Glen Smiles Are As Wide As The Kyles

Camanachd Cup First Round

Kyles Athletic 3 Glenurquhart 4
If Tighnabruaich was not so far away from the Glen not only would the hassle of getting there through holiday traffic be avoided but proximity would have lent a relationship between the communities which the Wing Centre could use for a little gentle wind-up. As it is, although the Glen have met Kyles over the years the sides have never got close enough to develop a cordial dislike of each other. Kyles have come North to Blairbeg most notably when they played a game in 1985 to mark the centenary of the formation of the Glen Shinty team. The Glen won.
Earlier in 1979, the Glen were invited to Tighnabruaich for some sort of challenge match which ended in a draw : memories of that date are hazy thanks to the hospitality meted out by the Kyles folk and for Donald Paul in particular , vision was also hazy , since on that occasion by some mischance he dropped a contact lens on the Tighnabruaich park. The picture of both squads on their knees searching in the damp grass for the missing ocular aid is still etched in the collective memory of the Glen. The loss of Geordie’s specs in the sea on the way to Skye is probably on a par but then that’s another story and anyway a clam diver retrieved them by 5 pm on the day in question..
The Wing Centre had a little look for the lens yesterday- he was back in Kyles for the first time since the ‘79 match-but it was still missing at 4.30pm.By now, it is lost for good- and even supposing it was found , DP’s prescription would have probably changed.
Kyles have usually had the better of the Glen in shinty terms over the years especially when the match really mattered. The MacAulay Final in 1977, a Camanachd semi in 1994 and -how both of the mighty have fallen- a Balliemore semi at Ballachulish in 2005, all went the way of the men in blue. Saturday’s Camanachd Cup first round match did not look a good bet for a Glen win and, with Fraser Macdonald back in the Kyles squad after missing out on summer shinty for a season or two ,the omens were not good especially bearing in mind the Jeckyll and Hyde performances of the Glen this season.
This is why a 4-3 win away from home against a side that has won the Camanachd Cup 20 times is a real highlight for the Glen. It needs to be followed up. The last time the Wing Centre saw the team reach deep into their reserves of character and create a win like this was at Caberfeidh earlier this season. Before that it was against Newtonmore in the Camanachd Cup tie last season (OK so we did not win that one but we were morally superior) and before that a National League match at Drum against Glenorchy. These were tough, serious competitive games and the Glen rose to the challenge. They did the same at Kyles.
The game started with a bang. From the first centre, Arran Macdonald knocked the ball forward to Andrew Corrigan who drove into space in front of the Kyles half backs and fired a shot which Kenny Macdonald saved well. The early exchanges were fierce and Kyles in the centreline in particular were quick and hard with the stick. Nothing wrong with that though the Wing Centre observed that when the Glen responded by speeding up their laid back northern response with the stick ,there was a tendency for verbal complaints to be made to ref Ted Macdonald of Bute. Indeed one difference between the sides was the amount of pressure that Kyles put on Ref Ted Macdonald. Possibly they do that all the time because it is part of being competitive. Maybe it’s because they know him since he is from nearby Bute but on more than one occasion when there was an entanglement , lads in blue surrounded the man in black offering him a perspective on the nefarious crimes committed by the choir boys in red and black hoops. As if!
To his credit Big Ted was not influenced. He stood his ground ,consulted his officials and got on with reffing a close encounter of the shinty kind which was at times teetering on the brink of disharmony.
The first half began to turn in a northerly direction when it became clear that after some early Kyles pressure neither David Girvan , Stuart Reid nor Gregor McCormack were going to be pushed around. They began to blot out the Kyles forwards and John Barr began to dominate Dan Macrae : he was on to him quickly and hard and soon with his long hitting and that of the centreline - after they began to win the war of attrition with the Kyles shock troops in the middle-chances began to appear for the Glen.
Lewis Maclennan and Neale Reid got several excellent shots on goal but Kenny Macdonald was at his peak. A little slip from Paul Mackintosh sent Billy Urquhart through one on one with the keeper ,but he opted to square the ball and Kyles shovelled it away.
