Keeping out of the D

Glass Hearts Broken-Twice

2012-02-14T19:37:00.008Z

Macdonald Cup
Strathglass 0 Glenurquhart 5
Ali Ban Cup
Strathglass 0 Glenurquhart 0 (Glen retain cup)

What on earth is happening to the Courier, that august organ that Miss Barron used to great effect to shape the consciousness of our town? It used to give a fair do to the indigenous sport of the Gael yet this week when the Wing Centre turned to the sports pages to read about the great Glen Urquhart victories in the Ali Ban and the Macdonald Cups respectively, there was barely a mention of the two great clubs which codified the rules of the sport back in the 1880s. There was of course plenty about Caley Swizzle and while it is interesting to read a page about Terry’s Truaghans (poor wee souls in the language of the Garden, a description now officially brought into the dialect of the Aird) enough can sometimes be too much. It makes you want to speed on the A82, it really does.
And what are they doing writing about Ross County? Much as we like to read about Ikey and his clean sheets, this is Inverness-shire for goodness sake. Next thing you know they will be reporting on Cabers which would be unfair ‘cos you never see anything about the Glen in the “Ross-shire” unless Cabers beat them which now really means never. One can only assume that the scribes at the Scottish Provincial Press have forgotten that the audiences are different.
In the absence of a Courier report of any magnitude, it falls to the Wing Centre to record some thoughts on the games in question and while he will never be impartial it is still possible that credit can be given to ‘Glass.
That the matches went ahead at all is credit to the Glasaich because mid-week it looked that weather wise any contest would have been termed “the Tussle on the Tundra” so cold had it been, but by Saturday the frost had come out of the ground though the turf was left heavy and difficult.
Lack of numbers in recent years has plagued Strathglass and last year their seconds struggled to compete despite the presence of a few decent players. On Saturday in the Ali Ban, they had to dig deep and their defence in particular had to rely on the heroes of yesteryear with Ivor Macleod, Gordy and Raymond Fraser and latterly Roy Mackenzie having to come on to hold the red and black swarm at bay.

Glen totally dominated the contest from start to finish but a combination of poor finishing, bad luck, an uneven pitch and good rear-guard action by ‘Glass meant that they failed to score though they threw everything into the match and have every right to be proud of their efforts.
In 5 minutes Calum Miller had a chance to open the scoring when he was put through on goal by Ewan Menzies but he pulled the shot wide. Shortly after another drive was saved by defender Ivor Macleod while a few moments later Raymond Fraser pulled off a tidy save from Brad Dixon. If the forwards were having no luck in front of goal, the youthful Glen backs and midfield played excellently. Ross Macfarlane looked sound and team captain Drew Maclennan subdued former Strath first teamer Barry John Phimister. Ross MacAulay and Duncan Fraser won more than their share of ball while young James Hurwood in the centreline showed that he has the tenacity and the ability to influence games.
The second half saw more of the same. Calum Smith at wing centre and Daniel Mackintosh continued to move the ball forward and youngster Jack Hosie who starred at the end of last season showed nice touches but was frustrated by the pitch which grew heavier as the morning progressed. Glen manager Iain Macleod rang the changes and to counter the big Strath defence he pushed defender Donald Fraser forward in support of Miller but though the big man won a good share of ball he too was unable to find the net. Liveliest of all the Glen forwards was student Ewan Menzies whose accurate shooting brought two excellent stops out of Strath goalie Fraser while a number of his other shots late in the second half fizzed narrowly past the post or struck the side-netting.
In the end the match finished 0-0 and while the lack of goals was a matter of frustration, Glen at least had the satisfaction of retaining the cup due to the fact that they were present holders having won it last season and so team captain Drew Maclennan was presented with the trophy by Jimmac Mackintosh who, though he has a foot in both camps, is really a Glenner at heart. Ref John Sloggie did well to keep the match flowing in difficult circumstances .The two pics show the young Glen squad with the cup and without the cup.

The big match was a pleasant watch for a Glenner but not if you were a Strathglasser which in some ways is a shame because when the matches are closer then the banter is better. But it was not to be- and Strathglass despite the sterling efforts of George Phimister and Donald Fraser at the back- and they are two lads who are fair players-Strathglass were unable to cope with the fitness and penetration provided by the Glen front men. Strath have fallen some way short of their level in 2009 when they were Balliemore winners in Bute. Since these glory days they have not only lost Lee Bain but Gary Reid, Mark MacLauchlan and Scott Douglas have come off the roster and though youngsters have stepped in to fill the gaps, the lack of quality showed.
Once again Glen dominated this match from the moment ref Duncan Kelly threw up the ball to start the contest and from the moment an early drive by Ruaraidh Cameron was tipped over the bar for a corner by Strath keeper MacLauchlan the scene was set for an afternoon of red and black dominance. Glen continued to push in the early phase, moving the ball about freely in the sort of sticky conditions that had thwarted their junior colleagues. The opening goal came in 10 minutes when Neale Reid whose powerful running was being barely kept in check by Strath broke through on the left and fired an unstoppable shot past MacLauchlan. A few minutes later and the Glen went two up. Once again Reid found himself with time to fire a shot on target and while the Strath keeper was able to keep the ball out the rebound fell kindly to internationalist Andrew Corrigan who made sure from close range.
The Glen’s third goal was probably the best worked of the day with Cameron sending a defence splitting pass into the path of John Barr up front and he finished clinically. Barr’s front play at this stage was well-nigh perfect-he has the physical presence to give any back a tough time but his touch play and ability to link up with quick running forwards gave the Glen a dimension they tended to miss out on in earlier seasons. Equally influential for the Glen were the two Davids- Smart and Maclennan: both lads performed excellently and ran themselves into the ground on a pitch which was far from simple to play on.
In defence the Glen did not have a great deal to do if truth be told, but what was required to be done was done well especially by full-back Stuart Reid and Strath did not really get many opportunities to test out Glen keeper and team captain Stuart Mackintosh. When they did so, he was up to the mark, which let’s face it, is what he always is.
The second period saw two more Glen goals the first of which came at the end of a piece of quality play. A ball through from David Smart found John Barr. He played on to Lewis Maclennan who sought out Ruaraidh Cameron and when Cameron’s attempt was blocked, Maclennan was quickly on hand to send the ball into the net for number four.
Shortly afterwards another scramble around the Strath goal saw Cameron underline his claim for man of the match when he made the score 5-0 with a finish from close in, this time after an attempt from Lewis Maclennan had been blocked by the home defence.
That was the end of the scoring and while Glen pushed forward for the final quarter they were unable to add more to what was an already substantial lead. A good result then – and one which was achieved with a less than full strength team. Absent through injury were Ali Mackintosh ,Eddie Tembo and David Girvan while Arran Macdonald came off at half time as a precautionary measure against a leg strain.
After the match Glen captain Stuart Mackintosh was presented with the Macdonald Cup by former Camanachd Association President Ken Thompson, a Strathglass stalwart from the good old days. Ken’s been away from the sport for a wee while and it’s good to see him back among shinty people who remember him not only as a former President but as a pretty fair goalie as well.
Newtonmore’s Rab Ritchie was charged with the task of choosing the man of the match- and his pick fell upon the Glen’s Ruaraidh Cameron. A hard decision to choose one from amongst the Glen’s centres and front men but Cameron’s tireless running, allied in particular to his thoughtful and creative play tipped the balance in his favour. Well done indeed.

The pictures explain themselves but you might like to read the snap of the top team as a work of Art allied to Social History. As such, you should note the pylon on the right hand side symbolising the link that Strathglass has with hydropower. The large break in the tree cover might also draw your mind to Strath’s forestry connection-it might be a firebreak or it might hint at modern tree cutting to allow the Beauly/Denny line to go through( symbolically of course because it’s not actually going through here.) On the other hand if you prefer not to see it as Art perhaps you should regard it simply as a badly framed photograph of what is, after all, a winning team.

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Glen shinty mourns the loss of Vice-Chieftain John Alick Mackenzie (1937-2012)

2012-02-06T20:07:00.008Z

With the death of John Alick Mackenzie on the 27th January yet another link with the successful side of the 1960s has been severed. In recent years John Alick has been an ever present at home matches in the “stand”. His generous smile and cheerful disposition will be much missed by the regulars over the course of the season to come and far beyond.
Though born in Morvern, Argyll, John Alick spent his school years at Torgoyle in Invermoriston where his father worked with the Forestry Commission and in due course he took up his place at Glenurquhart Secondary School , though such was the state of communications at the time that in order to do so he had to take up lodgings in Lewiston. Though he had doubtless become acquainted with shinty before he arrived in the Glen, it was at Secondary School in the Glen that he honed the skills and made the lifelong contacts which were to be of lasting importance to him in the world of shinty. That this was so may be seen in the picture of the school team of 1952 which lost out in the semi- final of the Macpherson Cup to the eventual winners Kingussie.

After leaving school John Alick went on to Aberdeen University where he became a key member of the Varsity side of the late 50’s, winning three Littlejohn Vases including with the side pictured in season 1956-7.

He then returned to play for the Glen as part of the all-conquering side of 1963 which saw victory in the Sutherland Cup (3-2 against Kyles at Spean Bridge) and the McGillivray Junior League. A versatile player whose height and long reach gave him an edge over many opponents, John Alick played up front and in the centreline not just for the Glen and Aberdeen University but over the course of his career for Lochcarron, Glasgow Mid Argyll and Oban Camanachd also. The Lochcarron appearances were a particular source of amusement to him because he became part of a side that at the time included 11 Mackenzies, which even to John Alick would have seemed somewhat excessive.

When John Alick left the north in 1964 to take up employment in another shinty area in Argyll it meant that his playing days in the Glen, though not his shinty career, had come to an end. However, he was to pull on the black and red jersey once again as part of a Glen veterans’ squad which came together on 15th August , 1987 to play a team of Inverness veterans to mark the centenary of the Inverness Club. The Glenners are pictured above and of course there is delight as well as sadness evoked by the picture taken to mark the Centenary of the “Town” club. One can say “Town “ rather than “City” of course because back in 1987 Inverness still had to achieve city status while the Glen had yet to reach a Camanachd Cup Final.
The Wing Centre was present at the game and while the score has slipped from his memory he can remember the silky skills of Bob Macdonald on one wing and Jocky Macdonald on the other. Both Macs were on target that day, Bob’s strike being a first time drive from a ball slipped across from Jocky. Of course supplying the midfield power were John Alick, Peter English, Geordie Stewart and a tireless Jimmy Burnett who was guesting for the day. Jimmy was the player with pedigree on the park having captained Kilmallie to Camanachd Cup glory in 1964. Sadly including John Alick, six of these Bught veterans are no longer with us. Don Cumming, Bob Macdonald, Peter English, Jocky Macdonald and of course Jimmy Burnett himself have all passed away and shinty in the Glen is the poorer for their passing.
It was a wonderful day of shinty at the Bught not only because the old Glenners triumphed over the old Invernessians by 4 goals to 0 but also because for the afternoon the years seemed to roll away.

In more recent times sadly John Alick suffered both from health problems and from the personal tragedy of losing his son John in a car accident. His spirit however remained strong and over the years accompanied by his good friend Jocky Macdonald he took up his regular place in the stand- and on Jocky’s death in 2008 he maintained his regular attendance at matches accompanied now by his brother Davie who was also a member of that schoolboy team of 1952. He was made Vice-chieftain of the club in 2000
The pictures are as follows:
The Aberdeen University side of 1957. For some reason they are pictured without the Littlejohn. With John in the picture are Brian Denoon and the late Peter English.
Also pictured is the Glen trophy winning side of 1963 with John Alick to be seen.
The final snap is of the Glen Vets who played at the Bught to mark the centenary of Inverness Shinty Club
For those who are curious the players are as follows:
(Back) : Andrew Ian Macdonald, Peter Macdonald, Geordie Stewart, Jocky Macdonald, Tommy McKenna, Peter English, John Alick Mackenzie, Bob English
(Front) Don Cumming, Jimmy Burnett, Alan Bell, Iain Macdonald, Bob Macdonald, Calum Fraser.

See how many you can spot in the team of 1963.
Thanks to Brian Denoon for the Aberdeen Uni picture: the other b/w images came from Peter English's book on Glen Shinty (1985)

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Memories are made of days like these

2012-01-23T21:41:00.008Z

With the publication on the website of the forthcoming friendly fixtures, including the Macdonald Cup and the Ali Ban, the Wing Centre at least has the illusion that progress is being made towards the new season. Training is also in full swing on the Astro though the ability to actually play on grass has been very much compromised by the incessant rain which has turned the fair field at Blairbeg into a green sponge. If it’s been that bad in Glenurquhart , which was shown in the 80s & 90s, according to the little weather station, at the school to get as little rainfall as Bournemouth –presumably it all fell in Strathglass before it reached here-then goodness knows how bad pitches must be in Skye, Lochcarron or Balmacara. One can only guess at the situation in Bute, Inveraray and Tighnabruaich while the permafrost no doubt still covers the Dell and the Eilean.
The matches scheduled are as follows

Sat 11th February
Strathglass V Glenurquhart (Macdonald Cup Throw up tbc)
Strathglass V Glenurquhart (Ali Ban Throw up tbc)
Sat 18th February
1st team - Glenurquhart V Lochcarron - 1:30
2nd team - Boleskine V Glenurquhart - 1:30
Sat 25th February
1st team - Glenurquhart V Fort William - 1:30
2nd team - Beauly V Glenurquhart - 1:30

- all of which shows just how little the Wing Centre has to write about when he is reduced to repeating a list of fixtures the Chairman has already published on the website.
However having spent some time looking at the squad training, the vibe is a positive one. Of course, the situation is as it always is at the start of a season-one of anticipation and hope but of course success will depend on how much effort and commitment the lads are willing to give over the whole course of the campaign. Early signs look good- and there is certainly a buzz about the place and not just because for the moment the lotto stands at a nice round figure. This is not either the time or place to write about managers or players–it’s too early for one thing- but that will come in time. Suffice to say that despite how the village changes the Wing Centre simply wants to see more bairns going up and down Balmacaan Road with shinty sticks in their hands going off for a wee knock. One was spotted the other day-the first wee swallow of the summer-but there are not enough of them. Mind you they don’t go down the road with footballs either, not in this village nor nationally which is why the SFA managed to persuade someone in authority to create seven National Football Academies throughout the land where the kids are chosen by ability and receive specialised coaching as part of the curriculum. Given that they do the same thing at Plockton for pipers and fiddlers you wonder why the indigenous sport doesn’t get a wee bunk up too- with our own network of shinty academies? Of course the Wing Centre knows perfectly well why not. Not only football but rugby, badminton even hockey get a better deal than the indigenous teuchter sport but at least he is thankful that for the moment that an aforementioned football academy has not been established in the North though doubtless the townies will be squeaking for it. If the nation really responding to the public demand and preparing guys and dolls for a lifelong participation in sport, we should be setting up Academies for snooker, pool and darts. If it is the economy that requires boosting then there ought to be academies for science, engineering, construction…….at this point of course in full rant mode it is time to return to the shinty itself. Why? Because to continue in this vein is to compromise sanity and lead to madness, so it’s back to the shinty ghetto with some reminiscences about days gone by when every bairn in the Glen had Mac in his surname - the Frasers, Grants and Chisholms were always Norman incomers - and went to school with a shinty club and a slab of dried porridge for his play piece.
One little piece of memorabilia came to light a week or so ago when James Gibson dug out an old programme which was created to mark the centenary of Glen School back in 1993. James did not actually have any photos of the teams involved on the day but the programme which was a little faded indicated a match between the “Has Beens” and the “Would Bes” on June 12th 1993.
The “Has Beens” were the side which in May 1967 won the MacPherson Cup –a date incidentally which has gone down along with 1977- into the history of Glen shinty despite other achievements having been equally great. A side including Graeme Young and Dugald Ross won the Macpherson in 1979 but then of course the presence of Strathglass’s Roy Mackenzie may have properly caused it to slip from the Glen’s collective memory.
While few can recall with any certainty what the score was in the Commemorative match and the Wing centre was inclined to remember it as a draw.However a communication with Iain Macleod of the youthful "Would Bes" elicited the information that it was a draw 3-3 with captain Burton Morrison credited with all three scores for the vets.In Iain's recollection Andrew Macdonald salvaged the reputation of the youth with an equaliser late in the match.
Of the side which defeated Lochaber High in Fort William in May 1967 a good number including Ally Mackintosh, Ron Fraser, Mike Cameron and Jim Barr are still very close to the club while Burton Morrison had a long and distinguished career with Mid Argyll and Ken Kennedy was still involved with Kilmallie last season. Many of the others played their part in Shinty at Aberdeen University (Mike Girvan/Ruaraidh Taylor) the late Davie Morrison played for Aberdeen Camanachd when work took him there while Donny Paterson and Ronnie Smart also played for Glen big teams. James Gibson also played Glen shinty for a time while Kenny Carmichael was a superb full forward at Aberdeen University and also returned to star in the Glen 1st team for a number of years. The only player that it is hard to recall as having played in the adult team is big Duncan Campbell- but then he may well have done-though his career was not a long one.
Of the “Would Bes” a number have been and are still to the fore in Glen sides i.e. Eddie Tembo, Calum Fraser, Andrew Macdonald, Paul Mackintosh and Iain Macleod. Charlie Duncan was a regular in the firsts for a season or two even after he settled in Edinburgh and Lee Lendon served for a season as top team keeper before he left the village. The other three Glenners in the side were Andrew Allan, Jon Trelfer and Kenneth Macpherson while Strathglass boys Dean Harrison and Gavin Rafferty filled the remaining places. On the bench were Colin Macrae from Drum and Cannich’s Chris Burke.
A little piece of Club history is then recalled by an old programme and as luck would have it Iain was able to provide not one but two pic. The first which shows the two captains jointly about to receive the trophy after the match. It is to be presented by Home Economcs teacher Mrs Jessie Mackay whose late husband Murdo taught Science at Glen School and who managed the boys of '67 to victory.

One further thought does occur. Why did so many of the 1967 guys stick around with shinty over the years when fewer of the ’93 guys did - given that the ’93 guys had been nurtured in the heady excitement of the late 80s and early 90’s when the Glen was winning stuff and getting to a Camanachd final? A social change in the population which plays the game? More things to do? Maybe it’s just chance.

The nostalgic train of thought is continued in the two photos displayed here also. Recently the Club won the London Shield a victory which not only occasioned the photo which was uploaded but also a little conversation about when the Glen had won it last. The picture recently shown of the school in which James Clark was included was of course of Glen School and the Wade Cup. The two photos included here are of the London shield winners: the first in 1991 at Beauly (grateful thanks again to HD and his book) where the result was a 4-3 win over Oban Celtic. The other picture marks the team of 2001 and the background is clearly the Jubilee at Ballachulish. The team defeated were Inveraray but without HD’s book to give the score all that can be claimed is that it was a Glen win. How do we know the date? It is printed on the photograph at the bottom right. 26. 05. 2001.
Thanks to Iain Macleod and to Glen secretary, Hazel Stewart for the pics.

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Our revels now are ended: let the shinty begin….soon …please!

