Hold the back page! Narrow victory for Kyles in the Glen.

Glenurquhart 1 Kyles Athletic 2
Hardly the best day at the office for the Glen but if you’re being truthful- and there are occasions when the Wing Centre is truthful to the point that it hurts –then Kyles looked a fine team and showed the Glen players and spectators alike just what movement up front is all about. For all their lively running however Kyles only scored twice and the second strike, for all that it came after some flowing forward play, was the classic strike every shinty goalie hates-:the ball is hit firmly but topped into the rock hard Blairbeg turf and it then spins past Smack to seal the match. However, Colin McColl had to be there to hit it home and if there is one lesson Kyles attempted to teach the Glen it was that you have to be direct in front of goal. They got a chance –they took a shot -and in the latter part of the game the musical goalie had to be on song to make two very good stops and one agonising nerve testing tip over the bar of a high mishit dropping ball. But then that is why he is in between the sticks .
At the other end Kenny Macdonald-the guy must have a portrait up the stair beneath the thatched roof on his cottage-is still the man. He dealt professionally with everything that the Glen hit at him- ok not so very much- but the shots which were on him were removed from the danger zone with calm confidence and the one really dodgy save he had to make from a ball driven hard at the start of the second half by Eddie Tembo (it seemed to get stuck under big Kenny’s feet) he whipped away to safety just when you though he wouldn’t manage to do so. His hit-outs were immense as usual and he is so cool he doesn’t bother going into the pavilion with the rest of the tribe at half time-he stays out in the stand to enjoy a fag and a wee crack with the fans while inside Mr Perlich is motivating the rest. The Camanachd Association should make big Kenny a poster boy or at least give him a special award for services to sanity: he cuts through the crap associated with modern sport and reminds us it belongs to the people.
The Glen went into this game more than a little shorthanded-there were at least 5 black and red players missing from those who turned out in the corresponding fixture last year- and with Eddie Tembo nursing a sore knee and young Ewan Brady drafted in as a forward it was a much changed Glen line-up from the day when swine flu nearly came to the Glen. This year sadly none of the swine were sick and in 2 minutes a very healthy Grant Irvine found himself some space-the marking was slack at the start- and shooting early as all Kyles forwards do- he fired in a low shot past Stuart Mackintosh to put Kyles into an early lead.
Then as is traditional, the Glen tightened up at the back- and began to inhabit Kyles territory and Eddie Tembo playing up front against big Irvine managed to get a shot or two away, but sadly his aim was out. Having said that the Kyles defence was robust with the young Roddy Macdonald and the not so young Fraser Macdonald proving that they were not going to let anything thorough.
However in 30 minutes Tembo burst his way through the centre but was brought down just outside the D by Donald Irvine. It was an action which none of the retired Glen defenders on the sidelines objected to- in fact if a Glenner had done the same to Fort’s Gordy Mackinnon or Lovat’s James Macpherson the previous week they would have applauded- but straightforwardly the man should have gone in the book. Shinty is not of course football- but a deliberate foul that prevents a goal scoring opportunity requires a booking more than someone swearing at himself for duffing a shot.
The foul was given –it came to nought -and then moments later Eddie Tembo came close once more. Neale Reid was next to make Macdonald clear his lines with a shot from distance.
Kyles themselves had made moves up-they had a strong first half wind in their favour at this point-but Andrew Corrigan Stewart Reid and Dave Girvan were solid at the back. John Barr too was playing well but Kyles were smart in that their two and two style was gradually tempting him, of necessity, to come off the D.
Finally in 35 minutes Calum Fraser got a ball back from the wing and young Ewan Brady was on hand to shove it over the line from close range to level the match.
The second half began with a Glen burst for the shop and Eddie Tembo’s sharp drive was eventually flicked away by Macdonald and then came the goal that won the game. By that stage Barr had been pulled out from the D and the ball was swept up quickly, crossed from the right and cut back to McColl whose finish was as described above.
The game was played out then in a similar manner as before but fairness bids one say that Kyles were in the ascendancy as the minutes ticked away – and while Kenny Macdonald had three not very testing shots to deal with but Stuart Mackintosh had to pull off three very good saves to keep the score at the status quo. He did so but to you don’t get points for that.
The picture this week is of two Glen Frasers – Big Ron the famous one who bagged the goal in the Camanachd Cup final of 1988 and Big Mike who used to play at full centre for the under-17s before he went off to play football in the Premier League for Inverness Caley and Motherwell.
If only Roy Macgregor would give us some of the cash he wastes on Ross County , we could get “Ikey” to pull on the black and red again. He has still got the touches-definitely.