Glen were showing grit and determination at this stage and the effort paid off- a rasping shot from Lewis Maclennan was saved by Kenny Macdonald and the rebounding ball was kicked by a Kyles back.
Uproar out on the road, referee surrounded by Kyles men, goal judge Billy Macleod abused- but even the Wing Centre could see the ball being kicked by the back. Of course the guy didn’t mean it but his foot was off the ground and he played the ball . A penalty-stonewall what ever that means. Lewis Maclennan placed the ball on the spot and fired it home.
Kyles still narked on at the ref as the ball was returned to the centre and in so doing possibly lost a little concentration. In a clash on the side line their wing centre missed a block and took a nasty crack. Kyles did not appear to be pleased and things were said about the Glen which would have been better left unsaid. But the answer came swiftly enough when Lewis Maclennan burst back to buckshee to pick up the ball before the full back could catch him and lashed an unstoppable drive past Macdonald.
With the score 2-0 at half time and Kyles unhappy with life , El Presidente permitted himself a wry smile. The prospect of going back on the bus up the A82 with this crowd of young soldiers was beginning to look distinctly risky.
Kyles switched Dan Macrae at the start of the second half to full centre and pushed Fraser Macdonald up to full forward. The ploy worked immediately largely due to some carelessness in the Glen back line. The ball that led to the goal was sloppily dealt with and with Kyles high on humiliation and throwing themselves into every tackle the ball finally broke to Fraser Macdonald who finished well past the unsighted Stuart Mackintosh.
A tactical switch by the Glen found Dan Macrae man marked by Paul Mackintosh and this left Arran Macdonald clear on the right to feed the forwards with long powerful hitting. Gradually as in the first half, the Glen began to reassert dominance and Kenny Macdonald had to do the business with an excellent save from a Lewis Maclennan drive while Neale Reid’s physical speed and strength began to get more change out of the back who had tried to muscle him out in the first half.
At the other end Stuart Mackintosh dealt well with everything that was thrown at him including a number of tricky ground shots which is every goalies nightmare.
Glen pressure then paid off with another through ball to Billy Urquhart who continued his run one on one in on Macdonald and this time stabbed the ball past him for the third Glen goal.
Kyles did not give up however and within 5 minutes Grant Irvine had slipped the ball over the line from an acute angle . At times however it did seem that the only way Kyles could launch an attack was from a massive Kenny Macdonald hit out. Time and again Macdonald’s hit outs cleared the centre and landed like bouncing bombs at the half forward mark. The second goal came as a consequence of a Glen defender missing one of these in the air - some neat play from Macdonald sent the ball across and Irvine was on hand to finish.
The game flowed on from end to end with the crowd on the brae attempting to remind Kyles of their proud heritage though why they don’t encourage their team from the side of the pitch from where their proximity would gee up the players ,the Wing Centre does not know ,though he is grateful for the fact.
Neale Reid who was beginning to run riot as his opponent tired, broke across field some five minutes from the end and rasped home a fourth goal for the Glen which should have killed off the game except that Kyles don’t know the meaning of Camanachd defeat . They rallied once more and pulled yet another one back via Roddy Macdonald two minutes from time. The match ended with Kyles pressing for an equaliser but the Glen defence were in no mood to concede another and were happy to dig in for victory. It duly came in its own and ref Ted Macdonald’s time.
The Wing Centre was pleased : it was a hard game and the Glen lads raised their competitive attitude to a level where they should be justly proud of their victory.
Next week of course, the opponents are Lovat and since the Glen know they can beat the Crofters , they might just feel that they cannot be bothered actually doing it. Just as well the game is away from home. Perhaps a four hour journey on the bus via Glen Moriston , Cluanie and Achnasheen with a stop for a bacon roll at Tarvie would put the guys in the right frame of mind.
As for Tighnabruaich, it is a nice place where the people in the street all acknowledged the passer by- even a poodle called Angus was polite on the pavement when spoken to - but when you want to take their Camanachd Cup away from them, then they release their inner Rottweiler. Maybe we should do the same.
Heel boys. There’s Lovat - now go fetch!!

