sam Cumming and Ross MacDiarmid for the two other young forwards.
Despite some frustration from the ‘More players (read between the lines!) and who can blame them- the Glen held firm and both Iain Macdonald and Ian Macleod had excellent performances. Macleod in particular had an especially hard tussle with ‘More’s Cameron Binnie but given that both were Premier players last season then that was to be expected.
If the D is to give credit to any player who does not wear the black and red it is to 16-year-old keeper Douglas Gray. He had an excellent second half and thanks to him the Glen were restricted to a mere three goals after the break.
Commiserations to Garry Mac though. He as usual played well but he lost his clean sheet. Shame!
This week’s pic. The Wing Centre was too busy blethering to remember to take a snap of two-goal hero Billy Urquhart when he was walking off the field. By the time he got inside, Billy was in his birthday suit, which is why the snap had to be cropped.
Indeed, if we can get any sponsors then there is every prospect of a Calendar. If the ladies of the WI can do it, why can’t the Glen? And before you start, just don’t bother sending in any reasons to the D.


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Shiel-Shocked Glen Pay the Penalty but Hendo’s Heroes Rave on

Glenurquhart 1 Kinlochshiel 2 (aet) - Camanachd Cup
Glenurquhart 3 Inveraray 0 – Sutherland Cup

There was a wee bit of confusion in the minds of the Glen supporters over the timing of this match. The Wing Centre got it nearly right by coming down at the back of twelve to find the game had just started but some of the other members of the loyal black and red clan were under the misapprehension that the Camanachd Cup game for the big teams was due to start at 2.30pm and that the morning shift would be occupied by the Heroes. Whatever happened, by the time the Wing Centre arrived at Blairbeg, Kinlochshiel were in the lead thanks to a goal by Scott Maclean who had followed up on a ball which had struck the post.
The Glen were quickly back in business when Billy Urquhart struck the rebound home after a drive from Lewis Maclennan came back off ’Shiel keeper Graham Kennedy. Glen then took the game to the visitors with a passion much credit is due to Bert’s Boys who kept their defensive line in good order and the match reached the halfway mark with no additional scoring. If anyone is to be picked out for praise it has to be big Shiel full back Paul Macrae who was excellent – sure in the air, faster on the ground than the Wing Centre expected but above all extremely accurate with the stick.
The second half opened with Shiel on top and they kept up the pressure for most of the half though the Glen did get back at them in the last quarter. That Shiel did not hit the net was due to the excellence of John Barr at the back-how we could have done with him against Fort last week- but keeper Stuart Mackintosh was also on song keeping out attempts from Scott Maclean and Steven Callander.
Glen began to come forward with more confidence in the last third of the game and began to ring the changes with the replacement of Gregor McCormack with Calum Miller. Lewis Maclennan had an excellent chance to win the game but his flick from close range hit Kennedy and the opportunity was lost.
The first half of extra time very much followed the previous pattern of the match with neither side able to penetrate. Things changed however after the whistle and if truth were to be told Shiel looked the fitter of the two sides and they got their reward when Gordy Macdonald followed up a ball which came back off keeper Mackintosh and was brave enough to steer it home despite collecting a nasty face cut for his pains.
Glen woke up at this point and they mounted a last ditch assault on the Shiel goal as a result of which in the last minute they were awarded a penalty. Kennedy then became an instant Shiel hero when he got his feet to Neale Reid’s strike and with that the game was over.
While the home camp were upset and it was possible to point to Glen chances which were not taken the truth is that on the day Shiel looked the livelier side and if you were to look at the game with an unbiased eye- which the Wing Centre certainly never would - then you would have to say Shiel deserved the win and no-one typified their spirit more than centre man Steven Callendar. Just back from a bad chest infection, Callendar ran himself into the ground for the jersey- from the Wing Centre’s point of view the wrong jersey because Steven is an inhabitant of the Glen though his roots are in the West. You never know though, perhaps he’ll make a Glenner yet.
For the Glen the result was a disappointment but with Andrew Corrigan being added to the missing list along with big Arran and Paul Mac the side was not at its strongest. The return of Mr Tembo though was very welcome and his powerful presence in the second half of extra time caused Shiel plenty problems. The fact is that from here the only way is up!!
More important that the result perhaps was the crowd. Indeed the attenders were very high class. Among the spectators we welcomed Ally Ferguson, former Scotland supremo and present boss of Lochaber, Drew McNeill , boss of current Camanachd Cup holders Fort William – and showing that his links with shinty never die, Inverness Caley keeper Michael “Ikey” Fraser was also in the considerable crowd who took in the game of the day.
The crowd did hang on until the next match – a Sutherland Cup tie against an Inveraray side who had been deposited at the side of Blairbeg in good time by their first team boys who were off over the hill to play the Beauly Guttersparrows. Because the first team game had run on however- the ‘Rary boys had to change in the shed- and fulsome apologies for that to the Royal Burgh boys who surely had not bargained on getting into their strip in such humble premises.
When the game finally did get underway it was clearly always going to be a win for the home side although the visitors, ably marshalled by veteran John Smillie did put up a determined fight. The Glen should have gone ahead in 5 minutes when a strike by Calum Jock Fraser hit the net, only to be ruled offside. The Glen upped the tempo and with Iain Macleod carrying on where he had left off the day before Inveraray were soon on the back foot. After Ross MacAulay had driven the ball over the bar on the quarter hour mark Stuart Morrison found the back of the net in 26 after a drive from Fraser had bounced back off the keeper. Soon afterwards Morrison grabbed another goal after latching on to a long ball put in by MacAulay who was having a fine game.
There was no more scoring in the first half and nor was there any for quite some time in the second period until finally Calum Jock Fraser put his name on the score sheet with a left hand drive past a beleaguered ‘Rary keeper in the 77th minute. There was as always a further twist in the Heroes never ending story of shinty confusion when Ben Hosie, who had finished the game against Shiel in the top team forward line, missed a penalty. What was he taking a penalty for? Well it seems he won the “Scissors, Paper, Stone” competition which the Bairns play when they are awarded a penalty. No doubt they practise it as part of their rehearsal of moves on a Wednesday night.
The question the Wing Centre asks is “Why wasn’t it taken by Garry Mac? “ Garry is a welcome returnee to the side between the sticks- and he certainly clawed one fairly accurate Inveraray drive out of the sky and looked to be , within reason, on his toes.
All of which takes us to this week’s photos. In one we see Ikey hanging out with his Homeboys and the other is Cleansheet Gazza himself smiling, it would appear, for the first time in some weeks.
There are of course two photos that cannot be used. One was of young Corky. He could not be snapped because he was not there! Why? He appears to have met a young lady from as his mum puts it “God’s Own Country.” So she is not a Sgiathanach or one of the Glasaich then? The boy has some sense then and he cannot be blamed for taking a week off against a side whom we usually tend to beat.
There is however another photo which cannot be used either for copyright reasons – but it must be one of the sports photos of the year. It is in the WHFP and it shows young Mr Reid upset after missing that penalty. What makes it a special photo is that the hand which is patting his shoulder and consoling him is that of a Shiel player. Shiel have just gone through to the next round and yet a Shiel player can find time to commiserate with an opponent who has just missed a big chance. It sums up the spirit of shinty and we should cherish it. Well done Shiel.


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"Over the Moon”: Hendo’s verdict on Kings Result

Glenurquhart 2 Kingussie 1 (North Div 2)
Fort William 1 Glenurquhart 0 (Premier League )
It may have been tantalisingly close for the top team at An Aird but Hendo’s Heroes were over the moon (to coin a recently topical phrase) about their 2-1 home victory of Kingussie’s Borthwick select. They had every right to be because Kingussie put the Glen severely to the test in the second half of a well matched encounter – and even the Wing Centre, utterly biased though he is, has to concede that Kingussie were worth a point.
Equally, down at An Aird, the First Team were worth a point on their second half display and even more so given that Fort were a side a little way short of their full complement. Despite Andrew Macdonald being back in the side after missing out the week before, the Glen did not really shine in the first half. The strong wind blowing in from the west was favoured the home side and they managed to nick the first goal after a slip in the Glen backline allowed Fort’s Chris Bamber to get within range and finish with a strike from 20 yards.
The second half was a different affair and the Glen made plenty headway towards the Fort goal but some fine saves by Scott McNeill and some uncompromising defensive work which to Glen eyes at least went unchecked by the officials meant that the Fort goal remained intact. Best for the red and blacks were the midfield though they took a little time to get the measure of big Niall Macphee. Neale Reid had another good game and Gregor McCormack was always competitive in the forward line- and a good thing too. A pity then for a lost point but the requirement is – as always to score.
Back at Blairbeg it was true to say that the early money must have been on Kingussie because they started with a bang- sweeping the ball forward to big front man Dawson and he was very effective in the early minutes in spreading the ball to the litter of little Borthwicks that swirled around the shop end. The Glen defence of full back Iain Macdonald, wing backs Calum Smith and Donald Fraser were however equal to the task and they quickly got in about the Kingussie forwards and cleared the ball upfield with relish.
The first moment of note from the Glen’s point of view was in 20 minutes when Ben Hosie, back from first team duty against Kingussie’s big team, picked up a ball from a corner but drove narrowly past. Dave Smart then missed in 25 minutes but on the 30 minute mark he made amends when latching on to a long through ball from the excellent Iain Macleod he tucked the ball past the keeper from close range.
Ten minutes later Ewan Menzies pulled down a ball and Smart directed the shot onto the keeper and Ben Hosie followed up into the D to put the rebound into the net and put the Glen two up before the interval. Glen were coasting at this point and with Iain Macdonald and now Gary Smith playing an influential part in the possession of territory it looked as if the Glen would coast to victory.
Kingussie had other plans however and by switching Dawson to full back and bringing on a senior Borthwick – David- at half forward they almost turned the game on its head. That they did not was in no small measure due to the defence but also to the excellence of Iain Macleod at full centre. Macleod has big game experience but he also has determination and plenty skill and for most of the second half he inspired the centre line which, though it played well enough could have let their heads go down if Macleod had not driven them remorselessly on. On numerous occasions he patrolled across to the sideline backing up Euan Fraser and Bradley Dickson when it looked as if old heads like Kingussie’s Russell Jones were beginning to get on top.
Kingussie finally got on the scoreboard however in 67 minutes when a neat piece of interpassing left Rory Borthwick running in to direct the ball past Dave Emery from close range. It was down to good Kingussie play certainly but probably tired legs in the Glen backline contributed more than a little to the lost goal.
Three minutes later the game turned on one incident. With Ryan Borthwick about to shoot he was bravely but illegally impeded by Donald Fraser. Penalty! And unusually in the arcane world of shinty decision making it was rightly given.
Up stepped Ryan Borthwick, himself back from duties in Kingussie’s top team, and after a little hesitation he hit it goal wards but not hard enough. Dave Emery made yet another penalty stop and with that close call over the game was won. Indeed the Glen would have gone further ahead in the last ten minutes except for an amazing stop from a drive by Ewan Brady by the young Kingussie keeper Menzies.
The full time whistle blew and Major- General Emery marched the troops off the field and into history which was the point of the pic which accompanies this post. However the pic of the penalty king himself is spoiled by that of the young – and old – meercats who popped up into view as the snap was being clicked. If it wasn’t for the fact it was the 21st century you would be tempted to believe you were back in the 1860s doing an anthropological shoot amongst a tribe which had never seen a camera before. Only kidding guys.....



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Not the best of Saturdays for the Glen- though Marine Harvest Award finally brightens up Treasurer's week-end .

Kingussie 5 Glenurquhart 1
Glengarry 4 Glenurquhart 2 (AET)
Not the best Saturday for Glen shinty then. The defeat of the big team in Kingussie was hardly a surprise given the fact that four of the side which made the move up to the top are now sidelined for a variety of reasons : Arran Macdonald, Andrew Macdonald, Paul Mackintosh and of course Eddie Tembo were not part of the squad. That necessitated Drew Maclennan, Ben Hosie and Ian Macleod being called in to fill the breach in the big side while the absence of these three plus the unavailability of Donald Fraser and Andrew Crichton were just too much for the second string to survive without. So all the excuses up front then but every club has these ups and downs-it’s just a pity that these problems all came on the one Saturday and Hendo’s Heroes are now out of the Strathdearn to a Glengarry side that probably are not as good as the Glen at their strongest.
Over at the Dell, the reports indicate that the Glen centreline had an excellent opening 30 minutes in which they pumped a rake of balls up to the front men but the goals did not come and in every sense the game was then up though it took a while to come to pass.. Kingussie scored through Thain in 30 minutes but the red and blacks went in at half time only one down and with a fair feeling that they really did merit at least a goal on the scoreboard. The second half was the same old...same old. Thain bagged his second and then with the Glen heads down Ross picked up two. With the Glen on the back foot John Gibson pinched the fifth.
At around this time Ben Hosie was introduced and it was clear from the outset that the surface of the Dell suited his style and within a few moments of coming on he had played at least three balls into the danger area between the D and the penalty area which caused some confusion in the Kingussie defence. From one of his movements the ball came across from the defence to Lewis Maclennan and he finished well. It was however too little too late.
What do we say then to this result? Not a lot except to confirm that when the chances are present the real trick is to take them. That is what Kyles did against Kingussie- and the bottom line is that is what we need to do.
The second team have a greater claim to being hard done by since they were leading Invergarry by 2 goals to 0 at half time thanks to strikes from Ewan Brady and Stuart Morrison. The problem with Glengarry is that “DeeDee” Cameron will run all day, every day and most of tomorrow as well and in the end his will power made the difference. The extra time nonsense was hard for the Glen to bear-the Wing Centre feels and always has that a Cup draw should earn a replay and that the play to a finish rule favours the home side. Then again it worked in our favour on a previous occasion.
The absence of Drew Maclennan, Ben Hosie and Iain Macleod plus the injury to Euan “Boo-boo” Fraser undermined the cause and allowed the Garry - as robust in their tackling as ever the Wing Centre remembers –to flourish. Good luck to them in the next round though if there is a law governing such affairs then they have used up their season’s full allocation of luck in the one afternoon.
The Glen of course did win something last week after all: a Marine Harvest award of £250. The Wing Centre has long bemoaned the fact that the Glen always seemed to miss out on Marine Harvest “Club of the Month” awards over the years so this little surprise coming as it did after a tricky pair of results did brighten up the day.
A picture. Something else to brighten up the day. The Glen at Canal Park with the North Division 1 Cup- in the background a rainbow, symbol of renewal. Prophetic or what? Destined to become an iconic photo if only because its composition is crazy. Why is young Neale not in his strip and balancing the picture? Why is JB not in the middle of the front row? Not even Mr Ferguson of the Write Image who took the pic and gave permission to the D to use it can work out what was going on at Canal Park that day. Still it fair brings it all back.


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Hopes for Glen seconds go Skye-high, while top team axe Lochaber

Glenurquhart 3 Skye 0
Lochaber 1 Glenurquhart 2
A good result and even the men from the Misty Isle will agree that if the Glen had scored with half their chances the 3 would surely be 30 though as Dave MacVicar pointed out Ross Graham and Davy Grant at the back were a pretty determined duo. Graham in particular , impressed with his quick reflexes and his ability to clear his lines without fuss.
Despite their superiority it took the Glen 25 minutes to breach the Skye defensive wall and it was a neat piece of shinty which produced the result. Keeper Dave Emery drove his hit out up beyond the centre circle where it was pulled out of the air by David Smart. Smart slipped it on to Iain Macleod who played it on to Calum Fraser and the big striker smashed the ball home from the edge of the D.
Unfortunately there was no further scoring for the rest of the half only a series of misses which became more and more outrageous as the game continued. Lots of pretty shinty proceeded but aside from a number of good stops from Graham several of which he achieved perhaps without his knowledge , the nearest to a goal came from a smart drive by Ben Hosie which struck the post and bounced clear.
Skye certainly did cross the half way line but they found full back Ian Macdonald and backs Donald Fraser , Ewen Menzies and Gary Smith working well together so that no clear chances presented themselves to the island forwards.
Glen went further ahead in 53 minutes again from a neat piece of shinty which involved Hosie whose sharp shot from the left was blocked by keeper Graham but the rebound fell to the club of Calum Fraser who tapped the ball home from close range.
The final Glen goal came in 75 minutes as a result of a long shot from Ross MacAulay who had come on as a late second half sub along with Calum Smith and Brad Dickson.
The Glen’s 3-0 lead was never in doubt and even the addition to the field for the first time at Blairbeg in Skye colours of former Glen favourite Malky Munro could do nothing to lift the Islanders spirits and the game came to its conclusion with the Glenners frustrated at not having added more to their tally.
Meanwhile the big team had an excellent 2-1 away victory at Lochaber which will serve well to keep up morale in the tough series of matches yet to come , though the fact of a home draw in the Camanachd to Kinlochsheil serves to whet the appetite. Lochaber started well at home but glen goals from Billy Urquhart (following up on a well saved shot from Andrew Corrigan) and a screamer from Neale Reid saw the Glen home with a little to spare. It is always going to be thus though spirits in the Glen camp were lifted by an excellent display at full centre by Lewis Maclennan. The booking of John Barr and the absence from the side through long term injury of Paul Mackintosh and Arran Macdonald is however a cause for disappointment. This week the picture is that of Gary Smith a long time servant of the Club who put in an excellent shift against Skye. Well done Gary!

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Kingussie Monarchs of the Glen-Sort of

Glenurquhart 1 Kingussie 3
At a time when only Astie seems constant as the northern star in the changing firmament of the stick sport it is a disappointment to the Wing Centre that Kingussie can somehow manage a win at Blairbeg no matter how short we make the pitch. It might have been thought that having dropped a game to Kyles that Gow’s men were not at their best-indeed perhaps were past their best. Not quite so- and although the Glen gave them a game of it, the effort was sadly not quite good enough.
The Glen started the match minus three players-Paul Mackintosh looks to be a long term doubt with a muscle injury while Dave Maclennan and his cousin Lewis also missed starting the match being less than 100% fit. Calum Miller booked a starting berth in the full forward position while 16 year old Drew Maclennan was pulled out of the 2nd team to counter the threat of Kingussie’s teenage hat-trick hero of their match against ’Shiel Ryan Borthwick.
The first half was an entertaining affair and there was not much between the sides, though Ally Borthwick should have scored for Kingussie but took too long to get his shot away over on the right and the chance was lost. The same was equally true at the other end when Neale Reid went close with a drive : as the Beauly man said “If it gone in the net, it would have been a goal.” Suppose it would but it wasn’t .
Towards the end of the half there began to be ominous signs of progress from the Kingussie forwards and they began to win a free hit or so and one supposes that Referee John Macphee was correct in some of these decisions because Ronald Ross is such an awkward player that it is not possible to deal with him for a full match without conceding fouls, though Ronald, bless him, always lets the man in black know when he is being tackled. It is part of being competitive. He is not as expert at this craft as is Ally Borthwick however. If he gets on the ball and is put under pressure he runs across the opposing player then over he goes and appeals to the ref for mercy and a foul. He is good at it and while its not as though he does it every move he appears to do it often enough to play a successful percentage game and earn himself the title of the “Drogba of the D.”
Maybe it doesn’t seem like that to the Dellboys but that’s what it looks like through black and red specs.
Not so Paul Gow who is a 100% player. On Saturday’s performance he is invaluable in attitude alone. He put in a shift all afternoon, did not go down when he didn’t need to and looked to the Wing Centre like the glue holding the Kingussie forward line together.
As usual though it was Ross who got the opening goal. A penalty was given after a tangle with John Barr - the feeling on the Glen sidelines was that Ross was lucky to be given it though given the pressure and the power of the challenges a penalty was always a possibility.
It was given and Ross blasted it home.
Glen eyes lit up however two minutes later when Calum Miller latched on to a long ball from the Glen defence, prevented Rory Fraser from clearing it and with goalkeeper Andrew Borthwick somehow out of position pushed it home to level the scores. If truth be told a good goal for the Glen but from a Kingussie perspective it must be seen as soft.
The second half was an anticlimax from a Glen point of view. Having gone in 1-1 and shooting towards the shop end, the spectators must have felt confident that a second half at least as exciting as the opening period would be on the cards. It wasn’t.
The Glen went about their business well enough but gradually began to lose focus without Kingussie ever really impressing. Ally Borthwick put Kingussie ahead in 50 minutes with a drive from the right that eluded the defence and then the match settled to a rather scrappy affair without much in the way of clear-cut chances though it was a concern that Glen attacks did not really make keeper Andrew Borthwick work between the posts.
Ronald Ross got his second goal when a ball broke into his path and such is his technical ability that nearly everything he hits it on target : this strike went home without ever being a classic. Glen revived their fortunes bringing on the two Maclennans, Lewis and Dixon, and for a while the focus of the match switched to the Kingussie defence where the nature of the desperation in the back row saw Kingussie full centre James Maclean take a nasty hit off one of his own defenders.
By that time however, the Wing Centre had given up on the chance of a Glen victory and was phoning Hendo to see how the Heroes were doing. An impressive 5-0 against Beauly in the Sutherland with two strikes by Brad and goals from Panda Crichton, Ben Hosie and Ewan Brady.
Before we know it Big Mike will be practising an inspiring pre-match talk and Hendo will start wearing ties to training sessions. It’s all getting too much.
Back at Blairbeg the game stuttered to a halt with a flurry of half hearted Glen pressure but in the end Kingussie made off with both points.
If there was a consolation in it for the Glen it was in the performance of the defence. John Barr was at his most commanding - he is a formidable player for the big occasion - while Stuart Reid, Andrew Macdonald and of course Drew Maclennan played their parts admirably.
The pic has to be Mr Barr - and the other a snap of Jim Gow and Michael Thain discussing the Lorne Sausage pieces that they have just enjoyed. The girls in the pavilion told the Wing Centre they had sold out of Lorne Sausage, a thing unheard of in North Division 1 where venison burgers are the scoff of choice. From the look of the pic we know where the sausages went..

Brady Grabs a Bunch of Goals to kill off 'Mallie

Glenurquhart 8 Kilmallie 0
This was a surprise result to the followers of the Glen because Kilmallie are a side with a history of achievement at this level having been more or less permanent fixtures in the Sutherland cup final over recent years. Perhaps we were fortunate in getting them on a bad day - because as Ken Kennedy and Dougal pointed out - there were a few youngsters off with the senior team on MacTavish Cup duty. Whatever the reality, the Glen ran out convincing winners but it was not so straightforward in the first half and there were times early on when Kilmallie’s youthful line up looked as if they could score. Fortunately they did not but it took until the 15th minute of what was in truth a very scrappy opening, for the Glen to get their noses in front and this they did courtesy of a penalty. The circumstances were a little unfortunate against Kilmallie because the full back was judged to have kicked a ball which was being fired across the goal area. Stuart Morrison fired the resultant free hit home and the score seemed to settle the Glen.
At this period Ben Hosie was in top form, gathering the ball on the run and attempting to vary the play at all times and his invention paid off in 25 minutes when he picked up a high ball on the left. Hosie slipped it to David Smart who chipped the ball across the D. The Kilmallie keeper swung to clear it but his attempted clearance bounced off the inrushing Morrison and crossed the line for the Glen’s second strike of the match.
The Glen continued to have the better of the exchanges for the rest of the half but to the frustration of Manager Henderson they did not seem to have the penetration which playing at this level requires.
The second half however was to tell a different story: the match had hardly got back underway when in the first attack Hosie gathered the ball on the left wing and conjured it back into the path of Dave Smart and his rocket shot from the buckshee position gave the keeper no chance. Three minutes later it was the turn of Iain Macleod to score from distance. Having unconvincingly taken a free hit which was charged down by a Kilmallie defender, Macleod chased the loose ball won it back and blasted it past the keeper from just outside the centre circle. It was a superb strike but better was yet to come.
Goal of the game arrived in the 50th minute with once again Hosie as the instigator. Again having picked up a ball on the left he fired it forward to Stuart Morrison who deftly turned it across into the path of Calum Fraser and the big man smashed it first time into the net with perfect timing.
With the game safely in the bag at 5-up there were three substitutions in quick order with Andrew "Panda" Crichton coming on up front for Stuart Morrison, Calum Smith returning from injury taking his place in the defence and 13 year old Ewan Brady coming on at right wing forward. The player of the day turned out to be Brady who capped his short spell on the field with a well taken hat trick in the last ten minutes of play as a tired Kilmallie gave up all pretence of resistance. The first of his three came in 80 minutes when after showing close control on the right wing he fired his shot though a ruck of players into the bottom corner, a second followed in 85 and two minutes from time he kept his balance, enticed the keeper to fall and clipped the ball neatly home between post and stanchion at the shop end.
A good result then and one that pleased the home fans though it has to be said that Kilmallie really did not deserve to lose by such a margin. Equally pleasing was the form of the home team with Smart, buckshee Gary Smith and full centre Iain Macleod in excellent form. Drew Maclennan also had a solid game in defence while up front Hosie was in outstanding form and linked well with the tireless Euan Fraser. Donald Fraser had a convincing defensive performance and when he came on Calum Smith showed he has lost none of his presence of mind, despite missing out for three weeks with a back injury.
The only thing that put a damper on the match was the news that the top team were being held to a draw in Glenorchy while at the same time missing a penalty and having a goal ruled off side. Billy Urquhart scored the Glen goal in the 1-1 draw while Grant MacPherson bagged a penalty for Glenorchy. Still the Glen have three points from their matches and with a bit more finesse in front of goal particularly in Oban they would surely have had more.
The picture today- Ewan Brady. Why? He scored his first hat trick for the Glen. Well done Ewan!

Maclennan Boys make it a Happy Birthday for Dolly.

Glenurquhart 3 Inverary 1
Hendo’s Heroes 1 Glengarry 1
Shewglie Frasers 2 Rest of the World 0

A busy and successful afternoon at Blairbeg and the Wing Centre absent: Oh dear; What a pity! Never mind. The main thing is that the senior side picked up their first win in the Premier League and more to the point Lewis Maclennan got back in business with two goals. Lewis was runaway top scorer in the club two seasons ago and he was also the guy who sank the penalty which took us to the MacTavish Cup final last season which is why it was disappointing that this season he has found it hard to get off the mark. Anyway that is all gone now- and with two goals to his name he's a top scorer again.
Not that the match against Inverary was an easy win - indeed for the first 15 minutes or so the Glen defence found themselves under a bit of pressure and that wasn’t lifted until in 25 minutes Lewis Maclennan, back to full-forward for the first time in ages, pulled a long ball from midfield out of the air and smashed an unstoppable shot past newly restored Inverary keeper Graham Macpherson.
Inverary were quick to break back into the match and in 35 minutes international forward Gary Macpherson brought the teams level when he pounced on a ball that broke from the Glen defence and finished with a well struck shot past keeper Stuart Mackintosh.
The second half belonged more clearly to the Glen although Mackintosh still had to be on his toes to thwart a number of Inverary attempts on goal. It was the Glen’s other Maclennan, “Dixon” who thrilled the spectators in 50 minutes with a truly spectacular strike from the centreline that flew into the net to put the Glen back in front. This strike was no fluke - time and again the Blairbeg faithful have seen Dixie get the ball on target from distance and at least one of his strikes made the difference against Kilmallie last season.
Lewis Maclennan finished the game off as a contest 20 minutes from time again with a well taken strike, this time following up on a rebound from a Neale Reid shot. A timely and well worked win then for the Glen with the best players on the day coming from the midfield trio- superb work from the wing centres Ally Mackintosh and of course “Dixon “ Maclennan, while Arran Macdonald returning from injury impressed at full centre - and when he tired Paul Mackintosh took over to contribute well in that berth.
The next match will be against Glenorchy down on the farm. Not an easy gig – Glenorchy seem to have some nice young players up front and behind that they have the Brothers Mackechnie about whom a whole motivational manual could be written. Then again we have John Barr.