2012-01-11T16:15:00.007Z

In the Glen for the moment all traces of stick game activity have vanished completely off the radar and for the connoisseur of the Celtic sport for the time being there has been little diversion save reading about the game, watching Caman on the telly and going down to the A82 to read the notice board at the field. This last is understandable if you want to find out the lotto numbers but apart from a general Happy New Year to all and sundry, there has been little to catch the eye of the committed shinty fiend.
The Wing Centre has poured all his festive energies into reading in particular two excellent shinty publications. The first of these, and the one the Wing Centre did not open until that dull windy period between Christmas and New Year was “Toss thine antlers, Caberfeidh“ It was read in a oner and a fascinating oner it was. Edited by Hugh Dan Maclennan -where he gets his unlimited bags of energy and enthusiasm is a mystery to this writer-it takes the reader through the successes and personalities , past and present of Ross-shire’s greatest ever shinty club. Family connections, continuity, loyalty, courage and tradition-it is all there. When the Wing Centre thinks of Cabers, he always thinks of Willie Maclennan as the player par excellence in a blue jersey but doubtless there were heroes in every generation and if the performance of Kevin Bartlett in the international against the Irish recently is anything to go by the present generation is no different from those that went before. And the Glen angle? - because there usually has to be a Glen angle in anything that gets into the “D” On page 18, in the centre of the picture of the victorious Cabers team which beat Kingussie 2-0 in the McGillivray final at Inverness in 1963 is none other than “Doey” Fraser (Doey Kerrowdown) who played for and managed the Glen in the 1970s. “Doey” was a fine player and a gentleman and his untimely death in 1980 at the age of 46 was not only a family tragedy but left a gap in Glen shinty which took a long time to be filled.
The second publication which the Wing Centre had time to read with some care was of course Aberdeen University’s “Keeping the Camanachd Flag Flying” which came out in August in time for the 2011 Sutherland Cup Final which the Glen failed to reach (to the chagrin of the Wing Centre who had already booked accommodation in the Silver City in anticipation of a great Glen day out)
The Glen angles to this book are far too numerous to mention running as they do the full gamut from Peter English to Jamie Bell and from John Alec Mackenzie to Billy Urquhart but if the Wing Centre was to think of Aberdeen University then the player par excellence that comes to mind is Burton Morrison- and his piece on the 1970s was a particularly pleasant if nostalgic read .
The Wing Centre-and his good lady – spent an interesting afternoon picking out the Glenners in the pictures- and truth to tell it was an endlessly diverting pastime because no sooner did you think you had got them all when up would pop Jamie Macpherson or Corky in a photo. Should you count those who went to Drum School but did not play for the Glen as bona fide? No –Well perhaps it’s always best to agree the rules of a Christmas game before you start to play it.
Thanks for production of this excellent book of course go to Steven Mackenzie who hails from Beauly but despite that little blip he has worked tirelessly on behalf the indigenous sport in the Granite City over the years. Steven also popped up on the final episode of Caman to talk about shinty in Aberdeen- and the verdict has generally been that the series has been a positive thing for shinty, showing the community roots and the athletic focus of the players. Also on the last episode was the First Minister. Did he really say ‘fitba’? That can be said in an Aberdeenshire accent and be natural-and Oor Willie can say it- though only in writing if you catch the Wing Centre’s drift-but otherwise it just sounds a little patronising given the surrounding verbal context. But then who is the Wing Centre to talk (or even write) about the subject of patronisation! However, given the momentous events about to happen in the next year or two, it is probably a good idea to sound genuine.
With snow on Culnakirk it was simply not sensible to nip over the top to see the Lovat/Beauly New Year game (which Greg Matheson won with his usual brace) so further effort had to be put into diverting oneself without any actual games to watch. As always the Skye website keeps one up to date with matters caman-shaped and Torquil Macleod, the Chief Operating Officer of the Camanachd has provided the Sgiathanaich with a 6 part interview which pretty much says it all, though there is still some uncertainty about where the Association stands on the Iranian nuclear question. Perhaps T will let us know in part 7.
What did catch the eye however was a really nice piece in the WHFP (23/12/2012) which escaped the Wing Centre’s attention until the windy day after New Year when he was going to use it to light the fire. By Angus Peter Campbell, it dealt with Kinlochshiel’s Noel Gordon and was filled with shinty crack about Kinlochshiel and Sorley, as well as a nice picture of the ‘Shiel Sutherland winning side of 1962 with Willie ‘Doonsie’, Noel and his brothers, Colin Campbell, Philip Mackenzie from Kyle and of course Iain Dubh. This latter picture sent the Wing Centre back to Hugh Dan’s “Shinty-100 Years of the Camanachd Association” –the only work of Shinty reference known to man- and this tells us that Shiel beat Kyles 5-4 at Fort William. This was of course a year before the Glen managed their solitary triumph in 1963 at Spean Bridge, Kyles being once again on the losing side.
And that was all the Shinty fix that was available unless you count Radio nan Gaidheal’s Annual Sports Round Up which took forever to get round to the Shinty. The Wing Centre had to sit through football, rugby, the Island Games and goodness knows what before they reached that memorable commentary of Gilleasbuig going mental at the Camanachd final. It has to be said that it is only memorable after being heard on 31st December for the first time, since the Wing Centre was at the match in question and thus never heard it on the radio. Now he wishes he had.
Hugh Dan was talking about Rugby. The Wing Centre hopes that for Uisdean it’s only business and that he can find some time to update his book because without an update you are never going to know who won what, when and where unless you go looking back through old Camanachd Cup Final programmes, and then the one you find only has a list of the referees. To get Hugh started, the Wing Centre will give him a title –“Shinty – 119 Years of the Camanachd Association”. Yep-it’s really been that long though perhaps it wouldn’t seem so bad if the Wing Centre got out more!

Come on HD. The Wing Centre has even done the Maths on the cover.

The last pic ? The Glen coaches get prepared!! Good.

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Christmas Greetings from the D

2011-12-19T19:31:00.008Z

The above is the Glen’s Christmas card this year and they will have been dropping through more than a few letter boxes over the past day or two in the run up to Christmas. It features all three teams-the Premier side, the North Div 2 and, of course, the Under 17s with the London Shield. Also sending out Christmas greetings from whiteout Shintyland is the Glen’s Snow-bodach who was trying to get a wee knock on the front green before Santa came - nice to see he’s reassuringly retro with his “Currachd Ruadh” and his old McPherson hickory one –piece.
Without even Zandra’s Sixes to keep us on our toes, at this time of the year there not much doing shinty-wise in the Glen except to turn on Caman on Alba every Thursday at 8.30pm. to see what EJ has been up to the previous week. He’s had quite a time so far, but for the Wing Centre the highlight has been when he got that Chinese bird to put him on fire. As if merely sticking pins in EJ wasn’t enough, the lady in question attempted to cause him to burn down and Ed in his pants too! No doubt there will be some further ups and downs to come but the betting in Balmacaan is that he’ll be back fit to play for the first team before the end of the series.
To strike a more sensible note for a moment, the programme is turning out to be not half bad with one particularly powerful, genuine piece of television when David Macpherson (senior) spoke movingly about when young Davie told him about his cancer. One might have thought that such a moment was worth a mention on one or other of the TV reviews that are churned out in the broadsheets and tabloids- but no such luck.
Such was ever the way with things shintywise. Though we are making strides, Shinty is still ignored by the big wide world. Ever since Greek traders came in contact with nomads on the Russian steppe north of the Black Sea in 800 BC, the notions of “civilised” and “barbaric” have come to poison European thought. The prejudice was picked up by the Romans, fed into European kingdoms and besides providing notions of Empire and racial superiority fuelled the anti–Highland prejudice of the Lowland kings leading to the Statutes of Iona and eventually the proscription of a culture post Culloden with consequent Clearances. Shinty? Mere collateral damage and it still suffers today and still after all this time, if one is not vigilant, it is liable to be patronised at every turn.
Wow! What was that about? Where did that come from? Doesn’t the Wing Centre care that Prof Tom Devine might pick holes in the analysis –always assuming he can find any? Nuh! . For one thing it’s always nice to see the reasons for Shinty shabby treatment in a wider context and there ain’t no wider context than the one provided above. As well as that, a further cause of the rant was the Wing Centre’s realisation that, despite Aberdeen University Shinty Club having Eck Salmond as President, his appointment won’t make any difference to the sport. Perhaps it’s better having him on board than having him not involved at all but the Wing Centre has studied carefully pictures of Eck and he does not have the look of a particularly sporting guy, and therefore he will not be especially interested in any sport let alone this quaint Hieland one. If only a football-obsessive politico like Henry MacLeish had been born in Tighnabruaich. But then again the Wing Centre might be wrong because he has been known to be wrong in the past. Once or twice.

Finally the news has broken that the greatest shinty player who ever pulled on a red and black jersey has decided to retire. Yes it’s true! Big James Clark who helped Fort William to 5 Camanachd Cup wins (2005, 2007 2008 2009 & 2010) has decided to hang up his golden caman at the age of 37. Big Jim has let it be known that being a partner in a joinery business has meant that his work commitments mean that he has found it difficult to attend training sessions. His loss is huge for the sport because though as far as the Wing Centre is concerned he did not really receive the media attention his special skills deserved. On the field he was a massively powerful figure with the surest of touches with the caman, an excellent shinty brain and a deadly shot in front of goal. At his peak his skill and physique made him simply unplayable. After a season and a half with Glengarry, his home side, Jim joined Fort William in 1993, earned caps at under 21 and full international level before in 2005, winning the first of his Camanachd Cup winners medals at An Aird in the 3-2victory over Kilmallie. Jim was the man who made the difference that day when he scored two goals the second of which was the late goal which landed the Cup. He scored two more including the winner as Fort beat Inveraray 2-1 in the 100th Camanachd Cup final at Inverness in 2007 then two more as Fort beat Kingussie 2-1 at An Aird in 2008. For the Wing centre however big Jim’s most spectacular assist was in Oban in 2009 when Fort beat Kyles 4-3 in a Camanachd final in which the big man started as sub. Clark came off the bench and fired home a double including once more a last gasp winner that gave Fort 3 Camanachd Cups in a row. The big man picked up yet another winner’s medal in 2010 when Fort William beat Kingussie 3-2 at the Bught though this time unusually he did not find the net. One other little statistic that is worth mentioning is that while there have been a few players who have won the Albert Smith medal, given to the outstanding player in the Camanachd Final on more than one occasion, so far no one except big Jim has done it back to back as he did in 2007 and 2008.

The thing about Big Jim is that having worn the black and red as a schoolboy in Kilchumein,he could have easily chosen Glenurquhart . He must be kicking himself when he thinks about all the Macdonald Cups and Strathdearns he could have won if only he had picked his team carefully and correctly. Indeed look at the pic here. OK so it’s not top quality but here is big Jim in a Glen strip way back in the mists of time. Indeed it is so old that it looks as if the chemicals in the print are disintegrating. Yet despite this Jim went to the Fort. Was it something we said, Jim?
Never mind you are always welcome to come back. You’ll be in good company because most of our Strathdearn guys find it hard to make training too.

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The Cups and Downs of Shinty.

2011-12-06T14:43:00.017Z

Like all of shinty’s faithful followers in the Glen and the Aird, the Wing Centre likes the “Courier” even though he gets a little tired of the fact that in recent times its sports page has tended to focus too much on Caley Swizzle. Not that he is in any way against Caley manager Terry Butcher because, despite living in Abriachan, he at least seems to perform the socially useful function of attempting to keep the traffic on the A82 under some sort of control with his admonitions. To be fair though the Courier does give shinty a regular place-we have even had a recent sports editorial on the indigenous sport-though, as always, there is more that could be done.
Which is why the Wing Centre was most disconcerted last week to see the following little snippet in the Courier section which is entitled a bad week for....

In the Glen we did not really consider that particular victory to be the marker of a bad week. Winning a National Trophy for the first time in ten years was generally held to be a good thing , though when the point was put to the Chieftain he did indicate that he hoped the victory would not go to the heads of the youngsters involved and that having won at that level, they would continue to think of themselves as students of the game “with a lot to learn”. It is possibly a groundless fear because the last time that this trophy was won, it was with a side that was captained by Michael “Ikey” Fraser and contained Corky, Arran ,Lewis and Stuart Reid all of whom have gone on to be mainstays of the senior side. Michael has gone on to play in Ross-shire, not only in another county but also in another sport. It seems like a waste of a good Glenner but there you have it. That day victory was claimed at the Jubilee Park , Ballachulish and the opponents were Inveraray – and some of their guys have gone on to do quite well too.
This year’s victory came over at the Crofterdome on a day when that noble stadium undoubtedly harboured the only playable sward in the whole of Shintyland. A dreadful morning of wind and rain made for an anxious hour or so of wondering whether the match would go ahead but in the end Kinlochshiel came over the bealach and the match got underway with ref Graham Macmillan in charge of proceedings. The Wing Centre enjoyed the atmosphere- because despite the weather there was a sufficiency of aficionados present to create one- and the game wasn’t half bad either. Being of a gloomy disposition your reporter did not start out with too much faith in his valley’s young folk – especially when he considered that Shiel’s Connall Fraser had got four goals in the semi – but right from the start the young Glenners put in a shift. Inspired by Ewan Brady , Ewan Lloyd and Jack Hosie in the middle ,the black and red babes, with the help admittedly of a strong breeze, managed to secure some territorial advantage though secure defending from Shiel prevented both Daniel Mackintosh and Sam Cumming from turning early half chances into goals.
Glen took the lead though in the 15th minute when Connor Golabeck was put through on goal and the youngster kept a cool head to slip the ball past Shiel keeper Hugh Macrae for the opener. Glen kept up pressure and Cumming saw a drive come back off the post while another chance or two also went begging. At the other end Kinlochshiel tested the Glen defence when Jordan Fraser edged his shot just over the bar but both Fraser Heath at full back and James Hurwood at buckshee were on top form while Rory Maclean and Lachie Smith on the wings also kept the pressure on the Shiel forwards and star player Connal Fraser found himself with neither enough time or space to strike a telling blow. However just before the half time break Shiel got back into the game thanks to a close range strike by Aedan Macrae. Played in by Connal Fraser he slipped the ball past Glen keeper Cameron Maclennan and the sides went into the interval all square.
If Glenners on the side lines were worried that their youngsters were going into a second half having not made enough of the advantage the wind gave them in the first period they need not have worried. Glen kept on the front foot and their defence was alert enough to deal with whatever the Shiel lads could throw at them. Daniel Mackintosh fired home the decisive strike in the 57th minute when he persevered to find himself space and fired a powerful drive high into the Shiel net for what turned out to be the winner. Shiel were not completely out of it yet and Glen keeper Cameron Maclennan had to make an excellent save from a powerful drive by Fraser before Shiel resistance was finally overcome and the trophy went over Culnakirk for the first time in a decade.
An excellent advert for youth shinty, this game raises hopes that perhaps in the years to come it might be that a Glen side will have more trophies to put on the top table at the Dinner Dance than the Games Cup for the Tug of War !!
So what on earth were the Courier guys thinking about when they judged the victory as heralding a bad week for the Glen?
“That’s an easy one.” said Mr Reid, as he sorted out the Lotto tickets for the weekly draw.
Now if Mr Reid thinks it’s easy then most likely it is very complicated but in this case everything hinged on something that the Wing Centre hadn’t quite taken in.
“I bet they’ve got a little mixed up over the Premier League situation.”said Mr Reid and he went on to explain that when the last Premier game of the season, the Kyles v Kingussie match, had been cancelled the Camanachd decided that the points should be shared. Kings and Kyles got a point each, so the Glen slipped from 4th to 5th in the Premier League table since Kings now had the same points but a better goal ratio. Glen lost a place without even playing.
“A little bit like the old Pools Panel eh Mr Reid?” said the Chieftain. “What was the score?”
“0-0”
“What? They didn’t even give Ronald a goal? That was pretty mean of Astie.”
“Suppose so” said Mr Reid “but I bet Stevie Borthwick was pleased.”
“Why?”
“ ‘Cos Kings finally kept a clean sheet , that’s why”
With that Mr Reid went back to sorting out the Lotto. It was clear that he thought Kingussie were so jammy that if a Kingussie guy had come in and bought a ticket, he would have won. Not that Mr Reid would have sold him one.

Thanks to Neil Paterson(www.neilgpaterson.com)for all the pictures except the first one and the one of Garry and Dan.

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The biggest shinty fortnight since the season began

2011-11-23T19:03:00.001Z

“Well,” said the Chairman, as he adjusted his new hands free kit in the Caman-mobile so he could listen in to the first shinty scores on Radio Free Beauly, ”That must have been the biggest fortnight for shinty since the season began.”
“Couldn’t disagree with that”, said the Wing Centre, “what with Kyles dropping that vital point to Inveraray and then Newtonmore getting the Premier League winner in the last minute of their final match. You couldn’t make it up”
The Chairman looked at the Wing Centre: there was a profundity of pity in his regard. “EJ was right, Wing Centre. You always miss the point. I never gave Newtonmore, Inveraray or Kyles a thought when I said it was a big fortnight for shinty. What I meant was that Glenurquhart have had a Sale of Work, an AGM and a Dinner Dance all in the last week or so”
“Wow!” said the Wing Centre, “What happened on these auspicious occasions?”
“I don’t have time to go through it all now “ said the Chairman “but why don’t you do what everyone else in Shinty does when they want to find out something about their own club. Just Google up the Skye website- you will find it all there.”
With that he engaged the gears in the Caman-mobile and set off in the general direction of Pitkerrald Road.
There was nothing for it then but to take his advice and look up the Skye website and what a treasure trove that turned out to be. It was nearly all there. You wonder how these Skye guys do it. If their League position is to be believed they can’t play shinty like boys from Lochalsh and Kintail,but they can find out secrets all right. Suppose when you think of it there’s a Skye person to be found in every village in the Highlands either living openly or not letting on, and it’s clear from the website that they are gathering info on the local shinty teams with thoroughness reminiscent of the East German Stasi. Still it is useful.
The mole missed out on the Sale of Work though, a spectacular event which took place on Friday 5th November and which saw the hall packed with a most lively throng of happy buyers. All the usual stalls were to the fore with the venison, the baking, the books and the bottles flying off the shelves with abandon. A particular feature this year was the large number of Christmas decorations which sold especially well to youngsters and families.
The next event was the AGM which was held for the first time ever in Glen Urquhart High School as opposed to its usual venue of Blairbeg Hall which was otherwise engaged.
To find out what happened it is as well to quote what the Skyvers say :
Scottish Hydro Premier Division side Glenurquhart has pulled off a management coup by appointing Fraser Mackenzie and Drew McNeil as first team co-managers at their Annual General Meeting on Friday 11 September 2011.The two most recent Scotland managers take over from Jim Barr who stood down at the end of the 2011 season and they are already preparing for the 2012 campaign.
Drew McNeil managed Scotland in the Shinty / Hurling internationals against Ireland in 2010 and 2011 and before that he was assistant manager to Fraser Mackenzie when he managed the Scots.
The duo has also experienced the highs and lows of club management. Drew McNeil won the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup with Fort William for three years in the row before he was replaced by Peter McIntyre. Fraser Mackenzie managed the Lochcarron first team prior to taking on the Scotland job.
“I’m delighted to be back in management and can’t wait to get going,” said Fraser Mackenzie. “Drew and I have previously worked together in the Scotland job and we are both driven and we get on well. Drew has had a lot of success at club level with Fort William and I’ve had my time in charge at Lochcarron so we know how it can go right and how it can go wrong. We also hope to appoint an experienced assistant manager from within the club and we hope to be able to make an announcement on this in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Mackenzie and McNeil are both keen students of the game. “Drew and I have both been at Glenurquhart for a season and we have had a good meeting with the players where we discussed what is expected of the team next season and we’ll try to bring success to the club. We are not looking at this short-term but we want to help the club longer-term from the youth set-up right up to the first team and I must say that everyone is very positive.”
“We are looking forward to a good pre-season so that we can build on the last few seasons. We have a great bunch of guys and the players can certainly take belief from beating Kingussie and Newtonmore on their own pitches this season, We just need to get consistency and we can look at Kyles to see what can be achieved. James Perlich has done a fantastic job training the Kyles boys and their fitness is fantastic. You get out of the game what you put in.”
Mackenzie is expecting the strongest top division for a few years now. “The Premier Division is going to be very tough next season,” he said. “Bute are a good side and I think Kinlochshiel will surprise a lot of teams and I would be very surprised if ‘Shiel were relegated at the end of the season.”
Drew McNeil’s two year tenure in charge of the Scotland team has come to an end but he has aspirations of continuing in that post. Fraser Mackenzie doesn’t see why his international successor cannot continue in a dual role especially with a strong management team looking after Glenurquhart affairs.
Mackenzie also has a family link to the area, “It’s great for me to be involved with Glenurquhart as half my family come from the area and my mum lives here. The new season can’t come quick enough.”