Glen Glad To See The Back Of Lovat After Sutherland Cup Replay

Glenurquhart 7 Lovat 3

The picture tells its own story. Here, the Lovat faithful have turned their good side to the Wing Centre’s camera. Are they disgusted with him? Of course not -but since he tried in vain to get a diehard from Balgate to pose offering congratulations to a winning Glen team (and no wonder too) he took a sneaky shot of the Crofters in their darkest hour. Chasing a lost cause at 7-1-nice to see- but they were to cause him minor palpitations when their never-say-die youngsters popped in two late goals to reduce the differential to 7-3.
But then ,just have a look at the snap and where the players are. Talk about the team not keeping its shape. There is a Highland mile between the midfield boys and the defenders-in fact the defenders are nowhere to be seen. Where is the buckshee back? Probably in the same place as the Lovat buckshee forward who is not where he should ideally be. Even the former President, Mr B ,with the flag on the far touchline is keeping a better grip of positional play than the athletes themselves. What is that all about? Mr H needs to have a stern word.
Still its nice to have a win - and it was without Malky Munro, Drew Maclennan, Gary Smith, Lucas Chapman ,Garry Mackintosh, Dunc Fraser and Bradley Dixon. The Wing centre might just be wrong but here we have a side -if the guys commit for three games (that’s right ,only three special games)- which has a real shout of silverware.
The opening goal was a worthy one: Ben Hosie got the ball on the left and slipped it over to Neale Reid who finished well from distance. The time on the clock was five minutes and the Glen supporters breathed a sigh of relief . However it was the young Lovat keeper who made his mark in the next period as he kept out a series of tricky attempts on goal before Davie Stewart got past him with a neat shot in 33 minutes . A long ball from Stuart Morrison made it three while Neale Reid took the score up to four just before half time. Craig Mainland who looks like a player who will be well worth the watching in the future notched a neat goal for Lovat to keep up the spirits of the die-hards.
The start of the second period saw the Glen rack the score up to 7 in very rapid time with ,firstly ,Ross MacAulay striking a trademark long ball into the net, followed by
strikes from Stuart Morrison and Davie Stewart.
Lovat however are not a side to give up. Charlie Mainland went on up front and his presence allowed first Calum Cruden and finally Rory Campbell to put a little balance back in the score though the feeling up on the steps of the shed was that the Glen defence were being a little too slack for comfort.
Now the Wing Centre has a lot of time for the Lovat folk not only because he envies Jimmy Johansen his hair but because everyone of them that he has met and talked to about shinty seems even more obsessed with the indigenous sport than himself. If you were to ask him who was the best Lovat player he ever saw, he would answer Ally Macrae though the best performance he ever witnessed was by Ron Hughes in the early 1970s at Ferry Park against Lochcarron in some cup or other. Ron took everything in the air, low or high.

If they knew that these were his thoughts perhaps the die-hards would have smiled for the camera- but then again being from Kiltarlity probably they would not.
The other thing he has in his mind is that the Lovat folk seem to have kept, thanks to their very own Mr Bell (What a debt the modern Highlands owes to Borderers-the cheviot sheep notwithstanding! ) a tradition that the infants bring clubs to school and whack something around in the playground so that even the guys who eventually turn to catching trout up in Loch Bruaiach and annoying the Cub by riding motorbikes over the moor, know all about shinty. This is in fact the way the Wing Centre in his romantic view of the world likes to think the Highlands should be organised.
The other thing that the Lovat folk taught the Wing Centre in days of yore was perhaps a little humility. In the old days-1977 even- the Glen shinty players were inclined to be -let one say - a little immodest. There was much triumphant conversation in the Old Legion about the Cup and how well the Glen were doing.
There was a smiley man in the corner of the hostelry one time when heads were expanding to the door-blocking stage.
“You’re doing well boys . Well done,” he said. “But do you want me to go up to the house and take a Camanachd medal down to let you have a look at one. Just so you know what they look like.”
Thus spake Davie Thow, the only man in the Glen with a Camanachd winners medal until Jimmy Burnett arrived in 1980 though Jimmy outdid Davie because he had the captain’s stick.
When triumphalism is a temptation for the Wing Centre, he remembers Dave Thow and suddenly a Sutherland cup triumph does not seem such a big deal.
So come on young men-never mind Rock Ness, T in the P or Belladrum -though truthfully, the Wing Centre just cannot believe that anyone would ever cross Culnacirc for anything other than a curry or the Black Isle show.
One more , two more, three more pushes and we’re there.

