Scotland Make Their Point-Just

Scotland notched up a superb away victory at Croke Park in the first leg of the mixed code International series but manager Drew MacNeil will know that in the circumstances the men in blue should have made their definite spell of second half dominance count for more on the scoreboard.
Still he may well reflect that the outcome might have actually been radically different had Ireland continued to perform in the manner they began the match for the Scots were 4 points behind within the first four minutes thanks an opportunist point from Antrim’s Niall MacManus and then a well taken goal from Ireland first half star Shane Dooley.
Indeed for most of that early spell it was the pacy Dooley who ran the show and his powerful running down the left created some consternation in the Scotland defence though an early point from open play by Niall Macphee helped to settle the visitors’ nerves and bring Scotland back into the game.
A free hit off the deck for an Irish infringement saw Ronald Ross lift two points but three further points from Dooley seemed to confirm Irish dominance especially after Scotland skipper Gary Innes had to leave the field for treatment after a nasty face knock.
Mid way through the half the Scots began to get their act together and a ferocious drive from Ronald Ross was blocked by Irish keeper Paul Darmody but a two pointer from Scotland’s John Macdonald reduced the deficit as did a neat single from Lochaber’s Shaun Nicholson when he pounced on a loose ball to fire it over for a point.
Innes returned to the fray with his nose in plaster and his influence combined with that of Finlay Macrae changed the fortunes of the visitors. First Macrae popped over a single and then in 31 minutes, after Ross had won the ball out to the left in a tussle with keeper Darmody, Macrae was on hand to help himself to a goal with a low drive. Before the growing crowd had time to settle Innes had scored a second with a drive from distance which eluded the Irish defence.
The Irish had been keeping up the pressure at the other end but thanks to good stops from keeper Stuart Mackintosh Scotland went in at half time two points up with , despite Dooley helping himself to two singles then a double after a fine Mackintosh save yielded a corner and the Offaly star popped over the dead ball . Just before the break the irrepressible Dooley pinched a second goal when Mackintosh left his goal line unguarded to deal with a threat from the right. The ball was flipped into the centre and the star from Offaly was there to knock it into the net with Mackintosh scrambling back to cover.
The second half saw the Scots continue to dominate as MacNeil’s half time talk persuaded his players to play the shinty way by retaining the ball on the ground. John Macdonald and Ronald Ross began to combine well on the wing while Kinlochshiel’s Finlay Macrae caught the eye with his close control. This running game put the Irish midfield and front line defenders under pressure and the resulting infringements saw a double being popped over from Ronald Ross, and two doubles from Gary Innes to give the blues a clear lead.
It could have been greater but for the excellence of Darmody in goal and sterling work by Kilkenny’s Tommy Walsh and Jacky Tyrrell who strove manfully to stem the blue tide. The Scots however too often wasted their chances and were inclined to settle for shots from distance, many of which flew wide or were easily cleaned up by keeper Darmody. Meanwhile MacManus (3), Cork’s Partick Horgan (2) and a single from Barry MacFall nipped away at Scotland’s lead though the strength of Glen’s John Barr and Newtonmore’s Norman Campbell did much to keep the stars of the GAA at bay.
A single from John Macdonald and a final double from Finlay Macrae who had an outstanding match seemed to leave Scotland in easy street but two late points from Horgan and a final single from John Rowney of Laois made it a nervous last 5 minutes for the Scottish contingent.
In the end they held on to their slender lead to record a memorable win at the home of the GAA. The only problem is that they now have to do the whole thing over again at Inverness on 13th November. This time let’s hope they remember to play shinty.


Given that Neil Paterson was either not at the game or has not sent over a pic the only illustration to hand is that of John Barr, Manager Drew MacNeil and Neil Macphee rolling out the barrel. There is some “slagging” mileage to be made out of the fact that the young guys are clearly too cool to tie their laces- but after such a glorious victory that would be uncharitable. Enjoy the feeling of supremacy for the next fortnight.



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Yippee!! Glen beat Crofters in the Premier League!