(To be found at http://www.skyecamanachd.com/news.html)

In the interests of historical accuracy it should be pointed out that the Fraser Mackenzie mentioned as manager is of course the “Official” Fraser Mackenzie. The Original Fraser Mackenzie continues as Treasurer. Unusual, two Fraser Mackenzies in Glenurquhart? Not so- far stranger is the fact that there are two Ally Mackintoshes, two Andrew Macdonalds, two Peter Macdonalds and at least three Dave Maclennans in the village.

The Chairman continues as chairman while Hazel Stewart remains in the key post of Secretary while Mr Reid keeps his fingers in his many club pies including the lottery and Stuart Mackintosh stays on board to handle the fixtures secretary’s post. Second team boss is to be Iain Macleod.
Better was to come for Smack though at the annual “Do” held at the Clansman when he was awarded the club’s trophy for Player of the Year. The accolade was richly deserved too after his excellent season and international honours though if rumour is to believe he was pushed close by his brother Al while as you may see in the snap his cousin Paul is indicating how close the voting was. Gary Smith was named Junior Player of the Year for his performances with the second team. Also honoured was young player of the year Fraser Heath who has not only had some first team experience this session but has also had under- 17 district and national acclaim. A special award in the shape of an inscribed caman was presented to retiring second team manager Steven Henderson. Hendo has won 3 league titles in a row, a Strathdearn Cup and made a Sutherland final. This year though League form was a problem the side, despite big changes in personnel, also made it through to the semis of both the Sutherland and the Strathdearn.
Other presentations made on the night were to Jim Barr who stepped down as first team supremo, Helen Maclennan for all her efforts, everywhere, all the time Janet Emery for her work at the pavilion and present High School Head Teacher Josie Mackenzie retiring after 31 years of tirelessly promoting shinty in the halls of academe.
In sum it was an excellent night with superb food with over 70 persons present amongst whom were some of the Clubs most generous sponsors and as ,we were wont to write of yore,” a good night was had by all ...... while everyone else seemed to enjoy it as well.” On the top table was a fine display of trophies amongst which was the Macdonald Cup , the “Clash of the Camans “ piece of kindling, under 17s Inverness Sixes Cup and of course the Tug o’War Cup from the Glen Games.

At this point the Chairman returned to vet the blog. We have, it is true, tight media control in the Glen after experiencing some choppy journalistic waters earlier in the season- and after a minute or so of tutting the boss said “It‘ll do but I’m not sure I like the tone of the last par. It does not seem to be entirely respectful of the trophies”
“But we do respect them. At least EJ didn’t take them up to the top of Queen Mary’s Rock and pose for a snap without his shorts on”
“Who did that?”
“The Newtonmore boys. They took the Camanachd and the Premier League Cup to the top of Creag Dubh and took off their pants for a photo. The shot was captioned ‘Naked Ambition’. It is a visual pun.” added the Wing Centre helpfully.
“I bet their Mams weren’t pleased,” said the Chairman.
“I doubt if they were. Still you can’t blame the guys-they must be Team of the Year now. All the Twits say so”
“It’s not Twits...It’s Tweets- but you still don’t get it do you Wing Centre?”
“Get what?”
“This Team of the Year thing. Look, which team beat the Glen twice this season?”
“Well it wasn’t Newtonmore or Kingussie was it?”
“No, It was Kyles. Ergo, Kyles must be Team of the Year. If the Glen can beat someone then there is no way that team can be Team of the Year, so it has to be Kyles, hasn’t it? Astie chose them and Astie’s not daft.”
Apparently not.
Enjoy the pics.

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We live in interesting TV Times.

2011-11-10T20:59:00.004Z

What an interesting world we inhabit here in shinty’s little parish. You wouldn’t learn it anywhere else but the Wing Centre can reveal that the reason the Shinty/Hurling internationals were held on the 22nd & 29th October was because the Stag shooting season closes on the 20th October (having started on July 1st for those with an interest in precision) and Astie and Torquil at the Camanachd Association hoped that clever timing would maximise the number of stalkers and gamekeepers coming through the turnstiles of the Bught on the Saturday. Now Astie is a Lochaberman and one would have been entitled to bet that he would not actually be aware of such dates, since everyone knows that Lochabermen if they are not stealing cattle, are certainly poaching deer and for such a pastime , legal dates are irrelevant . Torquil? I would bet that with a name like that he has a touch of the Sgiathananch or Hearach in him and behind that smooth exterior he will also have a Highlander’s distaste for the rule of law. Who knows? Astie and Torquil may have been right but in the end it made no difference. The Irish “Wild Geese” flew in and flew out with the International trophy thanks to a late, late strike from Joe Bergin that some might have considered to have been offside. But then some didn’t and that’s all that mattered.
The Wing Centre asked a newspaper guy if he could have a report- and the guy said yes-so here it is right down to the deeply dull last line that tries to imply that the result is somehow linked to the national psyche. As if. Anyway here it is….
Scotland failed gallantly today in their attempt to narrow the gap between themselves and Ireland’s hurlers left after last week’s defeat in the mixed code international. Trailing by five points and frustrated by the conditions in Co. Kildare, the Scots had hoped they could turn the series around on the more closely shorn home turf- and they gave it a real go leading their opponents in points scored until a goal from Brendan Maher in the dying minutes sealed an Irish victory which had looked unlikely for most of the afternoon.
Though injuries had forced Scotland boss Drew McNeill to refresh his squad –with Kyles Athletic’s Roddie Macdonald, Lochcarron’s Mark Sproule and Bute’s Ian Macdonald the new faces–his side got off to a superb start when Kevin Bartlett popped the ball over for two points in the opening minutes. A nasty mouth injury then deprived Scotland of chief play-maker John Macdonald but when a long drive from Finlay Macrae eluded Irish keeper Paul Dermody for Scotland’s opening goal the stage looked set for a home victory especially when Bartlett had added to the lead with two more points. Dermody however soon redeemed him-self with a series of fine saves .Then Bartlett was denied points by the post and Roddy Mac-donald struck the ball into the net with his foot rather than his caman after Macrae had set him up with an open goal. These were missed chances which would come back to haunt Scot-land but for the moment Bartlett was on hand once again to add two more from a free hit awarded for a push on Macdonald.
Then in 35 minutes Ireland woke up for the first time with a single from Willie Hyland. Worse was to follow for the Scots when Bergin scored from a narrow angle and then Craig Doyle further eroded the differential with a single. Though Bartlett hit two more points be-fore the whistle the 6 point half time lead was cold comfort to a Scotland side should have been well ahead by the interval.
Playing into the wind in the second period Scotland also found themselves confronting an Irish side clearly galvanised by manager Joe Dooley’s half time team talk. Gradually the visi-tors began to chip away at the Scotland lead with five points from Hyland, and two from Kil-kenny All Star Michael Rice. Though Scotland did partially stem the flow with a single from Innes and another double from Bartlett they were riding their luck. That eventually ran out when, with the defenders claiming offside, Maher’s s long range shot deceived Scotland keeper Stuart Mackintosh and gave Ireland a victory on the day that they barely deserved. For Scotland it was a case, as always, of what might have been.

So that was it and if there is a slightly elegiac air about this piece it is because we have reached the end of shinty as we know it in the Glen for yet another year- and so what if we still don’t know who won or who is going down from the Premier yet. To Glenners all that hubbub is simply noises off stage- and yet maybe the Wing Centre should take the wider view- and reflect on the broader shinty world for once- as long as that means he avoids all mention of Beauly or Strathglass. The Glen won nothing- but that means other people did, which was nice for them.
Earlier on the season the Wing Centre was watching the boys training on the Astro and there was a group of guys following Eddie around with a TV camera and stuff. Nothing odd in that – Eddie is the sort of chap who has always had his own PR man, personal shopper, personal trainer and all the rest of it – so the Wing Centre waited until Spielberg and his pals had gone away and asked Ed what was all the fuss about.
“TV crew, making a programme about shinty” said Ed.
“Who’s all in it?”
Eddie told the Wing Centre about who all was in it in confidence and said not to tell anyone else until the director had a chance to tell Alex and Chris Evans about it on the ”One Show”. So the Wing Centre wrote nothing about it at the time but recently reviewing it with Ed it seemed that a theme emerged.
First Eddie said it dealt with Sunny and the Rodgers Family from Fort William and Kilmallie.
“What did Fort and Kilmallie win this year?
“ Nothing” said Eddie.
“Any other Fort guys?”
“Big Niall MacPhee”
“Suppose he won nothing as well”
Eddie agreed that was true.
“Then there were the Borthwick boys from Kingussie and manager Stevie but they never won the Camanachd Cup either. In fact none of the Kingussie guys-even Ronald Ross himself- won the Camanachd Cup which seems to go against the natural order.”
Eddie agreed with that too
“An Inveraray guy was in it too- and they didn’t win the Celtic Society Cup. In fact things haven’t gone too well for them this season and then take yourself Ed and you spent most of the season injured and the Glen haven’t won anything either although the under 17s did win a six a side cup but the TV crew missed that. In fact these TV guys had all the shinty clubs in the world to choose from and every one they picked won nothing. You’ve got to admit that takes a special skill. ”
“Wing Centre” said Ed ,” as usual you’ve missed the whole point.” and off he went to his work.
Later , pondering the point, The Wing Centre reflected that Ed was right.
In fact the programmes are not really mainly about shinty at all. They are about people and families, fathers and sons, relationships and communities and how they are bound together by shinty. You have David Macpherson in Inveraray facing up to a massive health issue and the shinty community is there with him. And Big MacPhee has made enormous efforts to stay with his shinty community, What is Lisa Norman doing in Aberdour but building a community- and Aberdeen University Camanachd what sort of spirit has kept it going over 150 years?
All bound together by the indigenous sport, eh? That thrill of getting the ball up off the ground for the first time as a kid certainly never leaves you.
Some people –even Highland people -don’t get shinty- but then they probably don’t get life. It’s that simple – but the Wing Centre can’t write that because then even shinty people will think he is just full of it. They would be right…………………. but he wrote it anyway .
The pictures –just the guys who took part in the internationals. Thanks as always to Neil Paterson who took the ones that look decent.

The programme? When is it on?
Toisichidh a chiad prògram aig 8.30 air a 'phriomh latha den Dubhlachd.
That's what Eddie said anyway.

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Roman Holiday ..... then comes Irish wakeup call

2011-10-27T22:50:00.002+01:00

The Wing Centre missed out on the Glen’s equivalent of an end of term outing when Mr Reid hired a big bus to take the faithful down to Glenorchy to sign off for the season. To be fair a number of lads Stuart Mackintosh, Andrew Corrigan and John Barr (sadly not EJ) had to follow up the trip to Argyll with a journey to an even remoter part of the world viz. Athy Co Kildare where they were involved in a gutterfest every bit as muddy as the one they were involved in at Glenorchy.
Still though the Wing Centre was in the Eternal City (of which more later) he was kept appraised of the score not the least by Astie who phoned him by mistake whilst he was walking round the Vatican – the Wing Centre was doing the walking, that is, not Astie - though with a name like that the Camanachd Association’s esteemed representative on Earth would be at home in many a Roman wine cellar.
The full story however was provided by Il Capo J Barr himself –who is incidentally the subject of some recent media speculation. In more or less his own words the story goes
“Suffice it to say that Glenorchy adapted better to the slippy conditions and deservedly went into the lead. The Glen struggled for most of the first half to come to terms with the pitch but a welcome solo effort by John Barr got the side back in contention. Neale Reid came off to avoid aggravating his leg injury with the under 21 international to come and Liam Girvan came on to play on his ancestral pitch.
After halftime the quality of the Glen play began to assert itself and clearer cut chances were being created. Liam Girvan snatched a goal with a tap in after his own shot had come back of the bar. Glenorchy responded with some pressure of their own but Liam added the third goal to make the run in more comfortable. Glen then had a couple of goals chalked off for off-side but John got the fourth goal towards the end”
It was a good result in as much as it left the Glen sitting in 4th place in the Premier League on 20 points and with a bit of luck- i.e. if Kyles manage to win their match against Kingussie, as they have to if they want to win their first Premier title-then it has not been too bad a season. Don’t put it any higher than that though because considering the fact that three guys are in the National squad with EJ in the extended pool , Neale Reid made the under 21s , various other guys have made the under 21s in the past and Fraser Heath also made it into the under 17s then we could have done better.
The Wing Centre missed all this of course as stated earlier because basically the Glen should have been finished of all shinty activity- and he had booked a trip to Rome in order to obtain a version of the “Currachd Ruadh” the traditional red cap of the Glen shinty warrior. Having received a “Currachd Ruadh” in the shape of a fez some years ago (see blog December 2008) it seemed only fair that a red cap representative of that other great faith be purchased. Not so easy because although the side streets of Rome near the Vatican are filled with little shops selling religious vestments, to purchase a cardinal’s hat you actually require to be a cardinal- and presumably in possession of a piece of parchment written in Latin and addressed to the shopkeeper indicating your entitlement to purchase. This the Wing Centre did not have but that small disappointment aside his Roman Holiday was most pleasant and greatly enhanced by a chance meeting in a restaurant –Taverna Angelica (where else?) with an Irish priest Monsignor John Kennedy who appeared familiar with hurling , shinty and shinty/hurling ,that trinity of sports much revered by the Gael and no-one else.
Which takes me on to the Shiny/Hurling international first leg in Athy, Co Kildare? Everyone knows that for shinty to have a chance then the guys have to keep the ball down on the ground, work it forward and score points. If they do get a chance of two points from distance they simply have to take them because everyone also knows that big strong Irish guys-All stars or not- will simply bash the ball over the bar from the half way line and build up a points lead that Smack can do nothing about.
The guy in the Herald had previewed it thus:
Last year Scotland, after a memorable win at Croke Park came unstuck in the later stages of the home tie, eventually losing out on aggregate to a resilient Irish squad which had learned in the course of the first game how to negate the shinty boys superiority on the ground.
Despite that loss Scotland boss, Drew McNeil was upbeat about his side’s chances in this year’s mixed–code contests. “I am confident that we have a side who can match whatever squad the Irish choose this year. We know we have to focus on our shinty skills which means get the ball on the ground and keep it moving. It is a disappointment the shinty season is still not finished- the decisive Premier Clash between Kyles and Newtonmore has still to be played yet sides like Fort William have been idle for some weeks. That has not helped in keeping all the players up to the level of fitness and focus needed for the Test series. Our guys are also used to playing summer shinty but you don’t always get the conditions for that at this time of the year. Having said that last year at Croke Park the surface was superb and we were able to profit from that. From all reports the park at Athy is of a similar quality- and hopefully when we get back to Inverness the Bught won’t be too heavy either.”
With his emphasis firmly on skilful stick play McNeil has found places in his squad for six players who ply their trade outwith shinty’s Premier Division, though at least three of these have had recent top flight experience. Of the others, brothers Finlay and Keith Macrae of Kinlochshiel have had an outstanding season for a side which has just been promoted to join the Premier Division. They are joined by Caberfeidh’s Kevin Bartlett a forward with a superb first touch whose loyalty to his local club means he will never win the sports glittering prizes as he surely would have done had he been born in Badenoch or Argyll.
While eyebrows might be raised at the absence of players in the National squad from Premier Clubs like Kingussie and Inveraray- the sports all-time top scorer Ronald Ross is not included- McNeil is philosophical. “The presence of Newtonmore’s Norman Campbell as team captain, is a big plus for the side. He was man of the match in the Camanachd Cup final and no-one is more experienced at this level than he is. I had difficult decisions to make in the selection process as there were a high number of talented committed players available to choose from but our preparation sessions have gone well and I certainly feel we have a side that can do enough over both legs to bring the International trophy back home.”
In the event the guys did not do too badly though the Wing Centre having seen the game on a tiny internet screen did think that the chances will need to be taken when they come up since some of the Irish players , particularly Eoin Kelly looked pretty deadly in front of the posts.

Shinty /Hurling International First Leg
Ireland 1-16 (19 points) Scotland 2-8 (14 points)
Scotland lost out in the opening leg of the international series against Ireland at Athy , Co Kildare yesterday but by keeping the difference in scores down to a manageable 5 points they did enough in the first leg to give themselves in with a chance of winning the series on aggregate when the sides meet again next week in Inverness.
On a wet windy afternoon, with the grass rather longer than is comfortable for shinty players, the Scots found themselves on the back foot right from the start. The physicality of the Irish backline, allied to the conditions meant that an early chance for John Stewart remained unconverted. Fort William’s Gary Innes managed to get Scotland off the mark lead but Ireland quickly pulled the strike back and raced ahead into a 5-1 through a series of single point strikes the best of which came strikes from All-star Eoin Kelly of Tipperary and Kilkenny’s Michael Rice.
A series of missed chances from free hits by Gary Innes added to Scottish concerns before a two point strike from Caberfeidh’s Kevin Bartlett brought Scotland some way back but the pattern of the Scots front play was too ragged to threaten the Irish goal – and when a fierce drive by Innes was spectacularly stopped by Irish keeper Patrick Mullaney, Scots heads went down and two further points from Kelly and a single from Eoin Nolan saw Ireland go in at half time with a comfortable 8-3 lead.
The second half looked to be the start of a rout when single points from Eoin Price and Willie Hyland and then a goal from Nolan increased the Irish lead to what looked like an uncatchable level. However, Scotland rallied began to move the ball about and pulled points back through Bartlett and Keith Macrae (2)
Though Ireland maintained their dominance by finding single points regularly throughout the half, Scotland’s front play was finally rewarded with a goal in 57 minutes when a John Stewart cross was expertly finished off by Keith Macrae. Further Scottish points came from Innes and Robbie Macleod and then in 68 minutes Innes ran through to tuck the ball past Mullaney for his sides second goal and the points which keeps the series alive.

Why the Scottish optimism? Simply because despite the clear victory (19-14) as far as the series goes the Irish only have two points while Scotland have one. Thanks to the two late goals - Keith Macrae and Gary Innes - Scotland earned a “bonus” point. Ireland received nothing for goals since they only scored one but they picked up the two points for a win - so Drew’s boys have it all to play for and the competition is still very much alive.

The pics were published courtesy of the Camanachd Association and Irish snapper Pat Tinsley who may be contacted at tinsleypatrick@yahoo.ie if you would care to do so. Pics include the team and the three Glen boys plus Glen coach Drew wearing the national colours.Also included is JB (sen) looking cheery-must be looking forward to getting out of the hot seat? Maybe no.Never seen him smile? Well he's the guy in the middle if you are confused.

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They think it’s all over : it is now. Thank goodness!