Injury-hit Glen Fleeced by Kintail, Lochalsh & Glenshiel Select

Glenurquhart 1 Kinlochshiel 3

Ah well. There it goes-the second team have just lost to Kinlochshiel . Big deal? Not really despite the fact that the with the lost points went most probably any chance of winning the League. Oh dear! What a pity! Never mind.
What pleased the Wing Centre however was the effort which the players put in despite being up against it from early in the match when in 5 minutes Referee Astie Cameron judged that the defence had given away a penalty. Probably on reflection Astie will feel that he might not have given that one against the Glen but no matter - a Macrae (DA) took it and in the manner of all Macraes dispatched it with aplomb.
Now the Glen have also been up against it for several weeks because of injuries and other happenings- and while the Wing Centre is aware that he lives in a modern Highlands , he also wonders why should it be in the grand scheme of things that University exams coincide absolutely exactly with “The Lambing”. And while the subject is being broached, why are sheep so stupid that they cannot lamb themselves?
The deer on the high hills seem to get on OK without interference from humans and one would have thought that, given the fact that sheep have caused so much hassle for the Highlands over the centuries by way of The Clearances, Harris Tweed and Fair Isle jerseys, perhaps the shinty could have been left uninfluenced by them.
Not that the Kinlochshiel lads will hear anything said against our four legged wool bearing friends. After all was it not one of their own number who challenged the whole landlord system by keeping a pet lamb in Kintail at a time when those in the big house thought the hills should be reserved for deer alone.
A court judgement was given in favour of the sheep and ever since then the Kintail men have worshipped the creature to the extent that should one happen to perish on the upper slopes then there is every chance of the Kinlochshiel home match being postponed as mark of respect. It would appear that , especially early in the season because Kintail springs are hard , sheep die on a weekly basis and are usually buried on a Saturday. Not that the Wing Centre believes this scurrilous rumour himself though he has heard that it has some currency amongst the Glasaich but then since medieval times they have been sworn enemies of the Kintail men. It did strike the Wing Centre though that the same practice prevails in Glenorchy- and as such is probably worth some investigation by the School of Scottish Studies.
The opening goal apart the match was an excellent and entertaining one with much that was positive to be said on both sides. Kinlochshiel were managed by the excellent Willie Fraser- always good to see a lad brought up in the teeming tenements of Kyle at the heart of a shinty team -and they had brought with them Neilie “Ach” Macrae . Neilie “Ach” is the genuine article in every sense - a gentleman on the field as well as off it and even at his advanced age he put in a sterling performance of strong energetic shinty at full centre for the entire match. He was up against Neil Porter for the Glen and while young Neil had an excellent match ,the moment when Neilie “Ach” held back the stick when the youngster left himself unprotected showed the true measure of the Kinlochshiel man.
The Glen always felt there was a chance of doing something to rescue the match at 1-0 but when Neil Mackintosh popped out his knee midway through the first period it was clear that backs were going to be to the wall. That is if any of them were ever going to be left on the field.
The absence list was horrendous- Dave Girvan missing from the first team meant that Calum Fraser travelled to Aberdeen with the Div 1 side but the absence of Andrew Macdonald, Davie Stewart, Drew Maclennan , Duncan Fraser, Bradley Dixon, Malcolm Munro, Lucas Chapman, Roger Grant and Iain Macdonald put severe strain upon a squad which had to call upon Andrew Crichton and Alan Fraser for the first time in over a year.
When David Smart , who was having an excellent match in the middle of the field was struck on the chest with the new ball causing him to cough up blood , the Glen were forced to bring on Garry Mackintosh to hold the line. Garry Mac , who has not played because of back problems since the Kincraig game in March, is actually due to head to an Edinburgh hospital for an operation this week but despite that he put in a stout performance as can be observed in the picture which the Wing Centre has chosen to grace the report.
When Ross Fraser hit the second goal for the Sheilachs it looked all over, but an excellent counter by Ben Hosie gave the home fans heart. Ben has an skilful touch on the ball and his stick play was delightful to see. A neat piece of interplay between the Glen forwards saw Hosie close in on the Shiel goal and he squeezed the goal past the keeper from an acute angle.
Young Duncan Macrae restored the differential and despite a flurry of home pressure in the last ten minutes Kinlochshiel preserved their two goal cushion intact.
So where does this result leave the Glen 2nd string?
Out of the League most probably. The Cups? The Strathdearn is a possibility and if more guys are fit and we choose our chaps sensibly then Lovat will have to look out in the Sutherland.
Still, the first team won at Aberdeen. But 6-4? What was that all about? Still, Lewis Maclennan scored four goals which can’t be bad. The rest of the season starts now.