The win against Inverary was a happy 90th Birthday present to Dolly Fraser too, a gracious lady who has been at the forefront of Glen Shinty since the team was revived after World War II. Dolly’s late husband Danny, for many years Chieftain of the Club, was involved in the resurrecting of the game in the Glen in 1948. Dolly still attends every match and in her honour a match was played between the Shewglie Frasers and a Rest of the World select headed by Alan Bell (73 years old and never even been kissed by a Fraser) Geordie Stewart (married to a Fraser but couldn’t get into the Fraser side) Mr Reid (once had a pint with a Fraser but that didn’t seem to count) and Donald Paul Mackintosh ( one son going out with a Macdonald / another going with a Chisholm - never going to be in a team of Frasers)
As was only natural on Dolly’s big day, the Frasers won. The score was 2-0. The first man to hit the net was Stuart Fraser and the second was Calum “Jock” Fraser. It was fortunate for the rest of the world that the ref. blew his whistle when he did because
that saved them from losing a third goal to the predatory caman of Russell Fraser.
It was all in all a successful event and much enjoyed by all especially the lady herself who was presented by the Glen Club with a lovely bouquet of flowers to mark the happy occasion.

And then there were the Heroes. They dropped a point - hold the back page!!
Having said that Hendo probably had his mind on Dolly’s match because it appears that he qualified for the Shewglie team, one assumes, because not only does he actually work at Shewglie but he also has a Fraser mam.
The Heroes played well but struggled to break down a tough Invergarry side which refused to lie down. Indeed the absence of Garry Smith probably was a telling factor though equally important was the physical strength of the Garry boys. The Glen goal was a well taken one through David Smart in 22 minutes and with a bit of luck the drive from “Jock” Fraser which came off the inside of the post would have made the match safe but it was not to be.
Spare a thought too for young Ewan Brady who put in a tough shift in the black and red whilst in the other team were all his known relations. Still the youngster coped well with the pressure – and if he sticks with the Glen then hopefully things can only get better. Best player though was Iain Macleod though Drew Maclennan won the award for breaking the most sticks belonging to an opponent- three from DD Cameron: Ian Macdonald fractured a fourth. There must be a moral there but the Wing Centre can’t for the life of him think what it could be though perhaps it could be that the Glen were hanging on a bit in the last part of the match. Certainly it was a disappointment to lose a goal to Glengarry’s Ken Henderson three minutes from the end of the match with the points all but safe. Still that’s shinty for you. There’s always the next match. Too bad it’s against Kilmallie.
A tough prospect - but you cannot expect anything else in this League. Hopefully Gary Smith will be back for this one.
The pictures are of course Dixie and Lewis – the Maclennans. Sometimes one can see the Clearances in a good light. If Arthur Balfour hadn’t cleared Strathconon of Maclennans in the 1830s then Inverary might have won although that is not to say that the Clearances were altogether a good thing. At least the boys can smile about it now!
The other picture is that of the Birthday Girl herself. Many Happy Returns Dolly!

The Good, the Brad and the Ugly

Kinlochsheil 3 Glenurquhart 5
First the good news : the result at Kirkton was a tonic after the disappointment of the big team losing out in Oban. It was even more disappointing because of the fact that first Gregor Mc Cormack and then Neale Reid had put us in the lead on two occasions before we finally lost out to a goal which was seemingly nothing special. They all count however. So, nothing more to be said about the Mossfield game.
What a boost the Heroes result provided though. At least it did when the news finally managed to filter back to Drum that Hendo’s crew had scored five goals and lost only three- away in the uttermost part of Wester Ross. That makes the Heroes unbeaten in three and guess what- top of the League.
Five of the afternoon’s eight goals came in the first half and as the headline hints the Glen hero was Brad Dickson who finished off his afternoon’s work in fine style with a hat-trick. Brad grabbed his first one inside 10 minutes with a neat touch which deceived the Shiel keeper Ian Cameron.
The next Glen goal came courtesy of a penalty which Calum Fraser put over the line and through the goalie if you catch the drift. Not the best penalty that Calum has ever taken but then as the Oban boys taught us-they all count.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Glen side is filled with youngsters, the presence of the old heads like Calum makes the press pencil in the description “strong Glenurquhart team” but it was the youngest man on the field, 14 year old Ewan Brady who scored the next Glen goal in 33 minutes. The Wing Centre can’t recall every scorer for the Glen over the years but Ewan must be the youngest goal getter for the red and blacks since 12 year old Primary 7 pupil Peter Macdonald scored in a Strathdearn Cup match back in 1977-but then Pete was big and an exceptional player -at darts!
Kinlochshiel’s Ross Macmillan pulled one back for the home side but just before half time livewire Brad bashed another one over the line for the Glen to go in for their Jaffa cakes 4-1 in the lead.
The next part of the match belong to Shiel -Big Mike is happy to concede this- and the Balmacara boys got back in business with a strike from Duncan “Ach” Macrae and then in the 75th minute they pegged back the Glen lead further when another of the Macrae tribe “DA” helped himself to a fine goal. The Glen lads kept their heads- young and old- and within in a few minutes of the close of play Superbrad had completed his hat trick with a cool touch over the line which put five on the board and the Glen into top spot.
It was a good overall performance from Hendo’s guys and nice to see debutant Sam Cumming getting on to the field for a spell along with more established youngsters Ewan Menzies, Calum Smith, Drew Maclennan and Ross MacDiarmid.
Given that this blog is Glen obsessed, it is appropriate to give a mention to Shiel youngster Donald Nixon who has a Drum mum -no other way to say that- and of course the young man in question by that token qualifies to play as a native born Glenner should he ever see the light -which one day we hope he might.
And now the picture – no chance of getting one up at Kirtkton not least because the Wing Centre was not present with his box brownie. He even went down to training on Wednesday but young Brad had been late in from work so he was not present for a photocall. There are of course many snaps from other matches but this was one which was being kept under wraps either for next year’s Xmas Card or a Quiz Comp of the “Who is this former player?” type. It also has a tenuous relevance to the above article.
So here he is , spectating at Blairbeg- former goalie, long time full forward, child shinty prodigy and international darts player, big Peter Macdonald.

And ugly? No not big Pete. Ugly is the way the Glen will have to win to get points in this Premier League. Lets start with Inveraray on Saturday. Go Glen!!

Charlie is Lovat’s Darling but Glenners take both points.

Lovat 0 Glenurquhart 1
The gaps between the games and the reports are getting longer but if the Wing Centre is honest there are so many crazy things going on in the world of shinty today that sometimes reflecting on a game - especially one as dour as this one was- is quite hard to do. As the former Finanace Convenor himself said the other day in a forum where these things were being discussed “Losing one director is unfortunate; losing two looks a little careless, but losing three - that has to be verging on the criminal” Hard to see where they are going to get the directors from to replace the ones who are missing what with all the volunteers working hard at their own clubs to try to raise the money to pay the fines for not being able to provide refs and goal judges.
Still we love the sport and there is nothing that Hendo and his heroes like more than a victory on foreign soil - not that the rich farming lands of the Kiltartans proud is foreign soil except that it was nice to go over Culnakirk en masse and enjoy the peace and quiet while the crofters themselves were over in Beauly fighting with and losing to the gutter-sparrows.
To be fair to both sides though - and that is a rare declaration of intention from this writer- the game was spoiled as a spectacle by the fact that the wind was howling down from Strathglass for the full ninety minutes making it very much , to steal a cliché, a “game of two halves”
The first half belonged wholly to the Glen. With Iain Macdonald and Iain Macleod pumping long balls forward it appeared odds on that the red and blacks would quickly be into double figures while the few Lovat attempts to break free petered out at the Glen halfback line where Gary Smith was in charge of the iron curtain. Except at the Lovat end, the Glen forwards who were playing some nice stuff found Charlie Mainland in excellent form. For once, Charlie, who is prone to charging off his line like a stag making for high ground, was disciplined. He kept between the posts and got his club to a series of shots from Ben Hosie, Stuart Morrison and Dave Smart.
Finally in 27 minutes the Glen got the opening goal. The hope was that it was the start of the floodgates opening but in truth it was the decider, fortunately enough. It came about from Ewen “Boo-Boo” Fraser who, though he hasn’t been mentioned up till now, had been playing a stormer up till this point. On several occasions, despairing of the efforts of the front men, he made runs down the right wing with the ball and this time he burst through the Lovat defence straight to the by-line before cutting the ball back into the path of Calum Fraser who rifled his shot high into the net.
After that there was little to do but walk around the field, put some money in the collection and talk to the loyal Lovat fans who were gobsmacked as we all were, with the news coming from the Dell and Spean. On the other hand, they were not gobsmacked with the news that Lorne had been dismissed at Beauly.
The second half was the mirror image of the first, although with the aid of black and red specs it was possible to imagine that the Glen had a chance or two which Supercharlie was quick to stop crossing the line. For the record, “Boo- Boo” had to come off and was replaced by Brad Dickson who played well on the right hand side. As well as Brad, the Glen also made use of youngsters like Ewen Menzies Drew Maclennan and for his first start in the black and red, Ewan Brady.
Unfortunately despite the best efforts of Iain Macleod and Ross Macaulay against the wind it was very rare that a ball came up front with them having any hope of getting on to it.
At the other end Lovat pushed forward but they found Donald Fraser and Iain Macdonald in total command while Dave Emery, though he wasn’t tested as he was against Fort William was in fine form. He did do a Charlie however on one occasion and came charging out of his goal and despite slipping, managed to sclaff the ball out of danger - just.
“We’ll lend you the rope we used to use on Charlie” said Linda Bell “one of those rubber ones used in bungee jumping. It’s the only way we could keep him in between the goals”
“Good idea” said Mr Reid. “But what is it about goalies?”
The rest of the Glenners paused to consider the question but soon realised it could not be answered.
With Lovat pressing hard, the Wing Centre wandered round the field to see the Lovat managers and if possible keep them talking so they would not think about any tactical changes that might undo the Glen. Willie Mainland and Alan Macrae are both sociable fellows but while they were quite willing to shoot the breeze they still kept an eye on the game and continued to make changes - none of which fortunately made any difference.
The game finished 1-0 and if there was anything else to add it was that referee Deke Cameron had a good game. Hard to say - even harder to bear - but nevertheless, still true. Poachers do make the best gamekeepers.
Hard to find an appropriate picture – but perhaps Ross at Balgate is as good a pic as could be got on the day. Don't know how the Lovat number 13 - a mini me indeed- managed to pop out of the back of Ross's shirt though! He is wearng a mouthguard too- and that should be a lesson to all you youngsters out there!!

An Afternoon of Mixed Fortunes-but Youngsters Storm the Fort.

Glenurquhart 4 Fort William 2
The weather wasn’t any good and the news from Newtonmore wasn’t any good either but at Blairbeg, Hendo’s Heroes made an excellent start to their first season in North Div 2 , so without apologies to anyone and because the Wing Centre was present for the victory , that is the game which will be featured.
A 4-2 win against Fort William- probably the first occasion they have been beaten for about a season -is some reason for celebration. However, as always it is not wise to let the heart rule the head. This Fort William squad are a good side : the majority, with the exception of Victor Smith, Willie Macdonald and a couple of others, are youngsters and their emphasis is on quick fast moving shinty which was a style that the heavy turf of a wet Blairbeg did not permit them to play. They did however start off with a bang when right wing forward Daniel Stewart pounced on a loose push out from the Glen defence. He just had enough space to hammer the ball home from an acute angle before wing back Calum Smith could get his blocking club beyond the ball. Not that that bothered Smith however for until he came off with an injured back in the second half, he gave Stewart, one of the brightest of the Fort youngsters a tough time. He imposed himself on the ball as he had to, cleared well when required and made these tracking runs which none but former wing backs and centre men ever notice but are nevertheless the bedrock of a sound performance. It was an effective afternoon for the youngster.
The Glen despite the early Fort lead showed themselves capable of taking the game to their opponents and in a short space of time Fort keeper Paul Mackay had to make a string of good saves from Stuart Morrison and Calum Fraser. On the 15 minute mark the young Fort keeper pulled off an excellent stop from an Iain Macleod drive after a cleverly worked Ben Hosie free hit.
Eventually late in the half the Glen got back on level terms with a goal from Calum Fraser after Iain Macleod had fired the ball across from a free hit, the big forward ran into space and dinked the ball past the keeper. The same player had the ball in the net a few minutes later only to have it ruled offside because a team-mate was off side. It was the correct decision and it has to be said that referee Irvine had an excellent game in what one might have thought could have been a fiery match. He stuck to his guns and rebuked those on the field and officials off it who were tempted to go too far- and the game was the better for it.
The second half started with the Glen on the back foot as the Fort changed the focus of their attack, with veteran Willie Macdonald coming on to replace Victor Smith up on the saw dust. The Glen were fortunate that Iain Macdonald, who had been on the sidelines at the back end of the season with an arm injury, was back to his best after a spell in the first half when he struggled with the muddy surface. The Glen struggled hard for the next period and Fort forced a number of corners and shies up on the right but they were wasteful in front of goal.
Glen wing back Calum Smith had to leave the field at this point with a back injury and was replaced by Ewan Menzies while Ben Hosie finally had to give way to Brad Dickson. Hosie had put in a great deal of effort all afternoon and possesses an excellent touch with the caman but the heavy park was not conducive to his style of play and as the afternoon went on it became clear it was not going to be his day. It was Fort William however who took the lead with a strike by Daniel Stewart in 60 minutes. By this time the Glen back line was beginning to buckle a little and the goal came about because of a mix up at the back and Stewart when presented with the opportunity made no mistake.
Despite going behind, the Glen kept their midfield shape and the three men in the middle resisted the temptation either to flood forward and crowd out the front men or to drift back and overman the defence. Euan Fraser, Ross MacAulay and Iain Macleod are all players who know what they are doing and eventually with Macleod in particular driving them forward with excellent hitting they breached the Fort’s defences when some excellent work from Brad Dickson presented Euan Fraser with a simple chance from close in.
Game on - and to hold the point the Glen consolidated both centreline and defence with experienced performers. Back to defence came Euan Fraser while Calum Fraser stepped back to midfield and all of a sudden David Smart put the Glen in the lead with a smart shot in 70 minutes. The Blairbeg crowd went wild and the Fort front men began to lose their focus in front of goal.
At this stage with Brad Dickson looking hungry and big Ross MacAulay moving forward another goal looked on the cards and come it did in the shape of an excellent drive from youngster Ewan Menzies who drove the ball past keeper Mackay high into the net for a glorious winner.
An excellent result for a team that all pulled together to grind out a result in what was probably the most competitive game the 2nd X11 have had for some years. Worthy of mention is Gary Smith who put in a solid shift at buckshee and Donald Fraser whose strength at the back was inspirational. Above both, however was Dave Emery , keeper extraordinaire. Dave had an excellent game and kept the Glen in the game especially in the early part of the second half when he pulled off a string of first class stops which not only prepared the ground work for the result but caused a great deal of frustration in the ranks of the Fort forwards.
The Newtonmore match? A disappointment and a defeat. The score can be recorded in the club minutes -it will not appear here. Lessons to learn? Without Arran , Rhino , a fit Lewis and of course EJ things were always going to be hard. The motto must be “Score goals, be direct and keep the collective nerve.” Newtonmore should have taught us something about competition and wanting to win. The Courier guy said the team played well enough and competed in areas of the pitch. A more realistic test will come with Kyles, Lochaber and Bute but we will still need to score.
Anyway on a more happy note-today’s pics- Booboo looking moody and muddy , Ewan cheery after his goal and -specially for the ladies, Monkey in the gutters.

Glen get it smack on against Lovat

Glen 4 Lovat 1
This was the last friendly before the Premier League started and the opponents were none other than those sons of the soil themselves- the Crofters from over the hill. The last minute switch of venue threw the Glenners a little bit and as such they found themselves without out any of the female gender available to run the kitchen. The sad result was that our guests had had to remain uncatered for since it is a given that none of the male Glenners has the slightest ability to run a catering establishment and watch a shinty match at the same time: that level of multi tasking only comes on the female chromosome, at least in the Glen.
As for the Lovat female chromosomes, the Wing Centre couldn’t possibly comment.
However, it was good to see the Lovat tribe back over the hill once again. Macritchies were there young and old, Gallaghers young and old, Fergusons young and old - but Millicans were merely old. All of them were however still game for a game. More than that, they brought with them a good side and they will perform well in the division and have every chance of picking up top place again, provided they all do some serious training. Again that depends on how much they love their shinty.
However, there is no point in being fooled by this result : Lovat did not look up for the match particularly and if they were then they should have pushed Martin Bell up to half forward. The team played well though Ryan Ferguson tended to take a few too many touches while Raymond Rennie scorned a chance to open the scoring early in the match. Ewan Ferguson is always a strong presence but the Wing Centre prefers his determination in the centreline where the competition tends to be most intense.
It was a privilege however to watch a match which had two top class keepers on display. Stuart Macdonald the Lovat keeper is an excellent stopper and in the first ten minutes he had a top class run of saves especially from Andrew Corrigan who was in sparkling form. The problem was that it was clear that Macdonald was never going to be beaten from range at least in the early part of the match.
At the other end Stuart Mackintosh was breezing through the game; little came at him directly but it was the professionalism with which he clears up the rubbish that bobs about inside the D that marks him out as special.
The Glen opener came about in 15 minutes after an excellent passage of play in which Calum Miller was prominent. The ball was worked out wide and a drive on the goal was blocked by keeper Macdonald only to fall at his feet where it was gleefully dispatched by Billy Urquhart who was following up at pace. It was a simply worked second phase goal and one the Glen will have to work hard to master this season. The object must be to get the ball on the keeper not necessarily at pace -in fact too much pace and the blocked ball will clear itself off stick or body- and then follow up into the box. The class keepers can deal with these situations but not even they can manage it all of the time.
The Glen were for the next period camped in front of the Lovat goal and though the Wing Centre was surprised to see him in the midfield, Lewis Maclennan’s long hitting was having an effect. Ali Mackintosh was next on the move but as he entered the Lovat “D” he was brought to ground but Ref Mike Cameron was unsighted. Finally just before half time another piece of Lovat skulduggery saw Lewis Maclennan presented with a penalty which he scored comfortably.
The game continued in similar vein in the second half except that in 75 minutes Andrew Corrigan got a fair reward for his afternoon’s labour when he volleyed the ball high into the roof of the net beyond keeper Macdonald. The Glen rounded off what was in fact a comfortable victory with the goal of the afternoon when John Barr got wide on the right and placed the ball in the path of Neale Reid who brought it down and fired it spectacularly into the net for the clincher.
So what is to be taken from the win. Perhaps some comfort though the same number of goals the previous week against Strathglass would have been more welcome. The Glen are certainly missing Arran Macdonald and Eddie Tembo but it was nice to see Donald Fraser and Drew Maclennan perform well at this level. It is also true that there are one or two other second team lads who might be able to make the step up if opportunity knocks and it is also true there are old heads who could do a turn if called upon.
This is going to be an interesting season - all the more so because Glenorchy seem to be able to score goals against Strathglass away from home, a feat which many other sides failed to do. The real buzz word will be character. John Barr has to be inspirational this season and the other guys have to rise to the challenge : there will be nowhere to hide and goals will have to be scored and mouths kept shut in games which will see an intensity of physical challenge which we have only met about four/five times in the last three years - v Newtonmore in Drum, against Kyles in Tighnabruaich, against Fort William two years ago and twice against Kilmallie (more so the second time). The MacTavish Cup final has been omitted because although there were periods of intensity on that Saturday the game was never close enough to be a happy memory. We played Kinlochshiel, Skye and indeed Bute in Balliemore games but in the Wing Centre’s opinion at least, these were tame matches in contrast to the ones earlier mentioned. It is just something about the atmosphere and the intensity and it must come from both sides.
The picture was intended to be of Ron Millican as goal judge, an old Lovat friend and adversary from days of yore. However Smack popped into the snap since he assumed , modestly, that he was to be pictured as star of the day, which he was to an extent. However on the serious side after JB he will be the key player of the season. Nothing else will do but top of his game from now on in.
Best of luck, S.

Glen Regain the Ali Ban

Strathglass 1 Glenurquhart 2
The years rolled away on Saturday and the oldest team in shinty took their own cup back to the Glen after a gritty performance in the Strath but sad to say the Wing Centre was not present at what was a tremendous display of geriatric sporting prowess. Why so?
The main reason for this was that the Under 17s were required to put on a performance in Drum against Jock Sneddon’s Fort William which meant that no youngsters under the age of 18 were permitted to play for manager Hendo’s travelling side and with the senior team due to have a practice match later in the day, it was a case of old hands to the pumps. The problem was that Stuart Morrison , Ian Macleod and Gary Smith were not available and with Ryan Brady, Drew Maclennan ,Calum Smith, Ross MacDiarmid, Ewan Menzies, Neale Reid , Bradley Dickson , Ben Hosie, Sam Cumming, Kelvin Mackenzie, Daniel Mackintosh, Cameron Maclennan Dael Macdonald-Haig and Ewan Brady having to turn out for the under 17s things were tight. Indeed so tight were they that El Presidente himself had to bear arms in the noble cause and when Hendo phoned up Gary Mac to ask to borrow his knee brace so that he could either wear it himself or give it to big Ron, the Achmony lad decided to do the decent thing and wield the caman himself.
Didn’t they do well? They surely did because, although the Strath managed to score one goal against Mr Emery (and fair play to them for doing that since not many can beat our Dave )the Glen retaliated with two –one from Davie Stewart and the other from David Smart.
What were the goals like? Davie Stewart got a not bad from the President when he was asked to describe it. And Chip’s goal? Now that was a goal - a real goal and thus with that Presidential seal of approval the cup came home. Which is why at the top of the page there is a snap of Dave and Steve with the trophy.
Meanwhile at Blairbeg, the Under 17s put up a fine show against the Fort, taking the lead before half time through Ross MacDiarmid who had an excellent game in the midfield. Truth to tell this was a sterling 90 minute display from a Glen side which had it all to do against a Fort William squad which contained about 7 players who have all had the occasional run out for the Fort’s top team. It might have suited the Glen to have started the game with Neale Reid at full centre instead of taking him on only in the second half by which time Fort had managed to equalise though to be fair it was only the sharp reflexes of Ryan Brady in goal that kept the scores level especially in the long second half. The Glen defence did well – Drew Maclennan at full back was outstanding and he was ably supported by Calum Smith, Ewan Menzies and young Sam Cumming who stuck to his task against a much older and heavier opponent. If the Glen were disappointing it was in their finishing though that having been said the Fort William defence were no slouches and were quick to close down Ben Hosie and Ewan Brady particularly late in the second half, when the presence of Neale Reid lent power to the centreline and more ball began to be hit up field. In the end, the game having gone to extra time it was the strength and experience of the Fort William side which saw them through but even then it took a lucky bounce and injuries to Calum Smith (hand) and Drew Maclennan (leg) to finally subdue the Glen. It was a sad end to a run which probably saw the best set of Glen youngsters coming together since Arran, Stuart Reid, Corky and Mike Fraser wore the black and red together in Ballachulish. Wouldn’t it be nice to see that photo again? The Wing Centre will hunt it out.
The practice match at Blairbeg turned out a draw:0-0.
Lessons to draw? Certainly the main one is that the Glen will need to score goals to survive in the Premier League and we won’t score them unless we try to hit more accurately. The match was a disappointment in as much as the Glen probably had more skilful approach work and neater possession but when it came to scoring goals they were every bit as woeful as the opposition. Andrew Corrigan had a chance within ten minutes but was hurried with his shot and the rest of the strikes which the lads had on goal only served to present Strath goalie Steven McLaughlin with the man of the match trophy, which perhaps is an oblique tribute to the Glen.
At the other end, Lee Bain missed from close range under pressure from the Musical Goalie but more importantly-and luckily for the Glen- Mark McLaughlin put past the post with no-one to beat, which one can only put down to his lack of match practice. The stalemate means however that Strath get to keep the Macdonald Cup which they last won in 2007 (2008 was never played)- and so the Wing Centre prints a picture of a Strath player with the Cup. Unfortunately such was the size that the Strath boys head had grown with the joy of victory that it would not fit in the picture. A shame but there you go.

The Return of the Native

Glenurquhart 4 Boleskine 0
Iain Macleod has been a long time gone: in terms of experience and medals you could say he made the right move when he shifted his shinty playing talents over the hill .However all that is in the past – this past Saturday he was back in the black and red for the first time this century and you have also to say, with a goal in the 80th minute, it was a dream debut.
Macleod lined up in Manager Henderson’s youthful team – which for the record included a number of youngsters who had defeated Beauly under-17s that very morning (5-3 as it happens, with goals from Ben Hosie, Neale Reid and Ewan Brady) and played a well-nigh perfect part at full centre in a match which, though it turned out fine in the end did not always feel as if it would be a straight forward victory.
Of course the truth is you never know how friendlies are going to turn out but given that Boleskine are a one team club there was every chance that a side with too many youngsters might find itself in trouble. In recognition of this Hendo and new sidekick Glen legend Mike Cameron rostered a side which contained up to 6 subs so that in addition to old heads like Gary Smith and Davie Stewart , youth players like Ewan Brady, Ross MacDiarmid , Calum Smith and Ewan Menzies were wearing the black and red too. There were Glen call-offs too-Donald Fraser, Ross MacAulay and Calum Fraser were unavailable while Gary Mackintosh is recovering from knee surgery. Ian Macdonald too was absent and while his presence is a necessity for the bigger games, against Boleskine young Drew Maclennan stepped into the full back role like a veteran.
Boleskine too looked to be a little short up front and as such they never really threatened in the match and sadly missed a penalty. This now means that Dave Emery in goal has not been beaten by the last two penalties he faced, though this one, unlike the superb save at Ardnamurchan, was a shot that flew past the post.
With Graham Black and Matthew Ross in the back line, Boleskine, though they were short of firepower up front, were not easy to score against and it took up till 40 minutes of even play before Calum Miller opened the scoring for the Glen with a fine drive.
The second half saw some juggling of Glen players-Ewan Menzies came on at wing back and put in an extremely fine shift with nice long hitting up the line- and the new line up saw David Smart running in on goal in 50 minutes to put the Glen two up. A minute later it was disaster for the Boleskine keeper who otherwise had a fine afternoon when he palmed a long ball that was going past the post back in to the path of Glen front man Davie Stewart who gratefully accepted the gift.
The game then settled back into its default position with Glen pressure and Boleskine defending that at times was on the robust side of desperate as Glen forward Brad Dickson will doubtless testify. At the same time, the Glen forwards probably were guilty of overplaying the ball to some extent.
The Glen defenders however were on their toes and despite the concession of a penalty looked comfortable at the back with Euan Fraser in particularly fine form along with Maclennan, Menzies and the two Smiths, Calum and Gary.
The older heads were however concentrating on how well Mr Macleod was playing and despite the nature of the opposition they were not disappointed. Of course there will be quicker and more physically intense matches but Macleod’s sharp shinty brain was clear to all: he did most things without fuss, read the game and anticipated much and at all times was keen to move the ball wide. When circumstances called for the long hit, he hit it long. When the little slip was on, that is what he used.
The final polish to the afternoon’s performance was provided by the goal and the Wing Centre who is often accused of blethering rather than watching a match, observed the whole thing. It was a simple goal and deserves a simple description.
The Boleskine defence, under pressure as always, did not manage to get the ball out to that no man’s land between the buckshee back and the full centre. Macleod ran on to the ball, tussled with his opponent and fired a long ball forward which was too much for the keeper to deal with.
That goal signalled the end of the story and the urgency ebbed away from the game, helped, no doubt, by the bitterly cold wind that was blowing in, one can only assume, from Strathglass. Well maybe not, for after all Iain Macleod is a native of the Glen and the Wing Centre is certainly glad that he has decided to return.