2011-10-04T21:26:00.003+01:00

Kilmallie 1 Glenurquhart 1 (North Divison 2)

Isn’t it strange how a day which starts out rather dull can turn out to be not so bad after all? No? Well if you don’t think so then you ought to have taken a trip with Hendo and his tribe down to Kilmallie last weekend. It was raining in Drum, damp at Invergarry but would you believe it-dry in Caol- and though the pitch was heavy and indeed gloopy in the middle, the new pavilion was coming on nicely. Not so bad now is it?
The Kilmallie crowd were friendly- even Fort William’s former great Ali Clark was allowed to watch the match unmolested- and in the end the Kilmallie team were remarkably generous. How so? Well if you read on you will find out, but truth to tell the Wing Centre does not feel that they meant to be but then it’s the actions that count.
For this match the Glen welcomed Garry Mackintosh back in goal-poor Dave Emery is now in plaster after the ‘Shiel game and is likely to be so for the next 4/5 weeks - and Ian Macdonald took up his place at full back. Also back on duty on his return from injury was big Donald Fraser while the work commitments which prevented Liam Girvan making the trip to Oban, at least permitted him to turn out for Hendo and just as well too. Kilmallie also beefed up their side by popping Kevin Toye into goals and also making use of Peter Macintyre in the front row.
When the game started it immediately became clear that it was going to be a long afternoon for the Glen. The heavy pitch and longish grass made it obvious that this was to be a game where the emphasis would have to be on moving the ball quickly and hitting it far and long- and it was Kilmallie who had the early edge in this respect and they pinned the Glen back for the first 20 minutes or so. The defence stood firm however with Iain Macdonald, Donald Fraser, Ross MacAulay and especially Gary Smith digging in, standing up to the physical challenges and clearing their lines. The few Kilmallie attempts were either wide or high or indeed easily disposed of by Garry Mackintosh. However, the ground was so heavy that in this period practically the only time the Glen made incursions into the Kilmallie half came after long hit-outs by Mackintosh but despite the best efforts of the young centreline they were unable to keep the ball up in their opponents half long enough to threaten seriously. Liam Girvan and Billy Urquhart did work an opening but Urquhart’s snap shot was well saved by Toye.
Then Kilmallie were awarded a penalty. The lad put it past the post. Then a few minutes later Kilmallie were awarded a second penalty. This time Garry Mackintosh saved the shot. It was at this point that – metaphorically at least - the sun came out for the Glen. They began to push forward a little: Ian Macleod moved back deeper and things began to improve.
At wing centre James Hurwood and Bradley Dixon who had been doing well when they got onto the occasional ball now began to thrive, with Hurwood in particular picking out Ewan Lloyd on the right wing. On several occasions Lloyd won the ball well and moved it swiftly forward, though the sticky mud and slippy surface meant that even after he had moved the ball he was vulnerable to a late challenge. He took a few hits which began to take their toll and just on half time he was replaced for a while by another youngster Jack Hosie.
However the Glen weren’t out of the mud yet because three minutes into the second half Peter Macintyre put Kilmallie into a 1-0 lead when he ran onto a through ball on the left and pushed it home from close range.
On the side line the hearts of the Glen faithful sank. To avoid relegation a point was required: at this early stage in the second half even a single goal looked beyond the red and blacks. But then as so often happens, the whole mood of the game changed - and for the rest of the half the Glen with Iain Macleod and Andrew Macdonald beginning to dominate pinned Kilmallie back though they found keeper Toye in top form. He impressed the Wing Centre as a young man cool under fire and time and again he stopped goal attempts and cleared his lines without looking stressed.
Finally after drives from Stuart Morrison, Jack Hosie, and Billy Urquhart had been blocked, Liam Girvan got the goal that mattered. Girvan had looked particularly dangerous for the previous ten minutes and had had one drive blocked by Toye a few minutes earlier when he inadvertently pushed the ball too wide to the left before getting his shot away, giving Toye plenty opportunity to get his angles right. This time however a long ball forward by Iain Macleod was pushed into his path and he fired the ball home from close range to even the score and give Glen their invaluable point.
So that was it? Not quite. There was in fact in the 92nd minute a third and final penalty but
Garry Mackintosh saved that one as well. Phew! That was a close one. Relegation is officially avoided.
The Kilmallie guys were remarkably laid back about the result though their mood was probably down to the fact that Ronald Ross’s late winner for Kingussie against Lovat at Balgate had saved their Premier side from relegation.
“Some player that Ronald Ross,” said big Peter. “The 85th minute. Just when you need him up he pops with the killer goal”
From the way the guys were smiling there is every chance that Ronald will get an invite to the Kilmallie dinner dance and there is a fair chance too that he’ll get a special award for “Services to the Club” He would be sensible to accept too because these guys look as if they know how to party too which is something Ronald won’t be doing in Kingussie at least for
another year.

“By the way,” said Peter “your first team won in Oban. 3-1”
And that was how the day turned out even better.
Then Drew sent me the picture of the guys in a queer strip - pink - and even the cat laughed. Have a look yourself.

The Oban goals? The first from Neale Reid who pounced on a rebound from a shot by John Barr; the second came after a ball up the wing was moved out by David “Chips” Smart to Barr. He held the ball, played it across where Reid won the tussle with the defender and finished well. Then Smack played hurley, caught the ball and Oban pulled one back from the penalty spot. Glen’s final goal came via Dave “Dixon” Maclennan who capped the afternoon with a welcome goal although the unlucky Oban defender whose heel it deflected off will not be using that adjective-probably.

The main picture is of Liam. He looks pleased. His Mam will like the picture. He is even smiling.

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Normal Service Resumed ?

2011-09-22T20:16:00.000+01:00

It was a real Rip van Winkle day at the Bught on Saturday. You would be forgiven for believing the clock had been turned back 25 years and that a quarter century of Kingussie dominance had never happened. Perhaps it was all a dream. Think about it. The Tories are in power and Newtonmore are winning the Camanachd Cup as usual. They still have Ritchie, Campbell, Macrae, Chisholm, Cheyne, Macarthur and two Mackintoshes in the team. Why even John Mackenzie himself is still playing.
Enough of the levity. Saturday’s game was a tremendous shot in the arm for shinty-not so much the result – as in the quality of the competition on display between the two teams on a day when the pitch which was just heavy enough to have potentially undermined the match as a spectacle. The television audience were given a glimpse of shinty at its best-as the Wing Centre learned from the Treasurer. The Treasurer, Mr T to his friends, was phoning up the helpline for Business Stream to try to get someone to take a reading at the pavilion though to be fair he did not expect the amount of water used to be too high. It is the Glen after all.
“Oh I see it’s the shinty pitch, “said the lady in the Dundee call centre. “I was watching that Cup final game on the telly on Saturday. It was fantastic “
Now granted such folk are trained in customer relations- and she might have been the sort of chick who was naturally quick enough to latch on to something which might make common ground with a potentially angry customer- but since the exchange had been cordial from the beginning when it had been made clear to the lady in question that the Club was merely wishing to get its account up to date before the AGM, then her remark should be seen in context. An ordinary member of the Scottish public, Lowland by accent and female by gender, had actually expressed a genuine liking for shinty. Hold the back page-that is if you can get one which is not hogged by football.
The press coverage post match was positive though on a national level it was a disappointment to see nothing in Monday’s Herald. Some of the stuff which appeared before the match however was patronising though not all of that was probably the fault of the journos involved. The suspicion of the Wing Centre is that the guys in one half of the heartland were winding the unfortunate scribe with tales of life on both sides of the Badenoch Peace Wall which owed a lot to the fact that the writer appeared to know nothing about either the communities or the game. The boys shouldn’t really make fun of strangers-it’s not in the old Highland tradition of hospitality. Surely, if Newtonmore fathers did hit their sons about the legs with shinty sticks to toughen them up then certainly someone in Kingussie would have phoned social services. Similarly if kids in Newtonmore were able to throw stones at venerable old persons who were merely cycling through the village minding their own business then surely, big Calum, or Kenny Mackintosh or Alan Macrae or whoever was charged to “Cuidich is Dion” the community would have lifted them or drifted them, so to speak.
Next time guys –let the shinty do all the talking.
However, it ill behoves someone writing from Drum to lecture Badenoch boys about winding up journalists by telling porkie-pies since the whole economy of this village is based on the biggest Highland lie of all time. Ever since St Columba conned Adamnan over the fact that he saw a monster in Loch Ness, Glenners have convinced themselves that it exists and have marketed the fact to a gullible public to the extent that to all intents and purposes it might as well exist. If only Columba had reported seeing a pile of Glen lads playing shinty by the lochside then perhaps the existence of the indigenous sport could have become the Glen’s enduring myth instead and given Glen marketing skill we would now have both Original and Official shinty exhibitions, Shintyland and perhaps even English guys spending a lifetime in caravans, carving little souvenir camans and hoping to spot a genuine shinty player. Who can tell?
And did anyone notice that according to “Scotland on Sunday” Norman Campbell apparently won the “Arthur Smith” medal for being the best player on the big day. You can Google Arthur Smith up if you like and you will find that he is a comedian, so that was unfortunate, though if the writer had in the past watched Norman dancing in the ‘More version of “Strictly”, then we might class it as a Freudian one.
And what about the Sunday Herald guy? He made Deke score the world’s fastest cup final goal way back in 1991 when even Deke- though apparently in his case time seems to stand still- can remember it was 1992.
The Wing Centre met the Sunday Herald guy by chance in the paper queue and asked him how on earth he got such a simple fact wrong. No explanation was provided though he threw down a challenge as to whether the Wing Centre could do a report himself on the game.
Not an easy task but here goes.

Camanachd Cup Final 2011
Newtonmore 4 Kingussie 3 (aet)

A stunning strike by full forward Danny Macrae in the second half of extra time brought the Camanachd Cup back to Newtonmore for the first time in a generation and sent their Badenoch rivals Kingussie crashing to a defeat that they had struggled desperately to avoid all afternoon . Truthfully, Kingussie were on the back foot right from the start when Newtonmore went ahead with the first move of the match when the ball was sent forward to front man David Cheyne. He played it on to Macrae who fired a past Kingussie keeper Andrew Borthwick for the opener. The time on the clock was 12 seconds- and doubtless it would have been a record were it not for the fact that today’s referee Fort William’s Deke Cameron actually bagged one in 9 secs back in the final of 1992.
Worse was quickly to follow for Kingussie when in 6 minutes they conceded a second. This time Macrae was the provider playing a ball across field to midfielder Steven Macdonald who made no mistake from distance. At this stage Kingussie seemed to have lost their way against the physical presence of the Newtonmore front men and their own attacks were quickly snuffed out with record goalscorer Ronald Ross getting no change out of eventual man of the match Norman Campbell. All that changed when a face knock to Kingussie defender Ali Macleod saw 47 year old veteran Rory Fraser come on as replacement. His sure hitting from the back seemed to calm his teammates down and Kingussie gradually clawed their way back into the match. Their goal when it came though was something special. A hit out from keeper Borthwick found wing centre Fraser Munro inside the Newtonmore half and he blasted the ball past keeper Mike Ritchie from all of thirty yards.
The game then swung from end to end and while Borthwick stood firm at the back, Ross uncharacteristically missed at the other when he squeezed a ball past the post from close range . Then just before the interval Newtonmore went further ahead when a ball blocked by the Kingussie defence fell to Macrae and he banged it in to put his side into a 3-1 lead at half time.
If ‘More had the first half, Kingussie had the second and they should have gone a head right at the start but Ross’s drive was well saved by Ritchie. However Kingussie were not long to be denied- and when the ‘More defence failed to clear their lines Fraser Munro played in Martin Dallas who finished convincingly to reduce the deficit. With Lee Bain and Fraser standing firm at the back, Kingussie had the balance of play as they pushed hard for the equaliser and it came in 78 minutes when Ronald Ross, found himself presented with a chance and smashed the ball home to bring the sides level.
The end to end stuff continued into extra time until in the 114th minute, with both teams out on their feet, good work by John Mackenzie out on the right forced a deflection off a Kingussie defender. The ball fell to Macrae who blasted it through a ruck of players for the winner. It brought his own personal tally to three and the cup back to the blue half of Badenoch for a record 29th time.

“Let’s hope that Shinty will be the winner,” said Astie earlier in the week when asked who he thought would win. His hope was certainly fulfilled but somewhere at the back of his mind the Wing Centre has a small wish that perhaps one day a team like Grantown might beat let say Alness in a Camanachd Cup final. That way progress lies.

Thanks to Neil Paterson ( www.neilgpaterson.com/) for the snaps. Obviously Lee Bain is here because he went to Glen School. The second pic is one for the history books: it shows John Mackenzie in what must be his 40th playing season. Doesn’t he look younger every day.

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Glen miss out on Strathdearn Cup win

2011-09-08T18:53:00.006+01:00

That’s the thing about headlines. You need a context for them to make any sense.This one is true though in the normal context provided by the “D” this headline would only have been useful for the the match which ended the Glen’s interest in the Strathdearn several weeks ago and that finished in a score that dare not speak its name. It is useful here in this case to point out a disappointing result for the Glen that did get through to the final: Glengarry lost out by 3-2 in a match in which they will feel they should have done better - especially in front of goal in the second half. So what if the TV suggested their first goal had not quite gone over the line. In the facts of the day, it did-and there never has been a recorded case of a result being overturned because of a refereeing decision being reversed. In the end Newtonmore did enough to get through and Sean MacQuarrie kept out the Garry forwards when he was required to do so.
Feelings? Mixed really. Remember when you were a sub and on the bench. Deep down, you actually kind of hoped that your team would lose or, at best, that someone would have a terrible game and you would get on in their place. Well that’s the kind of mean spirit the Wing Centre wanted to watch the match in. He kept waiting for them to take off the Garry and put on the Urquhart –but it never happened. In the end he was won over by some of the skill on display though he has to admit that he missed all the goals.
Why? He was on the gate that’s why and since himself and past President Mr Bell were extorting cash from the public until at least half time and all the goals came at the start he only saw them on TV so that was a downer for a start. Yet being on the gate wasn’t such a downer as watching the Glen play sometimes.
Indeed there are occasions when the Wing Centre feels it might be better for the Club not to bother with Shinty at all, but to branch out into events management. Certainly that was the feeling he was left with last weekend when the band of brothers and sisters put on High-Vis vests, erected a stockade around Blairbeg and requested the public to part with money to watch the Glengarry v Newtonmore in the Strathdearn Final. The pitch was certainly in excellent condition and had been lined by Mr Reid in a tasteful shade of red. His original idea had been to complete the lines in alternate metres of red and black but somehow in the rush of events this intention slipped, as intentions often do. The grass had been trimmed into a state of precise perfection by the ground staff– and Russ had even put a rope right round the pitch to make sure the players stayed on the field once the game had started. That by the way seems to be a Camanachd Association rule.
To make matters official a policeman even turned up at the gate, which must have been the first appearance of one of Highland’s finest in his uniform at a game since big Norman was posted north to Alness. A few months ago Chief Inspector Andy Maclean was seen to mingle with the crowd but since he once ruled the whole of Inverness-shire and was wearing mufti and had also won a Camanachd medal back in the day, he did not count as a real policemen.
This constable pleaded to be allowed to park his panda car inside the field, a request which was, albeit reluctantly, granted. Mr Reid, who was allegedly directing the cars to parking plots, was visibly taken aback at the appearance of the noble figure in uniform but whatever his private reasons for unease, he recovered his wits sufficiently well to ask him how Skye were doing.
“Fine” said the policeman looking puzzled and went off to hunt for neutral fans from Beauly to stand beside, though not appearing to realise that the very term was an oxymoron, he was bound to be unsuccessful.
“Mr Reid,” said the Wing Centre impressed, “how did you know he was a Skye supporter?”
“Easy,” said Mr Reid “He has Gaelic written on the car door”
And Mr Reid was right-there was some Gaelic written on the door.
“Alec Salmond will put a stop to Skye policemen writing Gaelic on their panda car doors when he creates this new super policeforce for the whole country,” said Mr Bell. ”In fact I doubt if we’ll see a real policeman again or Gaelic written on doors. Ever. “
Just at that point a text came through from Skye. Strange how sometimes when you talk about something, other things just happen which seem at the time co-incidental but are in fact probably part of some overarching plan. But clearly not a Glen plan though, because the text was from Hendo and it was to say that after a promising start in which the Heroes had taken the lead on the Field of Zeros , the cunning Islanders had recovered enough vigour to be on the point of winning the match. The phone was immediately switched off.
“Let’s not spoil a happy day,” said Mr Reid “we can read the gory details on the Skye Camanachd website if we have a mind to.”* But however much they tried to keep their spirits up the day remained slightly tarnished. It continued to be so even after a radio ham from Divach came into the Loch Ness Inn to claim that he had heard Hendo being interviewed on Cuillin FM.
“That’s not a radio station” said Mr Reid who appeared to know.”That’s a beer. If Hendo is being interviewed on that, it must have been a bad result in the end.”
“How did he sound?”
“Upbeat. He said the Glen still need to get something out of at least one of their last two games.”
“He has a point,” said Mr Reid.
But the Glen unfortunately didn’t – and they still need one.

The photos show the Blairbeg ground staff as they fixed the field up for the Strathdearn. The second one is of the Care Centre staff (Shirley Lyon, John Reilly and Sandra Wield) who completed the Great Wilderness Challenge.They are displaying a cheque for £200 from the Shinty Club which their efforts earned them.

*An extract from the Skye Camanachd Website is also included here. To be fair the article was a bit bigger but it has to be cut for reasons of space and also because the Glen public can only take so much of the printed word. The Wing Centre is not sure if Lewis will be happy or sad.

Despite playing into the breeze in the first half, Glenurquhart had the better of the opening quarter hour as they began to dominate in midfield.
It was no surprise when the Glen opened the scoring on 12 minutes when Scotland U17 player Fraser Heath ran unchallenged from midfield and played a neat one two with Billy Urquhart before dispatching a lofted drive into the roof of the Skye net past the despairing hand of keeper John MacLeod. Then, Glenurquhart lost defender Callum Smith after he picked up a leg knock. Glenurquhart then began to take a grip of the midfield and they fashioned a number of chances with first Lewis MacLennan firing over from distance and then Ian MacLeod forcing a save from John MacLeod in the Skye goal after a quick free hit from Lewis MacLennan. Glenurquhart still posed a threat however and Lewis MacLennan will still be wondering how he missed from inside the D after a quick Ian MacLeod free hit. Glenurquhart were well served by Lewis MacLennan.

If you want to read the rest you can always check it out at
http://www.skyecamanachd.com/news.html

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Was that it?