Glen meet a goalie who thinks he's Archie

Glenurquhart 0 Caberfeidh 3

Its been a little while since the Wing Centre has been so despondent after a result and yet so full of admiration for the character who created his despair. Step forward Archie the Goalie, hail -keeper to the Earl of Cromartie.
Now it would be unfair to make Archie the Goalie into a folk hero because he managed to break Glen hearts with a series of saves , especially in the second half of Saturday’s diabolical experience, because then he would become a pin up in Strathglass which is a fate the Wing Centre would not wish on anybody. Archie’s second name will not therefore be disclosed by the present scribe because if this were done his home life would become very difficult. The Glasaich would be sending him fan letters and looking him up in the phonebook to ring him up with words of congratulation. Suffice to say that Archie had a daft day- a King Midas day: everything he attempted turned to gold.
Cabers took an early lead through Kevin Bartlett ( the original Cabers Bartlett must have cycled over with Columba on a cow-hide bike) and Stewart Krysanowski : good goals but careless defending. A familiar Glen experience . But we can recover from that except when we play Lovat. From that early point in the match the onus was thrown on Cabers to begin defending- and Archie was inspired.
The first half saw him diving about like a dervish to get his hand to balls, deflect powerful drives past into the sheep-park , and generally shout at his defence because they were merely tackling for the ball and not committing suicide to smother attacks. If they were to recast the film “300“, bags Archie for the part of Leonidas, King of the Spartans. Indeed the Wing Centre almost chose as headline this week “Hail Archie, King of Sparta” except that would have forced him into making a range of classical allusions that would take too much effort to produce considering the game was a defeat.
The second half was not much better : Cabers had only two shots on target throughout the whole period while Archie was smothering shots at the post, diving across to thwart Lewis Maclennan and Neale Reid. As always luck favoured the opposition-Lewis Maclennan struck the bar while a low drive from Calum Fraser beat Archie and looked from the window of the kitchen to be a good goal but was ruled out by Referee Astie Cameron. No complaints really-if Astie says its offside then its offside no matter how much the Wing Centre might wish reality to be different.
At a crucial stage in the proceedings , the Wing Centre went for a stroll along the sidelines and bumped into a pair of escapees from Beauly. Fraser Ross and Davie Mackay were smiling just a little too broadly at the discomfiture of your correspondent.
The Wing Centre, though his heart was bleeding, affected to be cheery and some pleasantries were exchanged.
Then Davie said “ Not a bad goalie, the Cabers goalie”
There was obviously a trap involved in this statement because the Wing Centre knows from long experience that Davie Mackay says sentences the way Gary Kasparov plays chess. He thinks two , sometimes three utterances ahead.
At that moment the man in the green jersey and the baseball cap dived to his right and palmed a rasper past for a corner. Archie was beginning to swagger and show off.
“He’s doing OK,” admitted the Wing Centre.
“Beauly put -what was it- four past him” said Davie. Then he paused “but that was only up at Castle Leod and maybe he wasn‘t in form that day”

It was obvious Davie wanted the Wing Centre to admit that it was five so he counted to ten.
“We got three up there ourselves,” said the Wing Centre, breathing in deeply.
“Well maybe there’s still time” said Davie ,as if he knew that the Wing Centre himself knew in his heart of hearts that there was not.
By that time Cabers supremo Robbie Taylor could be seen writing out a subs card.
“Going to sub the goalie?” asked the Wing Centre.
“Do you want me to go on myself?” asked Robbie.
That was the remark that made your correspondent realise that the game was well and truly up. He remembered Robbie making an even better series of point blank saves than Archie was making now. What if Robbie went on and turned back time with a defiant last ten minutes that would have had the Glasaich laughing even more than they would be laughing when they heard the result from Stewart Mackenzie on Radio Scotland in a hours time?
The Wing Centre turned away from the field and started to stack the chairs abandoned by Glen spectators who had lost the will to spectate. There was a collective groan. Kevin Bartlett had seemingly hit a long range high shot filled with hope and speculation that had somehow entered the net. The time on the stadium clock was 88 minutes. It was Cabers second shot at goal in the second 45.
At that point the realisation suddenly came to the Wing Centre of how good Ron Fraser actually was. No matter how poorly the Glen played against Cabers -either here or there- whether the service he got was poor or merely adequate, Ron would score more than the rest of the squad would let in. It was a simple formula for success and one hundred Archies would not have made any difference.
Buoyed up by that thought, the Wing Centre went to take down the new corner flags only to discover that Geordie had beaten him to it. But then that’s usually the case.

And the picture at the top. Nothing to do with the report: Archie's desire for anonymity saw to that. However it is proof that the Glen and Strathglass really do get on-Bob Geddes praises Davie Stewart for playing well. But why are John Mackenzie and Dave Calder praying?Oh - and as usual Murph thinks that the photo is all about him. As if!!

Lets Get Quizzical!