Glen Shinty mourns the passing of Peter English (1937-2009)

Kilmore Church was filled to capacity on Saturday 10th January 2009 for Peter’s funeral. The weather was horrendous with a strong westerly gale and driving rain but the large crowd which attended stood in respectful silence as the coffin passed a long guard of honour comprised of Glen players past and present on its way to its eternal resting place. This is a detail worth preserving not least for the sake of the history of the Glen Shinty Club because it reveals the respect in which Peter was held by those associated with both the Club and the sport, which he served for a lifetime. Of those that stood in line in the wind and rain, the youngest was 16 and the oldest were those who had played with him in the Glen teams of the late 50s and early 60s. If there was ever an illustration of the power of shinty to bind the generations of a community together this was it – and one can be sure Peter would have approved.
Peter had of course a very full and varied life beyond the world of shinty and the congregation not only comprised relatives, friends and shinty folk but colleagues and former students from the world of agriculture in which he spent his professional life.
Peter’s professional and indeed professorial life has been well covered in a number of obituaries which have been recently published in papers both national and local but for those who come upon this tribute from the outside the Glen, the main highlights of this aspect of his career can be simply restated. Peter had a distinguished academic career spanning four decades at Aberdeen University. His subject was Agriculture and having graduated BSc with honours in 1961 he remained with the University until he retired in 2001 as Professor of Animal Science and Husbandry. These 40 plus years were rich in research and teaching, for Peter was at once a scientist, an innovative researcher into animal husbandry and an educator. He published a phenomenal number of academic papers and became one of the world’s leading figures in the field of Pig production, a position which saw him called upon to travel throughout the world lecturing and advising on animal production. This was a jet setting lifestyle which took him very far from the Glen and indeed Aberdeen, but it was also one which enthralled those who worked with him on the production team of his book on the history of Glenurquhart Shinty Club. Until he sent in his introductory remarks, which indicated the far flung places in which the various chapters were composed few had realised just how international his lifestyle was.
His academic publications were also published world wide in 23 languages and his principal book “The Sow, Improving her Efficiency" became one of the best selling agricultural books in the world.
As a result of these publications and his development of an internationally recognised post graduate course in pig production at Aberdeen he was presented with numerous awards for his work including the David Black Prize for services to the pig industry. He also spent nine years on the Farm Animal Welfare Council advising the UK Government –a post from which he had only recently retired.
In the Glen however Peter was especially revered because of his lifelong association with Shinty. Born at Lochletter in 1937 he came on his mother’s side from a family, which had been involved in shinty from the earliest days of its organised existence. Peter’s grandfather Alexander Macdonald (Ali Ban) played in the epic encounters between Glenurquhart and Strathglass in the 1880s, matches that laid the foundation for the establishment of the Camanachd Association in 1893. How fitting it was that Peter was to serve that organisation for 10 years as Vice President and it more than probable that had not his working life been spent away from the main shinty playing areas, he may have aspired to the Presidency of the Association.
As it was he excelled as a player, and having been part of the group which reformed Glenurquhart Shinty Club in the post war era, he was part of a team which became one of the most successful ever Glen sides.
In the 1960s they won two McGillivray League championships, two Strathdearn Cups and finally in 1963 the Sutherland.
By this time however, Peter was resident in Aberdeen, where as a student he had played not only for the University Club but also for Scottish Universities gaining a blue into the bargain. Being settled in the Granite City with a growing family, meant that Peter could no longer commit to travel back to the Glen to turn out for the red and blacks but that by no means meant the end of his shinty career. Along with George Campbell (now Club President of Inverness) and John Brown (Boleskine) he helped form then play for Aberdeen Camanachd, a side that went on to enjoy some success at junior level in the 60s, 70s and 80s
As well as that he established the Aberdeen Shinty Festival- a successful event which included the innovation of a skills competition. In 1971 Peter became the founding editor of the Shinty Year Book, a post he was to hold until 1976. He initiated this publication out of a concern that results, stories and above all the people playing the game should be remembered. The Yearbook took off and its present healthy existence is a fitting tribute to Peter’s memory. Long may it continue to be so.
This interest in the social history of Shinty lead him to research and publish his history of Glenurquhart Shinty Club, which came out in 1985 to coincide with the centenary of the Club and it is was still a passion of his right to the end. Some three weeks before his death he was present in Inverness at the inaugural meeting of the Camanachd Historical Society where he stressed the importance of oral sources to the history of the game.
His retirement to Bunloit saw him once more pick up the cause of shinty in the Glen and he was instrumental with Jimmac Mackintosh, his old sparring partner from the 1960s team, in re –establishing the Glenalbyn Primary League. He also roped in Jimmac to help in 2007 & 2008 when he reinvented the Aberdeen Shinty festival as a youth skills competition at Blairbeg. Peter was never happier however than when he was coaching his Balnain Primary School youngsters amongst whom he numbered his grandnephews. Indeed, one of the Wing Centre’s fondest memories of Peter was of him in late November reffing a Primary School Match between Balnain and Drum on the Astroturf while at the same time coaching his own team It was a unique performance.
There is more of course that may be said beyond the shinty pitch- his interest in social history led to a book about Arnisdale and Loch Hourn where his uncle farmed and subsequently to the funding of a new Community-centre/ceilidh house which opened in August 2008. There was also his initiating and organising of the Glen Challenge Race at the annual Glenurquhart Gathering where as morning announcer his familiar tones on the fourth Saturday in August would to ring out across the field, encouraging, amusing, admonishing and of course occasionally announcing results.
Peter’s passing was sudden and unexpected and his death not only leaves a hole at the heart of the Glen Club, but also marks the loss of yet one more link with the team of 1956-63. The photos at the top can speak for themselves: the single of Peter is taken from the veterans picture features in the Jan 2008 blog while the classic shot of Peter and Johnny “Ach” Macrae has featured widely. For good measure the other pic is that of the 1960 MacGillivray winners. After three successive defeats in cup finals they tasted victory at the fourth attempt defeating Newtonmore 9-2 at the Bught.

Lewiston finally win Zandra's Quaich at Club Sixes Competition

It has taken them five years to do it but Lewiston finally came out on top in the annual Zandra Mackintosh Memorial tournament held on the all weather pitch on Monday 29th December.
As has been traditional since the competition was inaugurated the weather was bitterly cold although this year the fair sized crowd was spared the rigours of spectating in the lashing rain as happened on a previous occasion. This competition now seems to have become a fixture in the annual Hogmanay festival that livens up the Glen in the run up to New Year's Day and there were a number of visitors to the Glen in evidence as well as some returnees from abroad. Amongst the latter was numbered Martin Douglas and his son Hamish back in Drum for the festive season. Martin has been 9 years in Perth, Western Australia and for all that the weather at the Astroturf was -2 for most of the afternoon he seemed cheerful enough. Hamish seemed to thrive on the cold and scooted about all over the place at the same pace and in the same manner that Martin himself used to do as far as the Wing Centre can remember.
The competition for the trophy was as always fierce-and teams appeared representing Balmacaan, Up the Glen, Lewiston, The Blarmor Bar , Hillside, The Town , Druimlon, and The Smiddy . This last team however had a change of heart half way through the competition and changed its name to “Wildcard” and because it consisted of three young ladies and Iain “Balbeg” Macdonald plus assorted others they certainly put up a good show. The eyebrows were initially raised at Mr Corrigan (sen) in goal but they widened with wonder at the dexterity of his stick work.
The rules of course indicated that each team needed to be made up of at least 8 players amongst whom should be numbered a lady , a youngster and a veteran - though to be truthful these rules do appear to be more than a little flexible. Hillside consisted of the Fraser brothers and the Abriachan Barrs -though El Presidente himself was not involved. Balmacaan with Mike Cameron , Big Ron Fraser, Dixon and Ruaraidh looked good on paper though sadly the competition was not played on paper. “Peem” Gault turned out for the Blar as did Steven Callendar of ‘Shiel but it was the appearance of Ken Fraser between the posts as “hailstopper” that took the biscuit. Meanwhile Druimlon seem to have roped in players from Kilmore Road and Pitkerrald and Geordie Stewart -yes believe your eyes- was in the vanguard of the Town attack.
The Wing Centre did not really pay close attention at all times to what was happening on the park because truthfully the social atmosphere on the sidelines was too much of a distraction though he did think that the Up the Glen side seemed to be in with a fair shout what with Ally Mackintosh (jun) , Charlie Duncan, Andrew Macdonald and Andrew Corrigan on the team.
The bitter truth for the West-the-Burners was however the fact that Lewiston appeared to have retained Paul Mackintosh who along with the Reid brothers and Big Arran Macdonald certainly made for a top combination.
At the semi-final stage Lewiston managed to sneak through against the Hillsider Fraser/Barr combo and the Up the Glenners , competitive as always , managed to knock out Lewis Maclennan and the Druimloners. It certainly puzzled the Wing Centre that Lewis wasn’t playing in the Lewiston team given that not only was the place called after him but his granny lives there!
The final was a fiercely competitive struggle and in the end Lewiston shaded it in the penalty shootout after the real match finished even at 1-1. It was third time lucky for the Lewiston boys and girl because they have lost out in the final of this competition over the last three years.
The competition closed with a few words of thanks from Donald Paul to one and all and especially remembering Mairi Moffat of the Blarmor who had organised the catering with supplies from Carl Falconer (Highland Hog Roasts) and heaters and generators supplied by Garry Mackintosh (HIS)
The Zandra Mackintosh Quaich was then presented to Debbie Surtees and Neale Reid of the winning side by Mrs Pauline Trelfer one of the Glen teams' band of faithful followers. Pauline has hardly missed a Saturday on the sidelines home and away this past season.

Enjoy the pics above but sorry about the werewolf eyes though-may fix them later. Then again maybe not.

Neale Reid confirmed as Young Player of the Year at annual Ceilidh Dance

This little section on the blog is a catch up: truthfully the loss of Peter took away a bit of the heart of the Wing Centre for silliness- and in due course with the permission of the family the “D” will carry some words about Peter and his connections to all things shinty in the Glen.
One piece worth noting is that fact that the Club had an excellent evening of dancing and feasting in the Clansman Hotel on the 14th of November.
On entering the building the company, which included several of the clubs generous sponsors, were greeted by the President, standing in front of two large display boards of photographs from the successful season. There were many excellent snaps on display but there is only one which will become iconic. That was the Phil Downie pic of the MacTavish penalty shootout celebration which the Courier saw fit to print again recently as the definitive picture of the shinty season. That pic is fated to become the Glen picture of the decade-that is unless the Camanachd Cup comes into the picture somewhere if you catch the drift.
The two Cups, potent symbols of a successful season, were of course in attendance as were two large iced cakes-one honouring each team- which were with due and solemn ceremony cut up into chewable chunks and distributed to as many of those present as were partial to cake.
The meal was an excellent one the details of which are at this present moment somewhat hazy in the recollection of the Wing Centre though he does remember that he commenced with seafood and moved on to chicken, tenderly embalmed in a sauce of the most exquisite sort.
The night drove on with mirth and dancing, the music for which was provided by the band Schiehallion the accordionist of which is none other than our own Goalie, Stuart Mackintosh. Stuart has had another excellent season between the sticks and as may be seen further down the blog made it into the Scotland Senior squad for the victory in Kilkenny against the Irish hurlers.
So struck was the Wing centre by the wonderful music that came from the band that he wrote about it in his annual letter to Santa and the Schiehallion CD magically appeared in his surgical stocking at Xmas. It is an excellent listen and all the more so because Stuart does not appear to be singing on it.
The picture which heads this blog is of course the one of Neale Reid who was selected by the managers as a worthy recipient of the Doey Fraser Cup for the Glen’s “Young Player of the Year”
Neale had an excellent season-one remembers in particular a spectacular performance against Beauly at Braeview which ,if my moles are right, was one of the prime cause of the decision of keeper Steve Lymburn to emigrate- and well merited the selection.
The only little hiccup on the way home was that the bus had somewhat of a problem in negotiating the runway from the hotel back on to the A82 but then given the hassle the Glen have had with buses especially in Ireland-(there is a whole article about a driver called Seumas waiting to be written) this was nothing new- and with our new Premier status doubtless there will be more fun to come on the buses.

The Legend of the "Currachd Ruadh"

It has been a wee while since the Wing Centre has tapped on the keyboard of truth- what with the dinner dance going past in a blur (Neale Reid was young player of the year it appears) and the very game of shinty having receded from his mind under the weight of Yuletide domestic chores which were heaped upon his broad shoulders. He had his 5 cards to write, kindlers to buy at the garage and the AGM books to get balanced. Then there were the money extorters at Alton Towers to pay for the dubious pleasure of appearing in the Premier League next season. What’s all that about the first heap of League fixtures being played away from home?
“Let it go, Wing Centre,” said the Lady of the House. ”Poor Astie’s only doing his best. More like you to tidy up that heap of books and rubbish at your side of the bed.”
Which was duly done and the clash of the ash faded from the Wing Centre’s consciousness for a day or two until-
He was going up Balmacaan Road in a dwam between Xmas day and Zandra’s sixes (of which more with snaps later) when he was hailed.
“WC- have you got a pound?”
The hailer was Jimmac Mackintosh and while no one would like to see Jimmac stuck for a pound, the use of the term WC as a familiar form of address was disconcerting. After all Jimmac has a number of close relatives who have been initiated into the arcane rites of the craft of plumbing and the Wing Centre well knows that those involved in the order of the bathroom use the term WC in a very specialised way- and perhaps it was that the use of the term implied a criticism of a descriptive nature with regard to the nature of the stuff the Wing Centre was including in the “D”
A glace at Jim’s genial physog banished all such paranoia- and the pound was parted with.
“Congratulations!” said Jim “ You have just bought a ticket for the Strathglass Shinty Club Xmas Draw!”
Jim then tore off the ticket, borrowed a pencil and started to sketch out possible shinty tactics on the back of the paper. The Wing Centre, who doesn’t really have a head for abstract thought, tried to follow the flowing lines and whirls of attacking formations as if he were a subaltern on the Western Front trying to follow General Haig’s plan of advance at the Somme-only Haig’s plan must have been less complicated.
A diversionary tactic was required .
“Where did you get all those red hats, Jim?”
“What ones?”
“The ones the Up the Glenners were handing out after we beat Kilmallie for the nth time- we were all down in the Blar with the cups and that”
“These are examples of the Currachd Ruadh- the traditional red hats of the Glen team. That is what the players in the 1880s used to wear- and we have carried on the tradition ever since although” he added pensively “the pattern was lost until the early 1990s”
The Wing Centre was somewhat dubious at this explanation- the shape of the cap did not appear to match the ethnographical pattern of other highland hats like the Glengarry, the Fore and Aft or even the old Shepherd’s bonnet , brought north by the Borderers in the early 19th century and illustrated in the works of Thomas Faed.
“I can assure you it is the true Currachd Ruadh. The shape is due to the fact that it dates from a period before the Free Church came to have such a hold on the Glen.
If you wish to check the facts of the matter I refer you to Peter's book . You can look at page 90-there is even a Gaelic poem about it too.”
“How did the pattern come to be lost, Jim?”
“Hard to say. At one time the whole village of Milton was engaged in their manufacture- after Lady Seafield had set up one of those Highland Home Industry schemes. Indeed it was from the mills which turned out the material for the hats that the village of Milton got its name. Anyway I think some minister or other objected to the hats and the whole industry died out inside a generation and the pattern was lost. A great pity too after the way the charm of the Currachd Ruadh kept the local men safe in the Great War. It seems that the local squadron of the Lovat Scouts got permission from the War Office to wear the “Currachd Ruadh” as part of their field dress- the other squads wore the bush hat. It was a concession to local sentiment I suppose - and when the Scouts went to the Dardanelles, the Currachd Ruadh for some reason went down a treat with the locals.”
“How did you get the pattern back again, Jim?”
“Well, DP was renovating an old barn up Balbeg ,one of those with the thatch underneath the tin. And when they took the roof off they found the worm for an old whisky still, a rusty sword from Culloden and a Currachd Ruadh. From that the ladies of the up the Glen WI started to make them for local sale, though they never sell them to those east of the Polmailly burn. That is a pity though because it would be far better for Donald Skinner to be selling them up at the Lodge instead of “Jimmy” hats and Nessie toories. At least these are genuinely Scottish”
And so with that little potted history of the Currachd Ruadh and its links to Glen Shinty the Wing Centre rings down the curtain on a successful year for the Glen. Have a Good New Year and enjoy the photos of these local heroes wearing their Currachd Ruadh.

How the Glen beat Ireland and four lads became local heroes

The magnitude of the whole Ireland story only became apparent to the Wing Centre last night at the Sale of Work. Yes, of course the Club has gone big time but Glenners don’t forget their roots and the Sale of Work is our equivalent of corporate hospitality - a cup of tea, some tablet and a chunk of venison to take home. You can also gamble to your heart’s content with Prof Peter English’s “write your name beside a number and pay me a pound “scam,though it has to be said that Ishbel Barr’s game of skill-“Guess the Weight of the Cake” appeared to have rules all of its own, chief amongst which was to forbid the entry into the competition of the butcher from Fort Augustus on the grounds that his hand contains an accurate built in weighing machine all of its own. Possibly, it was not fair of Ishbel to insist on kilograms instead of pounds and ounces - and to say “2.2 lb to the Kilogram” to a pensioner was unnecessarily cruel since when pensioners were last in school, pounds had not been decimalised and contained 16 ounces each.
All of which brings one eventually back to the momentous nature of the events in the Emerald Isle. Why? Because memorabilia from the game was on display at the Sale and the 4 heroes were there on display themselves. They had signed a hurley ball and a hurley stick and were flogging them right left and centre. They were signing photos - the treasurer drew the line at them signing shinty sticks- and generally was doing the whole hero act.
“They’ll be doing a Calendar next” said one of the ladies on the Bric a Brac stall , a suggestion which no doubt will be given consideration at the next Committee meeting since when you’ve got a product ,you have to market it while you can.
Now the Treasurer has been going about with a spring in his step of late, not unconnected with the fact that more people think he is the Scotland manager than think he is the Treasurer – though he has heard it said in neighbouring Glens and Straths that “The only reason four Glen boys made it to the Scotland squad was because that Fraser Mackenzie was manager.” Now of course it was the real Fraser Mackenzie who was the Scotland manager and to be fair he sussed the Irish hurlers out years ago. He picked the Glen boys because they were Glen boys and committed to his cause-just like he picked the other Scotland boys because they were able to commit.
Absent were some superb Premier players who were unable to commit - and the Wing Centre does not feel they are to be blamed since the Premier League imposes great travelling strains on its players. Anyone who has covered the distance from Badenoch to Bute or Kyles on a Saturday cannot be taken to task if he does not wish to do the same on a Sunday for a training session.
This season the men in green put out a good team - in the sense that they are all excellent players and indeed some of them were All-stars, which is to say that they were voted into the top 14 by the Irish hurley viewing public. Yet it was clear to the Scotland manager that you can pick any 12 players from any village in Scotland and they will beat the Irish - provided of course you take the time to practice the drills and play to a system. As for our Celtic Cousins they turn up on the day and hope for the best. Indeed it’s doubtful if they know each other and it is probably fair to say that the Kilkenny boys cannot understand what the Ulster lads are saying. “Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail” is what Donnie Grant used to claim and of course he was right. Scotland prepared and prospered and the Glen lads had a hand in a glorious and, truthfully, unexpected victory.
When did the Glen last have four players in an international team? Not in the Wing Centre’s memory anyway. What is more the players put in a good shift. There is no intention here to give a report on the match - the WHFP and the Oban Times have done that service but You-tube reveals (the Wing Centre was in Ardnamurchan when the game was being played) a superb performance from John Barr - he was against a top hurler and snuffed him out while “Corky “ Corrigan produced a display which could have put him in the running for man of the match and would have had he not scorned “that “ chance. Stuart Mack came on at the end and had to face an unstoppable penalty – but that aside, the Wing Centre will never understand why he was not made player of the year on the occasion he played his 5th time in a row for the Scotland under 21s. Then of course on came EJ and won the game. A pass inside and there was a point and the glorious drive from distance which made the difference in the end.
Well done to all - and to Lewis Maclennan who played for the under 21s. Lewis is of course already a local hero not just in Druimlon but also up Balmacaan and down Lewiston, which was named 200 years ago in his honour and retained that name because of his penalty against Kilmallie when there was every prospect of it being renamed Loch Ness Street. He is not quite accepted beyond the Polmailly Burn though that will come. Whatever, enjoy the snaps!!

Lets Just Call That A Wrap, Shall We?

Ardnamurchan 0 Glenurquhart 8

So the heroes finally made it to the podium and it is now official-the Glen have won every league they have entered this year. How good is that? Well very good and we should enjoy it while it lasts because after a month or two it will all have to start again at a much higher level.
If Kilmallie last week gave an insight into the intensity of competition at the higher level for the first team, then Hendo must be aware that he will not be playing teams of youngsters like Ardnamurchan each week in the next league up. Not to take anything away from the Strontian side because, like Lochbroom the previous week, they were more or less a team of under-17s and in that context were good players especially the goalie who was excellent and the full centre who sadly was dismissed for a second bookable late in the second half.
The Wing Centre also admired the little full forward who came on in the second half against Garry Mac because despite being up against a player who was bigger than him the little fellow stuck at it and never shirked a tackle. Indeed the Ardnamurchan lads were denied a goal only because Dave Emery made a superb save from a penalty strike- a well taken one too- so it was not a day on which the Glen were going to yield anything to anyone.
If there was one disappointment it was the fact that none of the local community-bar one gentleman taking snaps for the local newsletter-turned up to watch the local youngsters at their shinty. One assumes the ’Murchan kids have interested parents; one also assumes that not everyone else on the peninsula was at the Mod and they certainly were not in Kilkenny, if the TV pictures of the pathetic crowd at Nowlan Park are to believed.
A good crowd of Glen supporters came all the way down in a bus- and it would have been nice if the Ardnamurchan folks had bothered to give a bit of support to their youngsters who were involved actively in sport on a Saturday rather than in hanging around on the croft corners bothering the sheep. If the Ardnamurchan lads keep at it and as they mature there is every chance that , like Lochbroom they can go on to better things in shinty. The basic ability is certainly there.
The game itself took place in good bright conditions which was very much different from what was experienced on the long run down from Drum via Corran and the Glen gave notice of their early intentions with a shot in 4 minutes from Ben Hosie which was well saved by the home keeper.
In 5 minutes however the breakthrough came when Hosie was awarded a free hit. He quickly took the foul tapping it through on to Stuart Morrison and the old Silver Fox made no mistake from close range. There then followed a period in which Ardnamurchan forwards made a determined assault on the Glen goal but found the red and black defence in resolute form and truthfully they brought out two fine stops from keeper Emery which the visiting fans were relieved to see.
However in 20 minutes Bradley Dickson who was playing neatly on the right wing followed up on a ball which rebounded from the keeper and finally managed to squeeze it over the line for the Glen’s second counter.
Eight minutes later the Glen went three up when a nice piece of shinty from Ben Hosie allowed Stuart Morrison to scorch a drive into the net from the edge of the D.
The Glen then finished the first half with two more goals as Calum Fraser made a belated attempt to win the “Glen Goalscorer of the Year” trophy: the first was a nice drive in 41mins and the second came when he ran through the home defence to slip it over the line in 44mins.
The second half was a slower affair, the most notable early moment coming in 60 minutes when Ardnamurchan’s Liam Thornton had his penalty well saved by Dave Emery. The shot was well struck and heading for the keepers top left hand corner when Mr E fully justified the vast expense of his keeper’s caman by deflecting the ball over and past for a corner. The Glen used their subs at this point with Ross Macdiarmid, Ewan Menzies and Roger Grant coming on for a run in the last match
Within a few minutes the young Ardnamurchan penalty taker was dismissed for a second bookable- his frustrations was understandable- and the Glen had a comfortable run in to the title with the three remaining goals coming from Calum Fraser in 70mins, 80 mins and 82 mins. The only piece of bad luck was that young winger Ross Macdiarmid took a gash above his left eye in a tackle but, after being patched up he came back in to finish the game strongly and might have added to the Glen’s tally but for the fact that his drive flew just over the bar.
With the game in the bag, the cup suddenly appeared and was presented to Captain Emery and the rest of the Heroes. Hendo had in fact asked all of the players he used to come along and most were able to make the journey-though Iain Macdonald (still with a bad hand since the Lochcarron game) and Garry Smith (working) were unable to make it.
Afterwards the pictures above were taken and the medals themselves were presented to the players who were present by Dodo Macdonald, Lewiston who has been an ever present supporter at 1st or 2nd team fixtures this season. The snaps taken are as follows-Och you can see them for yourselves!!
Well done to all!!

Simply the Best-Barr None

Glen (should have got) 4 - Kilmallie 3
Inverness 0 - Hendo’s Heroes 8
Here is what the fans have been waiting for all season-Captain Courageous with the trophy in his hands at Canal Park. Bit of fancy photography here-notice the reflection of the rest of the guys in the polished silver of the old Cup. Come to think of it, if this has to be pointed out then the photography is not quite as hot as it was intended to be, but then who really cares? Not the Wing Centre.
The other snap-it has to be the real team of the year – shows Mr Menzies & Mr Maclean , Whytie the Trainer and Hendo of the Heroes. Hendo’s Heroes by the way simply need to keep focused and with a bit of luck will end up picking up their trophy and if they can notch a few goals in the last game or two might even end up scoring more goals for the season than even Ronald Ross himself. What is more, Mr Stuart (The Raptor) Morrison, former superstar of Premier and Camanachd Cup fame may even end up scoring more goals than even Ben Hosie what with his "predatory tendencies" as described by The Courier. Who can say?
One thing that does have to be said though is that it was cruel for the manager to play Lewis Maclennan in goals against Kilmallie in the last game of the season just so he would not be top goal scorer for the second year running. Of course the real motive for putting Lewis in goals and resting Davie Girvan and Arran Macdonald was to give Kilmallie a chance to win a match on their own turf in front of their own fans, them having blown the League, the MacTavish and the Balliemore all in the one season. Stuart Mac was of course annoyed to have been left out seeing as he has the best league record as a keeper -across all the Leagues that is. However, Dave Emery who is second best goalie across all the Leagues, definitely has a claim against Gary Mackintosh who stood in for Dave while he was in Australia (and lost some goals it has to be said) because without Gary’s intervention there is every chance Dave would have been chosen as Glen goalie of the year-now things are not so clear cut. If that seems unfair on Dave then that is just how it is in the cut throat world of Glen goalkeeping - after all this is the village which produced hail keepers like Dodo Cameron, Tommy McKenna, Len Macrae, Calvin Oliver, Peter Macdonald and Billy Macleod. The Wing Centre is sure if Mikey Fraser can just stick in at Caley Thistle he will eventually get a phone call from either Mr Menzies or Mr Maclean and he can once more compete for the honour of wearing the red and black jersey, though he will most certainly have to stop wearing his socks pulled up over his knee caps.
Anyway the Glen scored a neat goal in five minutes when Gregor McCormack fired a shot in on goalie Bochy MacNiven who got his feet to it only to find the ball going back out to Neale Reid who put the Glen one up. Then the Glen side line was distracted because the news came through on the mobile that the heroes were going mad in Inverness " Raptor" Morrison had only gone and scored two goals and it looked as if the Heroes were on their way.
Kilmallie appear to have scored an equaliser at that point –not that the Wing Centre was watching because there was a heron on the shoreline that had distracted him- and then someone on the sideline said something harsh in a Lochaber accent about spoiling the party.
"How could you spoil a party if you weren’t invited to it ?" suggested the Wing Centre to himself inside his head and then reflected that there were even people in Strathglass who would be further up the guest list for the party than the party in question - though possibly not Roy.
Then a further roar went up from the sideline-Ben Hosie had scored against the Town and then another roar, "Panda "Crichton had put in another one . Then joy of joys, the Raptor completed his hat-trick. The heroes were in the comfort zone now.
"Look Wing Centre - come off that phone!" It was Jimmac with news from the non-game that was going on in the Canal Park. "Kilmallie have scored two more goals"
"Any good?"
"Not really. The defence is not trying but we better put in a wee effort now. It’s all very well feeling sorry for them because they messed up their season but enough’s enough"
Then the Wing Centre and Jimmac went to Mr Menzies & Mr Maclean and after a minute or two they told the team to try and put on Davie Girvan and Arran and Calum Miller and moved Dixon Maclennan up front and if it not been for the fact that Bochy MacNiven had his one good game of the season then the Glen would surely have won 4-3.
Meanwhile, at the Bught the day was rounded off with a super goal from Ben Hosie and a final strike from Calum Fraser who is incidentally going to be married soon and to whom all the best is wished-provided his new status will not affect his shinty that is.
And that’s the way it finished, Glen beat Inverness 8-0 – but it was also gratifying to see that Kilmallie can win a game when it doesn’t really matter – and the Glen wish them all the best for next season’s North Division 1 campaign.
So up the road we went -being refused entry at the Invergarry Hotel - but on we carried regardless to the Blar where we had our party and then we went home.
All we need to do now is cross the Corran Ferry on Saturday and return with two more points, which is quite ironic because four Glen boys will be playing for Scotland in Ireland on Saturday but no-one in Drum will be watching, because we will all be in Ardnamurchan. That’s how passionate we are about the old sport.