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Glen pay the penalty-and miss out on Cup progress

Glenurquhart 1 Fort William 2 (AET)
Every so often the Glen puts in a performance that is so infuriatingly good-but never quite good enough- that even the most loyal fans in the St Drostan’s stand must wonder what they have done to deserve such torture.
A couple of years ago there was a match against Newtonmore in the Camanachd which went down to the wire. ‘More won. There was also a match against Skye which they went on to win-goodness knows how- and they then progressed to the Balliemore final and glory. Even at the start of this season there was a 0-0 v Newtonmore and a 2-3 v Kingussie ...how do we manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?
There is definitely a place for Donald McNaughton and his motivational mumbo-jumbo in the dressing room. If we ever do ask Donald to come along naturally the Wing Centre’s immature and ill thought out views on Donald’s skills will have to be repudiated in a formal way in the same manner that Danny Alexander was able to renounce his deeply held anti-conservative beliefs in order to work for the greater good-well you get the idea.
Whatever way you spin it- and spin is what the D is always about-it was not a win for the Glen despite the fact that there was every chance that it should have been. The Treasurer was extremely upset: after the defeat he went up the road in such a craze that he forgot to pay ref Duncan Kelly and all the old gits left at the side of the field had to dip into their pensions to defray the ref’s expenses.
It would all have been so different it Calum Fraser’s rasping drive in the 10th minute had not been blocked by the stick of Fort keeper Paul Mackay. Fraser hammered the ball goal ward, Mackay put up the stick instinctively, stopped the strike and Billy Urquhart first timed the rebounding ball inches wide of the post.
In this early phase Glen were dominant with John Barr picking up James Clark and Andrew Corrigan blotting out Garry Innes. The other Fort front men were well watched too for the duration – Lewis Maclennan had a faultless 90 minutes and worked himself into the ground while David Girvan and Stuart Reid went toe to toe with Bryan Simpson and Victor Smith.
The Fort goal which came in the 19th minute gave the black and red faithful perhaps a foretaste of disappointment yet to come. A high ball punted up from the Fort centreline is dropping down out of the sky vaguely about the edge of the D. Victor Smith and Stuart Reid go up for it with clashing sticks and the ball takes a glance of the Glen defenders caman and wrongfoots Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh to give Fort a lead their play scarcely merited.
The second half gave us another taste of the same until the goal in the 69th minute from Calum Fraser. The Wing Centre usually does not bother keeping detailed notes on the moves which characterise a game unless he has to, but this was by any account a well worked goal. Calum Miller came back to pick the ball up deep and fed it through low to Gregor McCormack up on the dust. The veteran front man held the ball up and fed it wide right to Calum “Jock” Fraser who seemed to pull it too far to the right before he eventually slotted it home to give the Glen the equaliser which took the match into extra time.
The Glen did well in the extra period and certainly had the upper hand in territory and when they were awarded a penalty after Fort defender Addie Robertson kicked the ball they should have gone ahead- and with care could have gone on to the next round against Lovat. However it is enough to say that John Barr missed the penalty and then Gordy Mackinnon went on a mazy run through the defence –just like Lovat’s Mr Macpherson did the week before- and he popped in the goal that won the game.
So well done to the Fort, though Peter Macintyre and Willie Macdonald will have to get them to waken up a bit since they have come close to losing games a few times now-what with close results against Lovat amongst others. Peter, who will have worked things out for himself, will know this better than most.
Two snaps this week – an obvious one of Calum Jock who is doing the business in the top team this year after a season or two popping in the goals in the second side. The other is of the guys in limbering up mode- a super photo – reminiscent of the Cameron Highlanders going over the top at Beaumont Hamel or perhaps an Urban Dance Cru getting ready to do a number in the school hall? Perhaps not but thanks to Neil Paterson anyway for the snap.
http://www.neilgpaterson.com



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League Honours Even at Blairbeg