2011-08-29T15:06:00.016+01:00

The Glen Games are over once again- and your tartan tie is tucked away for yet another year in the drawer beside the bed in the spare room where you slept after your capers on Games Night. It was ever thus. More sober souls will also reflect that yet another year is on its way past and once again Glen shinty has won absolutely nothing of any consequence, despite 100 years of trying-does that have to be ever thus as well? Would that it were not so.
This assessment might appear unnecessarily gloomy – wrong, even when one thinks that the Club has won North Divison 1 and 2 and 3, as well as a Strathdearn cup over the past few years, but-it has to be said -is that it? Is that all that is to be won by a side which is the possessor of the finest sign in the North? This rant is born out of frustration perhaps that here we are with two games to go in the Premier-and the Glen are barely safe while team 2 is still in dire straits. Yet the top side beat every team in the Camanachd semis this season and the seconds have won over the Garry, Kingussie and Newtonmore-but who won the Sutherland? Which two teams are contesting the Strathdearn ?
A year or so back we took 5 goals off Kyles and before that put them out of the Camanachd on their own ground. Kyles squad has not changed much but clearly they have improved. They have every prospect of winning the Premier League this season and have already put both the MacAulay and the Celtic Society Cups in the trophy cabinet. Last year these same guys made it to the Camanachd final and Fort were able to squeeze past them –just.
The Glen? ........ Still it’s the taking part that counts as well as the forging of community ties, the excitement of Lotto night and the fun of watching the lads run up Achmony on Games day carrying a big stick. The Wing Centre resists the temptation to say what he would do with a big stick if it came to hand. However the lads put their shoulders to the stick and ran up the hill with the caber in 41minutes and a wee bit, though Garry Mac could have probably got it up to the top in the trailer in fewer than 5. Not only that but they won the Tug o’ War – and no doubt dug up the field in the process. What are they like?
Mention of Garry Mac brings to mind his performance in Zandra’s sixes where he captained a very smart outfit from “Hillside” to win the trophy beating the “Town” by the odd goal or so -on penalties no less -with John Barr scoring the winner. It all made for a good pre-Games evening with teams from Balmacaan Rd, Lewiston, Druimlon and Up the Glen also present to make the evening fly by. The geographical dimensions of “Hillside“ however were somewhat of a talking point stretching as it apparently did from Gartally to Abriachan as one can make out when one looks at the personnel gathered together for the snap. Whoever drew up these boundaries obviously never had Bob Swann for Geography. Equally contentious was the presence in the ‘Up the Glen’ side of T W Maclean Esq. who, as everyone knows has a 450 phone number which should have disqualified him (and young Rory) from participation in the squad. Who knows -their absence might have freed up a place in the squad for ‘old’ Ali Mac. People were asking why he wasn’t playing-but not many.
Also at the Games the Bulletin went on sale containing a rather flat round up of the season from the Treasurer who was also at pains to point out that at the same table as Pat Veitch was flogging the Glen’s annual publication, her former judo teacher Ken Macleod was also selling the latest publication to flow from the pen of an old friend of both shinty and the “D”, Brian Denoon. Entitled “Ghosts by Loch Ness & Further Tales of the Great Glen and Beyond” the book contains a chapter on Willie Jack the shinty hero of his youth in Fort Augustus. Brian also contributed a chapter to “Keeping the Camanachd Flag Flying” a publication which was released to mark the 150th Anniversary of Aberdeen University Shinty Club and was put together by the efforts of former Beauly lad, Steven Mackenzie. Other Glen lads who contributed chapters to that excellent publication included Burton Morrison, Jamie Bell and Malky Munro though it’s hard to believe that they would allow themselves to be directed by a guy from Beauly. However that’s the modern world! Gone are the days when the serfs from over the hill, beholden as they were to the great estates on which they were tenants, were required to surrender dirks and camans as they entered the green Glen where a freemen could take deer from the hill, salmon from the loch and sticks from the wood and sell them in the town without bowing the knee to the Laird's representative. Changed days indeed!
The book though- and Brian’s – is worth a modest investment- at least that is what the Editor of the Bulletin contrived to say in the letter he sent to the D in which he enclosed a copy of his article on the Club’s year. It is hard to disagree with such sound judgement.

The Bulletin article is included below:
Glenurquhart Shinty Club Report 2010/11
by Fraser Mackenzie (the original one)

Last season was a period of modest progress for Glen Urquhart Shinty Club in that both of our sides tasted some degree of League success. Our first team maintained our position in Shinty’s Premier League though truthfully there were some hairy moments, while our second team won the Marine Harvest Division 2 Championship with a fine win on the final day at Invergarry. The second team under Stephen Henderson and Mike Cameron also made it through to two Cup Finals, the Sutherland Cup and the Strathdearn Cup but as luck would have it we lost out in the first of these to local rivals Lovat at Newtonmore by 4-1 but reversed the result in the Strathdearn with a fine win 2-1 again over Lovat, to bring that particular cup back to the Glen for the first time since 2002.
At present both sides are holding their own in their Divisions but as I write neither is clearly safe from the relegation zone. The big disappointment for the first team is their lack of progress at Cup Level, the exit from the Camanachd Cup at Kinlochshiel being especially upsetting especially when one considers that the side, though admittedly inconsistent, has recorded good away wins over both of the Badenoch big two, Kingussie and Newtonmore.
On the playing side our season eventually got underway with the Zandra Mackintosh Memorial Six a Side Tournament at the end of January and this year the honours went to Druimlon while the trophy for player of the tournament was picked up by David Emery.
Jim Barr agreed to continue with the management of the 1st team and was joined by Drew MacNeill, former Fort William supremo and present Scotland International boss and it has to be said that his influence especially in the “big” games has been very important. With Mike Cameron stepping down, Steven Henderson remained in charge of the 2nd team and he was later joined by former Scotland manager Fraser Mackenzie (the official one) who has proved to be an invaluable sidekick. This year the team has not been quite so successful in the League but did manage to make it through to the semi-final of the Sir William Sutherland Cup but sadly missed out on another big final day losing out 4-1 to Kyles Athletic. The side also reached the semi-final stage of the Strathdearn Cup but lost out to our neighbours Glengarry. We wish them all the best.
Recognition of our success came in the Marine Harvest awards where Mike Cameron and Steven Henderson were awarded with the North Division 2 Coach of the Year Trophy while Ewan Brady picked up the Under 14 Player of the Year trophy. Particularly gratifying was the fact that Helen Maclennan was awarded the Donella Crawford Trophy for Youth and School Volunteer of the Year. Well done to all. Further recognition of the standard at which the top side has been playing came through the selection of John Barr, Andrew Corrigan and Stuart Mackintosh for the International side which played the double header against Ireland in October and November winning ironically at Croke Park, Dublin but being narrowly defeated at home in Inverness.

Thanks as always are due to Chairman Russell Fraser and the rest of the various committees including those hardy souls who have managed to keep the grass down to an appropriate level for games and have the patience to erect the sponsors’ signs. These include Dave Emery, Billy Reid, Peter Macdonald, Geordie Stewart and Ken Fraser.
This year thanks are also due to Helen Maclennan, Davie Stewart, Stuart Mackintosh, Stuart Morrison and Ally Mackintosh (Jun) who have continued to move our youth development at under 14 and under 17 level forward. The Under 17s did well in particular and won the Inverness Six a side trophy on Monday 27th June. The Glen was undefeated in this round robin event, meaning they topped the table and played Caberfeidh (runners up) in the final winning 3 – 0.
At Primary level Jan and Alan Bell, Helen Maclennan, Laura Stoddart and Jimmac Mackintosh have also striven hard to keep the youngsters engaged in the indigenous sport. To do so they have continued to organise the Primary Glenalbyn League by providing regular shinty days for the youngsters to enjoy and this also bodes well for the future. A successful shinty skills and competition day was held on Saturday June 25th 2011 and thanks are once again due to Helen Maclennan, Jimmac Mackintosh, Renee Macdonald, Peter Macdonald and all those who helped make it a great day for Primary Shinty in the Glen.

The National under 17 squad for Ireland, in July, contained Glen lads Fraser Heath and Ewan Brady and these two lads plus Euan Lloyd, Rory Maclean, Cameron Maclennan and James Hurwood attended the National Shinty summer development camp at Strathallan School in July.
Congratulations also go to the High School pupils and staff for the organisation of the Schools under 16 and under 14 Robertson Cup 6-a-side Tournaments which are such a highlight of the competitive season for secondary age players. It is hoped that the young players whom these competitions produce will prove themselves excellent material for the Club’s future.
In order to meet the cost of travel and equipment for these senior teams as well as the under-14s and under-17s, the Club runs a weekly Lotto. This is our main means of support and we are most grateful to those who regularly purchase our tickets as well as those local businesses that help to sell them. A special word of thanks here is due to Billy Reid for organising the draw and once again to our chieftain Alan Bell who would appear to find buyers for the bulk of the tickets actually sold.

Under the Chairmanship of Garry Mackintosh and with the particular help of Isla Urquhart, the fundraising committee has done sterling work this session. Isla was instrumental in running a successful Gala Day at the Loch Ness Inn while Garry Mackintosh in particular has been especially instrumental in keeping up the profile of the club to sponsors in what are very difficult financial times. The boards that advertise these sponsors are on display at matches.
As always, the annual Sale of Work continues to be successful and last October raised over £2000.
Finally thanks are due to Managers Jim Barr and Drew MacNeill for the hours they devote to the top team while Steven Henderson and Fraser Mackenzie (the official one) deserve special mention for the time spent in managing the seconds. We are also grateful to our trainers Graham Whyte and Alan Corrigan. Thanks yet again go to Helen Maclennan for looking after the strips as well as to her Mum Janet Emery for keeping the pavilion spick and span. Not to be forgotten are all those who help on the tea rota. They are too numerous to mention individually.
Finally, a word of appreciation is certainly due to Alan Bell (Chieftain) Russell Fraser (Chairman) , Hazel Stewart (Secretary) , Fraser Mackenzie (the original one) (Treasurer) , Stuart Mackintosh (Fixtures Secretary), Billy Reid (Lottery) Ron Fraser, Billy Macleod, Garry Mackintosh, and Davie Menzies for the efforts on behalf of the Club and their willingness to serve on the Committee.

On a more sombre note the Club was saddened to learn of the death of Eddie “Gavie” McGavin at the end of last year. “Gavie” was one of the finest forwards Glen shinty had produced. In his day there was no finer goal scorer in the North - and he was a mainstay of the great Glen team of the late 1950s and early 60s. “Gavie” emigrated to the United States to work in the aerospace industry and, though he returned to the Glen from time to time for holidays, he was to remain in the U.S. for the rest of his life. He was cremated in the US and on 6th November 2010 his ashes were scattered on the pitch at Blairbeg after a well-attended memorial service held at the Pavilion and conducted by the Rev Hugh Watt.
Very recently the Club was also deeply saddened to learn of the untimely death of Pauline Bell, wife of former player Jamie Bell, daughter in law of Alan and Jan Bell. Our thoughts are with Jamie and his young family as they come to terms with a future without Pauline.

*The pics include the caber crew on Games Day,Garry Mac receiving Zandra's trophy from Josie,The"Hillside" Dance Crew, Ken and Brian at the launch of the book in Waterstones. A final bonus is the pic of Paul Mac scoring the winner in the 3-0 Premier win against Inveraray which came courtesy of Neil Paterson. Neil was not sure if a Lovat man –Alan Macpherson was allowed to be in a Glen Blog but it was pointed out that Alan is a Glenner to the core and was a player in the 1977 Strathdearn team. However the dog was more of a problem-particularly because it was wearing the black and white colours of the true Lovat crofter

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A Month’s a Long Time in Shinty

2011-08-04T14:05:00.001+01:00

A whole month has gone past since the last posting- and if it is true to say that a week is a long time in politics then a month is a massively long time in the shinty life of the Glen. Let’s look at what has happened. The senior team first of all took 3 points out of 4 in a golden spell which saw us beat Kingussie (2-1 away) then we took a point at Inveraray (3-3- a bit of a rescue job if truth were told) but since then a 3-0 home defeat to Kyles and then a 5-1 capitulation to Kilmallie at the Canal Park. There will be reasons no doubt and had one actually seen the games it might have been worthwhile taking up a position-but that is now not relevant. We still have to play Glenorchy down in the depths of Argyll. Everyone else has beaten them but because they are now doomed to relegation they are now somewhat ironically beginning to improve; to the Glen they are a massive banana skin which we must avoid slipping on if we are to seek Premier League security. Of course we are up against Inveraray this week at home. Ordinarily one would have been positive about this game but with Inveraray in the Camanachd semi – and one assumes, increasing their training regime- and with most probably Russell Mackinlay being willing to travel since he will want another shot at a Camanachd final then the Wing Centre for one will not be going into Ladbrokes for a punt on a Glen victory. Much of course will depend on who is available and how the side is laid out- and this is no place to speculate.
But what on earth has happened to the Heroes? A win against Kingussie was followed by defeat against Lochaber and Fort William, then a partial recovery against Kilmallie. The big blow was losing out in the Sutherland semi to Kyles and that after putting out both ‘Garry and Newtonmore. Having watched the Sutherland Final in Aberdeen- never bet on Glen making a final is my advice to one and all-it is fair to say that Kyles will be disappointed with their performance and one would have fondly imagined the Glen might have done better. Aye Right- one would have said that until last night’s trip over the hill to Kiltarlity to play Lovat. The result 9-0. Correct! You can look through this blog right back till 2005 and you will not find any mention of a defeat of such magnitude. What happened? Greg Matheson happened that’s what. He scored 6 and Glen did not play so much badly as play without conviction and a competitive edge where it mattered. It is not as though we sent out a bad team: we had one or two missing but there were players with experience on board who might have done better.
However, from the moment Lewis Tawse put them ahead in 12 mins you could see conviction slowly leaking out of the side. Matheson is special talent as far as striking the ball is concerned-he has always scored against Glen sides –and last night there was no answer to him. What makes it more depressing is that Glen have not had a high scoring forward this whole season – and from having had a pile of youngsters coming through in the past year or so, last night’s cupboard seemed particularly bare. That should of course have been no surprise because a casual glance at training would reveal that there are very few youngsters there. One can understand older players with family commitments who have stepped down from the first team taking a relaxed view of training but for the young guys to avoid it on a regular basis reveals that something is missing- and until we find what that missing ingredient is then Sutherland Cups are simply outwith our grasp.
Where does that leave us with a semi final of the Strathdearn to come? Who knows- and yet again that will depend on who is fit and available- though it has to be said this last result is hardly the best preparation for such a big game.
On a sad note the game was prefaced with a minute’s silence to mark both the passing of Pauline, wife of former Glen player Jamie Bell, and Lovat’s Ian Mackenzie who was a mainstay of the black and whites defence in the 1970s and 80s.
To make the piece more positive I have popped in a few pics. One of the weekend’s festivities at Aberdeen where there was a celebration of the Aberdeen University Shinty Club’s 150 years of existence and as one can imagine there was a good Glen contingent present across every era of those represented. Donald Watson provided the two pics-the second of these one of the Uni team of the early 70s. Spot the Glenners! The first picture is I think going to be a shinty classic-the spire of Kings and the indigenous sport.
The picture of Calum Miller against Oban is courtesy of Neil Paterson while
the remaining pics are of the Marine Harvest awards winners- Mike Cameron and Steve Henderson with North Div 2 Managers of the Year trophy from last session, Ewan Brady with the under-14 player of the year trophy, and finally and deservedly Helen Maclennan with the Donella Crawford trophy for Youth and Schools Volunteer of the Year. Well done to all.

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Glen reach the tricky part of the season

2011-07-05T11:40:00.004+01:00

Glen 0 Fort 3 (Premier League)

It was hard to make any sense of this actual game. What do you do when you have a team that appears to play well enough but cannot score? Probably take up another pastime because who can bear the frustration of watching a group of guys perform with all the urgency of a cat sleeping in front of the fire after the intensity and energy displayed the last week against Newtonmore. The only upside to the whole thing is that Neil Paterson the photographer was kind enough to send a pic or two. The other saving grace is that the Glen spectators were able to welcome Fort legend James Clark back to Blairbeg where once upon a time he played as a youngster in the black and red. Don’t believe that? It was for the school when the other wee Fort (aka Kilchumein) and Drum (aka Glen Urquhart) combined to produce a competitive squad in the MacBean. Someone must have a picture.
Whatever- Glen went in to this game five players down which sounds bad but when you have Kingussie with seven players down going off to Bute and winning 3-0 in the Camanachd Cup, then perhaps it is time to shut up and get on with it. However, let’s put the cards on the table- the absence of Eddie Tembo in midfield and Davie Girvan at the back is not going to be fixed any time soon so we are going to have to work round it. Work round it eh? That is exactly what Bryan “Boob” Simpson of Fort William did in the first five minutes of this game. With the Glen having conceded a foul out on the A 82 side of the field, Gary Innes sent the ball out to Simpson who bashed the ball into the net from a narrow angle. Glen were left to chase the game.
The notes in the little note book from this point on lack detail- but they add up to one thing overall-Glen failed to score. Have a read yourself; “8 mins-Glen pressed but N Reid’s final attempt went wide.10 min Lewis M. found himself in some space but the ball went past. 16 min ball was played through to Reid who came off the back to make space but once again the ball ran out of play. 25 min- a long ball from Arran Macdonald but went past-worth a try. 29 min –foul by Robertson on Reid ball slipped across to B Urquhart but too far ahead and ball went past. Good thing Ally Mackintosh and Liam Girvan playing well at back-just as well. Fort wing centre Alex Duncan injures shoulder-game stopped for a time. 34 min drive on target from N Reid after BU sent ball through to him- well saved by Mackay. 36 min S Mack volleys ball away in air after shot from Simpson. 40 mins- Gary Innes scores- ball comes down the left-red haired sub-where is the marking? Innes runs through pops ball over the line. 2-0. Glen attack -44 mins-Lewis M -long ball on keeper but knocked away. H.T.”
And there they are- the last words that went down in the notebook. Fort two up- goals pinched at the start and end of the first half.
There is nothing more frustrating than watching the Glen- unless, having seen them in the Balliemore semi, it is watching Beauly. There you have a team with all the talent in the world but they don’t win when it matters. It has got to be a psychological thing.
Anyway the Wing Centre went home and did not bother with the second half though it transpires that Glen played with more conviction and hit the post twice. It was left to youngster Ryan Campbell to seal the Fort victory with a late goal when Glen were pushing up to try to get something back.

Hendo’s Crowd 4 Kingussie 0 (North Div 2)

There are no notes on this game only a note of surprise at the result. But then not really because it turns out that the Kingussie top side were so short that they had to play a team of kids and granddads in the King’s seconds to complete the fixture- though it has to be said that their granddads are something else- Davy Anderson and Dallas Young put in performances and well done to the pair of them. Gregor MacCormick scored three excellent Glen goals in the first half and Daniel Mackintosh again kept up his goal a game average. The seconds now have to prepare for a semi against Kyles in the Sutherland down in the depth of Argyllshire-it will be a tough gig- and they will be without big Donald Fraser at the back. He twisted his ankle badly and will be on the side-lines for a few weeks.

Glen 4 Oban Camanachd 1 (Premier League)

This was a game the Glen had to win - and said win was delivered-but it is to be hoped it was not a pyrrhic victory since Andrew Corrigan was sent off on a red card after having a dispute with his Oban opponent. Seems the young lad was a Macmillan-indeed an historic name in this area and so he will not have been the first Macmillan to have been involved in a scrap in the Glen.
As far as the game went the word is that apart from the fact it was somewhat tousy it was pretty flat and the Glen played well in parts though Oban are a talented team They were missing Aiden Macintyre for some reason, which was just as well for the Glen . Oban had come off a close game in the Celtic final with Kyles where they almost made something happen and then had the fixture reversed since Mossfield was not available for some reason which turned out to be a lucky break for Glen.
The first goal too came shrouded in good fortune when a shot from David Smart was deflected home. Then came two goals from John Barr-he had been switched up front in the manner of a Hector Whitelaw as a tactical move to make sure Glen won a game it had to. With the side feeding the ball into his feet, though not as often as they ought, he had the beating of the back and proved it with two goals, the first of them a very well taken strike and the second a well-judged tap in. One would not like to see John up there all the time but depending on the opponents it is sensible to “do a Hector” from time to time.
The final goal was good also and came at a time when Oban were on the way back into the game having scored to make it 3-1. Ruaraidh Cameron who had played and competed hard against opponents who were not slow to let the stick go, stuck to his task and got the ball over to Neale Reid who brought it down and smashed it home to make it 4-1 and get the points.
The verdict? A must win which was won but tinged a little with the disappointment of the Corky sending off.
So where are we? There is a must win at Glenorchy-one remembers how in a similar situation points were lost at GMA. Something can be done against Kyles at Drum though now that they are surprisingly out of the Camanachd they will be desperate for League success. We probably have to do something against Inveraray at Drum too and hopefully they will be on a Camanachd mission which will distract them. There are also chances at Oban and Kilmallie but these will depend on our commitment and just how much we want it. Even a couple more draws would make a difference. We do want it, don’t we? I’ll take that as a yes.
Thanks to Neil Paterson for the photos: quality!! (www.neilgpaterson.com/ )
The other piece of quality is Mr Tembo who was unable to play on Saturday but took in a few minutes of the Oban game –his tartan is Macleod after his Mam’s side of the family. Get fit quick , Ed

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Glen steals one ‘More win.