Glen Give 'Broom The Brush-Off

North Division 3
Glenurquhart 9 Lochbroom 1
With only three games left in this division, the Glen have an excellent chance of putting another piece of silverware in the trophy cabinet. The main stumbling block will of course be Boleskine who took points of f Hendo’s Heroes in Drum earlier in the season. Hopefully young Raymond will be on the hill shooting stags for the next few weeks and with him out of the way the chances of Glen success are the greater. It would be extremely ironic if Geordie & Hazel’s next door neighbour from Pitkerrald Road in Drum were to put the kybosh on the Glen winning a trophy - so no pressure there Raymond!
This game most possibly had a score which in the end was a little hard on the lads from Ullapool. For one thing they had struggled to put out a team the previous week - stalking duties are not confined to Strathglass or even Boleskine - and when they arrived in Drum, the Broom Boys were without both eminent full back Mr Fraser and equally eminent full forward Mr Cameron Macrae. Indeed Lochbroom had a very young team on the park - always remembering that two of their very good young players are now attached to Kinlochsheil – while the Glen had a much more experienced outfit on show.
The Glen started very quickly and within ten minutes were two up through strikes from veteran Stuart Morrison and teenage forward Ben Hosie and no doubt would have gone further ahead were it not for an excellent display between the posts from Lochbroom’s Ruaridh Hughes who must have stopped at least five goal bound shots in this period. It was not totally all one way traffic however and crisp hitting from the Lochbroom centreline put the young Glen defence under pressure at times, especially when the tall figure of Josh Talbot got on the ball for ‘Broom. Garry Mackintosh in the Glen goal however, despite feeling pressured by the presence of regular keeper Dave Emery on the touchline, was a commanding figure between the sticks and at no time in the early period did the Glen defence look like conceding a goal.
Any hint of anxiety was lifted in 33 minutes however, when Morrison bagged his second goal and when Davie Stewart finally put a shot in the net in 40 minutes the game was well and truly in the bag except for a little flash of ‘Broom brilliance when Josh Talbot first timed a cross ball past Mackintosh to open the West Coasters account.
It was too late and was always going to be too little as the second half was soon to reveal. Having introduced Ross Macfarlane at wing back in place of Ewan Menzies who was due to play for the north under-14s the next day , Hendo insisted the forwards lifted their game and they responded willingly. Ben Hosie rapidly reached his hat-trick with two excellent strikes in 49 and 59 and Davie Stewart was quick to join him on the three goal mark when he hit the net twice in 64 and 70. The final Glen strike came from Andrew "Panda" Crichton who rammed in his effort in 72, and truth to tell, if Hughes had not been so outstanding between the posts there was every chance that Morrison would also have managed three goals to his account - though one can never be sure.
In the end the Glen did what they had to do and possibly more - but for Lochbroom there is every hope that as their youngsters develop they will be more and more successful. In the end as every shinty manager knows it is all down to scoring goals - and if Lochbroom can manage to produce another goal scorer like Neil Fraser – and hang on to him then the future should be brighter. The secret is to keep going.
Certainly "keeping going" is what the Glen hope to do against Inverness in their next match. It is not a game that Hendo will take lightly and one would expect to see an experienced side take to the field, despite the fact that the top team will be in Kilmallie for the last game of the season.
Summing the match up it is fair to say the side all played well - even if they were not under the most intense of scrutiny. Calum Smith, Ewan Menzies and Ross Macfarlane were comfortable in their positions. Brad Dickson played nicely and Ben Hosie’s goals speak for themselves. The bulk of the fetch and carry work however was done by Ross MacAulay and David Smart , while Donald Fraser, stepping in for a guest appearance at half back was extremely effective. Calum Fraser played his part well while Matthew Clark at full back was solid and always had the better of his man.
The picture - minus Ewan Menzies who had gone to get changed - has been taken and presented because it was the last opportunity to snap the guys at home this season. Here’s to a successful end to the season!

Ee-aye Ee-aye Ee-aye O! Up to the Premier Glen Now Go

North Division 1
Glenurquhart 1 Kilmallie 0
In the end, it was only what the team had worked for all season long. For the last thirty minutes of the match however, the Glen followers found their emotions and their nerves severely tested as Kilmallie , who had probably shaded the match in terms of pressure, mounted a last ditch attempt to prolong their season by snatching a dramatic equaliser. Considering they had managed to force extra time in the MacTavish semi by scoring right at the death, there was no complacency up on the steps of the pavilion as referee John Sloggie’s watch ticked the time down.
"If they lose the League, it will all be down to that stupid point they lost against Inverness" Now everyone knows that-even Stevie Munro the ‘Ness goalie who kept out Reid, Corrigan , Maclennan and Mc Cormack-but it did not help to be reminded of it. In the end, the very end, the story was that Kilmallie missed their chance to equalise when minutes from time, John Stewart finally eluded what the Courier guy was wont to call "the smothering tackles" of John Barr and fired his shot high over the top when the normal expectation was that he would hit the target. When the Glen forwards then carried the ball successfully into the left hand corner to run down the clock, not once but twice –winning a foul each time-then it was clear that the Glen wanted the victory more than they wanted to play good shinty. Good shinty or winning shinty? Sometimes these coincide-sometimes they don’t, as Fort William will testify- but what mattered to the Glen, after Balliemore failure four times in a row (the Wing Centre has suffered them all-at Ballachulish, at Kingussie, at Newtonmore and then this year’s robbery by Skye)was a victory and a trophy. Nothing less would do.
Mind you the opening was not especially promising because within a minute of the start Ross Lavin the Kilmallie centre had found himself in enough space to try a drive at goal which fortunately flew wide. The next action of note came in a strong clash between John Stewart and John Barr in which the Glen defender proved that he had the measure of Kilmallie’s international forward- and with Stuart Reid tight on Fraser Massie, the pattern of the game was set. The next to try his luck was Michael Rodgers but he too was off target after being put under severe pressure from Dave Girvan. Glen’s first serious attack came in 8 minutes when Eddie Tembo slipped the ball up the wing to Gregor McCormack who had run wide to receive the pass. He slipped the ball in to Neale Reid but his drive flew high over the bar.
In the next Kilmallie attack, John Stewart had a shot saved by Stuart Mackintosh before another powerful run from Tembo into the Kilmallie defence resulted in a semi clearance which was picked up by Glen wing centre Ally Mackintosh but his forward hit carried on too far going out of play. Play at this stage was uncompromising and in some fierce exchanges Kilmallie’s Rodgers took a knock from which he appeared to recover though it was clear that by the second half he had lost some fluency of movement.
The closest Glen came to a goal in this period was when a fierce low strike from distance by Eddie Tembo almost caught "Bochy " MacNiven unawares but the Kilmallie keeper got his feet to the ball and it flew past the post for a corner. This was quickly taken but with the Kilmallie defence struggling to cover, Gregor McCormack put his shot over the bar.
The second half provided more of the same fare with one exception and that was in 52 minutes when in the course of a Glen attack the ball broke loose from the Kilmallie defence on the edge of the D and Neale Reid forced the ball home to make his own small piece of Glen history.
Kilmallie naturally enough came back but they were fated to be up against-the stats prove it- the best defence in the League. David Girvan was exceptional while Paul Mackintosh had a superb afternoon- and with John Barr and Stuart Reid also in uncompromising mood Kilmallie were not going to score, especially bearing in mind the fact that Stuart Mackintosh was right on top of his game.
In the end –after a small scare at the end of the match when Kilmallie worked a chance for John Stewart which he failed to convert-the Glen ran out deserved winners. Why? Perhaps because they have not lost a game in their campaign so far nor have they leaked goals all season like Kinlochsheil and Skye with their poor starts to the season.
Kilmallie though are different. No doubt there are some churlish guys on the other side of the River Lochy rubbing their hands together at their misfortune, but the truth is that they have had a desperately unlucky season. League wise they have not been consistently unbeatable but to lose out in all three competitions at the last hurdle must be very hard to bear. The Glen know that it is like given the way they lost out in the Balliemore and the League last season-and the Kilmallie lads have never been anything less than sporting when they have been defeated –narrowly- by the Glen. They are a credit to their management and to the sport. They are a young team yet-and they certainly possess some players-Stewart, Rodgers, Lavin, MacNiven, Carmichael and Stoddart who are clearly Premier League class and they must be in the frame for next season.
The snap is of the guys in the aftermath of victory but where was the trophy? Unfortunately not at Blairbeg for the presentation. Now everything is a bit of an anticlimax especially when we receive the trophy at Canal Park -but then that is perhaps what you have to get used to in the world of shinty.

Skye left feeling blue-but Glen will need to lift their game to kill ‘Mallie off

Glenurquhart 4 Skye 3
A game of two halves - well not really . There was an opening first half hour of tremendous quality and then there was the rest of the game most of which was very hard on Glen nerves. Not that the Wing Centre was present at the occasion. Having failed to see the last match against the Islanders -the game that presented them with a cup final place in the Balliemore- it was only fair that he keep away from this game in case he put the “buisneachd” on the boys. If only he could put it on the Kilmallie lads -vain hope!
Naturally the phone was red hot and when, after 20 minutes or so, the news came through that the Glen were 3-0 up and playing excellent shinty - without Lewis Maclennan too it must be said - then the rest of the afternoon trawling round the wool mills of the Trossachs was tolerably easy to do.
A call to the manager at the end of the match and a long answer message from the retired Presidential figure told a more scary story . The Skyemen had pulled themselves back into the match before the end of the first half and if it had not been for some smart scoring by the boy who bears the very name of the Glen, then perhaps this weeks match up against Kilmallie for the dubious privilege of Premier League status would be a much flatter affair.
So what happened ? The WHFP gives a version of the truth - there is no truth in shinty reporting of course, only the moody accounts of witnesses - and naturally this account will tell what happened through the prism of black and red specs.
In the first half hour the Glen played superb shinty and looked likely to sweep Skye back up into the Enrick. According to Jimmac this Glen played some of the best shinty they have ever played - an opinion that was supported by the fact that, inside two minutes good movement up front led to Andrew Corrigan firing the ball into the net from the right. Some quick interpassing amongst the mobile Glen forwards saw Billy Urquhart thump home a second. By the 16th minute the third goal had been added when Gregor McCormack was on the end of some good play to finish from close range. Meanwhile Nouie MacDonald , in goal to help out the Islanders defence - the WHFP gives a list of Island players who missed the match - pulled off a string of superb saves to deny the Glen the chance to add to the goal difference between them and Kilmallie.
Then Sorley happened - twice! A bit of footering about in the midfield and defence and the ball was into the postage stamp in 38 minutes . Two minutes later and the boy from Braes did it again . He is an excellent player-there is no doubt- but the reports say that the Glen had switched off at this point which is what they are too liable to do when they are leading again. Last season it happened against Lovat and Kinlochshiel -this season there were signs of it against Inverness and also up at Shiel where a superb first half ended with a fortunately successful second half scramble to hang on to the points .
By good luck Billy Urquhart was on hand just before the interval to pop in a goal which ensured the Glen had the relative security of a two goal lead at half time. Nice to note that the Sunday Post credited the strike to Lewis Maclennan and him in Brisbane at a wedding ! Knowing Lewis, he will want to claim it to ensure he ends up top scorer this season.
The second half was filled with chances at both ends but the Glen were inaccurate in their strikes and young John Moir had an excellent game at the back. He is - if reports are to be believed -only one of eight teenagers in Ally Morrison’s side and that being so the future must be bright for Island shinty.
Games are however won in midfield and while Eddie Tembo - always forceful in moving the play forward - had a superb match the other lads did not enjoy the midfield dominance they have had in other matches. Skye did score through Ally Maclennan but the report that filtered through to the Wing Centre made more play of the fact that the Glen defence should have dealt with the occasion much better before it was a goal , so to speak.
In the end the day went with the Glen and now all that matters is the next game against Kilmallie who appeared to have had their own troubles in overcoming Cabers 5-3. That 3 is important because it implies that there is a way past Bochy MacNiven and that way is even more accessible when young Sunny Rodgers is playing up front. Whatever way they line up Kilmallie are good - though Skye have beaten them when it mattered.
In the end, it’s not about Kilmallie - it’s really all about the Glen and only about the Glen . The trick will be for the players to play with as if they really believe it
A picture? Who are you kidding? This game is much too serious for that. The effort that went into the headline should be enough for you.

Archie the Goalie fails to foil the Glen-Phew!

North Division 1
Caberfeidh 0 Glenurquhart 4
It’s official: Archie the goalie can be beaten but don’t run away with the idea that it’s easy. If the rest of the Cabers team had played half as well as Archie did on Saturday then there is little doubt that the Glen would have struggled even more to obtain a result that they actually did. In the end 4-0 seems a comfortable victory. When you are watching it from the side of the park then nothing ever seems quite so simple.
Right from the off, when he got his feet to a Neale Reid snap shot in the first minute, Archie looked to be in unbeatable form whereas when Smack had a wee sit down on the job in six minutes- the ball bounced over his head and slipped past the post,- the nerves were severely jangled. Wearing the traditional black and red specs, it was possible to say that the first 20 minutes or so, saw the Glen in fine form, firing the ball forward on all cylinders (how many metaphors can one hack mangle?)
Andrew Corrigan slipped a neat pass down the line- he appeared to be running freely on what is a traditionally sticky surface- but the ball was scrabbled wide. Next Eddie Tembo- you only realised when you thought about it seriously afterwards that he had a superb afternoon-drove the ball up to Calum Miller who pounced on the pass , made some space but drove it wide.
Worryingly, Cabers made a move or two forward themselves and just on the 20 minute mark, Ian Bartlett combined well with Lee Nicholl but his shot went wastefully high over the bar in the general direction of Dingwall. At the other end however, putting the ball over the bar looked as if it was about to become the flavour afternoon when after some neat work by Neale Reid, Andrew Corrigan lofted his shot into the trees towards the Spa Pavillion.
However, it came good for the Glen in 30 minutes when full centre Dave "Dixon" Maclennan, who had a productive afternoon in the cockpit of the conflict, played the ball through to Calum Miller who had his drive deflected by Archie for a corner. From the corner, the ball was worked back to Lewis Maclennan and his shot gave the Glen a well deserved lead though it was as well that Stuart Mackintosh was on his toes to save two minutes later from Graham Macgregor when he broke through for the home side.
Archie then came to Caber’s rescue when he saved a rasper of a drive from Neale Reid but it was all to no avail when a foul was awarded to the Glen. Andrew Corrigan danced around the ball for what seemed an age but in the end his polka was worth it because, having slipped the ball eventually to Lewis Maclennan, the second Glen goal was wrapped up. It was 42 minutes and that was Lewis twice on the score sheet and –sadly -once in the book because of too vigorous a protest at an offside call from ref Donnie Fraser.
The second half belonged to the Glen more completely though there was always the danger-in theory at least in the overheated mind of the Wing Centre- that Cabers would score and sneak back into the game. The third call effectively put an end to that when in 59 minutes Lewis Maclennan slipped a free hit to Neale Reid who hit it low into the D where by some miracle it sneaked past Archie in at the post.
The last quarter saw the Glen camped in the Cabers area of the field driven up there by the will power shown but the Glen centreline of Ally Mackintosh, Eddie Tembo and above all Dave Maclennan. All three guys put in a power of work and matched the Cabers midfield cleek for block. Glen brought on Gregor McCormack and Calum Fraser and these two helped keep up the pressure on Archie’s domain though front man Calum Miller had a sterling game up on the D and was unlucky not to hit the net on several occasions. The big man had an excellent game and it was most fitting that he had a hand in the creation of the final Glen goal in 82 minutes. The ball was driven long up the left by Ally Mackintosh to the big front man who swept it across the D to the inrushing Gregor McCormack. He dispatched it with panache past Archie, who had every right to be unhappy with the protection afforded him by his dispirited defenders.
And that was basically that. The Glen collected the points-if collected is not too complacent a word to use and Archie went off home.
"Well played, Archie" said the Glen backroom staff thanking the Almighty that the rest of the Cabers team could not have been accused of playing well. Doubtless even they will agree with that assessment: Archie’s body language and expression showed that these were his sentiments also.
"You can’t keep them all out," he said and then he wished the Glen luck in their next few games. Something is happening in the world of shinty-first Beauly and now Archie of Cabers being nice to the Glen. They must be up to something but what? Time will tell.
The picture- Mr Miller. He had an excellent afternoon and was well worthy of a snap.

Hendo’s Heroes : A Satisfying Blend of Youth and Middle-age

Division 3
Glenurquhart 8 Strathglass 1
Having been held over from last Saturday when Strathglass had too many youngsters away with a youth team to put out a side , this game was squeezed in on Wednesday night. In the event there was just enough light for it to be completed and it was good of ref. James Gallagher (Lovat) to help the clubs get this fixture out of the way. In a sense the timing worked both for and against the Glen.
On the one hand players like Andrew Crichton and Roger Grant were unable to be present due to work commitments: on the other there was an opportunity for unlisted senior players to have a run out on the field.
In the end Manager Henderson went for a mixture of youth and age on the field giving a run to Calum Fraser, Gregor McCormack and Calum Miller for a part of the evening while always keeping his eye on young players like Ross Macfarlane who came on in the second half. Calum Smith , at wing back, has been more or less a fixture all season and his no-nonsense attitude to holding down the wing back berth shows his development as a player.
The night began on a sombre note with a minute’s silence in memory of both the former Strathglass youth player Graham Mackenzie who died in a tragic accident earlier in the week and Glenurquhart (Strathdearn 1977) player Davie Morrison who died suddenly in Aberdeen the week before . However the night was lit up by three sparkling performances which are worthy of note.
The first was that of five goal hero Ben Hosie. Ben took his five goals excellently and was always looking to play constructive shinty, moving the ball into space and going for a return. He likes to control the ball and turn to lay it off. He also has a touch of the predator’s instinct liking to follow up on the ball and some of his strikes over the evening were severely classy.
Hosie opened the scoring in 10 minutes having nipped on to a through ball from Calum Miller . Twenty minutes later he was again on hand to clean up matters after Calum Fraser’s shot had been smothered by Strath keeper Davie Stirling.
Glen then went through a period of lethargy in which the young Strath team could have come back had their shooting been more accurate. It didn’t help their cause however that keeper Dave Emery was in sparkling form for, well, most of the first half. He had a series of good stops including one rocket shot which he diverted nonchalantly with the heel of his club and a number of others which he swept away wide. However, he did concede in 43 minutes- a bad time to lose a goal - when Ally Macadam, who was having a tidy game on the wing nicked one on target.
The half time score reflected well on the young Strath side - the Wing Centre liked the contribution of Seth Jones, Mark Macleod and young Balharry while in Mark McLaughlin they have more or less the finished article. That they were unable to penetrate more thoroughly was due to the fact that the Glen backbone of more experienced players could contain their youthful enthusiasm. Talking of youthful enthusiasm ,didn’t Roy Mackenzie put in a fair shift at buckshee until old Father Time eventually beckoned him to the bench of repose. Roy and shinty are synonymous in the Strath : he is in danger of becoming an institution, though sometimes when he takes the craze on the field - thankfully he is mellowing with age - you feel he needs to be locked up in one!
The second half went totally with the Glen. and was notable for a fine hat-trick from Stuart Morrison who finally got his shots on target though he would forgive the mention of one ball blasted massively over the bar.
Morrison struck his first in 50 mins after good work from Hosie and picked up his second in 58 mins. with another fine strike
Ben Hosie then completed his hat-trick in 61mins while Morrison did the same five minutes later, running the ball through the demoralised Strath defence to slip it past the young keeper. The last two goals fell to the predatory caman of Ben Hosie in 75 and 80minutes respectively, one of them being a particularly fine drive into the roof of the net after good work by Ross Macfarlane and Bradley Dickson.
The player the Wing Centre liked best on the turf was David Smart : he handled his midfield role well and with his good stick control and shinty brain he added a touch of style to the side. Davie Stewart, Gary Mackintosh , Ross MacAulay, Garry Smith and Ewan Fraser also turned in solid performances and hopefully they came through the match without injury in time for Kincraig this week.
Overall for the Glen it was a good win and a necessary one. Again they are in the position that, if the nerve is kept, a trophy is available. Now is the time for all hands on deck.
The picture? Having featured Bennie earlier in the season, the pic simply had to be one of the hat-trick hero himself, Mr Morrison.

Glen Pass the Beauly Test - Just !

Glenurquhart 3 Beauly 1
With five games still to go at 2.25 on Saturday it was clear that every game yet to come was as important and as big as the MacTavish Cup final. At 4.20 on Saturday with two points having been collected from a difficult game against Beauly, it was still true. Every one of the remaining four games is as big as the MacTavish Cup final and with Kilmallie posting a 4-0 nil victory on the island against Skye ,it could be that the pressure is beginning to build. It is not really : we are now into classic one game at a time territory and its better to be there than nowhere. The next potential banana skin is Cabers and that day will come when it comes. All that matters is to keep the nerve and possibly stick pins in a doll of wee Archie the Goalie. May the Gods of Shinty decree he has an off day.
For the Wing Centre however, the Beauly game was more than a little close for comfort. Never one to be optimistic , he spent the whole first half pretending to be cheerful while secretly hoping that Sean Stewart and Barry Macdonald would trip over and twist an ankle in one of the marks left by the caber from last week’s games. Uncharitable thought- but that is what the Beaulies can push you to.
The Glen had the upper hand in the first part of the first half but despite clear territorial advantage, there seemed to be little sense of progress up front. Early on both Lewis Maclennan and Neale Reid had chances but pushed the ball wide while Calum Miller, starting after a fine display against Kinlochshiel found the going harder against full back Roger Cormack.
A word here about Roger. It has always been clear that he was one of the best players in the game. Full back is his true position and it was the Glen’s bad luck , that after a season playing somewhere else on the field, the Green and Whites persuaded him to turn out in the back line.

In the course of the afternoon along with Innes Simpson at half-back who was also on song , he was the main man holding the line. The Glen variously tried three different players on him and despite the fact that the goals eventually came, no-one in the home dressing room could say other than “Some player that Roger Cormack” Fair as well. There were a couple of occasions when young Neale Reid-one of the three who faced him - managed to get into his stride and get slightly ahead of Roger but there was no attempt to halt the young man illegally.

No doubt Roger has gone through his career with few medals of substance to show for all his years at the top. There will be guys in other areas with Camanachd Cup medals and perhaps silver mounted camans on the wall that don’t have half his ability-but then again that’s the way it goes.
Of course the Glen should have gone ahead in 34 minutes when a drive up from Dave Maclennan in the centreline left “Corky” Corrigan with the goal at his mercy and the defenders off the pace. The goal remained at his mercy for an agonising spell while Corky deliberated as to what he might do. In the end he decided to save his best strike for a more auspicious occasion and the Beauly defence breathed a sigh of relief. Not for long however because in the very next minute Cork turned provider and having raced onto a through ball he pushed it across the face of goal where it fell nicely for Calum Miller who slipped it in from close range.
Any thoughts that the floodgates might open were quickly dispelled when after a period of pressure which forced Stuart Mackintosh into two neat saves, Sean Stewart rattled one home for Beauly. A vintage goal from Stewart but fortunately rare enough for him these days for it to be snapped and the photograph put up for auction at the Phipps Hall.
The second half saw the Glen continue to press and the breakthrough was always going to come when Beauly’s full centre Jamie Maclennan ran out of puff. The two Maclennans , Glen’s Dave and Beauly’s Jamie, had been conducting, for parts of the afternoon at least their own private battle over the peat-cutting rights to , one assumes, Strathconan . It was at times fierce and , when they shook hands, at times friendly but in the end when Jamie tired there was to be no way back for the Greens.
In no time Neale Reid had latched on to a ball and Steven Lymburn had to make an excellent save; then Eddie Tembo was caught by a late swing from Connor Ross which probably merited a booking.
Finally just before things began to get desperate for the Glen , Reid released Corrigan who bulleted a low hard shot off the inside of Lymburn’s post to put the Glen one up. It was left to Lewis Maclennan to wrap up the points for the Glen when, after some confusion in the Beauly defence he latched on to an imperfect clearance and walked the ball into the D before slipping it over the line to make the points safe.
“Good luck for the rest of your season,” said Barry Macdonald as he went into the dressing room at the end of the game. A nice gesture but not something the Cabers boys will say-at least until after tomorrow.
So there’s nothing for it then but to beat Cabers -if not for ourselves then for Barry and the Beauly boys who now support us . They would hate to have been beaten by a side that can’t beat Cabers.

