Let's hear it for the Girls of the Glen

Those of you who have been awake since the end of May might have noticed that the “D” has been silent. Nothing has been written on matters shinty, since the Glen beat Cabers- admittedly after a penalty “shoot-out” as the guy who writes in the National continues to put it. Naturally it was all down to Sir Kevin Lord Bartlett to miss and he, the true Count of Caberfeidh, obliged. We won - but then we didn’t win before and we haven’t won since - and neither did our second team. Tricky to write a blog in such circumstances indeed.

So it’s not that nothing happened to annoy us or to cause controversy or to amuse. Plenty did: it’s just that if you don’t win games then…everything else and that includes what you’re having for your tea somehow becomes not really worth writing home about, so to speak.

Then along comes the girls’ team and they win the Challenge Cup - and, as far as the Wing Centre can tell from giving the trophy a casual glance in its secret cabinet, it is still very much in one piece. This suggests that as well as being better, more successful shinty players they are also more responsible that the guys. Yet to look at them you would never think that they were. Appearances can be deceptive.

 The Challenge Cup still has to go round all the Primary Schools however - so the wee ones can see it but that can only be done in good time. It should probably go along to the High School too.

While the boys have been struggling to get a victory, the girls have been winning nicely – and everything came together perfectly on Saturday 1^st September 2018 at the Dell in Kingussie when they played Inverness in the final of the Marine Harvest Challenge Cup.

It was a great day, not least because of the superb arrangements put in place by the WCA. It helped the cause that the Glen women’s team is managed by the club’s former Premiership bosses Billy Maclean and Jim Barr and that the present boss of the Glen first team Iain Macleod has his wife and his daughter in the team.

On the day Glenurquhart dominated this match as far as possession went but found it extremely difficult to break down a tenacious Inverness defence with Inverness keeper Caitlin Mutch having such an outstanding afternoon between the posts that she was eventually chosen as man of the match.

The Inverness ladies surprised the Glen with an opening goal in the 4^th minute when their top scorer Katie Macmillan followed through on a long by-hit from Mutch to slip the ball past Glenurquhart keeper Laura Stoddart. For a time Glen lived dangerously but midway through the half a corner taken by winger Ishbel Barr was gathered in by teenager Abi Stoddart and she fired the ball firmly past Mutch to level the match. Abi was indeed the hero of the afternoon for Glenurquhart going on to complete a first half hat-trick with two further fine finishes from close range both of them incidentally set up by Ishbel Barr. Inverness refused to give up however and their front pair of Emma Maclennan and Katie  Macmillan continued to test the Glen backrow with Macmillan reducing the deficit when she pounced on some slack Glen defensive work to fire in a low shot from a tight angle past Stoddart  to make it 3-2.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first, with Glenurquhart providing the attacking flair but failing to add to their lead. The addition of Chloe Macleod to the Glen attack added a new burst of energy and she fired a number of accurate shots on target but Mutch remained unbeaten. At the other end with Inverness continuing to look dangerous in spells, Glen keeper Laura Stoddart came into her own with two excellent saves one with the club and another with the hand.

Glen’s Donna Mackenzie had an excellent game in the centreline and she it was who was responsible for breaking up the Inverness midfield play and pushing forward a vast amount of ball to the Glen forwards. Claire Hannon and Kirsty Smith also worked hard as did Shauna Aris and Iona Pettigrew while Amanda Maclennan and Siobhan Thomson performed heroics at the back.

Glen restored their two goal differential in 50 minutes when Glen’s top scorer Hazel Hunter converted from the penalty spot after she herself had been brought down by Mutch inside the “D”.

The ball in fact had finished up in the Inverness net but referee Tina Marshall had blown for the infringement slightly before the ball hit the net and so rightly pointed to the spot.

It is to Hazel’s credit that she kept her nerve in a tight situation and her shot made in 4-2 and should have kept the Glen comfortably in the lead. However Katie Macmillan quickly fired in Inverness’s third goal of the afternoon and set up a tense last quarter of an hour. Inverness did come close on several occasions however, in the end the Glen defence held firm and were able to see out the game to earn a well-deserved victory.

So what happened next?

Siobhan collected the cup, and then the girls posed for the press photos though the local press in the shape of the Inverness Courier did not use them as they ought to have. However, they will appear here- thanks to Neil Paterson for sending some through- and of course to Sheena Lloyd who also provided shots.