2011-06-26T00:30:00.006+01:00

Glenurquhart 0 Glen Mackintosh 1

The game opened with a quick Glen attack but the most telling move of the match – and in truth the only one to count- came in the seventh minute when a corner taken out on the right beside the soon to vanish old tennis court came across the D. Newtonmore’s top scorer Danny Macrae stepped over it confusing the defence who presumably thought he would have a swing at it , but no, he let the ball slip through to Glen Mackintosh who fired it home just inside keeper Stuart Mackintosh’s right hand post. One nil and the only consolation to be taken from it at that point was that at least it was a boy called Glen who actually scored.
The real Glen then sort of woke up and within two minutes Arran Macdonald had tested keeper Sean MacQuarrie with a nice shot from distance but the ‘More keeper was up to the task. Glen continued to press and were awarded a series of corners from one of which the ball broke to Lewis Maclennan but his shot flew wide, while a second chance which fell to Ruaraidh Cameron was blocked by defender Norman Campbell.
Newtonmore themselves moved up field on the 20 minute mark and while Danny Macrae did not look to get much up front the more lively Stephen Macdonald did get himself on the end of a shot which Stuart Mackintosh stopped comfortably.
Glen continued to press at the other end but although they racked up a number of corners with no appreciable result in front of goal. A breakaway from the centreline by Billy Urquhart also ended in frustration when the ball went tight across the face of goal just ahead of incoming attackers Lewis Maclennan and David Smart. Cameron too had an opportunity when Maclennan played him in but found Newtonmore defender Rory Kennedy in the way. A long shy from Arran Macdonald again found Cameron but once again the ball failed to drop sweetly for the Glen forward and the chance was lost. On the balance of play by this stage the Glen really ought to have been level but the feeling was beginning to creep up on the spectators sheltering in the stand against the intermittent drizzle that is was just going to be one of those days. Trouble is that for Glenners of the black and red variety there have been too many of them over the past few weeks.
As the clock ran down to the interval Newtonmore began to reassert themselves courtesy of some uncharacteristic Glen footering about at the back and first Glen Mackintosh shot wide then Ackie Macrae missed a glorious chance for Newtonmore by firing the ball high over the bar just before the break.
The second half by common consent belonged to the Glen- and that is usually the case when they shoot towards the shop and early on in the second session Sean MacQuarrie in the visitor’s goals showed that he was going to have a big influence on the game when he got his feet to a shot by Lewis Maclennan and then knocked away another attempt from the same player just afterwards. At the other end Danny Macrae had a fruitless attempt- and then defender Fraser Mackintosh had to come off with an injury which if it proves long term could cause Newtonmore difficulties in the run up to the end of the season. By this stage the Newtonmore defence were holding on grimly and Norman Campbell at the back drove them on to resist the tide of Glen attacks. MacQuarrie just about hung on to his composure as a ball came across from the left and ran across the goal mouth with him lying on the ground but the incoming Glen front men could not squeeze the ball over the line and Campbell stepped in to rescue. Finally with almost the last hit of the ball, Arran Macdonald who had a fine game in the centreline , launched a high dropping ball on to the Newtonmore goal but the keeper stood firm to stop the shot and ultimately earned his side both points which was truthfully one more than they actually deserved on the day.
Best for Glen were the back line with John Barr excellent. Andrew Corrigan and Stuart Reid also did well. Good for Newtonmore was the red haired lad in the centreline and of course Norman Campbell and the goalie but their best player was the lady in the stand who kept up a running commentary on the match to the extent that Ally Mac (sen) was very impressed with a girl who knew so much about the game.
“I don’t think that lassie comes from Newtonmore,” said he to the whole stand. ”She talks too much sense”
She pretended not to be secretly pleased
“Have you only worked that out now from the accent?” said herself.
“I never thought about the accent,” whispered Ally to the Wing Centre “It just that she knows her shinty.” Al was clearly smitten.” If she doesn’t come from Newtonmore, she’s probably from further south from the sound of her voice-even out of the region. I’ll bet she was brought up at Dalnaspidal.”
“Never heard anyone from Dalnaspidal speak before but they would sound Perthshire-ish. To my mind she’s some dame-ac from Argyll who’s been exiled to Newtonmore-maybe she’s even from Oban by that voice” said the Wing Centre.
“Rubbish!” said Al “I’ve never met anyone from Oban who really knew about shinty- she’ll no be from there”
And it is possible that Ally was right but then again he’s not right always… so who knows? But she would be an asset in the Glen where a chick that can make the tea and talk about shinty is always welcome.
When the whistle blew at the end of the game there was then an exodus of ‘More players in a car –Mr Cheyne, Mr Mackenzie et al- back down to the Eilean where they arrived in just enough time to turn a game that was chuntering along at 2-2 (two first half goals from Daniel Mackintosh) into a 7-2 defeat for the Glen. Wish we had thought of it first.
Back in Drum though everyone appeared hopeful. The team had played well enough but had not actually made League progress. Still with Fort William to come at home the hope was that at least a point was there to be picked up.
Pictures- they are getting scarce. Perhaps Neil Paterson will send one over if he comes to cover the Fort William match?

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Victorian Capers at Cabers

2011-06-17T22:58:00.002+01:00

Caberfeidh 1 Glenurquhart 2 (North Division 2)

Probably it was just as well that Cabers were involved in a Balliemore Cup semi-final at Balgate directly after this match because it was that which probably kept their focus away from this game and, more than likely, tempted them to keep one or two of their eligible players back for the real game. Still, you take what you‘re offered and by good fortune Glen were offered and took both points.
What you have to say though is that Castle Leod in early summer is a superb setting for a game of shinty. In the autumn it can be tricky with heavy turf and on the far side fallen leaves hampering the free running of the ball but with the grass mown short and not enough water in the burn to whisk the ball away off to the Cromarty Firth, it is the perfect venue. The pavilion with its verandah is something else. On a still night you could sit there like a true Victorian old India hand watching the sun go down, sipping a gin and tonic waiting with your gun until the tiger comes up to pounce on the tethered goat. Simply put, in shinty terms it is a paradise.
Which makes it all the more of a pity that the Glen played like angels for only 15 minutes- and then spent the remaining 75 minutes sprachling about in search of a way to lose the match. Fortunately they were unable to find one- but that was largely thanks to Gregor McCormack at full back who managed to handle Cabers full forward Alan Ross well. Credit must also go to the two young wing backs James Hurwood and Ross MacDiarmid who both played excellently but above all at full centre Iain Macleod inspired the side and led by example, especially in these dire patches of the match when it seemed as if Cabers’ goat might untether itself and pounce on the Glen tiger, so to speak. Oh and yes, Garry Mackintosh had a tremendous series of hit outs-three quarters of the park if they were an inch; he also had a fabulous save and scored a goal so he certainly played his part.
So how did the game go, Wing Centre?
Unfortunately, the note book is rather crumpled because it was stuffed into a pocket quickly as Ref Sloggie sternly ordered your humble scribe and Billy Macleod to retire smartly from the back of the Glen goal where they had positioned themselves to fetch and carry balls which , having gone over the bar, were bound for the burn. However the notes reveal the following: the Glen started extremely well with good long hitting and the first chance fell to Fraser Heath but he dug the ball up and over the bar. Cabers then exerted some pressure down the Glen left flank but James Hurwood was quick to the occasion and nipped the ball away and up the line. Glen then opened their account with a well taken goal which came as a result of some intricate build up play. The move was started by Daniel Mackintosh who picked up a ball hit out of the Glen defence by Gary Smith. Mackintosh carried the ball a step or two and slipped it forward to Fraser Mackenzie who turned it in to Stuart Morrison. He found Ewan Menzies out on the left and the young wing forward fired the ball into the net past stranded Cabers keeper veteran Donald Mellis. A mere five minutes was on the clock and the Glen looked as if they were going to walk the game when Menzies hit number two a few minutes later.
Cabers did fight back as one would expect them to but time and again their forward movement was halted by full back McCormack and buckshee Gary Smith. The young wing backs too stuck to their task and in the first period in particular played simple, sensible shinty getting to the ball first and moving it on with MacDiarmid catching the eye by his clean hitting and by the manner in which he had the presence of mind to slip the ball up the line when he was given the space and time to do so.
At the other end chances were still coming but sharpness had gone from the Glen shooting and first Fraser Mackenzie and then Calum Fraser saw attempts go over the top. The Cabers defence played as befitted a team whose wives and mums were up in the square dressed in Victorian garb to celebrate the village’s gala day - that is to say in a Victorian manner . They stopped the ball with their feet and battered it up field: they might have been wearing knickerbockers and hand knitted socks but they kept the Glen comfortably at bay and after Glen’s Stuart Morrison had hit the side netting and Fraser Heath had done likewise, the men in blue came more and more to the fore. However it took until the 35th minute for them to have their first shot at goal.
Then came a series of attacks at the Glen goal as Cabers struggled to get something from the game and twice they were thwarted by keeper Mackintosh while on another occasion the ball was neatly knocked into the net but was ruled out for offside.
At half time as the Glenners queued in pensive mood for a cuppa – the fixture could yet be tricky-they swapped stories about their entry to the ground. All had a similar story. They were stopped at the gate by someone who looked as if he was about to charge them money. “I’m going to the shinty match over there” was not quite detailed enough to gain admittance. The clincher was a test question of masonic complexity. “Who’s playing?” All the Glenners the Wing Centre spoke to had known the answer and were let in. Others may well have been turned away or charged money and whisked off in a bus to the Victorian Gala day, though one doubts that MacBrayne’s Buses, however old they may be, were ever in vogue in the days of the Queen –Empress.
The second half saw Glen pick up a little and a nicely worked ball from a free hit was laid back to Iain Macleod and he narrowly missed the Cabers goal from distance. A further piece of interplay saw Ewan Menzies play in Fraser Heath but the youngster’s shot was blocked by the ever green Mellis in the goal.
The game stuttered on for an extended period in a similar fashion but with Cabers emerging as a force more and more. Fortunately it was late in the day when Cabers winger Arran Ross picked a ball out on the right wing and fired it into the goalmouth where it took a wicked deflection, hit Garry Mackintosh’s leg and popped into the net. Cabers were back in the game-only they weren’t because there wasn’t enough time left on Granddad Sloggie’s clock for them to get back in properly and by then the cheers of the Cabers fans were muted as most of the die-hards were getting ready to head off to Kiltarlity where their big team were to book a place in the Balliemore final by 20 past 4 that same afternoon.
So then Glen shook hands, picked up their kit and went off to Kiltarlity too where they saw Beauly play silky interpassing “Glen style” shinty – but they lost. Perhaps the Victorians got some things right: after all they did have an Empire.
The picture is of wingbacks James Hurwood and Ross MacDiarmid : they both played well enough to merit a snap.

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Glen struggle to find meaning in the Rule of Three.

2011-06-05T17:23:00.002+01:00

Glenurquhart 3 Tayforth 0 (Sutherland)
Glenurquhart 3 Skye 0 (North League Div 2)
Kinlochshiel 3 Glenurquhart 0 (Camanachd)

Ah the Rule of Three. If you don’t know about it then let the Wing Centre enlighten you. It is the idea that things which come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. It is certainly familiar to those who have studied the ancient art of rhetoric- and usually dismissed without a second thought until three results like those noted at the head of the column come along. You know the sort of thing- you are waiting for half an hour for a bus and then three come along at once, though if you live in the Glen there are sometimes occasions when a bus does not arrive at all. It is a formula beloved of politicians and speech writers. Its uses have run the gamut from the American Declaration of Independence “life ,liberty and the pursuit of happiness “ to the more sinister popular appeal of Adolf Hitler’s “Ein Volk , Ein Reich , Ein Fuhrer!”. Indeed it is only in our present day that its use has been somewhat uneven: Obama uses it with eloquence but all that Tony Blair could come up with was “Education, Education, Education” which is either a testament to his lack of imagination or irony of a most sophisticated kind. You must choose- but this is to digress.
Whatever the value of the “rule of three” in the murky world of political intrigue it has never struck the Wing Centre as applying to the world of shinty before. One cannot imagine El Supremo calling the guys together in the changing room at the start of the season and enthusing them with a call to arms along the lines of “One season, one team, one cup”-though it might have been an idea if the power of numbers had struck the backroom boys sooner. It might just have worked too because when you have three results like that on the trot it certainly makes you think –though in this case the third score was neither funny , satisfying nor effective.
However though the proud name of Glenurquhart will not be inscribed on the Camanachd Cup any time soon, all Cups are not lost. Mr. Sutherland’s fine piece of silverware is still a possibility certainly if the side plays reasonably well and the fringe youngsters keep their focus.
The Tayforth result was quite a satisfying one – though Iain Macdonald was a necessity at the back to keep the hems on Tayforth’s Stuart Ferrier who is one of the most skilful, unsung players in the game. As usual-it’s their default position- the Glen started quickly and within five minutes they had put the Tayforth defence under pressure with quick running and snap shooting. The shots though failed to count with a drive from Daniel Mackintosh just flying past the post and another from the lively Ewan Menzies just grazing the bar. Gregor MacCormack was next to shoot but his strike bounced back from the post then Bradley Dixon making a welcome return at wing centre had his strike on target but this ball too was well saved by Tayforth keeper Donald MacInnes .
A drive from Daniel Mackintosh was turned past for a corner in 31 minutes and from the resulting cross the same player fired in a powerful shot which came back off MacInnes and fell into the path of Fraser Heath who made no mistake from inside the D.
The Glen powered on - and though Tayforth broke forward once or twice they were unable to get the score back on even terms and the ref’s half time whistle came just after another Glen attack had ended unsatisfactorily when Iain Macleod‘s attempt from the right had flown across the face of goal with the young forwards being unable to capitalise on the chance.
The second half continued in the same vein with the Glen pressing in on the Tayforth defence where veteran Derry Barton- that man is worth an M.B.E. for services to the sport in hostile territory if any is- having to deal sportingly with a series of ever changing young opponents.
By that time -55 minutes-youngster Fraser Heath had made the game safe with an excellent shot from distance- and that was followed up by a fine attempt from the excellent Daniel Mackintosh whose shot went high. Gregor MacCormack then got on the end of a neat piece of interplay with Ewan Menzies but once again the ball was saved as was a further attempt by Calum Fraser after a neat touch by Mackintosh set up the shot.
Finally two minutes from time Calum Fraser scored a goal he – and the spectators- will long remember. The ball was cut back into his path and without hesitation, deviation or repetition he drifted it into the roof of the net sending the Glen through to the next round of the Sutherland.
The next run out for Hendo’s Heroes was against Skye. Not being stuck on the Island and not having the patience to work out who is or isn’t in the side and why, it must be confessed that it is quite hard to make out this Skye team. They are still in the Sutherland on the back of some impressive results but they obviously have a different side for the cup from what they have on League duty. Glen’s 3-0 result was quite comprehensive – and if it were not for the keeper - called unusually for a modern Skyeman - John Macleod, the score would certainly have been higher.
Glen fielded a changed side from that which won over Tayforth. Rested were Iain Macdonald, Iain Macleod, Gregor MacCormack and Donald Fraser while James Hurwood was out with injury. Into the side making welcome returns were Ross MacDiarmid and Kelvin Mackenzie while Dave Girvan got his first start of the season since picking up a cartilage injury in the opening senior match of the season against Kingussie. Calum Smith who has been with the top team for the last few weeks was needed to fill the full back berth in the absence of MacDonald.
By the time the Wing Centre had made it down to the field the pattern of the game was set-though doubtless the Free Press will have seen it differently. Glen were encamped up at Sandy Whyte’s end and goalie Macleod was busy trying to turn the tables on the Glen by putting in the best performance between the sticks by a visiting goalie since wee Archie from Cabers had a daft day four years ago. Daniel Mackintosh had a series of early attempts saved, before Macleod had a particularly superb stop from young Dan but the rebounding ball went unpunished. Equally unlucky was Ewan Menzies when after a lovely run he found his shot smothered and the ball ran out for a corner. From the resulting hit Menzies found the ball popping up of his boots on to the club of the incoming Billy Urquhart who finished off the move with a tremendous first time drive past Macleod into the net for the Glen’s opener.
At the other end Garry Mackintosh had to look lively at his near post on a couple of occasions but the majority of the Skye attacks were thwarted by a most capable defence with Calum Smith playing coolly at full back, hitting long when he could, working the ball out to slip it wide otherwise. Macleod finished the half as he started it with another superb save in 42 minutes this time from a fierce drive from youngster Ewan Lloyd.
The second half promised more Glen frustration as Macleod opened the second period with a tremendous save from Billy Urquhart. A second save moments from the same player was every bit as good with the rebound picked up and fired just past by Kelvin Mackenzie who had moved into the front line after an impressive first half at wing centre. Macleod next denied Ewan Menzies before Glen made it 2-0 after some lovely interplay. David Girvan knocked the ball forward up the middle; it was knocked out wide left for Daniel Mackintosh to cut it back across the D, wrong footing the Skye defence and into the path of Billy Urquhart who quickly controlled it and drilled it home for his and the Glen’s second.
David Girvan then had his attempt on goal saved by Macleod before the Glen finally sealed the game with a goal of the topmost quality.
It came after a passage of intricate play which saw Billy Urquhart touch the ball into Kelvin Mackenzie who laid it back into the path of Calum Fraser and he finished off the move with a devastating drive past Macleod which would have been the goal of the season if Billy Urquhart hadn’t scored that very goal in the first half.
The scoring might have been over but the Glen were still hunting goals particularly when Mackenzie burst away from his marker to latch on to a through ball from Ross MacDiarmid but his shot went agonisingly wide. Cameron Maclennan was next with a chance but his under -hit shot was once again stopped by Macleod and Calum Fraser was unable to convert the rebound. With that ref Jock Matheson blew the full time whistle and the Glen sideliners were left wondering where the real Skye team was. No doubt they will be lying low until the Sutherland semi.
So to the Camanachd Cup. The score above tells the story: assorted witnesses tell the rest-lots of possession, enough pressure, chances wasted-always in with a shout until we weren’t. If that disses ‘Shiel, then read their side of the story in the WHFP on Thursday.
More interesting was the discovery in the Sutherland Cup match collection of a small round hard piece of rubberised plastic material with a hole in the middle which obviously had some sort of technological origin. Now being the possessor of an expensive public education which would allow him to converse fluently with the citizens of ancient Rome but leaves him a stranger to things industrial and technological, the Wing Centre was puzzled for a time. On holding it up to the light, he discovered that it bore the logo “Vacca” and this led after a little bit of sleuthing on the internet to the discovery that it was in fact a 3/4" Vacca Tap Washer (sold in a Flat Pack of 10) which retailed at £3. Interesting or perhaps scarily significant? But who on earth would have one of these in a pocket? The Wing Centre awaits the appearance in the collection bag of its 9 companions (3x3).