Shock! Horror! WHFP claims Glenurquhart well worth their victory

Kinlochshiel 2 Glenurquhart 4
The forecast was wrong . It was supposed to rain all morning and then pour all afternoon : it didn’t, though perhaps the Shiel faithful could feel it gently raining in their hearts for the duration. The result was certainly right as far as it went. The truth is that the Glen on their first half performance simply overwhelmed Kinlochshiel and a score of five clear goals in front should have been the minimum expectation by half time. It wasn‘t though there was a fair shout for a penalty in 43 minutes when Shiel keeper Kennedy appeared to Glen eyes to smother the ball on the ground but the call wasn’t given and the first half came to an end with Shiel facing a severe uphill struggle to salvage some self respect after a nightmare first half for their defence.
It was a game however that the Wing Centre and the former manager were a bit unsure about as they travelled up Glen Moriston and over Cluanie to the land of hearts desire. It is beautiful in the west but with five players missing from the squad the omens were not good. Paul Mackintosh, Billy Urquhart and Arran Macdonald were sidelined with muscle pulls while Davie Girvan and Gregor McCormack were unavailable. With Iain Macdonald pulled in at fullback to hold the back line the management looked at the thick Shiel grass and the slope with the wires running across the field. This was no park on which to run the ball but, defying all logic as usual, the Glen forwards ran it to great effect. They posted their intentions right from the throw up where a ball was quickly pushed forward to Neale Reid whose snap shot was saved by an alert keeper Kennedy with his feet. Andrew Corrigan then fired a shot on goal only to see it float past the post. The opener however was not long in coming. Calum Miller found himself in a tussle with full back Paul Macrae out on the left, with the big Shiel man having come off the sawdust. Miller pushed Macrae off the ball and slipped it to Neale Reid who fed Lewis Maclennan. Maclennan worked the ball back across the face of goal where Andrew Corrigan was on hand to stick it home for a stylish opener.
Five minutes later and with a desperate Shiel defence conceding a number of free hits outside the D, the ball was worked back to Lewis Maclennan who rocketed home a trademark drive with keeper Kennedy helpless. Shiel settled for a bit but still struggled to cross the centreline where Eddie Tembo, Ally Mackintosh and an uncompromising Dave “Dixon” Maclennan had a tight grip of matters. Steven Callender and Finlay Macrae are fine players but under this sort of relentless Glen pressure they struggled to make progress.
Up at the road end the Glen pressed continuously and Lewis Maclennan was unlucky to see two strikes flash past the Shiel post. Then in 27 minutes the Glen struck once more. “Dixon” Maclennan grabbed the ball in midfield from Finlay Macrae and fired it forward where Calum Miller threw off Macrae’s challenge and fired the ball into the net to put the Glen three up.
The next goal followed soon after, again showing skilful improvised forward play from the front men. Neale Reid played the ball up to Miller who once more held Macrae at bay before slipping the ball to Lewis Maclennan who made no mistake with another clinical strike.
An injury to Ally Mackintosh at this point upset the Glen’s rhythm and when the injury proved serious enough for the youngster to leave the field then the Glen had to revamp their approach. Ewan Fraser came on against Shiel’s internationalist Gordy Macdonald in the centreline and for the remainder of the half had the upper hand.
A few minutes before half time there was a strong shout for a penalty after it seemed that goalkeeper Kennedy had fallen on the ball and smothered it at his left hand post. The claim was dismissed however and the Glen went in for the jaffa cakes and camembert a little less than fully satisfied.
From a Glen point of view the second half was an anti climax. The injury and the reshuffling caused the Red and Blacks to lose their momentum a little and while they had a number of forays to the bottom goal , the finishing was not as sharp as it had been in the first period.
With much of the play in this half being confined to the middle of the park with occasional attempts to venture forward, the game lost some of its compulsion though Neil Fraser showed that he is his father’s son with two well taken goals with more or less his only two hits at goal. There is one thing you can say about Fraser - he appears a true shinty predator inside the D and if Shiel could give him more service on the deck and earlier then their goals for tally would be greater. To the disappointment of their fans however, too often they were tempted into trying hopeful drives from distance which flew high and wide. The only note of discord came late in the half when Lewis Maclennan and Gordy Macdonald became involved in a tangle for the ball which ended in both players being booked. Also into the book went Scott Maclean for getting involved. The foul went with the Glen but with Shiel almost finished their fixtures the cardings don’t matter for them. However, for Maclennan with a serious number of games to be completed before the end of the season, these five points on his shinty licence could be a problem. Let’s hope not.
In the end, Glen will feel that they annihilated Shiel : in the record books it won’t look like that. It will show up as 4-2 - no more no less. But then you can’t believe everything you read in books or in the papers - though for the WHFP this week there should be an honourable mention despite the uncharacteristically tiny report on the game.
Anyway here is a picture of the Boss. He is well pleased - no wonder.

Corky Pops in a Brace for Glen

Lochcarron 0 Glenurquhart 3

Early days yet and it will continue in this vein until shinty’s fat lady gets her voice in full tune for the end of the season-but so far, so good in the Glen’s bid to amass more points than their rivals in North Division 1. This game was a more impressive performance by the Glen than the score tends to suggest and it is fair to say that, despite the return of Gregor Cushnie and Peter Mackenzie to the Lochcarron forward line the Battery Park side were less impressive than they had been in the earlier fixture at Blairbeg. Certainly they were missing Darren Coyle and Ross Matheson was suspended (that’s the trouble when you take in these boys from South West Ross; you need Macraes to control them) but then the Glen had Arran Macdonald , Paul Mackintosh and Billy Urquhart on the sidelines so it cuts both ways in the competitive world of senior shinty.
Shinty would not be shinty if there were no hitches and both teams arrived at a very wet Lochcarron pitch to find that scheduled referee John MacPhee was not available and a substitute whistler had to be agreed on with the blessing of both clubs. Local ref. Kenny Murray agreed to officiate and the match got under way in less than clement conditions. It was clear from the outset that Lochcarron, who had lost the services of manager Fraser Mackenzie the previous weekend were going to be competitive but that the Glen defence with both Stuart Reid and Dave Girvan in uncompromising form as wing backs were going to give them little scope in front of goal. What tipped the balance in the Glen’s favour was their midfield trio of Eddie Tembo, Ally Mackintosh and the superb Dave “Dixon” Maclennan at full centre. “Dixon” was player of the match for the Wing Centre’s money in that he was always on his toes , quick to the tackle and excellent in his moving of the ball up to the front men and his close attention to the ball put Lochcarron’s Michael Cooper-a fine player in his own right-on the back foot for most of the match.
The first goal which came in 22 minutes was an excellent one. A Lochcarron attacking move had fizzled out leaving the ball to run back to Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh who drove the ball up field to Andrew Corrigan who fed Lewis Maclennan . Maclennan cleverly switched play wide left to Neale Reid who burst away from marker Angus Mackay and touched the ball inside to Corrigan who had continued his run and was on hand to tap the ball past keeper Michael MacMillan into the net for the opener.
The Glen management at this stage made a tactical switch which probably enough on its own to seal the game. Despite the early success and the fact that young Reid at left wing was getting his share of ball away from the excellent Angus Mackay, the decision was made to switch Reid in against veteran full back Alan Mackenzie where the youngsters speed would be at its most telling and the move rapidly paid off. Ally Mackintosh at wing centre played a ball in and in the defensive scramble Reid outpaced Mackenzie and tapped the ball into the net from close range. An excellent goal but the only concern for the Glen faithful was the fact that the Red -and-Blacks continued to create a series of easier chances which they scorned to take. Reid beat four men in a row on one occasion but failed to strike the net while Corrigan and Lewis Maclennan had other opportunities but fired their shots wide. Keeper Macmillan too had his part to play in thwarting the Glen when he tipped a trademark drive from distance from Lewis Maclennan over the bar in 38 minutes.
The game however was effectively sealed in 50 minutes when Reid raced on to a ball pushed up the line from Mackintosh. He pushed the ball across to Gregor McCormack who fed it back into the path of Corrigan who finished with a clinical strike from all of 20 yards. For the remainder of the match the Glen pressed on the Lochcarron goal , looking at times as if they were going to sweep the men in blue jerseys into the sea- but despite a number of chances-some more clear cut than others there were no further goals. Substitutes Calum Miller and Calum Fraser also took part in the rout but despite some nice opportunities, the Glen could not convert their dominance to goals. At the other end Lochcarron attempts to redress the balance were sporadic though Peter Mackenzie , who had always remained competitive throughout came close to scoring with a first time drive after having moved up to the sawdust for a spell. Stuart Mackintosh was quick to block the attempt with his club and the fight back was effectively over before it could begin.
The Glen now move on to the most important few weeks of their season with serious games against Sheil and Kilmallie still to come- so no real pressure then. The photo shows just how much pressure the Glenners feel. Snapped at Blairbeg though : too wet for pics in Lochcarron

No Easy Games in this League

North Division 1
Glenurquhart 2 Lochcarron 0
It might have been relegated to the bottom of Saturday’s news pile by Skye’s Balliemore victory, but this result was a significant one for the Glen, though its overall importance in the scheme of the season will depend on matches yet to be played.
It was a tough game and a tight one, and one suspects that if Lochcarron were sharper up front-or indeed had any sharpness at all up front - the Glen might not have come through with such a clear margin though to be fair the shave was close enough to be going on with at present. Lochcarron were missing Darren Coyle , Gregor Cushnie and Peter Mackenzie - three front men they can hardly do without - and the Glen had the whole MacTavish final centreline, Arran Macdonald, Paul Mackintosh, Dixon Maclennan absent through injury while Gregor McCormack was on holiday.
With Iain Macdonald taking over at full back, John Barr was pushed up front and within three minutes it was clear that Alan Mackenzie, as excellent a full back as ever came out of Slumbay, was going to have a busy afternoon. Barr peeled off the full back, turned him, had a shot, had it blocked and the Wester Ross defence managed to scramble the ball away.
A few minutes later Ally Mackintosh on the left slipped a ball down the wing to Barr who cut it across to Lewis Maclennan. He played it in to Andrew Corrigan who saw his shot diverted for a corner. Lochcarron were at this stage extremely tenacious and perhaps showing some of their former Premier status in defence where they were not shy to have a pop at the ball in the air and young Neale Reid ,who had an extremely competitive first half hour against Angus Mackay, was soon feeling grateful for the fact that he wears a helmet in competitive play. Mackay is an excellent wing back, hard in the tackle and extremely quick in his distribution and Reid had some difficulty in making progress against him because the youngster’s style is to control the ball and try to go past his man. Mackay is too competitive a player to allow this. As the match wore on Reid gradually came more and more into the match and by the end his tight skill and pace was much more in evidence but the lesson must be one of perseverance.
However, back in real time, John Barr drove a powerful shot past the post and then in 25 minutes Lewis Maclennan contributed a long accurate trademark drive which was hard and on target but the Lochcarron keeper tipped it over. The respite for Lochcarron did not last long because in 26 minutes, John Barr came deep off Mackenzie , and turned the ball into the path of Andrew Corrigan who sent a clean strike into the corner of the visitor's net. It was a neat and skilful piece of shinty which impressed even the watching Skyemen who had stopped off to observe the game whilst on their way over the hill to their own day of victory in Beauly.
The second half was much of the same - competitive and hard with Lochcarron’s Michael Cooper in the centreline impressive ,though in the Glen’s Eddie Tembo he had an opponent who was always on the offensive. Ally Mackintosh matched Kenny Ross well and when Ally was on the ball he performed well, not wasting a strike and in particular being mindful to tuck the ball down the wing. Ross too when on the ball performed with economy and skill, bringing the ball down with ease and effortlessly touching it into space for his forwards who, sadly for the men in blue were unable to make anything of it.
It was in a way a tale of two forward lines. The Lochcarron centres and indeed backs managed to move the ball slickly forward but the Glen defence were very much on top. A classy performance by Andrew Macdonald and a marvellous display by David Girvan at wing back meant that Lochcarron had few attempts on Stuart Mackintosh's goal -indeed he only had to pull off one serious save in the second period, while the Glen who were every bit as often in the zone found themselves firing the ball past the post too often when they should really have tested the keeper.
The Glen second goal came in a bizarre fashion - a drive on target by Corrigan was “palmed” by the Lochcarron keeper but he was judged to have caught and held the ball for a split second. Lewis Maclennan kept his nerve and fired the ball low into the net in 72 minutes to double the Glen‘s lead.It was a brave strike for Maclennan given that he had had his previous penalty saved by the Skye keeper in the Balliemore semi. He was however exhausted and immediately after the goal he was substituted by Calum Miller. At the same time wing back Stuart Reid who was also having a fine game was replaced by Euan Fraser who will need now to build up some top team experience since all hands will be required on deck for the rest of the season.
There was one further twist in the match and that was the fact that a very nicely worked Glen goal was given offside.Reid sprinted down the wing past Mackay and fired the ball across into the path of Calum Miller who very neatly prodded it past the Lochcarron keeper into the corner of the net. Referee George O’Rourke made the judgement that the big forward had entered the D before the ball and disallowed the goal. Tricky decision but a real shame to chalk off a goal as neat as that. In the end then, a hard won victory for the Glen and perhaps an indication of the fact that there will be some seriously hard games to come before this particular league is won.
One last note - it was nice to see Iain Mackenzie of Lochcarron come on to Blairbeg for what one imagines will be the last time. Iain has always been a superb player and a true athlete and as such he has had an unlucky time with injury. On Saturday he came on for a short time as sub- and for one glorious moment as he ran down the field , bouncing the ball hurley style on his stick the Caranachs must have though the clock had been turned back ten years. If he had scored though perhaps the Wing Centre would not have been so generous in his tribute - perhaps he would - class is always appreciated wherever it appears in the indigenous sport. Well done Iain and thanks for the memories... and make sure you take up coaching the young ones.

As for the picture at the top, it speaks for itself- and nice to see a cheeky smile. He can still do it!

Let Strathglass beware-he wants his own cup back!!

A La Recherche du Temps Perdu

Glenurquhart 1 Inverness 1
A great deal has happened in the world of Glen shinty and beyond since the Wing Centre last put electronic traces upon his hard disk. For one thing he’s been in France for a break, hence the title of this blog and given what happened on the hallowed turf while he was away, it is long overdue that the good days come back. It would be hard to survive a winter when the good times stopped in June.
However, in the cold light of day there has really only been one thing to be seriously disappointed about- and that was the 3-2 defeat by Skye in the semi of the Balliemore. There was never really going to be a serious chance-with the injuries coming in on the team in the way they have recently that-we would beat Newtonmore on the Eilean in the Camanachd. At Blairbeg, like we did two years ago it is possible that we would give them a fright-no more. At the highest level you need to score goals seriously well. The Glen can score goals but not enough of them and in the end that is what matters.
So what about the Skye result? That the Wing Centre was seriously upset about the result is obvious from the fact that he could not bring himself to write about the match or indeed shinty for three weeks. Doubtless the WHFP wrote an excellent report but as for the Wing Centre, the words would not come. Disappointing, no doubt but the result is one which the boys have not quite come to terms with yet though there are plenty league games left to play. The side was bound to be defeated at one point- a shame it was this match and truthfully the Glen had the pressure but Jamie Gannon in the Skye goal had an excellent afternoon but that is what he is there for.
What made it worse for the Wing Centre was the fact that the collection on the day was a good one and had to be split with the Sgiathanachs. Was the Treasurer ever so reluctant to let that cash go? If Hazel had not insisted , he would never have paid up. Indeed he eventually sent it to them and enclosed the following letter:

Dear Sgiathanachs,
It is with a heavy heart we write this letter to send you some money given that you beat us in the
Balliemore. The figures are as follows;
The collection = £178.20
DA Fraser’s fee = £ 26.00
Which means there was =£152.20 Left over
Which then means we owe you = £ 76.10
So we now enclose a cheque for said amount, though there is a feeling among a minority of
Glenners that we should keep the 10p as an administration fee. However, the Macdonalds among us in
solidarity with the Uist Clan Ranalds in your own team objected to this -so you’re getting the full
amount. We are writing this in a very small type so you will find it hard to read.
Yours in despair,
The Men of the Glen

On reflection however it is just as well to come to terms with what happens in sport -let’s get over it and move on and enjoy our shinty. Let’s get the good times back.
Which is why the Wing Centre has included at the top of the article some cheery photos of Cork and Booboo as well as the Maclennan Bros and their new hairdos. Enjoy!
The Inverness game however was anything but enjoyable though Stevie Munro in the Inverness goal was smiling like a Cheshire cat all though the second half as the Glen bombarded the shop and the advertising boards with shots while strangely ignoring Stevie between the sticks. Trouble was, when he was called upon to make a save, he did it. He must now join Archie Ritchie and Jamie Gannon in the ranks of goalies who have irritated the Glen. The game started off well enough from a Glen point of view with good movement up front and it appeared that chances would soon begin to fall. True enough they did but it was to Inverness that the most obvious one came. In 16 minutes Arran MacMaster got on the end of a ball and though his shot was nicely saved by Stuart Mackintosh in goal, Fraser Macdonald turned the ball in at the post to put the Town 1-0 up.
The Glen were indeed fortunate at this juncture that Andrew Macdonald was having a superb game because the Inverness midfield, especially through young Drew Howie and Davie Glass were beginning to tighten a grip in midfield. Fortunately however, that did not last and the Glen began to mount assaults on the Inverness goal. Sadly much of the effort they put in resulted in balls flashing over the bar or past the post.
If the first half was bad the second half was more troublesome for the Men of the Glen. It looked as if it might be good when Gregor McCormack fired a shot off the post and then in 60 minutes Neale Reid popped a ball across the face of the D , for Lewis Maclennan to volley into the net for an excellent goal. But there the needle stuck. The Glen kept up a constant barrage on the Inverness goal-the mathematicians on the line counted 37 shots at goal of which Stevie M had to save three. Ben Hosie came on up front and hit the best strike of the day and naturally Stevie Munro palmed it past the post. It is pointless to list the chances which the Glen forwards contrived to miss-not even the introduction of John Barr up front could do anything to overcome a resolute Inverness defence in which David Nielsen, Fraser Stoddart, Danny Polombo and Jason Macleod showed they were willing to die for the cause.
Indeed it is the Wing Centre’s judgement that the Town are a good steady side, much in need of a goal scorer and three weeks of serious training plus a visit from a sports psychologist to instil some self belief.- but then that is their problem. It is a fact though that a strong Town team or indeed even the very existence of a Town team is a political requirement for shinty‘s survival and the Wing Centre does not grudge them their point on that very basis alone. Indeed the Camanachd Association should look seriously to strengthening the profile and position of shinty in Inverness -but then that is a whole other article.
For the Glen the lesson of the Inverness game must be that you need hard work and dedication to keep winning. Heads must come up and , with a little luck, the good times will come back.

An off night for Beauly- and Smack nods off!

Beauly 0 Glenurquhart 5
This was a league game following the MacTavish final defeat back from which it was important for the Glen to bounce. It was played on the Wednesday because the Glen had a free Saturday to host a skills/6 a side tournament for Primary kids and the Glen are grateful to Beauly for playing the game because folks in their village were still reeling at the tragic death of Tony Tillman. He was shinty player of note in his day as well as being a past president of the Beauly Club. Tony’s heyday was in the “good old days” when Beauly played at the Ferry Park and a fine team they had too with Alan Simpson, Clickan Maclennan and the late , great Sandy Mackay - and it was fitting that the match was preceded by a minute’s silence observed by both sides in his memory.
However once the game got under way it is doubtful if these old Beauly boys would have struggled so much in a game against the Glen as the Braeview lads did the other night.
Certainly the men in green had a good opening spell but considering the Glen were minus John Barr (suspended after the MacTavish) and “Dixon” Maclennan out with a muscle strain , they should have cashed in. Roger Cormack did have the ball in the net early on but it was ruled offside and from then on Beauly did not seem to want to shoot. Barry MacDonald and Sean Stewart are two players who can hold their own in most company but Wednesday was certainly not their night. At the back it is clear that they miss Martin Davidson-out with a broken kneecap- and while they have plenty youngsters who are coming through they are short on experience.
The real damage to Beauly was caused by Neale Reid who followed up a solid performance in the MacTavish with a blistering display against a Beauly defence who found him too pacey to hold.
His first goal came in 16 minutes when , after Beauly had tamely wasted a free hit, Paul Mackintosh , Glen full back for the night, cleared mightily and Reid outpaced the home defence and fired the ball into the net. He repeated the feat in the 20th minute, again passing the keeper who took him down, but as he fell he knocked the ball into the unprotected net . The third goal was the best of the lot for having received a high through ball from Andrew Corrigan , the youngster fired it home having without letting the ball touch the ground.
At 3-0 the half time whistle went and the Wing Centre spotted two Newtonmore spies in the camp - manager Norman Macarthur and Norman Campbell- so there will be no doubt that young Master Reid will be tightly shackled when it comes to the Camanachd Cup quarter final in July. (It is worth noting that until today’s win over Kingussie the ‘More forwards appear to have found it hard to hit the net. Certainly the 4-0 scoreline sounds good but it appears that Ronaldo was not playing so perhaps that result should not count)
The second half continued with Glen dominance and Beauly in their few breakouts were seemingly unwilling to shoot. The Glen made various changes in the second half - off came Eddie Tembo and Gregor McCormack. It was clear the pool was suffering because of hard fought games against Kilmallie , Kingussie and Lochcarron - but the Beauly defence still looked vulnerable and eventually some nice stick play between Corrigan and Reid left a shooting chance for Calum Miller who blasted an unstoppable drive past the hapless Lymburn. By this time the Glen had two more walking wounded in their ranks - both Lewis Maclennan and Stuart Reid were sporting head bandages (wear helmets, guys!!) but still red and blacks continued to press and Reid earned his forth goal after a neat exchange of passes with Calum Miller. It is worth noting from the Glen point of view that Miller , lively in his spell up front, as well as Billy Urquhart and Andrew Macdonald who were on the bench for the MacTavish all performed well. Also making his debut in the last quarter was young Drew Maclennan who came on at right wing back and performed nicely against Sean Stewart .
There were two other points of note : one was that Andrew Corrigan had a run that would have gone down well in the all-Ireland in which he burst through from his own half right into the attack keeping the ball up on his caman all the way ; the other was a lung bursting run from Neale Reid which ended in a blatant body check by keeper Lymburn and should have led to a penalty. The Wing Centre is not sure if these two events are linked but suspects that they could be : if it were a Glen team in the 70's down 5-0 then they certainly would have been , if you catch the Wing Centre’s drift. So perhaps guys when it comes to games against Skye and Newtonmore (two crucial matches upon which the future happiness of the Wing Centre and that of the both bits of the Glen -Up and Down- depends) then simplify the shinty, shoot more often, forget the beautiful game and win at all costs.
As for annoying Beauly-it is a dangerous practice. Given the Wing Centre’s family connection with the village - on the distaff side he hastens to add - such Beauly baiting has been forbidden. Though look at the pic. Here we see Smack , asleep at his post the other night. Testament perhaps to the lack of perceived threat from the Beauly attack. Never! It will not be like that against the Island, Stuart -so keep your eyes open but good to see you've still got both hands on the club.

Lets Keep the MacTavish in Perspective

Now those of you reading the Wing Centre’s comments and coming at them from the viewpoint of another team must perhaps feel that there is little to be gained in the way of an unbiased perspective from the D. Quite right too, though the guy in the Sunday Herald who is not unconnected with the Club called it correctly last week when he wrote the following :
“Much of the Kingussie success in recent years has been down to the influence of Ronald Ross; his hat tricks in the finals of 2005 and 2006 underline the magnitude of the debt which his side owe him. While Kingussie’s uncharacteristic loss to Fort William in last year’s final might appear to offer some hope to Glenurquhart, the recent form of the maestro hints at a more conventional script.
This season Ross, now 35 and playing in a Kingussie side which is maturing to say the least, is back at the top of his game. Already he has already scored three more goals than his age and the season is barely half way through. Anyone who pretends to have an interest in sport in Scotland ought to make a vow to see Ross play once before he is gone from the game with the march of time. He totally dominates the sport and has done for years but it is when you see at close quarters what he can do with a shinty ball that you realise the magnitude of the talent that you have witnessed. Everything he does is economical and functional, designed to lead to goals rather than to entertainment and in the Premier League this season his shooting has been deadly.“
The Brahan Seer or what? And just let us look back at the matches of 2005 and 2006. Ronald beat Newtonmore 6-1 in 2005 - with the Norman Campbells and Fraser Mackintoshes - and Ronald again beat Fort William in 2006 5-1 with the James Clarks and the Robertsons. These were Premier League sides in the top half of the Division at the time and if the Camanachd Association had an archived website you could check the facts out at your leisure and you would see the truth of the observation. In that sort of context the Glenurquhart score is simply the default scoreline of any other club. Not that there is any comfort in that and before there is any talk of a learning curve - and undoubtedly there will be some learning involved though whether that will be shaped in an upward curve is too early to say- there are one or two other points to make.
Last year (2007) Ronald lost 1-0 in the MacTavish to Fort William because he was marked extremely tightly latterly by Duncan Rodger but earlier he had clashes with Neil Robertson and on occasions with Liam Macintyre. Yesterday the Glen did not shackle him closely until the damage was done and then when he was closely marked he received protection from referee Calum Duff of a sort he did not receive from the more mature refereeing of referee Donnie Fraser in 2007. No doubt Calum and the Glen will clue on to Ronald. He is a winner- so he whinges the whole time in the manner of a Badenoch Roy Keane but truthfully the hits just roll off him. Calum probably had not come across that sort of intensity before and it seemed from a Glen perspective that Ronald and Kingussie got more of the 50-50s than the Glen received. From the wee club perspective it’s definitely the big club syndrome.
Where did the goals come from?
The first was from a corner and the ball was chipped over, Ronald meeting it in the box and glancing it up and over Stuart Mackintosh into the roof of the net. Lovely goal but with more than a suspicion of offside about it (Told you this was not going to make easy reading for the Dell boys -though there was no obvious sign of the real Dal Boy in the crowd which was a shame because he is good crack )
What happened next was that Paul Mackintosh went straight into the book for a trip on a Kingussie forward and Gregor McCormack equalised for the Glen with a nice touch having got to the ball before Rory Fraser. There were two or more opportunities then for the Glen to get shots on target before Ronald managed to achieve two further strikes both having been rolled back to him from free hits. Have to say the defending was naïve but the frees were, in one case at least, very cheaply bought.
Then there was a penalty. What for? If for a kick by S Mack and the goal judge gave it - one would argue . If for a foul then the player who went down - Ronald -was outside the box but ok a penalty and the Glen went in for half time at 4-1 having put two chances over the bar late on.
By that time John Barr had moved on to Ronald and had gone in the book for playing the ball in the air, Ronald having gone slightly low under pressure and the ref having judged the swing to be dangerous. Yet James Maclean and James Hutchison got away with similar moves in the match and were not cautioned.
Three minutes into the second half Kingussie were gifted a penalty which never was. A trip on Ronald? No - he slipped or fell or stood on a club and lost his footing. A penalty? Come on. Even Ronald had the grace to look embarrassed about that but he accepted the freebie gratefully and rammed it home. For other goalies out there who might feel that they would like a chance to save a Ronald pen, he put them both to Smack’s right -one higher and one lower.
The sixth goal came from a deflection off Stuart Reid’s stick as Fraser Inglis played the ball across the face of goal : the Glen were so stretched an incident of this sort was liable to happen and so it came to pass.
Glen lifted things a little and a drive from Andrew Corrigan flew into the side netting. Finally John Barr was dismissed for tangling with Ronald in 84 minutes. Rash challenge? No more so than others but one assumes that the accumulation of them was such that the ref dismissed the defender. Looking at it in perspective, given that he will now be banned for at least one important game, it does suggest that perhaps JB should have let Ronald go or like Fort William would have done have someone else pick him up. Whatever the act made him miss out on a medal since he was unable to go up to collect one which is probably more than a little mean of the Association .
Not one of the Glen fouls were in any way malicious or intended to injure which is more than can be said for many fouls the Wing Centre has witnessed in the game: neither were the fouls which Kingussie gave away nasty for that matter, them mostly being for back charges on wingers Neale Reid and Lewis Maclennan.
Whatever his motives Jim Gow subbed Ronald as soon as John Barr was sent off- Jim might wish to punt the story that he did not want the Glen to be further punished for being against Ronald-but certainly as soon as the talisman left the field there was no further hope of a Kingussie goal. Indeed the Wing Centre’s diary suggests that of the other Kingussie players only Fraser Inglis had a shot on target.
So where is the perspective? Is the above sour gripes? Not entirely.
Take Ronald out of the Kingussie side and the teams become more even. Two penalties, two free hits and an own goal :these testify to the pressure the Glen was put under throughout the afternoon.
For Kingussie, Rory is still a fine player and all the rest do things competently and well. Ally Macleod and Ian Borthwick were solid as was Hutchison and the sub Louis Munro looks a find. Fraser Inglis has lovely skills that were super to watch if you were not a Glen fan.
For the Glen EJ Tembo had an excellent game - winning his own duel though the guy against was no mug. EJ drove forward for most of the match and at the end had slipped across to the centre line. In the absence of Ronald he would have had a shout at MoM.