Glenurquhart 1 Lovat 1
If there is any pleasure to be had from a shinty match against old rivals it is usually not derived from the quality of the play on the field. This match was no exception in that the game as it was actually played filled the black and red spectators in the St Drostan’s stand with so much anxiety that enjoyment was not the word that immediately sprang to mind. It was the classic four pointer which is a way of saying that the points taken from Lovat were doubly precious- as much as for the fact that any damage done to the black and whites was every bit as valuable as whatever progress was going to be made by the Glen. The pleasure in the fixture however comes about because the rivalry between the spectators is friendly and relaxed-full of banter and good humour which is part of the package that the ancient game brings with it everywhere except perhaps in Oban-or maybe it is like that there too only the accent hides it away.
It would be nice however if the Glen had been able to score goals commensurate with the amount of possession and territory they enjoyed in this match. For the first half the Glenners appeared to be camped up at “Sandy Whytes” for most of the 45, weaving pretty patterns of possession but never quite being able to work the ball wide enough past Martin Bell ,the Lovat full back ,to have a decent shot on goal. The Glen started tremendously well- as always- and the first strike of note came from the left where youngster Ewan Brady got an early drive on target only to find Lovat keeper, Stuart Macdonald in his normal fine form. Indeed such was the Glen pressure in that opening period that it actually took Lovat 14 minutes to mount an attack on the Glen goal and when they did it was a timely reminder that they are a pretty useful bunch in front of goal- and they forced a corner which like most corners in most games came to nothing.
For all their territorial dominance the Glen appeared to be unable to get strikes on target from close range though Calum Miller came close on one occasion but it was not until the 30th minute that keeper Macdonald was forced to pull off a truly excellent save tipping a Lewis Maclennan drive from the right over the bar.
Shortly after this Glen’s Eddie Tembo, who had been on the receiving end of shall we say rather enthusiastic Lovat defending, was booked for reacting to provocation. A few minutes later matters were evened up however when Lovat’s Drew Howie found himself in Ref Graham Cameron’s book for continuing to disobey the rules particularly in regard to back charging.
The first half ended with the Glen still on top though just on the whistle the predatory skills of Lovat’s Greg Matheson were in evidence when he whipped home a ball which had come carelessly out from the Glen defence. Fortunately for the Glen the goal was disallowed because one of the other Lovat forwards had remained inside the D – and therefore offside- after the initial attack.
The second half was to Glen eyes more of the same with again the first action of note being an accurate drive from Ewan Brady which Macdonald dealt with coolly. If there was a clear message from the Glen attacks it was that for whatever reason the forwards were slow to follow up on the initial strike once it had been stopped by the Lovat keeper. Eddie Tembo began to become more of a threat at this point and his shooting began to be more menacing until finally in the 69th minute he gathered in a ball just outside the D and fired home an unstoppable drive from close range.
And that should have been it- but the Glen defence – who had Ally Mackintosh booked for encroaching at a foul took their eye off the ball –literally- and allowed Lovat winger James Macpherson to waltz through one handed and level the game in the 71st minute.
The goal it must be said was greeted with particular disappointment in the Glen because young James has a strong Glen connection, his father Alan being a former wearer of the black and red and indeed one of the legends of the ’77 side which won the Strathdearn . To lose such a goal to such a scorer at such a time in the match is hard indeed but perhaps some revenge may be extracted by publicising the young man’s Glen connections. It should certainly guarantee him a frosty reception in the Lovat camp the next time he turns up at Balgate. If they would only teach him to keep both hands on the stick!
One feature of the match worth commenting on was the consistency with which Referee Graham Cameron penalised the push from behind. This is a foul which is not always picked up by refs at the highest level but if it is done so consistently it should make for a more attack orientated game and will force defenders to play in front of their forwards. The experience however in other matches is that back charging of a more subtle kind is an offence which is all too easy to get away with especially given the fact that refs are perhaps quite far away from the backs-full and wing – who perpetrate this offence. Cameron’s application of this rule changed the pattern of the game for the better- and he is to be commended though it might be an idea if Camanachd Development manager Graham Cormack reminded the rest of the Premier League refs to apply this rule equally vigorously
So the game ended 1-1 and if the Glen are to take any small comfort from it, they have to remind themselves that at least they have taken 3 points out of 4 from Lovat and the closeness of the encounter suggests that the Camanachd Cup encounter on the 22nd of May at Blairbeg will be at the very least competitive.
The main figure in the picture is of Dave “Dixie” Maclennan back after taking a clatter on the foot against Oban- but look in the background- what is that huddle of Kiltartans proud up to? You can bet it will not be good.
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