Enjoy the three pictures.
They are:
The Dressing Room after the Sutherland.
Glen mount an attack against Skye.
Calum and Billy leave the field in the company of Macleod the Goalie.

ioacw

Glen teach students a lesson in the Strathdearn

2011-05-28T13:03:00.011+01:00

Strathdearn Cup
Glenurquhart 3 Aberdeen University 0

The MacAulay Cup
Glenurquhart v Kingussie. Dont Ask

There are times when the simple chances have to be taken- which is what the Wing Centre attempts to demonstrate with the above headline. In the course of a dozen shinty seasons the opportunity for this headline has not presented itself for a variety of reasons. When we were in the same division as the students we either did not play them in cups or else if we did, we certainly did not teach them a lesson. Indeed the Wing Centre is not even sure whether we taught them an actual lesson this time-though we did at least win. The moral of the intro is a clear one ; take your chances when they come along. No doubt it is a moral which should be applied in life as well as in shinty- though life is admittedly harder than shinty should be-though one is none too sure about the latter when one watches Glen teams, at any level, play.
There has been a lot on the agenda of the Glen this past weekend, the very least of which is the 4-1 defeat in the MacAulay Cup by Ronald Ross and his backup team. Perhaps a sentence or two will be set aside for a comment later on-though it would do no harm to contemplate for a moment the message above. Given the loss in the MacAulay it is clear that main business of the week had to be the defence of the Strathdearn closely followed by the Gala fundraiser at the Loch Ness Inn which followed on later in the afternoon.
The Strathdearn match opened briskly and it has to be said that in the opening few minutes the students played like the masters though they found both Gary Smith and Ian Macdonald in sound form at the back. It was the Glen who posted the early threat however and in this the return to action in the past fortnight of Iain Macleod cannot be underestimated and in 7 minutes tested the Aberdeen keeper who was forced to concede a corner and after a drive from distance for the Glen Centreman.
The Glen front play was as always pleasant to watch and former Scotland boss Fraser Mackenzie provided some neat link play with Daniel Mackintosh who hit a ball across the face of goal but the incoming Calum Fraser was unable to make his shot count.
Glen went ahead however in 11 minutes when Gregor McCormack got on a ball fired up from midfield and his snap shot off his toes came back off the Aberdeen keeper. The rebound was swiftly dispatched by Glen’s Ewan Menzies who was following up closely hoping to profit from the second phase.
Glen continued the pressure and Mackenzie had a drive which flew wide while Daniel Mackintosh saw his attempt fly back off the post. Aberdeen too had their moments and Glen had a let off in 30 minutes when keeper Garry Mackintosh got his club in the way of a net-bound drive and was relieved to see it fly past for a corner. It was Glen however who took the opportunity to double their lead in 36 minutes when Ewan Menzies won the ball out wide on the right and sent it across the face of goal where it was finished off sweetly by youngster Ewan Lloyd.
Glen piled on the pressure and Menzies next came close with a shot which popped over the bar-however with injuries beginning to hamper a number of Glen youngsters particularly James Hurwood in midfield, the tide began to turn in Aberdeen’s favour and in a spell of intense pressure they were thwarted by a great save with his feet by Garry Mackintosh while youngster Daniel Mackintosh who had to be pulled back to cover the gaps left by injury found himself in ref Deek Cameron’s book because of an unsatisfactory challenge.
The second half continued in much the same manner but it has to be said that Aberdeen were much more in this stage of the match though they were unable to make the pressure count. Glen had to shuffle the pack somewhat in the latter stages and in particular Ewan Menzies who had been cruelly denied when an early second half drive came back off the bar had to dig in at wing centre while Daniel Mackintosh also had to do a shift at the back. Youngster Jack Hosie however came on up front as did Rory Maclean and both showed nice touches and a little more experience might have seen Maclean grab a goal after he had got on to a shy from Mackenzie but it was not to be. Hosie however brought a save out of the Aberdeen keeper which cost the students a corner, the result of which was that a chance fell to Gregor McCormack and he fired the ball home for the Glen’s third and ultimately winning goal.
A good result then but one which has warning bells on it – looking at the results, other ties may be more testing since Kingussie and Kilmallie are beginning to look as if they mean business in this competition. A good draw would do no harm. A word too about the inspirational part played in midfield by Iain Macleod. He simply drove his wing centres on in both halves: many times it looked as if the youngsters were out on their feet but MacLeod’s constant encouragement kept them up to the mark. That sort of spirit is priceless as is the skill, strength and determination of defenders like Iain Macdonald and Gary Smith. Quite often the Wing Centre gives praise –rightly so- to the youngsters. Last week’s win was due to the old guys all of whom have had a mention.
Perhaps if the day belongs to anyone it should belong to Gary Smith who not only played effectively and well at buckshee but also received a presentation at the end of the match for his 20+ years of service to the club.
And this of course brings us to the Gala Day at the Loch Ness Inn which turned out to be a rip roaring success with fun for all the family and some delightfully humiliating treatment for Garry “Mac” Mackintosh who was put in the stocks and assaulted with wet sponges. Mr Reid despite his advanced age attempted to ride the bucking bronco and indeed attracted a great deal of money by way of side bets as to how long he would remain glued to the fearsome beast. Waste of time! Micro-seconds but then as everyone at the Club should have known shinty’s elder statesman cannot sit still for a second: he was always like that, even in school.

The highlight of the afternoon was of course the gruesome eating competition in which Neale Reid, Stuart Reid Andrew Corrigan and EJ Tembo attempted to speed eat a very pleasant trifle made by the super chefs at the Inn. Only problem was that halfway through the cream and custard morphed into mince and tatties , the combination of which –especially the mince and the custard- caused nausea to rise in the more refined Reid palates while young Cork, raised on protein pellets and scratch grain in the manner of many other up the Glenners, could not cope either. This left the field free for EJ to take the biscuit, so to speak though even he had to admit he was sorely tested at times. A great day for all then – and thanks to Isla Urquhart and the finance committee for all their enthusiasm and energy which made the day such a success.
The MacAulay? Not much to write home about. Two early goals for the visitors. Then Lewis Maclennan scored to make it 2-1. Glen go in at the interval somehow still in with a chance.
In the second half Glen did a bit more for a time in an attempt to get level and there was a claim for a penalty after king’s keeper Borthwick stopped a shot with his foot. If it had been given it would have been harsh. Then Kingussie scored two more –via Craig Dawson and then in 63mins Ross’s second. From that point on Glen started preparing for the Gala apparently.
If you were to interview Ronald he would say the Glen did not compete: he would not be quite right. There was a spell at the start of the second half when the chance was there to give Kingussie a scare. Glen didn’t take that chance which really puts us back to the little homily at the top where all this started. With a Dad’s Army defence of old guys and kids at the back (Lee Bain excepted) Kingussie need to be played properly if a win is wanted: Glen did not to do it on Saturday but doubtless somebody else will.
Never mind –enjoy the pics instead.

ioacw

Glen victors in the battle of the Glens

2011-05-20T23:36:00.008+01:00

Glenurquhart 3 Glengarry 2
Glenurquhart 1 Glenorchy 0

A double header with all of Scotland’s shinty playing Glens meeting on the same field for the first time ever to see which Glen was best. Truly an historic day!
The first game started off at 12.30 and saw a repeat of the previous week’s match against our neighbours to the south- Glengarry – and it wasn’t long before Glengarry took last week’s advice from the Wing Centre to heart and opened the scoring through Ewan Brady. It was a long shot from all of thirty yards and the flight of the ball deceived home keeper Garry Mackintosh. There were barely two minutes on the clock: it looked like a long afternoon was in prospect.
Yet, Somehow despite this firecracker start the atmosphere at this local derby was different from that of the previous week – and the Wing Centre spent a pleasant time chatting on the road side of the pitch with Newtonmore’s Glen Tonkin who was on his way through to Fort William for his side’s second team match. Glen was most concerned with the fact that The Garry were in the lead- and he let it be known that he would prefer it if they were beaten. When a lad called Glen tells you he wants to see the Glen beat another Glen then you know that it is time to move on and describe the action. Which was difficult because there wasn’t very much of it- and what was more as the game reached the halfway mark, much of the attention of both players and spectators was taken up by the string of fire engines and rescue vehicles racing past, sirens blaring on the A82.
Still despite everything this was a more determined Glen side and what is more Iain Macleod was back in harness for the first time in a fortnight and his wise head certainly paid off when in 40 minutes a ball played down the left wing by Ewan Menzies found him out on the edge of the D. He cut the ball back, Liam Girvan played it across and full forward Calum Miller fired it past Gordy Macdonald in the Garry goal to bring the game level.
The second half continued nip and tuck with the Garry still showing a keen appetite for the fray – and justice was probably done when, after a little carelessness at the back Arran Clark was allowed a free shot in 62 minutes which put Garry 2-1 up.
If the score had remained at that, probably no-one in the Glen except Hendo would have bothered much. But that Hendo! He keeps pushing the boys on and this paid off in 75 minutes when a long ball from the Glen’s Andrew Macdonald got into the same flight groove as Brady’s first half drive with the same end result-a goal.
Then in 82 minutes came the goal which made the whole afternoon worthwhile. With Glen in the ascendency full forward Calum Miller , who had run tirelessly all afternoon chased a ball he had no right to catch, rode two tackles and running beyond keeper Macdonald one handed the ball into the net from the tightest of angles with the precision of a snooker player potting a difficult red.
There was not enough time for the Garry to mount a fight back and so the points, valuable and sadly doing Newtonmore a favour, went to the Red and Blacks.
As a result of what was happening on the A82-it was clear to see that no traffic was passing through the village from the west- the Glenorchy match was held back for half an hour to allow the visiting team as well as Ref Charles Young (Ballachulish) to arrive. This they eventually did after a diversion through Borlum Farm and the game got underway at 3.30 pm.
By this time however there was a rumour going round the ground that there had been a fatality in the accident- and the folks on the side-lines were naturally hoping it was not someone they knew.
Despite the rather muted atmosphere, Glen started strongly and it looked as if with their whirlwind start they would soon rack up a decent score, Ruaraidh Cameron had an early chance but his shot flew over the bar. Then a long shy by Paul Mackintosh set up a chance but Neale Reid’s drive went past the post. An attempt by David Smart was next but again the shot was wide while Calum MacAulay’s snap shot was snuffed out by Glenorchy keeper Andrew Smith.
On 25 minutes MacAulay played Cameron through in front of goals and though he controlled the ball nicely his shot went agonisingly past the post. At the other end Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh had little to do but tidy up though he had to look smart to deal with an attempt at goal from Kieran Mackay. The presence of John Barr at the back and the pace of Andrew Corrigan however meant that Glenorchy never really threatened although there were concerns that the lack of goals was allowing the Argyllshire lads to settle into a game pattern – and to be fair Ewan Murray and Grant Macpherson were beginning to get a handle on the Glen forwards and were looking as if they were rather enjoying doing so.
The half time score of 0-0 was rather more than a travesty but if you don’t score…….. then you don’t score….. and the spectators begin to worry that you will continue not to score.
Fortunately just after halftime the Glen did score but it was as a result of a penalty which emanated from an unfortunate kick by the Glenorchy keeper. Neale Reid stepped up to take the penalty- and scored: the process needs no further elaboration. It went in. Good enough.
And so the game continued. Glen pressing hard, missing chances, hitting the ball high and wide and miles over the bar but without Lewis Maclennan side-lined with a bad back then perhaps …….
In the end one was enough but by that time the news had broken that the victim of the accident was Evan Girvan from Glenmoriston, a young man who had been to school in the Glen, had loads of friends in the Glen and had relatives in both Glen teams.
All of a sudden, the shinty didn’t seem so important any more. We took down the nets and the advertising boards. Then we went home.

The picture is of two goal hero,Calum Miller.

Free Counter

When Two Glens go to War……..

2011-05-13T20:00:00.004+01:00

Sutherland Cup Second Round
Glengarry 2 Glenurquhart 3

If there was ever a match when the Glen came off at half time and the guys on the side-lines looked at each other and said “How did they get away with that?” it has got to be this Sutherland Cup match.
The Glen have had a tricky time in the Sutherland Cup this season what with drawing Newtonmore in the opening round and then this away tie against Glengarry, a side which has been unbeaten this season and which had earlier defeated the Glen 4-0 in a League fixture. Not only that but as each game passes the demands on Glen resources become higher– and with more players being sucked into the top team, the pressure and the rewards for those left become greater.
On Saturday, Glen turned out a team minus Gary Mackintosh, Gary Smith, Iain Macleod, Brad Dickson and Drew Maclennan. However the presence of Lewis Maclennan helped to plug these gaps. Also present were some experienced players like Billy Urquhart, Calum Fraser, Gregor McCormack and of course the peerless Iain Macdonald. These last mentioned have been second team regulars this season though it’s rare for Hendo to have everyone on board at the same time.
The Garry started brightly and quickly put the Glen under early pressure and before the five minute mark Steven ”DD” Cameron had fired two balls past keeper Dave Emery’s posts from distance with the Glen centreline struggling to have an impact. Garry poured forward with Kenny Campbell and John Mackinnon helping Cameron punt balls forward but the Glen backline of Donald Fraser , Daniel Mackintosh and Iain Macdonald , while sometimes pushed to the limit always managed to clear the ball from the danger area- and Dave Emery, though it often appeared that his goal was under threat, had few stops to make.
Garry’s opening goal came from a set piece after Iain Macdonald was harshly penalised for a supposed double swing just outside the D. Macdonald certainly swung at the ball twice but both swings were in the same direction, the second connecting and firing the ball clear- and neither appeared to this commentator to be wild or careless or involved a direction change. In the end of course it is a judgement call and even at this early stage it was becoming clear that the lads from the bottom of the loch-or some of them at least- were becoming agitated at their lack of goal scoring. They converted the free hit though when DD’s slip through fell to Martin Cameron and he tucked the ball home from close range. A few minutes later Garry’s Mackinnon had a fierce shot which went narrowly past.
Glen by that stage had begun to get into the Garry half of the field occasionally and Lewis Maclennan who had been hindered at buckshee forward by the fact that the ball hardly reached him came close with a long range attempt. Gregor McCormack was ploughing a lone furrow up front and came up against some tough and impatient tackling from Garry defender Michael Brady on a number of occasions but Greg is always persistent and his swing, close to his body and off his toes makes him difficult to play against. In 42 minutes Lewis Maclennan worked a ball through to the Glen full forward and McCormack’s snap shot caught the home goalkeeper unawares and, against the run of play, brought the Glen level at 1-1.
Which is precisely where this report started………
And then at the start of the second half Glen wing centre Ross MacAulay drifted a long high ball in from the left. It sailed into the Garry net, much to the consternation of their supporters on the side-lines. Ross is always an accurate hitter from distance and though he has had better games than he had on Saturday, his contribution in shies and with this goal in particular set the Glen up for victory.
Why? Because from that point on the guys began to believe that they were in with a chance.
For Garry, the experience was different. You could see it in the players and in the supporters. How could a side which had appeared to dominate a game now be losing the match? Easy. Fate? Bad luck? Carelessness? Probably all three. However this sort of thing is always liable to happen if you don’t take your chances – and Garry had plenty. What is more the same thing happens everywhere in shinty. In fact, it happened to the Glen against Lovat the other week.
Glen began to pick up pressure and Calum Fraser was a little unfortunate to see a shot go over the bar. Garry did get one back through Ewan Brady when he hit a bouncing ball from the right which surprised Glen keeper Emery and brought the match back level.
The game continued at the same frantic pace but gradually the feeling grew among the visiting support that a positive result for the Glen was only a matter of time. The appearance on the field of Andrew Macdonald and the tactical awareness of the Glen management team which saw Lewis Maclennan moved into the buckshee position plus the tight marking of “DD” Cameron, who had to drop back into midfield, by youngster Fraser Heath, changed the dynamics of the game. Daniel Mackintosh too at wing back had a tight tussle with his under 17 Glen teammate Ewan Brady and the Glengarry youngster, did not get either the room or the service to thrive.
The goal when it came was well taken but the home defence will feel they ought to have done better with a ball which came over from a corner and was missed by the Garry backline. It fell to Glen veteran Stuart Morrison and he gratefully accepted the chance.
There was no way back for Glengarry and shortly afterwards when Ref Innes Wood blew his whistle for full time they had to accept that they were out of the Sutherland Cup for another year. For the Glen it was a hard fought victory which they won with fewer resources available to them than they might have hoped. For Glen the lesson is that in the next round they will have to start quicker and master the centreline sooner if they are to keep alive any hopes they might harbour of getting to Aberdeen for the final.
Is there a lesson for Glengarry? Only if they want to take one. They need to take their chances quicker and perhaps they should focus on playing shinty and moving the ball which they are capable of doing, rather than getting too caught up in the physical side of the game.
For the record Ross MacAulay went into the ref’s book as did Gregor McCormack. For Garry full back Michael Brady was also booked.
By the miracle of Astie’s scheduling, Glengarry are due to come to Blairbeg this Saturday in a league fixture. Goodness knows what Glen side will be there to meet them –but then again Glen are through to the next round of the Sutherland which remains the only one of the reserve trophies that Hendo’s heroes have not won yet and truthfully that’s all that matters.
The pics? The boys at the Garry and the boy-so to speak.The real question is who is that sitting outside on the seat?

The title of the blog? Just a bit of journalistic licence perhaps....

Have Hendo’s Heroes finally turned the corner?

2011-05-06T23:16:00.003+01:00

Hendo’s Heroes 4 Lochalsh, Kintail & Glenshiel Select 1

At 20 past 4 last Saturday afternoon the massed ranks of the black and red faithful breathed a collective sigh of relief. Finally after a number of stuttery performances and disappointing turnouts the chosen 15 managed to string together some coherent patches of play and claim a victory against a Shiel side which certainly was worth more goals than they actually got. Still, who cares apart from Shiel?
The Wing Centre was a little late in getting down to the match probably due to the fact that it took him longer than anticipated to recover his sense of reality after his experiences at the Camanachd AGM the night before (about which more later) and so he had only just arrived at Blairbeg in time to witness Glen centreman Drew MacLennan try a speculative hit from the halfway line. It went in and the Glen took a useful if fortunate lead.
Shiel fought back fiercely and the contest was at its toughest in the centreline with ,truthfully, honours shared. On the few occasions Shiel did threaten, the presence of Donald Fraser , Iain Macdonald and the evergreen Dave Emery were enough to protect the lead- and then just on 41 minutes Daniel Mackintosh hit a second. The Wing Centre was not looking at the time: he was at the other end of the park congratulating Tony Carroll on his Glen Lotto win.
At the end of the match your trusty narrator asked young Dan about his goal and it was apparently a very fine one indeed, well controlled and skilfully dispatched with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of skill. Other stories contradict that slightly and the picture is painted of a ball hit in on the keeper, then not quite cleared properly. Dan was seemingly quickest to react and he grabbed the goal without fuss. Whatever happened he had to be in the right place – and he can certainly finish.
However just after half time Shiel got back into the match after something of a mix-up in the Glen defence. By chance the ball fell out on the right to Ross Fraser and he fired a shot high into the top corner in what was a fine finish. The tempo of the game was then raised and the Shiel midfield gave it everything to the point of at times being a little too robust but the Glen centres –in particular Calum Fraser –still carrying an injury from the Newtonmore match-refused to buckle and not only held their own but gradually began to get balls up to the Glen forwards who were displaying some imaginative movement. A superb drive by Billy Urquhart flew past the post and then came the double whammy for the visitors. First a slip home by youngster Ewan Lloyd and then a Stuart Morrison snap shot made it 4 and left Shiel feeling very much as Glen’s top team had felt the week before, after somehow losing four to Lovat.
All the guys on duty turned in performances though the presence of Iain Macleod in the middle is certainly missed. Hopefully it won’t be long before he returns.
A good result for then for Hendo and one that gives cause for hope against Glengarry whose ground the Glen are due to visit this weekend in the Sutherland. However, to get an appropriate result everyone will have to first of all turn up and then play at the top of their game.