JB was good and had a solid game under stormy conditions- as did Paul Mackintosh and Andy Corrigan though the latter did not receive enough of the ball to be effective.Gregor McCormack took his goal well though Rory had him sussed by the end of the game. The Glen also put together a few nice moves as did Kingussie though they always seemed to be much more in control of their destiny.
Shinty at the highest level must be more than a game of 11 wee duels on the park though it does have that element to it. If so , then Ronald constantly worked to win his duel but beyond that Kingussie seem to play to a system. The forwards and midfield move and pull wide and rotate the defence, always working to create space into which they are happy to place a ball. The Glen seemed hung up on trying to beat the back and were firmly placed on positional tramlines. If we are to learn anything we have to learn to aspire to the Kingussie model in the front line.
So what is the perspective then?
Well, every other MacTavish final team in recent years has lost to Ronald by a 4/5 margin. The ref appeared somewhat in awe of Kingussie though the Glen had no choice but to try a spoiling game on Ronald since he is virtually unplayable. Beyond that we need to continue with the dedication, simplify the shinty and work at developing a more sophisticated system in front of goals-including dispatching and coping with free hits.
The next few weeks of the season are critical and we need to move on. The big Glen support that turned up at the Bught yesterday deserves at least that.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

The Wing Centre has been silent this week because there is not much point in saying anything about last week's win against Inverness in the light of the fact that we are due to play Kingussie in the final of the MacTavish Cup tomorrow. How will the Glen do? Hopefully well : the Wing Centre takes the fact that house martins have built two nests on his humble home for the first time ever, to be an omen of the most propitious kind.

What can the Wing Centre do to help the cause?Apart from phoning up Ronald Ross's house on repeat dial so he gets no sleep the night before the final , very little. Except to print this picture from Phil Downie who won't mind since he has taken what will now become the iconic Glenurquhart photo of this generation-up there alongside Mr Reid' s sunny physog in the 1977 Strathdearn side. Why should this be? Because it captures the cool Mr Maclean in cheery mood. Somewhat aloof from his players -note the contrast with Mr Menzies and Coach Corrigan who are in there with the rest of the guys- Mr M still has the sunspecs on his head even in moments of ecstasy. How cool is that! Pretty cool in the Wing Centre's book. Deep respect.
Good luck tomorrow guys!!!!!

If you want to be inspired , have a wee listen to Willy Anderson's team talk. OK so he is trying to inspire Deke! However, it is almost moving at the end-and the sentiments are sound. Parental guidance recommended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb06zIZQwUI&feature=related

Glen Keep the Winning Habit - For Now

Balliemore Cup
Glenurquhart 2 Lochcarron 1

Whatever happens in the rest of the season, it has to be said that the early part has gone well. The Glen are unbeaten still and, with this week’s match against Beauly having been prevented from happening, yet another week goes by without a Glen defeat. How can this have happened?
Well the Lochcarron match perhaps gives an inkling as to how. The players have dug in and yes they have had some luck- especially with winning the semi-final tosses (there are plenty jokes to be made there and doubtless other sides will make them, though the Wing Centre won’t ) but in the end they have stuck to the task and with no exceptions they have worked to earn the victories.
This one was an easy one to lose. OK it was the Balliemore Cup- the one trophy which the Club should fancy itself to win - but coming after the amazing extra time penalty decider against Kilmallie it would have been a game which the Glen could have chucked away. On other days in other seasons this was a banana skin waiting to trip the Glen up -just as next week’s Camanachd game against Inverness is another banana skin - but so far this season the side have refused to give up.
The game seemed to start brightly for the Glen and very quickly after a battle round the edge of the D in which Gregor McCormack put the ever excellent Lochcarron full back Alan Mackenzie under a bit of pressure, the ball was flipped back to Andrew Corrigan who had a decent strike. Michael Macmillan in the Lochcarron goal however was alive to most of the early danger and was quick to clear his lines on the occasions that the quick moving Glen forwards burst through.
At the other end however disaster truck for the black and reds when a mix up in the home defence allowed a ball to fall to John Martin Phillips and in 16 minutes the Lochcarron forward slammed the ball home past a helpless tangle of players. Part of the problem in the Glen defence was because big Davie “Ham” Mackenzie is not the sort of forward most Division 1 defences come up against too often. He is not the fastest but he is the strongest and can pull a ball into him and hold off the defender- at least in the early stages of a match when he is fresh. If he does get to turn he can hit a ball well and yet everyone underestimates him while pretending to take him seriously. He made it clear on Saturday that pretending is not enough until he eventually ran out of steam.
One wonders what would have happened if Mr Cushnie was available? The boys at the back would say “Nothing.” They may be right but then again? Cushnie might have linked up even more effectively with Peter Mackenzie, a player who did for a time, look to be a possible threat to the Glen defence though he faded in the end, possibly because he had to do all the running on his own.
The Glen however up front worked a free hit and Neale Reid smashed a shot into the side net and then EJ Tembo - having a run out in the front line for a change - had a strike in 29 minutes but it was left to Lewis Maclennan to equalise with a glorious drive in 35 minutes. A corner taken on the right eventually hopped into his path and his low strike beat the Lochcarron defence for pace.
Lewis is in good goal scoring form just now and he knows that hitting the net is something that he needs to keep at the front of his mind in the next few weeks. Few can hit a ball better than him but he sometimes needs to simplify his game-go for the ball with the body rather than always with the stick when at the higher level he will be nudged by experienced backs just enough to make him misconnect.. However when he does connect he is deadly and fortunately this was one of these times.
By this time in the match- and indeed for the rest of the game except for the occasional flurry the Glen were in command but apart from Neale Reid’s match winning strike just after the interval the boys failed to add to their tally.
Yet it was not a bad performance and truthfully an interesting game . Rumours of it being flat as a contest were much exaggerated. Arran Macdonald had an excellent game against Kenny Ross- and that was a contest that Arran will one day no doubt look back on with some satisfaction because Ross is one of the iconic players in the sport who has deservedly played at international level in the senior side.
The centre line also performed well. Billy Urquhart was extremely effective on one flank while on the other, David “Dixon” Maclennan also had a fine game. He was however evenly matched with “Dickie” Mackenzie. “Dickie” is one of these players that the Wing Centre had not seen much of in recent years because whilst he was plying his trade for Lovat, the Glen were in the old National Division I and never actually came against them .
One has to admit that Dickie has the superb Lovat eye for the ball and worked hard in the wing -centre position but “Dixon” gave and took with Dickie and both contributed greatly to the shape of the game.
So why did the Glen not score more goals? Probably the answer lies in the name Alan Mackenzie. He has quick hands on the club and certainly held his team together at the back on more that one occasion - in fact probably on about five or six occasions.
The Wing Centre’s recollection of formidable full backs is that of the old National Division 1 twosome of Hector Whitelaw of Bute and of Graeme Mackechnie of Glenorchy -defenders who are uncompromising as well as good in their reading of a game, powerful in the tackle and mighty in their clearances. They are also extremely verbal in their marshalling of their defence when under pressure. Mackenzie , who is reported by those in the know to be the merest shadow of his former self , looked mean and lean at the back. He too reads the game well and while Gregor McCormack was tenacious in his pursuit and tackle, Mackenzie dealt with much of what came his way with craft and skill which was good to watch.
The result though went the way of the Glen. The confidence is high as it should be and for now the results have gone well. The task is to keep the winning habit, habitually.
In the picture, while John Barr walks off the field with his hero Kenny Ross , Manager Maclean appears to be attempting to snap Alan Mackenzie’s caman over his knee. Before the game, Bill would have been better!

Quality Seconds

Glenurquhart 4 Beauly 0
While the top side have been basking in their winning ways- and the Wing Centre does not just mean winning the tosses, though that has to be credited as a winning habit too -the second team has shown that they too have some quality about them as well.
The pleasing thing is that the side is scoring goals and given that the first team is playing a goodly number of hard , high intensity matches , the presence of a competitive second squad is extremely useful should the need arise. It would be a pity to reach a final or move towards a big match and find the top team down a player or two because of a injury and to think that there is no-one down below who could not do a job if called upon. With a second team playing at this standard the overall health of the club is improved and long may it continue to be so.
The first game in the above list- a 4-0 win against Beauly at Blairbeg was a nice competitive game to watch. Beauly are no mugs and truth to tell the Glen were lucky to steal a win over at Braeview a few weeks earlier. That came via a long midfield drive from Matthew Clark : this time the forward line- Calum “Jock” Fraser , Ben Hosie and “Chips” Smart were bolstered by “Panda“ Crichton who has been newly recaptured from the wild. Now “Panda” played briefly at Beauly in the first game but he is now back in the side on a regular basis and is showing that for all that he is a big lad he has a deft touch on the club. When he hits a ball , it stays hit.
The first half was an even affair with not much evidence in the way of there being a Glen breakthrough, and much of the interest was in the little duels between players in various parts of the field one of which between Glen’s Calum Smith and the Green’s Orrin Macpherson was a particularly well matched tussle.
The opening Glen goal came from Calum “Jock” Fraser when he latched on to a ball from David Smart and finished nicely to put the Glen one up. Some nice interplay between “Panda” , “Jock “ and Bradley Dickson a few minutes later doubled the Glen lead. In 61 minutes it was “Panda” Crichton who hit the third goal and the Glen ran out comfortable 4-0 winners when Ben Hosie scored with a neat tap into the corner of the net in 80 minutes. Ben is a touch player and it has been heartening to note how he appears to get better every week as he becomes more used to the pace and physical contact of the senior game.

Glenurquhart 3 Fort William 5 (Strathdearn Cup)
It was disappointing to lose out in this match but when one considers that not only did Fort William have Camanachd Cup winning veterans Deke Cameron, Victor Smith and Willie Macdonald in their side , but they are also managed by that star of Youtube Willie Anderson then the Glen should feel happy they were able to compete and they managed to give the Fort a fright. It is funny how the Fort seem to think they have a divine right to win in the lower league. With the Glen on the attack after half time it was only good fortune that the Fort goalie - a good young player - stopped a rocket shot from Calum Fraser with his face. If that had gone in then who knows?
Indeed the Glen had been ahead of Fort until the last minute of the first half though that was after a bad start in 22 minutes when the ball broke off Donald Fraser’s stick and gave the Fort their opener. Panda Crichton levelled matters in 25 minutes with a 35 yard volley and Ben Hosie put the Glen in the lead with a neat push into the net in 32 minutes. It was Michael Slezes who saved Fort’s interval blushes when , having slipped away from marker Matthew Clark , he managed to slide the ball past Gary Mackintosh in goal.
In the second half Fort rang some changes and pushed Deke Cameron up front to support Victor Smith and he scored in 47 minutes but Calum Fraser first struck the goalie on the face and then a few minutes later equalised from the edge of the D.
Willie Macdonald then went crazy. Now all backs claim every goal given against them cannot be because they were too slow to get out and cover, it naturally must have come about because the forward was off side- but to go on about it after the ref has given the goal and warned you and to continue to abuse the goal judge is bad judgement. The hope is that deep down within himself Willie realises this too.
At the other end Deke was doing an Acapulco diving scenario every time anyone came near him. He has been the Drogba of shinty for many years but down in the wee divisions the refs are not fly to him . Indeed he himself is a decent ref now and it is time he was warning himself about his capers- for all that he took a nice goal in 60 minutes. Victor Smith made the tie secure in 75 with a very nice finish.
Make no bones about it, this Fort William side are good ; leaving aside the goalkeeper - young Walker at wing centre caught the eye, but had the Glen seconds actually bothered to train en bloc- which they probably would have done if this had not been a first round tie - then a real upset would have been on the cards. The guys ran out of puff in the second half -there is nothing else to say about matters than that.

Strathglass 1 Glenurquhart 6
Strathglass were actually in with a shout in this game in the early stages but in the end ran out of ideas against a competent Glen side. The hero of the first half was Ben Hosie whose intelligent ball play-he always wants to work the ball-made this a true shinty spectacle. He hit three goals in the first half all of which were well taken. His first came in 2 minutes , the second in 10 and the third in 35 and only a strike from Alistair Macadam in 18 was there to save Strath blushes.
If Strath had a shout it was at the start of the second half when Raymond Fraser put a little pressure on the Glen defence but Dave Emery stood up to the task and big Ian Macdonald was steadfast in his resistance as were Calum Smith and Ewan Fraser. Eventually in 60 minutes, with Strathglass’s Dads Army defence of Stewart Geddes, David Balharry and Roy Mackenzie beginning to run out of puff because of the constant running of Ben Hosie , “Panda” Crichton and Calum “Jock” Fraser, the Glen scored a fourth. Wing centre Ross MacAulay , who has been playing consistently all season, played a high ball in on the Strath goal which dipped in under Allan Macleod’s bar at the last second. Calum “Jock” Fraser grabbed the 5th goal in 70 minutes after running on to a through ball from Gary Smith. The big forward slowed to steady himself and simply smashed the ball past the helpless Macleod.
By this stage Bradley Dickson was on the field and the Glen threatened to run riot ; that they did not was largely due to the work of Michael Stokes and Mark Macleod who both put in good shifts at buckshee back and wing centre respectively.
If “Jock’s” shot was a rocket, then “Panda’s” final goal jumped a time zone. In 75 minutes he found himself in the clear out from the penalty spot and drove home what in Balmacaan Road would be known as a rasper.
So here it is- quality seconds- and plenty young lads waiting to come in. The thing they need to do is train. Keep the nerve and put in the work and the Sutherland is a possibility. It is a pity about the Strathdearn but it would be good laugh to take the Sutherland away from Deke and the Divers

In the pic, Calum Jock demonstrates to Deke what real diving -not phoney , false diving -is all about. Now that's what the Wing Centre calls diving!

Kilmallie Pay the Penalty

MacTavish Cup Semi-final
Glenurquhart 4 Kilmallie 4 (aet)
(Glen win through 10-9 on penalties)

As a game this had everything - goals, excitement, passion and a top gun penalty shoot out. The only thing disappointing about it was that there could not be two winners. Make no mistake about it Kilmallie were worthy opponents, as the Glen knew they would be - and while they were no doubt desperately upset about losing out in the end, John Morrison’s men earned a lot of friends in the Glen by the sporting manner in which, having stood up to be counted throughout the match and especially in the penalty shootout, they accepted the administrations of the cruel hand of fate with generosity and genuine best wishes for the victorious Glen team.

A thank you also to referee Coke Macdonald who reffed firmly but fairly and played his part in keeping two well hyped teams within the bounds of commonsense.
It was however a game in which, having got off to a flying first half start, Kilmallie took their foot off the gas. It is usually the Glen who like to start fast and in the opening six minutes there were opportunities to put Neil MacNiven under pressure but first Andrew Corrigan shot wide and then an attempt by Neale Reid skimmed over the bar. Kilmallie were not so wasteful and in a quick raid up to the shop end John Stewart was on hand to drill the ball low past Stuart Mackintosh. If things were looking gloomy for the Glen in 8 minutes the picture looked even worse in 17minutes when a lovely piece of interpassing by the Kilmallie forwards -at this stage running the Glen defence ragged - ended up with Fraser Massie doubling the visitors’ lead. The Glen were determined to make a fight of it and for the rest of the half the two sides were evenly matched for the most part with the Glen perhaps shading it for possession although the Kilmallie midfield looked powerful and always in contention. The visitors were also helped out by a superb display in goals from Neil “Bauchie” MacNiven who had a number of important saves including one particularly important stop in 30 minutes when Reid slipped the ball to Corrigan whose low fierce drive was kept out of the net by the quick feet of the keeper.
When the Glen got back into the game they really had to. With the last hit of the first half Dave “Dixon” Maclennan blasted a shot in from the left. Did he mean it? Dixie will always say he did and truthfully on that left hand side he is pretty accurate. However he took his shot from an extremely acute angle and just as the pavilion experts got ready to groan in despair at the madness of a youth shooting from such a narrow angle, the net bulged and the ground erupted. It was to be the Glen’s ticket back into the game.
The second half was barely four minutes old when Andrew Corrigan levelled the match after pouncing on a through ball. In sixty minutes Gregor McCormack who throughout the afternoon had exerted constant pressure on the Kilmallie fullback, put the home side in the lead with a neat touch into the net. Given that the Glen were in the ascendancy and playing with a sharp breeze in their favour, it looked as if the red and blacks would hold on until a wonder strike from all of 40 yards by centre man Donald Lamont threw Kilmallie a lifeline and brought the contest into extra time.
By that time Calum Miller had replaced the injured Gregor McCormack and the game went into its extra period.
The add-on minutes repeated the pattern of the second half of normal time. It was the Glen who enjoyed the bulk of the pressure but came away from the contest having put the ball in the net just once. This came in 94 minutes when Lewis Maclennan smashed a shot on target : keeper MacNiven palmed it down but his attempted clearance was charged down but the speedy Glen front men and the ball fell into the path of Neale Reid and he fired it into the net. Further chances to finish the match fell to Reid and Corrigan but they found MacNiven in excellent form and from one of his clearances the play switched rapidly to the other end where veteran Alec “Tottie” MacNicol managed to salvage an equaliser.
This took the match into extra time and a penalty shootout was required to settle matters. Given that Kilmallie had been through this several times and that the bulk of their players had big time experience from having played in the Camanachd Cup final three years ago few of the Glenners gave the youngsters much chance of keeping their nerve.
In the end it took 26 penalties to settle matters : Glen had three saved and Kilmallie missed with four. Things were worse than that however because the balance of scoring when matters reached sudden death left the Glen staring at defeat seven times in a row with the red and black striker having to hit the net to keep Glen in the contest.
A Kilmallie miss left Lewis Maclennan with the pressure penalty to put the Glen into the MacTavish final for the first time since 1977. He shot. He scored- and the guys became legends in the D.
The Courier (27/5/2008) printed a superb picture of the end of game celebrations - Phil Downie certainly captured Lewis’s good side - but courtesy of Milky Fraser , the Wing Centre has another iconic snap of the immediate aftermath of this charge.
So how good is the team?
Good enough to get to a MacTavish final..
After all the Glen has only been in the MacTavish final twice - in 1902 and 1977.
So its D-Day for Kingussie then? Well certainly the Wing Centre will slag Kingussie off but can the Glen beat them ? Realistically?
Whenever were the Glenners realistic about shinty ? More important short term is to rally the wounded troops and prepare for the arrival of the Caranachs because - and this is realistic - the Balliemore is the Cup to win.
The Wing Centre would of course like to thank the present day Glenners for providing him with the opportunity to party, to reminisce and of course to live dangerously in the company of former Glen legends so that when he finally made it home he could say “Big Ron , Geordie and DP made me do it…” To be fair, first footing in May is pushing it as an excuse, and the only way out is a trip over to Beauly to see if Ian Marr has any lines he would like to off-load.

Whatever would Sir Fitzroy have said ?

Camanachd Cup- First Round
Glenurquhart 11 Strachur 0

When the Wing Centre was a lad he met Sir Fitzroy Maclean at the side of the pitch outside his house in Strachur. Sir Fitz was walking with the aid of two sticks presumably after having been given a plastic knee or hip to replace those he damaged in the service of his country when parachuting into the Balkans during the War. He was quite welcoming to the Glenners as they wandered off into the undergrowth to change in the henhouse . Indeed so dark it was it may indeed have been the dungeon.
The Glenners , of course , are hardy sons of the soil who have never been beholden to authority ever since the Laird persuaded some of the more conformist of their number to give themselves up after the ‘45. Those who did so were deported to Barbados where their shinty skills were turned to cricketing purposes but it is from those who hid and lived rough in the woods of Polmailly and Glen Coillty that the present Glenners are descended. They are therefore fierce and independent and as a result were relaxed in the company of this august Highland Chief.
“Hey man, “ said one of the company. “You’re not allowed two sticks to play in a shinty match. In the Glen we just have the one each ”
Sir Fitz took the jest in good part and made a pretend swipe at a pretend ball.
Without exaggerating too much, that is just what his son’s tenants were reduced to last Saturday at Blairbeg - having pretend swipes at a pretend ball as the Glen ran up a large score against Strachur in the Camanachd opening round match at Blairbeg.
Truth to tell the problem for Strachur was that they had played very few games in the early part of the season due to appalling weather in the Heartland. The result was that they did not have the legs to compete with what is a good Glen side but let’s not be too big on it - the Glen have been on the receiving end of at least one defeat of just such a magnitude so there is no room for either complacency or triumphalism.
The first half was a tighter contest although it took the Glen just 4 minutes to go into the lead. A foul was awarded to the Glen up on the left and Neale Reid managed to slip the ball across to Gregor McCormack and he finished off the move with a sharp strike past keeper Donnie “Doughnut” Macdonald who despite some second half lapses had a fair game overall though doubtless he will not see it that way.
The next strike of note came after a nice move from Andrew Corrigan sent the ball out wide to wing-centre Dave “Dixon” Maclennan but his powerful shot was well saved by Keeper Macdonald. Within seconds Glen goalie Stuart Mackintosh had to look lively to parry a long range Strachur effort but the Argyll men were slow to follow up and the chance to equalise was lost.
The Glen’s second goal came in 13 minutes after some fine play by Lewis Maclennan put Neale Reid in possession in front of goal and he finished off the move at the second attempt, his first having been thwarted by keeper Macdonald.
The Glen’s third goal game after a some delightful interplay from the Glen forwards. Arran Macdonald drove the ball wide right where it was picked up by Lewis Maclennan who slipped it over to Corrigan who finished with a well struck shot into the roof of the net. There were 27 minutes on the clock
So far - so Kinlochshiel but , the Wing Centre thought ominously “Why no more goals? If there are not any more, does that mean the Glen will let them back in the game? “
The answer to the lack of goals was of course that “Doughnut” appeared to be in inspired form. Nice interplay between Gregor McCormack and Neale Reid resulted in a shot which was blocked by the big keeper ; some chances were fired past and then just on 45 minutes some artistic interpassing between Neale Reid and “Cork” Corrigan came to nothing -in a goal scoring sense that is because the custodian was at his reactive best once more.
It was of course to be a game of two halves - and for the record ( and with due apologies to the boys whose goals are thus dismissed because there is not enough band width to do them justice) the goals were as follows:
Lewis Maclennan 47- “a fine drive” attrib Mr Reid.
Gregor McCormack 48- “a deft touch into the corner” attrib Geordie Stewart
Neale Reid 61- “a superb shrike” attrib ex-President Bell
Gregor McCormack 64- “a beauty” attrib Gregor McCormack
Gregor McCormack 66- “unbelievable goal, unstoppable” attrib Gregor
McCormack.
Billy Urquhart 73- “a neat finish” attrib Chairman J
Calum “Rhino” Miller 79 - “round one man, slipped it past the full back , then rolled the ball precisely into the net. ” attrib Managers 1 & 2
EJ Tembo 82 - “a goal” attrib Calum Duff ( referee)

With the exception of Calum , the rest of the guys are describing goals in Blogspeak quite naturally. It has now become impossible to work out who wrote last week’s piece on Aberdour- and the Shopkeeper wasn’t even asked for a quote.
So there you have it - 11 Glen goals. Given that Gregor McCormack scored four goals and that he is like the Strachur team - and like this weeks referee Coke Macdonald- of an Argyllshire origin , he gets the honour of being the POD for this week. Keep your game to the fore, Cork, and you could - nay - will be next.
For the record, Sir Fitzroy would have said the same this time as he said last time to the Wing Centre. “Good luck in the next round -and make sure you shut the gate behind you on your way out.”
He wasn’t to know that DP, who was there on that day in front of the big house at full centre for the full 90 , never left a gate on its hinges in his entire life especially when he was going through it.
For the record, the Wing centre saw Sir Fitz’s gate up behind DP’s house the other week. It’s time he was taking it in to Dodo Johnstone.

The Last Glen MacTavish Semi-Final Squad

Here they are-the last Glen squad to make the MacTavish semi.

The date is February 1987 and from the bare trees in the background it is clear that the venue is the Bught Park-a neutral venue for the Glen and for Lovat who were contesting the game that day. Even the Wing Centre feels badly for Kilmallie because of fickle coin of fate they have to come up North to play a semi final on their opponent's ground.
The Wing Centre would not relish a trip to the Canal Park and there is little doubt that Kilmallie would have preferred a different ground for this match, no matter how much they will try to tell themselves it does not matter . Truthfully a neutral ground is what both teams should have had.
However , we shall see : it will be a test for both sides -especially for the Glen. Kilmallie are a side with Premier experience- a year or three ago they were Camanachd finalists. They can play a bit.
It might also be salutary to remember what happened at the Bught 21 years ago.: Lovat were underestimated and in the end won 4-3 to make it to the final when the Glenners , man and boy, basically thought that all they had to do was turn up. How could they have underestimated a Crofter's team which could boast Don Neil Murchison, Ally Macrae, the Cumming brothers and possibly a youthful Gallagher and Macritchie. Easy enough-the Glen are great for being complacent. On the other hand there is no point in going out and being too concerned about Kilmallie. A proper respect is all that is required.
Look at the photo and marvel. At what?
At the absence from the photo of big Ron. No but he is in the photo! Look behind Iain Ross on the left-surely that is the unmistakable “Bella Mhor”, the favourite caman of the big man just visible behind the Strone urchin’s hip- and who else could be leaning on Bella but Ron himself.
Go oan yersel big man! Trouble is -too often he had to.
So none of that Lone Ranger stuff up front against Kilmallie on Saturday. Ron could do it but you can't. Just go ahead and recreate yourselves as Glen Legends!

To Aberdour and Bust (the Window!)

The Wing Centre was unable to go to Aberdour but he had thought he would have some fun with a posting. Indeed he had started work on a long ballad in the Auld Scots Style filled with allusions to Mr Bell as the “eldern knight,” “the blude red wine” of the managers and Sir William Reid as the “skeely skipper” in charge of the minibus on this hazardous voyage to Fife. The whole point was of course to get in a reference to the line “Half ower half ower to Aberdour” which appears in the original Scots ballad, “Sir Patrick Spens.” That’s right the one you did not bother to listen to when you were in school.
But then all of a sudden there was no need to bother. Ping!
Into his mail box popped the piece below, written in the style of the blog- but by whom? The Yahoo e mail address was anonymous and so there was no saying who had actually written the piece. What bothered the Wing Centre was the fact that the style was precisely accurate.
“Is the style of the Blog so easy to rip the p*** out of” he replied to the anonymous Yahoo-er.
“Not just the Blog, Wing Centre, you as well” was the reply from Mr Nobody.
There is no point in arguing with someone who is not there and so without further ado-here is the voyage to Aberdour in the Kingdom.