Nothing but pride at stake – come on Sgiathanachs who do you think you’re kidding? The real issue at stake the other Saturday was whether the Glen would come out ahead of Lovat in the race to be the most successful club in the Aird. Beauly don’t count: the Glasaich we don’t speak about but Lovat –they have been a little bit of a thorn in the flesh of both Glen sides over the last year or two so it was good for the Heroes the other week to win the Div 2 title playing against them and then of course for Barr’s Boyans to cruise past Ronaldo and the mighty Kings just to deny the black and whites the civic reception that would have come from being the top club in the Inverness District.
And what a game it was. Glen were somewhat under strength with Billy Urquhart out with a back problem while Kings had James Hutchison back in the fold as well as Ronald Ross and Ricky Grant, who were coming back from suspension.
Kings clearly wanted to avoid defeat and for them to finish third in the table they needed to avoid defeat by three goals or more which was not a result that even the most ardent Glen fan would take a bet on.
Glen made their usual whirlwind start and this time the fast opening resulted in the first goal of the game in only 2 minutes when a Neale Reid shot came back out at an angle off Kingussie keeper Andrew Borthwick and full forward Calum Miller coming in from the left hand side fired the ball into the net for the opener. It has to be said that Miller, though he did not add to his tally, had an enormously effective game against Kingussie’s former international wing back Ally Macleod who had no answer to the big man. Miller simply gathered the ball in, held it up and then played simple balls into the box which against a less formidable defence than Kings- Ronald Ross was playing at half-back- would lead to goals.
Kingussie responded with an attack of their own, but the pattern for most of the game was set quite early with the Glen quicker to the ball to the extent that Kingussie did not get either the time or space to settle into their normal rhythm. The pressure of the Glen midfield, with John Barr dominating the centre and Reid, Eddie Tembo and Lewis Maclennan harrying the Badenoch defence meant that the visitors were hassled into mis-hitting out of defence and less than assured delivery from midfield. Indeed if it were not for the efforts of Louis Munro, to keep his head when all about were in danger of losing theirs then the Glen would have gone even further ahead.
At the other end, the Glen defenders in particular Stuart Reid and Ali Mackintosh were on top form and the Kingussie forwards found themselves under pressure immediate enough to undermine their normal confidence and they found themselves unable to create anything worthwhile though Ryan Borthwick did cause a scare for the home fans when he was brought down as he brought the ball in on goal. Claims for a penalty were however dismissed by both goal judge and referee and the sides went in at half time with the Glen clinging tenaciously to their lead.
It is fair to note however that in this half Borthwick was by far the busier of the two keepers.
With Borthwick substituted by Rory Fraser at the turn, Ross moved back to full forward for the second half and he needed just five minutes to bring the sides level. As always the big man is hard to tie down and the Glen defenders allowed him to move deep to the half forward berth without tight enough stewarding. Picking up the ball just beyond the penalty spot and slightly left of centre he unleashed an unstoppable drive past the helpless Stuart Mackintosh in the Glen goal. It was a trade mark drive from the country’s player of the year but that was his lot. Full back Stuart Reid then tied him up for the rest of the game and although he subsequently unleashed a shot or two-Ronald always will- there was no further scoring from shinty’s own superstar.
At the other end however the Glen continued to threaten and in the 72nd minute they hit the jackpot when Lewis Maclennan fired a high dropping shot on goal which was stopped by Borthwick but the ball fell to Neale Reid who ran in from the left and smashed the rebound home from five yards and followed up the goal with an extravagant somersault by way of celebration.
Kingussie never really looked like levelling though they did mount some pressure which the Glen defence were able to handle with reasonable aplomb while at the other end Calum Miller was unfortunate not to extend the Glen’s lead when he had a late opportunity but failed to convert.
So a happy end to the season then with Barr’s Boyans finishing in a creditable sixth place in the league two points ahead of Lovat whilst Kingussie did enough to merit the third place - ahead of Kyles Athletic but only on goal difference
But what about young Mr Reid? He can do a standing somersault (see the pic): he gave Lee Bain a difficult afternoon (see the other pic) – and ex Glen Urquhart High School pupil Bain has had a superb year being one of the best of the King’s defenders this season. Not only that but young Reid found the back of the net 4 times for the Glen’s second string last weekend, when they finished the season with a draw at Shiel. How come he is not in the under 21s at least?
Anyway the answer to last week’s question is stay down-so Glass stay up which is a neighbourly way to end the season. Thanks to Neil Paterson for both pics- they are as always excellent.
Check out his stuff at www.neilgpaterson.com/




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Will Hendo’s Heroes go up to Div 1 or will they vote to carry on in Div 2?