Glenurquhart 8 Fort William/Strathglass 8

There’s only one way to deal with a shinty day like last Saturday: have a celebration! Which is what the Glen did, when after defeating Strathglass 7-1 on their own Hydro-field , the Wing Centre spent the evening along with Mr and Mrs Stewart asking incomprehensible questions about obscure topics and being asked by teams to give them more time to answer them. As if!
And one other if- if the Wing Centre had known that the Firemen were going to come down to the Blar and win the annual Shinty Quiz, he would have put a match to the heather on Culnakirk to keep them away: that way the kudos of winning the Shinty Quiz might have finally devolved on Mr Reid and his team. But it was not to be -though perhaps now that Mr Reid is approaching pensionable age, it might be possible that one of his sons buy him something to help him get the questions right. Might the Wing Centre suggest an excellent publication entitled “Balliemore Cups and How to Win Them: a Managers’ Manual” by W Maclean and D Menzies (Bloomsbury Press 1993). Despite the rather arty publisher, this is a most practical work, filled with good advice for the discerning reader as well as facts and figures which will come in handy for both Quiz setters and competitors.
One further point for Mr Reid. Writing down “Strathdearn Cup 1977” might get you one answer correct, but by itself it is not enough to win a whole quiz , far less build a lifestyle upon .
The score at the top is how the Wing Centre rationalises Saturday’s events. 8 goals scored and 8 goals gifted to undeserving opponents- and so karma is restored and a fine balance reflected his mood for the rest of the weekend.
The Strathglass result was the one which cheered up the whole of Lewiston, Druimlon and Balmacaan especially the goal-getting performance of our own “Peter Crouch” , Ross MacAulay.
The match notes which the Wing centre scribbled in a wee notebook with a picture of Loch Maree on the front of it tell their own story.
“Glen camped in Strath defence. 25 mins LH Drive from dist after slip through ball from D St. Ross got it . Screamer!!
Throw -up - ball out to rt. Ross- another beauty -27 mins.”
The thing about Ross’s display was that he was accurate. He did the simple things and he did them well. He took the ball neatly on his stick and nearly every strike he took made the goalie work which is exactly what forwards are supposed to do.
The rest of the first half scoring was completed by Stuart Morrison. Ross hit a long diagonal ball to the left wing which was kept in by Davie Stewart who fed it back across goal to be finished off by “the wily veteran” Why wily - why not? Why veteran?-just because.
In 41 minutes Billy Urquhart got the Glen’s fourth.
The latter part of the first half lost a bit of its savour when wing back Drew Maclennan who had been playing stoutly against, lets face it, an extremely stout Strathglass attack took a nasty knock on the side of the knee. Thanks to ref John Macleod who was quick with the first aid and good luck and quick healing to Drew who is now back on his feet and making a good recovery. Andrew Young took over the wing back spot and filled the gap well.
The second half saw Billy Urquhart knock a ball sideways to Stuart Morrison and once again the “wily veteran” knocked it home. Raymond Fraser countered for Strathglass with a long drive which- and the Wing Centre chooses his words carefully- “deceived” keeper Emery. Lets draw a veil over that one …..

And then Ross provided an immediate reply -not to mention replay of his first half goals -with another super strike from a flick on by Wily the Veteran. Finally, Davie Stewart made it 7-up after some excellent work from Ben Hosie had set him up.
And who else played well? Duncan Fraser did a good job in the middle when he came on and Gary Smith as usual was Mr Immaculate in deed as well as in conception. Malky Munro pressed all the right buttons while Euan Fraser showed class on the ball as did Andrew Macdonald : boys with lesser ability are playing in first teams in other Glens.
At the back - the full back- the last line of defence- the all round local hero and defender of international reputation did not have too much to do which was strange considering how the very same opponent gave the top team backs more than a bit of hassle on Arran’s big day in the Strath. The Wing Centre is of the considered opinion that IM can play a bit-if only he would play more often…… Such thoughts will drive the Wing Centre mad.
At the end of the match the Wing Centre looked in vain for a Glasach to smirk at : he had brought a libation with him in his car to offer a consolation draught to make up for his rather boorish behaviour on Arran‘s big day. But, here’s a funny thing, there was no-one to be seen or sensed -even Roy himself could not be heard. There was nothing for it but to go back up over Kerrow Brae and prepare for the Quiz.
The match in Fort William? You do the Math. Oh Yes young Master Reid scored a goal , which means he’s put one past a goalie who has played in a Camanachd Cup final!!
The picture for your delight this week is not a Japanese Ninja. So who is it? . Why none other than Our Beloved Chairman himself. Prisoners are not to be taken-you second team guys. If you want to duck training you will first have to go through the Supremo. Will you dare to defy ? That’s one Quiz question even Mr Reid would get right.