Aberdour 0 Glenurquhart 4
It was with some trepidation that Hendo’s heroes headed for Fife on Saturday to fulfil the 2nd round Sutherland Cup draw, against the unknown quantity of the relatively new club Aberdour.
Mr Reid was contacted at a very early stage in the week leading up to this game, and was taken aback by the organisation of this outfit. Used to the Friday night phone call from some of the North’s more senior clubs the communication from Aberdour nearly had Mr Reid falling off his couch. A number of questions and a host of information came from their Chairman, Mr Fred Mathieson.
The one that touched Mr Reid most deeply was
“ Do you think your boys will be likely to stay at all after the game?”
“Stay” exclaimed Mr Reid, “ you’ll be lucky if you get rid of them by Tuesday!”
It was a somewhat changed band of heroes that headed down the A9 from the side which had turned out the previous week. With a number of players unavailable for selection from the previous Saturday, some reshuffling was going to be required. This week only Bradley Dixon and Calum Smith could be claimed as falling into the youth category, but they also welcomed Garry Mac and Rodger Grant back from injuries
Given the lack of youth in the side, the management were somewhat concerned with the overall pace of the squad, and their fears were to be realised early on when the bus
stopped at the greasy spoon in Balinluig and at least six full breakfasts were spotted.
It would appear that the Dr Whyte diet decreed for first team consumption was by no means suitable for the Heroes.
Eventually they arrived in Aberdour, after finally
realising that the “railway Bridge”, Fred had said to look out for was not that of the “Forth” variety. They quickly realised too that some of their opposition were Scottish Internationalists, Yes, Female shinty internationalists - players with plenty experience. This was met with yet more trepidation-what would happen if these chicks beat them. Embarrassing or what . Despite the initial hesitation of his heroes , Mr Reid and Hendo were not for wimping out and the players were quickly told to get on with it.
Wherever a new shinty team starts up in the south, it is always interesting to carry out some background info on how things started. No explanation was necessary on this occasion however, as the familiar figure of Jack Asher was spotted in the foreground. A quote from the sideline banter came from Fred, when he said that Jack had told him once: “ Listen Fred, the whole world wants to play shinty, they just don’t know it yet”! If you could take a small proportion of Jack’s enthusiasm for the game and inject it into some of the youngsters of today, shinty would be much the better for it.
The match itself got going with the home side playing the best of the shinty, and all Hendo’s fears were realised early on. The Glen were being shown up in terms of fitness and they received a lesson in how to play shinty for the first 20 minutes. Some major re-shuffling was needed in the middle of the field to try and keep the home side at bay. After the “non full breakfast participants” were moved into the centre line, the Glen started to tighten things up a bit. However, most of the early chances fell to Aberdour, through strong play from Calum Shaw at full centre and Ally Hutt at buckshee forward. Many of the chances went a begging however, and Monkey made a number of amazing stops in the Glen goal.
An injury to Aberdour full back John MacLachlan midway through the first half, could be argued as the turning point in the game. Rather than moving the injured player, Ally Hutt took up the dual role of both forward and defender, and with only the likes of Kingussie’s Davie Anderson, having ever made this a success, it was a role too far for the impressive Hutt.
The stalwarts from the Glen put this decision down to inexperience, and probably something the Young Fifers will learn from for the future. The pace of the Aberdour players certainly caused the Glen real problems throughout the game, and Booboo Fraser must have thought narcotics had been taken because of the constant running of Ross Nicol at wing centre. Forest Gump wouldn’t stand a chance against this kid! Eventually the Glen began to get the ball up to their forwards, and on 37 minutes “Panda” Crichton, gave Tom Bowerman no chance in the home Goal.
The nerves of the away team, and that of poor Hendo were eased just after half time when “Panda” again found his range and sent a strike high into the roof of the Aberdour net. Panda’s shooting certainly poses a threat to the opposition - not to mention the windows of the bus- and if he can improve his fitness and overall play, this animal shows good promise and should create competition for places up front.
Early in the 2nd half, a tiring Mathew Clark was replaced by the returning Rodger Grant, and his fitness and strength helped to shore up the team, and finally the Glen started to settle.
Lisa Norman at buckshee back began to find Stuart Morrison’s distribution hard to deal with, and in 62mins, he was rewarded with a goal from his own build up play, this finishing the game off as a contest. The Glen could have been more had it not been for the excellent work of Fraser Mathieson at wing back, and saves from goalie, Tom Bowerman. On one occasion the excellent Aberdour keeper went on a mazy run out of defence after a fine save, whereby he was promptly told by his player coach; “Well done Tom. Now get back in your cage”!
Lisa probably did not realise the irony of her remark what with the Glen having a Monkey in “the cage” at the other end, and a Panda firing shots at her poor keeper!
Mid way through the 2nd half, Garry Mac was brought on at full back, and this released Grant into wing centre and in turn Calum Jock up front, who in 83 minutes hit the best strike of the game, and made it four.
The message from the stalwarts at the game was, that Chips put in a sterling effort in trying to keep Calum Shaw at bay, but other than that, the only hero was the one in the picture, who drove the bus! The other heroes of course were Aberdour, and the score line was flattering to say the least towards the Glen. Fred, Lisa and Co, must be congratulated in what they have achieved with this squad, and they are a real credit to the game. The stalwarts wish to thank their hosts for their great hospitality, and hope to meet up with them again in the future.
The lesson from Fife was that if this Glen team wants to achieve success this season, they are going to have to cut back on the fry ups, and improve on their fitness levels. They will not get away with it in Aberdeen on Saturday, because there they will have to face the most famous runner the Glen has yet produced in the shape of Jamie Bell. But then his Mam is a wifie fae Fife and ,on the evidence of the Aberdour females in the team, that is where he got his running from.

Aberdour Team:
1 Tom Bowerman (GK)
2 Ross Nicol (Wing Centre - it's a lucky shirt number thing)
3 John MacLachlan (FB)
4 Fraser Mathieson (FB)
5 Lisa Norman (HB)
6 Alistair Shaw (HB)
7 Calum Shaw (Full Centre)
8 Katy Smith (Wing Centre)
9 Ally Hutt (Half Forward)
10 Doug Newsom (Half Forward)
11 David Rogers (Wing Forward)
12 Joe Dunton (Full Forward)

The forwards move about a lot (except maybe Joe) as tactics or necessity require, so whether they were a square, a diamond or an irregular polygon would be hard to say).

Subs:

Ruaridh Reid (came on for Joe)
Amy MacDonald (not used)
Fred Mathieson

There it is , just as it came in, along with the picture of Mr Reid himself surprised that he has actually found Aberdour. He seemingly had no trouble finding Ballinluig.
As for the parallel Blog writer , there has been no further word as to his identity . The rumour from the Blar is that they are all in there practicing the style now, which can only be greeted as good news for the arty part of Drum but presumably regarded as a mark of shame up the Glen

Even Stevens or What?

North Division 1
Glenurquhart 2 Kinlochshiel 2

After all the negative publicity you read about the old game in the papers and after the Treasurer had moaned on to the Wing Centre about a boorish spectator who had refused to participate in the collection, it was a pleasure (almost) to be present at a high tempo match which was an advert for most of what is good about shinty.
It was, sadly for the Blairbeg support, a game of two halves and for some reason Kinlochshiel refuse to be beaten which, if there is a good quality for any shinty side to have, must be at the top of the list.
No doubt there will be an excellent report in the WHFP which will come out as usual on Thursday and may - as would be natural -have a Kinlochshiel angle to it and why not?
The WHFP reports have been excellent of late and no way does the Wing Centre have either the energy or the sheer number of pages in his notebook to match their scribe. Thus a broad brush approach will have to suffice though there will be some attempt to dwell on the Glen goals-as would equally be natural.
As for the ‘Shiel strikes they came courtesy of Neil Fraser and if he keeps on scoring like that no doubt he’ll soon win his way back into the Lochbroom first team alongside his dad. Actually while the subject has been raised , it seems pretty clear too that young Mark Macdonald is now just about ready for a step up into the Lochbroom team, so one should expect Ruaridh and Mr Irving to pay up the £50 quid each and give them a call now to get them back from the nursery club.
From the Wing Centre’s point of view, Mark and Neil appear to have developed enough not to look out of place in the Broom squad. Hopefully these transfers will have gone through before the Glen next meet Shiel in the return League fixture.
Enough of this nonsense except to say Manager Keith Loades looked very sad in the first half and his legendary shortness in the grain with his team was on the point of erupting so whatever hairdryer treatment he and Johnstone Gill gave them at half time must have been very special because it did the trick. The two supremos know their shinty and certainly moved their men about , made their centre line compete to get a grip and ultimately that forced the chances required to square the game out of a Glen defence that did not like the questions being asked of it. It would not be unfair to say that Shiel took both their chances.
The first half however was another story. The Glen started with a bang and were one up within a minute. Paul Mackintosh fired a ball up to Neale Reid on the left who sprinted his way past Steven Callender, fired the ball across the D where it was sharply dispatched by Gregor McCormack before the Shiel defence had woken up to the fact that the game had started.
For the next 30 minutes the Glen had the game in their pocket and it was not long before Neale Reid-a constant thorn in the flesh of the ’Shiel defence despite taking big hits from the his marker- doubled the Glen lead with a super strike. The ball was worked up right to Gregor McCormack and he fired it out to the left wing ,where Reid coming in at pace skipped into the clear and powered the ball high into the top corner of the net with keeper Graham Kennedy helpless
At this stage of the match the Shiel defence looked ragged and referee Macrae had to keep on top of a range of persistently late defensive challenges from the ‘Shiel backs and centre men who seemed to be off the pace. However, keeper Kennedy was on form and while he was helped by the post on one occasion , he still had the reflexes to deal with strikes from Reid , Andy Corrigan and a particularly fierce drive from 30 yards from Lewis Maclennan which counted as a game saving stop.
Gradually however, in the last quarter of the first half things began to change. Perhaps the Glen’s fitness was not enough to sustain the opening speed, perhaps the physicality of the Shiel resistance took its toll or perhaps the ‘Shiel boys are simply scared of Keith and Johnstone and began to play better as the Glen tired.
Whatever the reason the Kinlochshiel centreline began to win more of the ball and Finlay Macrae came more into matters. The introduction of Scott Maclean also had a great deal to do with matters from the Shiel point of view since it was clear that young John Macrae was not fully recovered from last week’s knock to the ribs.
Shiel maintained their competitive edge in midfield and for a while the Glen defensive hitting looked snatched and uncertain. The ‘Shiel fight back properly began in the 61st minute when Scott Maclean crashed through two tackles on the left to force the ball across the D where Neil Fraser was on hand to crack it past Stuart Mackintosh from close range. From a defensive point of view the Glen had time to clear the ball but neglected the opportunity to do so and paid a heavy price.
The pattern of play continued in the same direction with Shiel edging it for possession although the Glen made themselves sufficient opportunities at the other end to seal the game. By now however their shooting was out of sorts and Paul Macrae was finally proving to be too strong for the Glen forwards. The Shiel forwards however must have earned the wrath of their managers because of the way they neglected to put shots in on target when they had legitimately won the opportunity.
As play became more physical both the Glen’s Andrew Macdonald and Shiel’s Scott Maclean were lucky to remain unbooked and it was from a controversial decision by referee Macrae on the left-a foul by Maclean was not picked up -that the ball was played across to Neil Fraser once again unmarked on the edge of the D , and he had a simple task to finish it off.
The Glen mounted a late surge to get back what they had thrown away but there was not enough time or passion left in them to turn back the tide. As a game it was almost a repeat of last season’s League match when the Glen romped away to an early lead before neglecting to keep it right to the final whistle.
Shiel have themselves probably thrown away too many early points at the start of the season to feel happy about their League winning chances and being out of the Balliemore- thank goodness - they can look forward to a barren season unless of course they win the Camanachd Cup which, lacking goal scorers as they do would not seem to be a good bet. They are a hugely talented and determined team however and they have a nice edge to their play. For the Glen the message must be train harder and make sure you finish off teams when you have them at your mercy.
Even Stevens or What? Too much what in these encounters for the Wing Centre’s liking.

*Thanks to Brian Denoon for the picture

Its just too damn quiet out there

North Division 3
Glenurquhart 4 Inverness 1
Balliemore Cup
Kinlochshiel 1 Glenurquhart 2

If the big game was the Balliemore Cup match against Bert’s Boys at Kirkton , the game that the Wing centre actually went to see was the match at Blairbeg where Hendo’s Heroes managed another creditable win, albeit against a mixed Inverness side which contained some tiddlers-not to say toddlers- up front. Fair play to them they weren’t a bad side and for all the big guns that the Glen had in their armoury, the result reflects quite well on the town team whose hitting impressed the Wing Centre and the revered former President.
In the Glen ranks there was a welcome back to Donald Fraser and “Panda “ Crichton also made a second appearance of the season. Not only that but there was also the welcome re-appearance of Dave Smart in the front line : “Chips” has been sidelined with an injury for the past two weeks but his return and that of Calum “Jock” Fraser gave a bit of bite to a forward line which Beauly found quite straightforward to contain the previous weekend. . The youngsters -having had a hard week of shinty what with travelling down to Kingussie in midweek and returning with a 5-4 win at under 17 level-had to be content with a half about - though content is never the word to describe players who have to step down to let other on for a run. It is however what team rotation is all about and Hendo ,like Benitez is a Spanish sounding name appropriate enough for a supremo.
With Bradley Dickson and Ben Hosie pushing the Inverness defence in the opening quarter it did not take the Glen long to get their noses in front courtesy of a Calum Fraser strike in five minutes. That however was as much as went well for the Glen in the first half and despite a lot of ball being pumped forward Clive Girvan at full back , Kenneth Loades at wing back and “Dink” Fraser in goals did not seem to be too bothered.
Furthermore, Inverness midfielders George Johnstone and especially “Copper” Macdonald were particularly competitive and it took a concentrated effort by the Glen to keep on top of them.
In the second half the Manager brought on two more youngsters for a run-Calum Smith in defence and Ewan Menzies in the front line and both acquitted themselves well- so much so that Ewan makes his way into this weeks headline shot-once more ahead of first teamer Cork who must surely be wondering by now what he has to do to feature as a jpeg. Just you keep playing away well Cork and you are bound to get noticed by the Wing Centre.
Back on the field of play pressure eventually began to tell in favour of the Glen and Dave Smart struck to make the game reasonably secure in 47 minutes. The Glen were perhaps more focused in the second half or it may have been that the young Inverness side tired a little. Whatever the reason , the Glen added two further goals through Ross MacAulay and Andrew “Panda” Crichton though a close range strike in 72 minutes by Fraser Heath reduced the leeway for the town team and spoiled goalie Dave Emery’s hopes of a shut out.
Up at Kirkton in the Balliemore last year’s beaten finalists-as the Press is wont to call us-yes that is us, Glenurquhart produced the Balliemore Cup upset of the day with a fine 2-1 victory against current (that is more correctly former holders) Kinlochshiel-. It has not escaped the Wing Centre’s attention that the Glen have recently revamped their front line having moved defender Gregor McCormack to full forward where his experience and sharp stick work has added a new bite to a front four that last season struggled to score as often as the old gits on the sidelines thought they ought to have.
Glen took the lead in 16 minutes when a drive from wing centre Eddie Tembo put pressure on ‘Shiel keeper Graham Kennedy . As the ball broke from defence, last week’s hat-trick hero Andrew Corrigan was on hand to first time it high into the net for the opener.
For the rest of the first half ,Glen continued to create chances but good defending by Shiel particularly from halfback Finlay Macrae prevented the Drumnadrochit side from adding to their early lead. At the other end, the Glen’s former under 21 international goalkeeper Stuart Mackintosh had to look lively on several occasions to keep his goal intact.
The second half saw a gradual increase in Glen dominance (it has to be said that the WHFP has an entirely different take on this but Mr Reid , whose words the Wing Centre reports verbatim is a fearless and unbiased reporter) and as the Kinlochshiel midfield tired , long hitting by Glen full centre Arran Macdonald began to make a difference to the pattern of play. The second Glen score came in 75 minutes when after a spell of Glen pressure the Shiel defence once again failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to Gregor McCormack who tucked it in neatly through a ruck of players .
Kinlochshiel were however not quite finished. Desperate to retain their hold on a trophy which was fast slipping from their grasp they threw defender Finlay Macrae into attack and he it was who provided the cross for Neil Fraser to pull one back in 85 minutes.
“What was it like?” asked the Wing Centre to Mr Reid who appeared from the noise in the background to be partying much harder in the Dornie hotel than is wise for a man of his age.
“It is the sort of goal you go to watch shinty for” said the 77 Vet , thereby proving that he is an honest punter and can tell a gem when he sees it.
It is however with a little trepidation that the Wing Centre can write that young Neil’s goal was too little too late and as the final whistle blew the Glen were once more in the ascendancy.
Why the trepidation? Well ‘Shiel are down here in the League on Saturday and one would hate Mr Reid’s words to fire them up so that they raise their game and start thinking the unthinkable……..
What is even more worrying is that they might not have to raise their game. It is supposed to be wet on Saturday and the fear is that they will feel too much at home , what with Mairi down the road at the Blar and Stevie Callender apparently hoping to be naturalised as a citizen of the Glen.
Perhaps to avoid hassle from Keith and Johnston and especially Bert, the Wing centre should go off to Aberdour with the Heroes

* Many thanks to Tina of Inverness Shinty club for the above snap. have a look at their website at http://www.invernessshintyclub.com/. They have even more pictures of the Glen than the Keeper of the D has

Talking and Playing Rubbish in Beauly

Division 3 (North)
Beauly 0 Glenurquhart 1

MacTavish quarter Final
Glenurquhart 3 Skye 0

A good weekend for the Glen in the realm of shinty - if only all weeks were such. Of course the top side made it past the men from the Inner Hebrides to reach the last four of the MacTavish Cup for the first time since 1987. Extraordinary isn’t it- that a generation of Glenners have come and gone and the team has never made it to a MacTavish semi in all that time, so the youngsters have a chance to move closer to immortality when they play Kilmallie in a week or so at a venue as yet to be decided.
However more of that later, because at the top of the page you may observe a picture of Matthew Clark. Why so ? Well, in the estimation of the Wing Centre , out of two games and despite the wonderful hat-trick awarded to Cork on Saturday, Matthew’s point winning long distance power drive against one of the three traditional enemy teams was goal of the day.
It came in two minutes -a long try from the wing centre position (where else are goals of the game scored from?) which flew, one hears, straight and true past the Beaulac in between the sticks.
Now the Wing Centre says “One hears” advisedly because even although he was present in Beauly for the game he had several chores to do and several distractions to fulfil and as a consequence did not actually see the goal. Beauly is always a place of pilgrimage for the Wing Centre and the shinty is only part of a rich and varied day.
The Wing Centre always starts with a walk around the square; he reads the names on the Lovat Scout memorial to see if any new ones have been added since he was last there; then there is a peek into Iain Marr’s window to see if there is anything, not too over the top, that might perhaps be usefully used as a bargaining chip with Mrs Wing Centre should he blot - as he inevitably will in the course of a normal shinty season - his copy book. This last was a tip he passed on to Big Ron but he appears not to have paid it any attention. But then if you’ve scored in a Camanachd Cup final you don’t need to pay any attention to mere advice .
Anyway, to lengthen a short story it is up to the field and over to the take away at the pavilion for a cup of tea and a blether with Innes’s Mam who is always cheerful and in no way appears to be hostile to the Glen. It is always best to see the nice side of Beauly before you go up to the touchline to receive stick from the diehards and the ladies in the pavilion make you feel that there is hope for Beauly after all.
This time the Wing Centre had brought some of the club rubbish to dump in Beauly, specifically at the bottle bank where he was charged with getting rid of the multitude of empty bottles of Chateauneuf du Pape that the managers consume with their Roquefort cheese at half time whilst the plebs in the stripes are eating their jaffa cakes. Truthfully, there were quite a few bottles…..
It was as he was holding an empty bottle up to the light to see if it was clear, brown or green that the Wing Centre was spotted by Davie Mackay . None of that rubbish in Drum - the Wing Centre just horses them in the one skip but over in Beauly you have to be careful. There they sift through the rubbish so you have to play by the rules.
“Dumping your empties in Beauly so your neighbours won’t see what your drinking?” said Davie with all the malice of a Lewis policeman who has just caught a Barra man parking his boat on a double yellow line at Stornoway harbour.
“No”, said the Wing Centre “ I am merely dumping my rubbish in Beauly since I am sure it will never be noticed here”
“Talking of rubbish,” said Davie smoothly switching gear, “Your team isn’t up to much-you’re one down already” and Davie laughed.
So the Wing Centre took Davie at his word and when he asked some Drum worthies what the score was they simply said 1-0- and so when Big Ron arrived and asked the same question the Wing Centre said “Drum are losing 1-0.”
So Davie had his sweet revenge - the Wing Centre and Big Ron spent the rest of the match in an unhappy losing frame of mind- and when you saw the game you wouldn’t wonder why. Glen spent the match in the same way Rangers spend UEFA Cup nights- giving ground , getting booked , always outnumbered but never quite outgunned.
The Manager even had to play and how well he did. Back and fore , up and down, fetch and carry : he was a lesson to us all and living proof of the health benefits of red wine.
It truly was a game won against the odds : Beauly were awarded a penalty-controversially because the claim was that they had not retreated 5 yards at a free hit but then it was missed. Then they had late in the second half a ball in the net which was ruled offside by young ref Daniel Macrae who made the brave decision and stood his ground.
Towards the end of the second half the Glen came on a little stronger but when Beauly threw “Toad “ Maclean up front for the last 10 minutes it was all hands to the pumps and credit to backs Malky Munro, Gary Smith and Calum Smith and full centre Iain Macdonald for keeping the ruffians at bay. Up front youngsters Bradley Dickson and Ewan Menzies put in a good shift against hard tackling Beauly backs.
Then “Panda” Crichton had to come on and he had a chance to equalise as the Wing Centre thought at the time , but the shot went past the post. Finally, the President himself had to take off his red boiler suit and don the garb of old Glen.
It was only when the final whistle went and Hendo and Russ were threatening to go home to dance in the streets of Pitkerrald that the Wing Centre tumbled to Davie’s wheeze. The Glen had been winning all along. The news was broken gently to Big Ron who had also spent a depressed 80 minutes convinced of defeat.
They ought to do something in Beauly about that Davie Mackay. Telling lies like that, he’s bound to be a worry to his mother.
Nothing to say about the game in Drum against the pride of Portree. The Glen were able to score : Skye were not able to get the better of an excellent Glen defence. Without David Girvan, Gregor McCormack and above all Arran Macdonald - out with the flu- the team played well enough especially in the opening period where the shinty was fluent and quick though apart from Cork, the finishing was not.
The Wing Centre can do no better that quote from the WHFP - nobody -not even the Wing Centre could say this better.
“It was Corrigan, the former Scotland under 21 international who took all the scoring plaudits last weekend.
His first goal came in the 14th minute. Receiving the ball fully 35 yards from goal Corrigan arrowed a shot high into the roof of the net to leave the stand in keeper beaten all ends up. A quarter of an hour later from a similar distance and position Graham was beaten again by Corrigan -with the ball cannoning off the top of the goal keepers stick and in off the inside of the post. The game ended as a contest with 17 minutes remaining. This time Corrigan peeled away at the back post to latch on to a corner before dispatching a crisp low drive into the corner to complete his treble”
With all that arrowing, latching and peeling, one would think that Cork would be worth a photo. Well confession time- a snap was taken of the Winestopper Kid in action but he was moving so fast that all that could be digitally developed was a blur!
However, let’s hope for tomorrow’s game - and it is a big ask- Cork repeats the same performance at Kirkton against Bertie’s Boys and then all the WHFP will have to do is cut and paste.

Could this side put the Great back in Glen?

Inverness 0 Glenurquhart 5
If there is one thing to say about this game it is that the Glen forwards -all four of them - played with passion and for them to play with passion the midfield were on hand to provide the service. If the side continues to perform like this - and this is to take nothing away from Inverness who were down a couple of players - then the red and black faithful will have some pleasant afternoons to look forward to. Let’s put it no higher than that at this early stage.
Looking at the side overall, the balance seems right and the lads on the bench who came on are every bit as capable of a performance as those who were included in the starting line up.
The new ingredient this week was the presence of Gregor McCormack up as front man : it may have been tried before but Gregor’s experience and mobility on the inside Bught was the component that seemed to make the rest of the front men tick.
Inverness started off with a flourish- it is not for nothing that they won their two openers - and The Goalie had to be lively to push aside an early opportunity that fell to the City Slickers . It soon become clear however that Eddie Tembo -especially in the early stages -was not going to be baulked and he began to drive balls forward up the line , a feat matched on the other side by Dave Maclennan. It was a long ball from full centre Arran Macdonald -his hitting was immense throughout the afternoon -that was flicked on to Gregor McCormack in the full forward position. He knocked the ball back and Neale Reid -who gave wing back Daniel Polombo a torrid time throughout the afternoon -was on hand to fire it in to the net.
Sustained Glen pressure kept Inverness pinned back for the next period despite the efforts of Davie Glass and Drew Howie to stem the tide. However they could do nothing about Reid’s second goal which came in 15 minutes. The youngster picked up the ball and ran through the Inverness defence only to be blocked by home keeper Stuart Macrae ,who had a much more successful afternoon than the final score suggests. The ball broke wide but Reid was first to react. Sprinting back out he retrieved the loose ball and volleyed an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net.
The third Glen goal was a delight: Eddie Tembo broke on the right after running on to a lovely through ball from Lewis Maclennan. The big wing centre rode two heavy tackles on the side and fired the ball across the D where Maclennan , at full stretch caught the ball on his stick and guided it past the helpless keeper. It was as near to the perfect goal as the Glen usually gets .
Maclennan might have been given another goal a few minutes after that when he pounced on a ball across the D and dinked it in over the line just in time for referee Calum Duff to mark it down as offside. The decision from the stand looked marginal but by definition margins can lead either way. Sadly this time the decision went with the home side.
A few minutes later Maclennan again caused Inverness to feel the pressure when he won the ball about 15 yards out and fired a rocket shot on goal only to see his effort blocked by Inverness keeper Macrae.
The second half began with the Glen under more pressure than they had experienced in the first half because this time they were playing into the wind which turned out to be stronger than first realised. The result was the Inverness began to gain more possession and it was only the fact that the Glen defence is of top quality that kept out the home side. The main handful was David Neilson and but for the fact that the Slickers were missing Gordy Gray the suspicion is that they may have pulled something back. Steve Munro was up as front man and he never gives up and it was his persistence which saw him embroiled in a clash with full back John Barr that almost brought the home side back into the match. Barr won the ball but in the process Munro was knocked to the ground and the incident was judged by referee Duff to be a penalty.
Inverness’s new signing Neilson steeped up to take the strike but Stuart Mackintosh was up for it and pulled off a magnificent stop at his left hand side. Not for nothing does the Goalie hold the record for under 21 appearances in the national jersey and it is only a shame that the absence of the Glen from the top division means that the likelihood of senior international honours is liable to be denied to him.
Having lost that chance Inverness fell away and though the Glen had to replace the injured Dave Maclennan and Andrew Corrigan who had taken a nasty blow to the leg in the first half the side if anything grew stronger.
The fourth goal was another top drawer affair when Eddie Tembo worked a long ball forward to McCormack who sprinted wide on the right before cutting the ball back into the path of Lewis Maclennan who blasted it past Macrae ,who was fortunate enough not to have been struck by accident with Maclennan’s phenomenal strike.
The final Glen goal came right on the final whistle and was enough to grant Neale Reid a well deserved hat-trick. Having closed down keeper Macrae at pace Reid was struck on the back by the keeper’s clearance but still had the presence of mind in front of the sticks to steer the ball home through a ruck of defending bodies on the line. That act alone means that he merits the coveted headline pic of the week. Well done young man! Look who you are upstaging! Behind you-no not Peter.
Anyway, there we have it- a comprehensive win for the top side though the Wing Centre will not be counting chickens before they actually hatch. Saturday’s game against Skye will be a big test. The Islanders will be keen to do well and if rumour is to be believed they will have a full side out at Blairbeg to contest the quarter final MacTavish match. The forwards will have to be right on their game if a semi place is to be gained.
If euphoria was the order of the day at the Bught, the afternoon match against Boleskine was a disappointment. Suffice to say that the Glen should have won out of sight, despite the absence of a number of players and injuries to Dave Smart and latterly Calum Miller.
In the end Boleskine pinched the points in the last five minutes.
Glen took the lead early though a nice Bradley Dickson finish but ironically Glen native Raymond Robertson pulled one back for the boys from the bad side of the loch. Neat combination between Ali Mackintosh -who was called on to replace David Smart-and Calum Miller restored the Glen lead but a long hopeful drive by Ben Taylor-Macpherson (they don’t make names like that on this side of the loch) eluded Glen keeper Dave Emery and the sides were level. Lewis Smith put Boleskine in the lead for the first time in 70 minutes but Ross MacAulay who had moved up from the centreline equalised in 75 before things finally turned bad for the Glen.
For the second time in the afternoon, referee Duff awarded a penalty against the Glen ( the Wing Centre can feel a quiz question coming on) but this time his decision was judged by the spectators to be correct. The Wing Centre can hardly bring himself to admit it -since by nature he feels that all penalties given against the Glen are unjust - but CD was correct. Lewis Smith stepped up to take it and promptly had his shot saved by keeper Emery but the rebound fell to David Fraser and he made no mistake from severe close range.
All in all a disappointing result and made all the more so in the knowledge that the game should have been well and truly won before half time.