That is the big question facing Glen’s second team now after their third League success in three years. It has to be a record in Glen terms: 2008 Div 3 champs; 2009 Div 2 Champs; 2010 Div 2 Champs again. And so the question has to be posed? Do the boys go up or do they stay put?
Certainly North Div 1 is a very difficult league packed with teams which play shinty to a high standard and if the truth be told it is not easy to get out of it as Kilmallie, Lochaber and Skye have found. Would playing in Div 1 with a bunch of kids and older players bring on Glen shinty given that the team will have to play sides like Shiel and Lochaber two teams that have plenty players who can cut it with the best in the Premier? Well who can say – but this is a question which the committee will have to grapple with over the next few days so that Astie and his team can start planning for next year. No doubt Mr C and the A-team were looking for an answer before yesterday afternoon’s home victory over Lovat confirmed the destination of the trophy, but why the hurry? Glen Shinty Club are due to meet at some point this week where the subject will get earnest consideration and players and officials will be canvassed for their views on the matter – so until then let silence prevail .
All of this should not distract us from celebrating the fact of two excellent home victories against good quality opposition-Kinlochshiel and Lovat. Of the two the Shiel victory- for all that it was not acclaimed in the West Highland Free Press-was the more convincing ending in a 4-1 victory for the red and blacks with what on the face of it was a somewhat weakened team. Not that that seems to be a problem nowadays-indeed part of the bother Mike and Hendo face is keeping everyone who wants to play involved.
Glen started against Shiel as they tend to against most opposition at high tempo and within 2 minutes David Smart –who missed the Strathdearn final because of holidays- had a shot on target which was saved by Shiel keeper Iain Cameron. Kelvin Mackenzie, desperate to add to his haul of goals, was next on strike and indeed had the ball in the net but it was disallowed for an earlier infringement and a penalty awarded. Mackenzie took the hit himself but Cameron pulled off a competent save. Ewan Brady was next to try his luck and forced a corner out of the Shiel defence and from the resulting cross Mackenzie saw his drive fly over the ball.
Glen finally made the breakthrough in 20 minutes when wingback Calum Smith, playing with a damaged hand, fired a long ball up to full forward Gregor MacCormack. He tucked it into the path of Mackenzie and the youngster made no mistake from close range.
Ten minutes later came the Glen’s second – again from the club of Mackenzie. This time Daniel Mackintosh moved a ball inside to Ross MacAulay who again found MacCormack. Once again the veteran fed Mackenzie as he burst through behind the Shiel backs and the finish was a formality.
Glen’s third came in 52 minutes via Ewan Brady after Daniel Mackintosh had teed the ball up for him and finally youngster Ewan Lloyd hit the net five minutes from time after Ewan Menzies had guided the ball back into his path.
Shiel’s reply came with a penalty which was more or less the last hit of the game: Duncan Macrae was the scorer.
The same flat out style in the first half saw a 2-1 win over Lovat but given that Lovat had their full under 21 squad out (not SM the keeper though)as well as Jimmy Mackenzie and Drew Howie the result was harder to come by. If one is to be honest the positive score was due to solid defensive work from Ian Macdonald, Calum Smith, Donald Fraser and Gary Smith. Gary Mackintosh in goals had a good game but looking back on it is hard to pick out more than two serious saves that he was forced to make though there was the usual close calls and tidying up to do. The Matheson lads had opportunities but Glen just pressurised them too much and they failed to connect with a telling strike.
Glen’s whirlwind start saw a number of early chances scorned and young Lovat keeper Chris MacCallum – who now seems to be sporting a beard as well as his trademark glasses- was clearly back to his sharp old heart breaking best pulling off two neat stops from shots by MacCormack and Mackenzie.
Glen however opened in 12 minutes when Ross MacAulay slipped a ball in to David Smart. He knocked the ball into Gregor MacCormack and he blasted home a beauty from all of 18 yards. By this stage Kelvin Mackenzie was in outstanding form and more or less anything which was loose between the midfield and half forward became his own special property. Lovat had no defender who could live with his pace and in the end the black and whites decided to shore up their back line by pulling Jimmy Mackenzie out of wing centre and placing him at full back to handle MacCormack.
However Lovat were up against it and the Glen front men pulled the defence in different directions with Ruaraidh Cameron always creative and Daniel Mackintosh moving the ball at pace into the danger zone. In 17 minutes Kelvin Mackenzie doubled Glen’s advantage with a fine strike from distance and then Daniel Mackintosh had the ball in the net only to find it flagged off for an infringement at the other side of the D.
By this stage, if Glen could have finished clinically, Lovat would have been 5 down but it was not to be. Gradually towards the end of the half the Kiltartans Proud managed to get more midfield possession and then in an atmosphere of growing hysteria in the Glen defence a Lovat forward was grassed. In or Out?
” In” said the only man who mattered, ref Graham Cameron and up stepped James Macpherson and hammered the ball on to the post.
“Retake” said Mr Cameron- and this time Macpherson rammed the ball into the roof of the net. 2-1 at half time. Interestingly this is the second retake of a penalty that the young man has scored this season, so he is obviously a cool character.
The second half remained unrecorded in the Wing Centre’s notebook. Why? His heart was too much in his mouth to note much. Lovat had a bit of pressure and won a few fouls close to the D but they could not do much. Glen had plenty balls down in the Lovat defence but it has to be said that their young backs don’t mess about and their sure clearances for distance make it clear they are a side with some potential.
Ruaraidh Cameron had a screamer of a shot which MacCallum tipped over then was replaced up front for a while by Ian Macleod as the Glen attempted to kill off the game. Ewan Menzies and Ewan Brady also came on and Kelvin Mackenzie moved back to half forward in an attempt to change the pattern but nothing seemed to be effective – and so the Glen had to hang on under increasing Lovat pressure in the last ten minutes until the clock ran down.
It was a game and a half - and as these two sides had been neck and neck all season it probably could not have been a more fitting end to what has turned out a rewarding if rollercoaster season.
Anyway, Graham Cormack of Camanachd PLC presented the trophy and medals, incidentally speaking well about both clubs and the game itself and then pics were taken which you can enjoy here. The Champs naturally and also included is a snap of them taking in Graham Cormack's wee homily.Recorded also is one of loyal fans Alan and Ina Wilson who never miss a match though, whisper it, Alan’s thoughts were probably at An Aird. As if!! He is smart enough after all these years to let Ina believe he is a Drummer through and through.
As for the question on everyone’s lips-will they or won’t they?
Your guess is as good as the Wing Centre’s but at least he has a vote. He knows what way he will be voting too.



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