He-e-e-e-e-e-e-eere’s Benny !

Sutherland Cup
Glenurquhart 8 Lochaber 1
While the top side were over on the Misty Isle and in answer to the Wing Centre’s fervent prayer were actually scoring, Hendo’s youngsters were doing likewise at Blairbeg. To be fair they faced up to a very young Lochaber side which will mature in time but though the descendants of the West Highland cattle thieves put up a good display in the first half to keep the scores at 1-1 (despite several blows to the post from Glen camans) they were never going to cause such havoc as their ancestors did at Coire Buidhe.
The game opened on a rather risky note from the Glen when Dave Smart was booked in 2 minutes as a result of a mistimed tackle but made amends not long afterwards when after excellent work on the right by young Ben Hosie he fired a shot off the Lochaber post. Within a minute another youngster Bradley Dickson had a shot well saved by the Lochaber keeper.
The Glen were fully on the attack at this point and soon it was full forward Calum Fraser who broke through only to see his drive whiz narrowly past the post. If there was a feature of the match at this period it was the right wing forward display by Ben Hosie. Always willing to taken on his opponent and with an excellent touch on the stick he made life difficult for the Lochaber wing back who commendably was never tempted to strong arm the Glen winger off the ball.
In 20 minutes Hosie burst through the defence to get on to a Calum Fraser cut back but his shot flew narrowly past the left hand post. The Glen began to force a series of corners at the Druimlon end and twice more Hosie had his attempts blocked by the Lochaber keeper.
When the breakthrough came however in 30 minutes ,it was Bradley Dickson who was the supplier. Winning the ball on the left he squirmed it back to Calum Fraser who hit it briskly past the helpless Lochaber keeper.
The Glen continued to press and a snap shot from Smart came back off the post with the keeper stranded while a Fraser cut back again found Hosie who once more saw his shot pushed past for yet another corner.
Then just before half time , disaster struck . Some slack marking in the Glen midfield allowed the Cattle Lifters to get a rare ball forward and being the shady bunch they are they pinched a goal courtesy of a nice finish from Kenny Forsyth. The time of the theft was an irritating 44 minutes.
The second half however saw a different scenario played out . Within five minutes of the restart David Smart had restored the Glen lead with a neat finish and shortly afterwards Ben Hosie made it 3-1 thanks to an excellent finish from the edge of the D. Next it was the turn of Bradley Dickson to add to the Glen total with a magnificent strike from distance which the Lochaber keeper could do nothing about.
Ben Hosie was next on hand to score when he grabbed his second to make the Glen total 5. It was a fitting reward for the youngster because he continued his excellent display right throughout the second half . Not only did he place the corners he took from the right perfectly on to his onrushing forwards , he always looked to be creative whenever he got the ball and in the circumstances, being directly in front of young Neil Porter he received plenty of through ball. On several occasions he outwitted his opponent by flicking the ball back between his own legs to leave himself free to run on to goal and as the pitches dry out and if the grass is kept short he ought to find things should be more in his favour. As he returned to the wing after the strike the Club snapper captured the picture at the head of the report and because it contrasts so greatly with last week’s post Balliemore illustration
At this point Manager Henderson rang some changes and introduced wily veteran Stuart Morrison to the fray and he promptly rewarded the manager with two goals of his own -one which the Wing Centre did not see because he was busy taking a collection from the gaggle of interested observers who had assembled to spectate.
The second Morrison goal ,which made it 8 for the Glen, came interestingly enough in 88 minutes and is described as a “well struck shot” in the Wing Centre’s reporter’s notebook and so it probably was though it cannot bear comparison with the glorious 30 yard drive from David Smart which gave the Glen their 7th goal . It flew perfectly straight and true into the shop end goal and was along with Bradley’s earlier goal and Ben’s overall performance the reason why the Wing Centre has wasted so much of his adult life following the indigenous sport when he could have been digging his garden or completing DIY tasks around the house.
Just as the game ended word came through from the Inner Hebrides that the top side had won 3-1 and that Neale Reid and Lewis Maclennan had scored.
“Who got the third?” was the question asked.
It was Cork. There was delight all round the ground- and the joy continued unabated even when Astie at Alton Towers spoiled the celebration by reporting that Ally Mor had phoned to say the ball had come off a Skyeman called Alan Macleod. The Wing Centre wonders whether the fellow exists and that Ally Mor was trying to upset the Glen and produced off the top of his head for Astie’s benefit one of the two traditional generic names for Skyemen, the second being Angus Macdonald. Whatever - Ally Mor’s version stood and Alan Macleod got official credit for the goal - which is surprising because he plays for Strathglass..
It might be worth noting that the Glen minutes will undoubtedly grant the goal to Cork.

When the cat’s away it seems the mice are reluctant to score.

Glenurquhart 2 Lochcarron 1
Glenurquhart 0 Caberfeidh 0

After the slowest of starts to the season, the Wing Centre has managed to be firth of the Glen long enough to miss two games in a row-one a fine win at home to Lochcarron in the MacTavish Cup and a not so fine draw with Caberfeidh also at home . So what can you make of the Glen? At least as far as this season goes so far they have not been beaten .
However the real verdict must be that the Wing Centre is unsure really at this stage and somewhat concerned about this weekend’s trip to Skye which is why this piece has not been posted in time for the youngsters to read it and feel that the Wing Centre is suffering from a crisis of confidence..
Still it was nice to defeat the Caranachs in the Cup and this weekend should be a bonus in that it will tell us a little about the nature of the Sgiathanachs. The hope is that with their football season started the few of them that see a future playing pub football in the North reserve league, will be playing the round ball game to try to impress coaches who have come over to see the natives disport themselves on the reservation.
The Wing Centre has an instinctive distaste for the imperialist tendencies of football, especially now that it seems to have been given the approval of the Almighty in the Glen but sometimes it is an ill wind. The hope lingers that half the Skye squad will choose the round ball this weekend -though most probably Davie MacVicar has converted the whole top end of the island to the true faith with his evangelical fervour for the stick game.
Back to the Caranachs. The Wing Centre was in the car driving through the snow and speaking to Mr Reid about the game. Mr Reid had just paid the referee an inordinate amount of the Lotto money for coming north from Argyll to officiate- whatever happened to Donnie Fraser from Inverness- and was clearly in no mood to go into fine detail on the match.
“Two goals from Lewis Maclennan “
“That it”
“Yeah”
“When did he get them?”
“During the game- when do you think?”
“Astie will want the times.”
There was a great deal of sighing . The Wing Centre had to remind Mr Reid that he possessed a photograph of Mr Reid as a young nipper in the 1958 school Macpherson Cup team ,which ,if published would cause his two sons and most probably his good lady to laugh and laugh and laugh.
“35 minutes and 82 minutes”
“Their goal?”
More huffing and puffing
“Darren Coyle 44”
“So it was a close game and we nicked it at the end . What were Lewis’s goals like?”
The phone went dead. Mr Reid was obviously in no mood to elaborate.
Hendo wasn’t much better.
“What were Lewis ‘s goals like?”
“Good goals. That’s all Lewis scores”
So that was it-no more to say or describe.
As for Lochcarron , for all the heroes were concerned they might have spent the day rounding up sheep or painting the boats on the loch for all the attention their efforts attracted.
On return to Drum the question was asked about the Caranachs.
“How did Alan Mackenzie play at full back?”
“OK but Neale Reid gave him a hard game ”
“But it’s the great Alan Mackenzie. The best full back in the whole world apart from the eight in the Premier League that is”
“He was OK”
“What about Kenny Ross?”
“Ok -but he’s not as hard to play against as his father”
The Wing Centre was taken aback by this because he did not think the speaker had ever played against Kenny though he had clashed camans with Ronnie often enough.
Asking about the Cabers game caused more problems. A wall of silence descended.
“What happened?” seemed a reasonable request at the time.
It obviously wasn’t.
“Typical Cabers game. A wet day. Freezing cold. The park was heavy-just couldn’t score. You know Cabers-hard at the back. Denzil and the rest of them. Macgregor as well.” said Mr Reid
“What’s wrong with that?” asked the Wing Centre
“Nothing, “ said Mr Reid.
“So how many saves did Archie the Goalie have to make”
“None”
The Wing Centre paused for dramatic effect.
“But they never threatened us either” concluded Mr Reid.
The picture was becoming clearer : in the end the press release from the politburo stated that the Glen had 70% of the play but the other relevant fact was that Archie the Goalie made no saves. Then again neither did Stuart the Goalie
The Wing Centre was about to phone Davie MacMaster to get the other side of the story but in the end decided not to bother. If Stuart the Goalie had no saves to make then what was the point of having Davie MacMaster trying to beat down the Glen figure of possession claimed from 70% to perhaps 69%. Waste of time.
It was Astie at Alton Towers on Tuesday who really forced the Wing Centre to think on his feet.
“No one phoned in the result last week“, he said accusingly “but I got it in the end”
“Glad you did but that would have been Mr Reid and from his perspective it would have been right not to phone.”
“What do you mean ?“ said Astie.
“Well there were no goals , so Mr Reid would have thought there was no point in phoning in because the default position on your computer would have been a 0-0 draw. What was the point of contacting you when you already knew the result.?”
Astie put the phone down - and the Wing Centre notes that the Glen were not awarded the prize for Team of the Month.
As for the snap at the top, the Wing Centre thought it might be a good idea to remind the lads what it feels like when you don’t score. No? Perhaps not such a good idea after all. Then score!!

The Wanderer Returns

Glenurquhart 8 Ardnamurchan 0
It is the best start the Glen has had to a shinty season for years: four weeks in and neither team has lost a point or even a goal. If only it could always be like this! What is more - quick glace at the shintyshop.com results page reveals a familiar name up near the top of the scoring charts. Who other than J Bell (4)? He is scoring freely for Aberdeen University as he has done since last century. He is certainly the lost Messiah of Glen shinty, the wunderkind who moved away to grace the shinty scene in Aberdeen fifteen or more years ago. He kept his talent and passion for the game and retained the true faith, never giving up, never glory hunting. He should be recognised by the Camanachd Association for services to the indigenous sport. The bottom line is -the Glen have never replaced him.
Aah -the period 1982-1987 was truly a golden age in the annals of Glen Camanachd.
Enough levity -it is a serious business when four weeks into the season the Glen have yet , in the words of Beauly’s own Caldermeister “to lift a caman in anger”. Not that anger ever enters the minds of Glenners on the field of dreams -that we leave to other Glens and Straths. However for the sake of some reading matter a brief report of the Glen’s only competitive match this season is worth putting down. The result is of course given at the head of the column but what is more worthy of note is the pic taken by the Wing Centre’s favourite snapper, Mr Denoon of Fort Augustus and Inverness.
Yes your eyes-and the Wing Centres -do not deceive . Himself is back from somewhere and better than that -back in the Glen colours. If the side could only get a game under its belt and the force stays with us until we get up to competitive speed-the Wing Centre’s only worry is that the side has overtrained -then the omens are good. The same side as last season with Himself added to the pool. The cup game against Lochcarron will be the tester-and on that subject it is sad to note the retirement from the stick sport of the west coast sides’ peerless Iain Mackenzie through injury. He was a superb stick player and it is to be hoped he will be able to put something back to the youngsters of his home club through coaching or the like.
Back to the matter in hand which is the Ardnamurchan report. It has to be said that this match was never a classic though the youngsters who turned out acquitted themselves well. Indeed the Glen got off to a rapid start when Davie Stewart opened the scoring with a fine strike in 6 minutes. The ball was worked forward by young centreline maestro Neil Porter - his fine performance was a feature of the game -and Davie S fired the chance into the roof of the net.
And that was it for the rest of the first half. Ardnamurchan put up the shutters, the Glen failed to get any coherent pattern of play and despite some nice pushes forward and skilful touches from Dave Smart , the net refused to bulge. Mr S had some scope for killing off the match but scorned to take it. At the back Calum Smith and in particular Drew Maclennan were quick to snuff out any thrusts forward by what was a young if indirect Ardnamurchan team.
The second half was different- not least because a three goal Glen burst inside 7 minutes of the restart changed the complexion of the match entirely. The first of these came in 48 minutes when Calum Fraser latched on to a ball from Dave Smart. His initial shot was well saved but the ball came back out to Fraser who finished off well. The same player hit the target with a fine finish after some nice shinty in 50 minutes and before long the ever lively Bradley Dickson had drilled home yet another goal and the game was well beyond the Lighthouse Boys.
This comfortable cushion of goals was enough to allow Manager Henderson some scope for experimentation and also permitted him to give Himself a run out on the hallowed turf. With Dave Smart withdrawn because of a slight injury , the Boss also replaced the injured Donald Fraser and centre man Matthew Clark to give a run to Malkie Munro and youngster Ben Hosie.
It was EJ Tembo (Himself ) who bagged the next goal with a massive strike from the centreline which left his fans gasping with wonder. It was the sort of goal he will not get in the Division above because the keepers are more clued up but the young Ardnamurchan keeper had come off his line and EJ’s drive off the tee simply deceived him.
In the 75th minute Ben Hosie worked a dead ball out to Calum (Jock) Fraser and the big striker won the match ball when he completed his hatrick. In 80 minutes Bradley Dickson helped himself to a second goal before the scoring was completed in favour of the Glen through an unfortunate own goal from defender John Nudds . It was an undeserved piece of bad luck for Nudds who had had an excellent second half in very trying circumstances. He is a good player and Ardnamurchan are by no means a bad team as their most recent result -a 4-4 draw with the Caranachs proves.
Next week the Glen are involved in a sudden death encounter in Old MacTavish’s fine cup competition and given that the opposition is Lochcarron , then the form will have to be good. Goals one expects will be required.

At least the Glen have a home draw.

Without You ,What Would Shinty Do Ron Ron ?

Premier League.
Lovat 1 Kingussie 4
It was a lucky chance (what other kind of chance is there worth writing about?) but the Wing Centre found himself over at Kiltarlity watching Kingussie play Lovat on the opening day of the season. There were quite a few other chancers over at Balgate too and all there because poor weather had forced the cancellation of their home fixtures. Had it not been for the incessant rain then the Wing Centre would have been at Blairbeg watching the Glen playing Inverness and an enjoyable experience it would have been too. The other chancers who arrived at Balgate composed a Beauly contingent-Dave Calder, Davie Mackay , Simon Jack and Martin Maclean, the Glen’s own Hendo plus Strath’s elder statesman George Fraser. The group was later joined by former Scotland on Sunday Shinty Correspondent Brian Denoon who provided the snap at the head of this column. As with all pics in the “D” Blog it can be read on many levels : so do the work yourself. The least likely is that Dellboy Dawson is bowing down in homage to the resurgence of the indigenous sport at Balgate.

One point worth making however was that from the snap it can be seen that Lovat seem to have a fair amount of local sponsorship and good luck to them.
Now the chancers did not mix with either the Crofters or the Dellboys : the intention was to have a cold analytical look at both Kingussie and Lovat and fraternising might have deflected the trusty companions from their task.. However a good part of the early part of the first half was filled with unfocused shinty related blethering before the group became aware that Lovat , who were attacking towards Brockie’s corner, were more greatly in the ascendancy than one would have thought before the game. At the other end though , Kingussie seemed intermittently dangerous in the sense that Ronald Ross and Russell Dallas put their shots on target.
Lovat were fortunate that keeper Stuart Macdonald was in form and in the early stages he pulled off in particular one superb stop from someone -whoever it was, it was too far away for the chancers to see.
Up at the Brockie’s end Lovat made good progress from defence to centreline but when the ball came up to the front there was a distinct lack of coherent interplay amongst the forwards and there might have been more progress made if more shots were played, however weakly, into the D. Perhaps then Ackie Dempster in goal might have had to do some work. On the few occasions Lovat did get shots on target Ackie handled things Ok but had an uncomfortable moment or two in the mud.
Too often , however, Raymond Rennie had a strike from an impossible angle- as far as the Wing Centre knows the only one who can score from these positions is Robert Geddes-and the ball whistled harmlessly off into the fields behind the goal. At some point Russell Dallas opened the scoring and the chancers exchanged glances-now would come the deluge. The second half was set up to be a scene of slaughter.
That of course is precisely not what happened.
There were however three Ronald Ross goals. They were each individually excellent- and they are proof that even on a muddy , wet and bumpy pitch, in a run of the mill League match on a dull March Saturday and with no other Kingussie forward to help him, Ronald Ross is a national treasure. Anyone who pretends to have an interest in sport in Scotland ought to make a vow to see him play once before Ross is gone from the game with the march of time. He totally dominates the sport and has done for years but it is only when you see at close quarters what he can do away from the big stage that you realise the magnitude of the talent that you have witnessed. Take nothing away from James Grieve, Lovat’s teenage fullback. He played Ross well and got his fair share from him for at least 70 minutes . Grieve would also have found Ross to be a hard opponent but a fair one. Never once did Ross attempt to physically bully or smash his way past the youngster. Perhaps one day James Grieve will realise the significance of what that game meant in his own development: he played one on one with Ronald Ross and held his own. Yet Ross scored three.
For his first goal Ross managed to burst past Grieve, who had gone forward to cut out a ball but did not manage to anticipate its bounce. Grieve had a split second to take Ross down but, credit to him, he did not consider the foul though big George and the Wing Centre thought the window of opportunity was there for a non -malicious trip. Ross then ran at pace down the wing with the ball under right hand control and cut into the D from the right. As Macdonald made to approach him he flick-fired the ball halfway up the net between stanchion and post. There was no back swing so the chasing pack were outmanoeuvred and the flick was not only accurate but too powerful and pacey for Macdonald to react to. That alone would have won him the accolade of man of the match but there was better to come.
Ross’s second goal was another testament to class. The ball came over from the left wing into the D : it was bouncing ;Ross was falling and surrounded by swinging defenders yet he punched it with the blade of his caman into the roof of the net via the only available clear route to goal. Not only was the strike precise but he had the courage to do it at personal risk in a game that was already won. It is doubtful if his mind bothered to weigh up the risk.
For his third goal, Ross pressed further up on Grieve, got on the wrong side of him and picking up a through ball dribbled past another defender and the keeper and slipped the final ball into the net- and all this on the muddy bumpy surface and under pressure from harassing defenders.
Ross of course had a number of other attempts at goal in the shape of full drives at the target from distance. Some whistled narrowly past while three others - rocket shots all- were very well dealt with and cleared by keeper Macdonald. The other Kingussie attackers? Ross did not seem to bother with them . He shot himself every time. Despite the presence of Russell Dallas, Paul Gow and a young Borthwick who all ran and made angles Ronald did not seem to want to play team shinty. Perhaps he made a fine judgement on the basis of the condition of the pitch that interpassing was pointless. Perhaps he also thought it pointless because he does not rate his present playing companions to be on the level of old frontline comrades such Fraser Inglis, Kevin Thain and Ally Borthwick. The observation may mean nothing - or it may be a pointer to Kingussie’s prospects of Camanachd glory this year. If you took away the contribution of Ross you might have been watching any other village shinty team in the kingdom.
“Have you ever seen anyone better?” asked Strath’s George of the other chancers.
They ran the names through in their heads-Johnny Campbell, John Fraser, Tommy Nicholson, Davie Anderson, Willie Cowie.
“No”
“Do you think there was anyone better?”
No one could make a judgement on Johnny Cattenach. He died in 1915.
“No”
And that was their last word on the matter.

Clearly, the Wing Centre can hardly wait for the new shinty season to start

Since looking on the bright side of Glen shinty is the only purpose for the existence of this column, the point must immediately be made that one of the important things that came out of the recent series of pre-season fixtures was the fact that we did the double over Lovat. Hendo’s Heroes won against the Wee Crofters on the first Saturday and then a week later two goals from Neale Reid and a strike from Lewis Maclennan allowed the Glen to record a victory against the side that undermined our season last year. Not that any of that counts in real life.
However- the pic at the top of the page taken by an old snapper friend, Brian Denoon, is one that speaks volumes and can be read on many levels . Indeed if this were a real blog with prizes to be won surely a caption competition would be in order.
What do we see? Certainly the dug out is neat, clean and tidy and looked after in a Glen -like manner in stark contrast to the photo some months earlier in the blog of the Lovat dugout (scroll down if you must). Thus do well kept farms of the Glen contrast with the messy hill crofts of Kiltarlity. More importantly - and young Ewen Weatherspoon , who has an exhibition of his shinty pictures on display at Inverness Museum ,should take note- here we have in the background two shinty legends having a conversation while young masters Corrigan and Barr burst through the middle to launch yet another attack. The old have handed on the caman of glory to the young.
In any exhibition of shinty photos perhaps there should be included a photo of greats of the past like the Glen’s Jimmac Mackintosh and Lovat’s Jackie Henton. Maybe these two old boys are there on display-the Wing Centre hasn’t gone in to see yet- but the snaps of the old boys like Ali Mac and Tarzan which he saw reproduced in a recent Courier article look as if they would come in handy to put up on a string to frighten roe deer out of the garden.
Back over at Blairbeg however, the heroes did not do so well. The WHFP gave a proper account of the game which the Wing Centre is too distressed to give here. Sufficient to say that the Sgiathanachs won by 4 goals to 1 and played quite well but would probably not have achieved such a margin if full back Donald Fraser had not gone over his ankle. Though he did not manage to come out for the second half-no point in pushing your luck in a friendly-the injury did not turn out to be as serious as was first thought and DF, agriculture permitting, will be OK for the start of the season.
The absence of full back Fraser left the Glen rather light and with seven schoolboys on the park at various times-Neil Porter, Calum Smith, Drew Maclennan, Ryan Brady, Bradley Dickson, Ben Hosie and Ewen Menzies for the list makers amongst us-it was no surprise that the Skyemen came out ahead.
Skye took a first half lead with a neat finish from Angie Macdonald (Borve) before Calum Fraser pulled one back as the cliché goes. Still it is worthwhile for Calum’s sake to describe the goal because it was either a brilliant piece of shinty artistry or the result of a divine judgement on the Skye keeper for having been bad in primary school. Calum got on to the ball some 25 yards out-he was having a good effective game by the way- and on his left hand with little backlift (this supports the artistry argument ) drove the ball hard and low past the goalkeeper (sheer pace involved-more artistry detected). It was precisely 2.25 on the Wing Centre’s watch (this is where the divine intervention may be involved) and at the end of the match the watch still showed 2.25. Why so? Because the Wing Centre , thinking that the shot was a direct goal pulled out the winder of his old fashioned watch thus stopping the movement of the hands. He was then distracted by the fact that Calum’s shot , having passed the goalie smashed into the post , rebounded back , struck the goalie on the heel and returned net wards ,crossed the line and counted in the Glen’s favour by a mere two inches (the case in favour of divine intervention now rests, as Davie Bell would say) .
The Wing Centre forgot to push in the winder and so was able to precisely record the time of Calum’s goal but since he had not taken a note of when the game actually started the GMT measurement is useless as a guide to the precise minute of the strike.
None of this matters because when the Wing Centre usually times goals in a real game and then compares his figures with the times recorded by the former President, the two sets of data might well have been gathered on different sides of the globe, if you get the drift.
Anyway Danny Morrison got two nice goals for Skye before Neil MacVicar finished off the match with a sharp shot into the corner for number 4.
Of the Skye team there is more than a little to be said but by now the WHFP will have said it better . However to give credit (reluctantly) where it is due, Skye did look to be a compact team- in places a little older than the Glen and thus more wily in the ways of shinty. Of course leading them was that old Glen warhorse himself Davie MacVicar and a fine job he’s doing.
As he watched “MacVic“ organise his squad of youngsters, a memory of his youth came back to the Wing Centre. His grandfather , being a crofter (though emphatically not from Kiltarlity) used to release a bunch of stots out of a shed on to new grass and they would charge about daft just like the Skye youngsters let off the island onto fresh Glenurquhart sward. Then the Wing Centre’s ancestor would lead his ancient grey half Clydesdale horse out of the other half of the shed. He had been too sentimental to get rid of the beast when he procured -admittedly late in life- a tractor-and this old horse would plod wearily behind him out of the yard when , scenting the grass or seeing the stots charging around, he would neigh loudly and start to buck and pull on his rope, anxious to get into the action.
Now if the Wing centre was of a Buddhist persuasion- a persuasion not unknown in the Glen let it be said- he would be tempted to say that old Jackie had come back in human form.
Enough of this nonsense- if the weather manages to stay semi decent- there will be a proper match to write about. Otherwise the next entry will be a detailed account of the Glen First Aid kit. The Wing Centre watched the Managerial duo sorting through it the other night and truthfully more than one item had the appearance of being taken directly out of a World War 1 Lovat Scout Medical Kitbag . It will probably have to be updated. .

What on earth are the Glasaich up to now - and why don’t we care?

The news when it did come, arrived like a bolt from the back of Beinn na Sparra - but was it true ? Seems it was but the whole story left the Wing Centre wondering what was what. The season is about on us and after a winter speculating as to whether there would be anyone left at the Camanachd Association by the end of February who knew what a Prolam was or could agree that Tanera wasn’t an island or was aware that Heron had nothing to do with ornithology, the prospect of beating Strathglass was the only thing keeping the Wing Centre going.
All of a sudden the news was broken that the Strath had pulled out of the Macdonald Cup. Indeed they had actually pulled out of what was going to be a double header which included ,in the winner’s haul, the Highland Year of Culture Sculpture. How could they do this to us?
As may be seen from the snap at the head of this entry the two Stuarts are all dressed up in the folk costume of the Glasaich and were hoping to welcome them with a Glenurquhart “haka” and all for the sake of a little gentle mirth and then they duck out of the match. To the initiated of the inner world ,it is clear that they do not wish to relinquish their grasp on Old Macdonald’s silver cup by any means.
It is not as if- being brutally honest- we scared them off with a superb display against Fort William in our practise match although their Ally Ban squad have every right to fear Hendo’s Heroes who defeated the Crofters Kids by 2 goals to 1 over at Balgate. Glen put in a good performance in the first half, meaning that James Clark and Gordy Mackinnon came up against stiff resistance in the Glen defence where John Barr, Stuart Reid Andrew Macdonald and Davie Girvan played right out on the edge of their abilities and did well . It has to be said also that the goalie did very well too : he was quick off the mark- his greater application in training has been noted- and he has superb anticipation.
On the other hand while the centreline held firm the forwards posed little threat to the Fort defence-but given that few Premier sides posed them any problems last season either perhaps one can expect too much.
Tiny Macleod, Big Robertson ,Rodgers and wee Robertson are quite good - at least in the Wing Centre’s opinion - and on the day they proved good enough to stop the Glen scoring ,though Andrew Corrigan had some nice bursts through the line and looked extremely pacey.
The second half was where Fort’s experience told of course : Mackinnon opened the scoring with a shot that he was lucky to get over the line -off the keeper’s foot or something ,and into the net by way of Balnain.
“A goal and half that” said the Wing Centre to young Master Mackinnon after the match was done.
“It went in like a Gaelic song” he said and laughed. The Wing Centre was disconcerted by the simile and w