Top of their game eh? That is more than can be said for everyone at the Camanachd AGM though it was nice to see that loyal servant to shinty Duncan Cameron being rewarded for his services over the years.
In fact Duncan has completed two terms in Shinty’s big office. He was President from 1994 to 2000 and has been involved either as President or as part of the Camanachd Executive with all of modern shinty’s big deals including the inception of the Premier Division , the modernising of the Executive and finally the introduction of summer shinty. He was re-elected in 2008-Hugh Dan should really write the definitive history of this episode- and he was presented with a silver mounted caman as his term ended at the AGM.
Duncan is now replaced in the hot seat by Archie Robertson formerly of Lovat and Glasgow Mid Argyll but since he wasn’t actually in office he was not required to step in to what was the debate of the night. Rolling subs. Yes! Rolling subs? Problem was the Executive changed a rule without going to the AGM for permission.Of corse it wasn't a rule-technically it was only a pilot. No doubt the Executive feel they can do this but it is not really wise not to consult. However it is perfectly easy to understand that from the Executive’s point of view that most times the denizens of shinty’s deep are too conservative and reject what is good for them like cats that won’t swallow their worming tablets.
Of course there are arguments for and against rolling subs: indeed as the bodach said there is much to be said on both sides. However a substantial number of delegates felt that what was in effect a rule change should not have been introduced in the manner it was. When there was a proposal that rolling subs (3 from 5) should be made permanent, Caberfeidh suggested the decision on rolling subs be postponed until next year's AGM as it was too early to say how the pilot is working. The vote for continuing with the pilot was 16-10 in favour but this did not reach the necessary 75% approval.
A crazy scenario was now on the cards. For ten minutes or so it looked as if the second part of the season was going to be played under different rules from the first part, a situation that might have led us to the European Court of Appeal if some team had lost a game under rules different to those by which opponents had won earlier in the season.
Fortunately wiser counsel prevailed and after much debate, it was agreed to continue with the current pilot until the end of the season when an EGM will be required if rolling subs are to continue. Phew! That was a near one.
Otherwise the business was a follows; Calum Duff, Ted MacDonald, Jim Barr and David MacMaster stood for three elected positions. Following a members vote, Calum Duff, Ted MacDonald and Jim Barr were elected.
Jim’s election as Director was the end of all Glen success on the night because the proposal that an amendment asking that if rolling subs are allowed, then no substitutions should be permitted at a penalty hit was not introduced which is fortunate because that now means that Big Ron will be back on every Glen team sheet to sink any pens we get. Kind of pointless though since like Celtic Glen never get any.

The other Glenurquhart suggestion was also bombed out. That was the proposal that the rules around a hit-in (shy) be changed. The idea is that that in order to keep the ball in play for longer, a player should be allowed to strike the ball with the caman over either shoulder, and that the player should have no requirement to stand square on the line, or with both feet on the ground when taking the hit in. Caberfeidh opposed this and said the shy should stay as it is as it is part of the skills of the game. The AGM decided that the current rules should remain – so naturally geometrical nit picking will continue. Who says the Glen are bad losers?*
Certainly not Kyles where the top team went down by 3 goals to 1. Encouraging in a sort of a way though annoying. Without John Barr, Neale Reid, Dave Girvan and Andrew Corrigan the guys delivered a creditable performance with Kyles keeper Kenny Macdonald being tested and as usual coming up with the goods on a number of occasions. Grant Irvine’s strike was cancelled by a fine goal from arran- he always does well at Kyles- and then before half time two strikes from Kyles via Dunky Kerr and Grant Irvine again made it difficult for Glen. Truthfully the Glenners had a bit of an edge in the second half but they were unable to finish. Neither were Kyles though it took a penalty save from Stuart Mackintosh to keep the second half sheet clean. Not bad for a guy who was gigging at the Mull Music festival the night before and was heading back over the western ocean in a speedboat immediately after the match for another musical rendition (see pic). Now if only someone were making a film about shinty and the dedication of its participants that one would be up there with Niall McPhee’s marathon journeys and Dallas Young’s helicopter. Or maybe Dallas was in a film?
The other pic? The sun shone and the sign started working.

*The Wing Centre is grateful to the Skye Camanachd website for their briefing on the fate of the amendments.By this stage he had lost the will to take notes.

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First the team, then the sign, then the website: the whole Glen goes on the blink.

2011-04-28T21:52:00.002+01:00

Lovat 1 Glenurquhart 3
Glenurquhart 1 Lovat 4

A week’s a long time in shinty- at least that’s what the back to back fixtures against Lovat proved though why had they to be back to back? –well that’s a question the answer to which only Astie knows. And then he goes and puts it out on Camanachd TV? Fair or what?
In the first game, things were as they should have been: goals from Calum MacAulay, David Smart and Lewis Maclennan put the Glen appropriately ahead and there was never any danger of a Lovat comeback but as this last week only serves to prove, you should never get ahead of yourself in Shinty. Such was the universal gloom that this result caused in the Glen that even the Club’s state of the art electronic sign (see pic) refused to function and thus the actual dimensions of the Lovat victory remained unknown and unremarked in the Glen. If it showed nothing else, this little episode-the malfunction in the sign-reveals the limits to solar power and there was not enough oomph in the old celestial body to permit the liquid crystals to display anything at all. What was worse, the Club website went on the blink as well-you couldn’t put this in a novel for no-one would believe you.
However, it should never have come to this in the first place. Despite the absence of John Barr, Eddie Tembo and Paul Mackintosh, the side that Glen had out were certainly good enough to win. Indeed Glen dominated the early period and both Lewis Maclennan and Calum MacAulay forced Lovat keeper Stuart Macdonald into pulling off excellent saves in the opening exchanges. Glen’s forward play was quick and brisk, the ball was moved quickly about but the appropriate opportunities were never actually fired in on goal in the manner they should have been. Indeed if Arsene Wenger had been in the home stand he would have surely recognised the ”Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin and Van Persie” syndrome as it was ably demonstrated by the Glen front men- lovely to look at, always impressive but when confronted by a determined Lovat backline - ultimately ineffective in front of goal.
Of course it was not the Lovat defence who won the game-though if the Wing Centre were to choose one player in the black and white squad who epitomised their spirit it was defender James Macpherson. He put in a splendid performance in front of the keeper and, given that dad Alan is a former and forever Glenner, then he was entitled to play like that.
Lovat indeed had hardly been out of their own half when they took the lead with a fortunate goal courtesy of Fraser Gallagher whose drive was going wide when it was deflected into the net by Greg Matheson. Glen were quickly back in contention however after another nice piece of interplay allowed Ruaraidh Cameron to get a drive in on the Lovat goal. The shot was well blocked by keeper Macdonald but the ball bobbled up off the goalie’s feet and was neatly knocked home by Neale Reid who was following up the shot.
The rest of the half went with the Glen but with the same result though both MacAulay and Reid picked up nasty knocks in challenges which bluntly ought to have earned the Lovat defenders a card apiece. They didn’t and by the end of the half, the Glen’s mobility up front had been reduced more than a little. Worse was to come however when in the final Lovat breakaway of the half Matheson took advantage of some uncertain Glen defending to score a proper goal and put his side in at halftime 2-1 ahead much to the disbelief of the Glen spectators.
The second half was less secure for the Glen but the Red and Blacks again secured territorial dominance for at least the first 20 minutes of the period – and at no time did the Glen support anticipate anything other than at the very worst – a draw. Gradually however –with chances missed and time going by doubts began to creep in. The injured front men began to be less effective and first Neale Reid and then Calum MacAulay were removed from the fray to be replaced by Calum Smith, who took up a role at wing back, allowing Dixie Maclennan to move in to midfield and then Calum MacAulay was replaced for a spell with the returning Liam Girvan. This produced a few more Glen opportunities but yet again these were not converted. Then, all of a sudden- out of the blue in the 80th minute, Greg Matheson, out wide on the right picked up the ball and fired a glorious drive into the net. It has been a while since the Wing Centre has seen a better struck goal. You are talking Dunky Kerr against Kingussie in a replayed Camanachd Semi: you are talking Gary Innes in last year’s Camanachd Cup final .Hit from an outrageous angle, the ball flew past Stuart Mackintosh and from that point on the game was lost to the Glen. Four minutes later with the Glen attempting to retrieve an impossible situation, that man Matheson added a fourth and in so doing put a gloss on the score which the true nature of the game did not reflect. Whatever! Matheson took the chances he was presented with and you cannot argue with that. It is certainly something the Glen need to learn to do.

Elsewhere the Glen Reserves appear to be having a struggle. A 4-3 defeat at home to Lovat – by all accounts a disappointing afternoon and then surprisingly a more creditable 4-0 loss to the Garry down at the Parc des Midges. Why more creditable? The Garry game featured a very young side with a number of under 17s and under 14s putting in an appearance and the return of veteran keeper Dave Emery. So well done to Lachie Smith, Sam Maclean, Rory Maclean, Cameron Maclennan, and Ewan Lloyd for stepping up into the squad and making a game of it.
This week the seconds have Kinlochshiel at home while the top side travel to the end of the known world all the way from Pictland beyond the lands of Lorne into the wasteland that is Cowal. The Wing Centre’s fervent wish is that they get out alive-for they are going into Campbell Country where no sane man goes of his own volition. While they are there they might want to have a wee look in the grass (and perhaps mud) at the bottom goal to see if they can find DP’s contact lens. It’s been there since 1979!
The pics? The sign which went on the blink- and the interested on-looker will be pleased to note that there is no mention on the road sign behind of either Lovat or Kiltarlity which is only right. The other one is of the boys stretching as they attempt to come to grips with defeat.

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Spot The Ba'

2011-04-12T23:43:00.007+01:00

Glenurquhart 4 Newtonmore 3 (Sutherland Cup)
Glenurquhart 5 Kilmallie 1 (Premier League)

Spot the Ba’ eh? It was certainly true that to do just that was by no means easy for either of Saturday’s visiting keepers, Sean McQuarrie of Newtonmore and Kevin Toye of Kilmallie: between them these two lads lost nine goals and if it had not been for the fact that they both expended considerable amounts of energy keeping their respective goals intact them the Glen tally would have been much greater.
Of the two victories it has to be said from the Wing Centre’s point of view-the Sutherland victory over Newtonmore was the sweetest. Why? Simply said, Glen have unfinished business in that competition having had an excellent opportunity last year to put the said trophy in the Blairbeg Cup Cabinet (Yes! It does exist- and Roy, take note-it has been reasonably well occupied this last while)
However Hendo’s Heroes let the opportunity slip last session and while they picked up both League Title and the Strathdearn, this season they are a much changed team and so after a shaky start it was good to see them get back on the winning trail with two consecutive victories over Newtonmore. Of course it doesn’t mean that two such consecutive swallows make a shinty summer but it is a start. Indeed come to think of it when last did the Glen hold three straight victories –at both levels-over Newtonmore? Certainly not this century.
This Newtonmore team was certainly stronger than the one that visited Drum two weeks ago. John Mackenzie and Cameron Binnie were on the park and their presence alone plus that of Blair Mackintosh meant for a competitive game. For all that Glen had most of the opening pressure and on two occasions shots from Lewis Maclennan whistled narrowly past.
Glen’s breakthrough came in 17 minutes when a ball across the face of goal was picked up by Gregor McCormack and his low drive went emphatically home for the opener. Glen’s second goal came a few minutes later when Calum Fraser pounced on a loose ball out beyond the D and his fierce left hand drive left keeper McQuarrie stranded. ‘More were not so easily subdued however and they created their own chances which the Glen defence ably marshalled by Iain Macdonald had to be at their best to deal with. Alarm bells began to ring however in 29 minutes when good work by the Newtonmore centreline got the ball up wide right to winger Ross Aitken and his sudden strike unexpectedly found the net. An excellently struck goal but from such a wide angle and distance that he caught the defence unawares.
If Aitken’s goal was a shock the Newtonmore equaliser just after the interval was a greater let-down for the Glen faithful. Confusion reigned at the shop end and Ackie Macrae was able to infiltrate the defence and place the ball past Garry Mackintosh to make the score 2-2. With only 48 minutes on the clock and Newtonmore beginning to show their teeth in the tackle the game was poised on a knife-edge. The next 20 minutes or so settled down into a rather untidy physical battle though the addition of youngster Daniel Mackintosh to the front quartet did revive the Glen front line with his quick movement of the ball. Out on the right Calum Smith swapped heavy blows to the leg with Cameron Binnie and both were spoken to by Referee John Sloggie who also had a word with side-line’s coach for ‘More, Glen Tonkin. Glen had an opportunity in the 65th minute but Billy Urquhart’s drive flew over the bar. Then in 68 minutes Lewis Maclennan worked the ball out right to Calum Fraser who finished from inside the box but as he did so was felled by a carelessly wielded caman from the ‘More defence who were by this stage growing increasingly restless.
The introduction of youngster James Hurwood also pepped up the Glen forwards and he played the sensible ball at all times, moving it before he came into contact with an opponent and always looking for space on the wing. The next action of note was that ‘More's Brett Munro went, a little harshly, into the book for what amounted to a defensive block on Hurwood and then with Glen swarming around the top goals Newtonmore conceded a penalty amid scenes of protest. Lewis Maclennan kept his nerve and expertly sank the pressure shot. Game over? You would have liked to think so but no- Newtonmore kept on going and two minutes from time Chris Sellar got them back into the match with another easy goal. Just as well it was two minutes from time-any longer and the Glenners would have been unable to sustain their own energy levels and would thus have safely avoided The Garry in the next round. Oh well, you can’t have everything.
Except that very afternoon at about 4.45 it seemed that we could have everything. Kilmallie had been defeated by 5 goals to 1 and Glen forwards at Premier level had not scored 5 goals since that memorable afternoon back in the dear departed swine flu days of May 2009 when Kyles were put to the sword in similar fashion. Somehow looking at the Kyles results one doubts whether we will be doing that this year: though if they can be beaten like that at Blairbeg, how come they can make it into a Camanachd final. On second thoughts-think not on that. That way madness lies.
Glen did however have some divine intervention on Saturday. Kilmallie’s John Stewart had been over in the Western Isles at a wedding. The mist , which had rolled up Loch Ness on the Friday night and then rolled out again on the Saturday morning, did not roll far enough away and thus the Stornoway plane to Dalcross could not land and John was left on the Island and to his fate. His presence and that of Fraser Massie was sorely missed.
What was pleasing for the Glen was that the forwards seemed to click right from the start and Ruaraidh Cameron’s opener was a splendid affair. Neale Reid, whose physical presence is growing with every game got on the ball out on the left and turned it back to David Smart. Smart slipped it in to Calum MacAulay and his touch through was superbly finished off by Cameron. Glen then proceeded to dominate the match and played a great deal of slick interpassing shinty which had the crowd in raptures. Cards on the table though: on two occasions the ball should have gone into the net and the Wing Centre, born as he was in another age, prefers a simpler more direct game which, though less artistic and less aesthetically pleasing, is to his mind more effective- but then that is only feasible if you have a player like big Ron Fraser up on the dust.
No matter, Glen dominated the half-David Smart was excellent- but did not get their second until not long before half time when the pacey MacAulay opened his account for the Glen by driving a ball on goal from the edge of the D. It squirmed through the keepers legs and just over the line but with Smart following it up Toye had no chance to scramble it away. However, the frustrated keeper felled Smart as the Glen forward turned away from goal and were it not for the fact that Ref Deke Cameron had already moved away having given the goal then the lad would surely have been carded.
The second half saw Kilmallie come out fighting and Liam Macdonald pulled one back with a neat finish just after the interval. The same player then had an excellent chance to level the game but he just pulled his shot wide and the Glen breathed again.
The match continued to seesaw back and forth in this manner – and as always congratulations are due to the Glen backline especially keeper Stuart Mackintosh for his handling of matters at the sharp end. However, as time ticked on the Red and Blacks gradually seemed to gain the upper hand and finally they made the game safe with two goals in quick succession –Cameron in 62 and MacAulay in 64 before a final strike in 73 from Neale Reid convinced Kilmallie that further resistance was futile.
An encouraging result then but as always one that must be built upon. It will count for nothing if the lads slip up-against the Crofters, as they can do- over on the Common Grazings next Saturday. Teams are having a hard time over there as Fort William can testify, and so the Glen have to be on their guard.
As he went home after a satisfying afternoon at the Shinty the Wing Centre had only one little twinge of disappointment. What a pity Russ couldn’t flash up the score on our newly installed energy efficient, solar panel powered electronic scoreboard. Really! Yes really! The first in Scotland –powered by green energy- truly a sign of the times.

The pics ? Some action shots from the games- clearly a goal at the top end and EJ in action. Can you spot the ba'? A really good one of Ruaridh (thanks to Mick Evans)
The team-

the official one from the Website (thanks once again to Mick ) and the one the Wing Centre took himself with the old guys still in it.
Calum and Daniel? Well believe it or not that's them smiling. Their Mams will be pleased. But check out the cool boots!! Wow.

And the lower picture? Saturday morning and the Wing Centre and DP were booraching about on the hill. The pic shows how bonnie the Glen is but it is placed here to show the mist (they call it "fog" in town) that closed the airport and caused John Stewart to miss the match.
This was as far as it rolled up the loch. Imagine how bad it was in Dalcross! Peter Jackson and the guys will definitely believe you now, John

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Too Much for 'More

2011-04-08T21:10:00.006+01:00

Newtonmore 0 Glenurquhart 1

After a morning of heavy rain in Brig o’Drum and throughout the Western World, it was no surprise for the Wing Centre to hear that the Kilmallie game had been cancelled- and that a trip down the A82 to watch Hendo’s Heroes at the Canal Park was no long on the agenda. This left a problem for the keen Glen fan. Would it be sensible to head to Newtonmore knowing that there was less than a full Glen team going to take to the field, and that their Newtonmore opponents were reckoned by many-including yours truly- to be the strongest team in the Premier League. Remembering also that Glen were due to face a Newtonmore side who hit six against Inveraray and eleven against Skye with Danny Macrae scoring up to three goals every game including a hat trick in a game that did not even count. A no-brainer!
The sensible move was to have a sandwich then nip over the hill to the common grazing, to see the Crofters put to the sword by the foot soldiers of the Fort. That way one would be aware that even while the Glen were being defeated on the Eilean, at least one could observe our dearest neighbours being beaten on their own park. That is not however what happened.
Lovat –and you have to hand it to them-kept the Fort at bay. Gary Innes had an early drive at goal which was excellently saved by Stuart Macdonald and then there was a bit of bright buzzing around the home goals by Gordy Mackinnon, Boob Simpson and the youngster Campbell – and though the Fort had chances to strike a telling blow, the young Grieves and Lorne –keeping his temper-were smart enough to prevent a score. Smiling affably to everyone and engaging the locals in conversation – even being polite to the Glasaich who were there watching the match after their own Camanachd tie had been called off, the Wing Centre was inwardly depressed. Here were Lovat on the way to picking up a point against Fort while doubtless up on the high moor, the Glen were being defeated. It was hard to keep a civil tongue – and yet, it was excellent crack because everyone who mattered in the Aird and beyond was there. It was like the Lovat Cup without the snow. The Glasaich were there as already mentioned but so were the Beauly boys, since their game was off. So were the Inverness lads for the same reason-naturally the Kiltartans were there as were the faithful of the Fort. Not only that - since Bute is a long way away, the Cabers crew were on the side lines too as were the few Drummers brave enough to risk the trip through Glen Convinth. It was even like the Drum Games without the tartan and all the hassle of parking.
The real trick was to forget about what was happening on the far side of the Slochd but you couldn’t take a step round the park without folk either wondering why you weren’t at Newtonmore or asking for a latest score. Naturally there was no way the Wing Centre was going to put in a call to the Eilean and so at halftime helpful goal judge Alan Macpherson decided to phone on the Wing Centre’s behalf despite the fact that he had merely stopped to give Alan’s dog a clap. Whatever, it was at that point 0-0 and for a little while the pressure eased. However as Lovat came more into the game at Balgate and as it began to look less and less likely that Fort were going to win, what with Lorne keeping calm and Ewan Ferguson playing on top of his game, it was an easy decision to pop in the car and drive back to Drum.
A phone call to Astie at Alton Towers from the layby near the Red Burn was even more stressful because he indicated that the Glen were now leading 1-0 and that there was very little time left. But was it a wind-up? Astie’s tone was somewhat ambiguous and so the score wasn't confirmed until after a call to John Barr at 4.45 (Neither Jim Barr nor Drew MacNeill were answering their phones- and it would have been mad to phone Brick since he would assume that the score was already known and that the call was simply malicious)
John’s verdict was straightforward. “The defence played well-kept on top of Newtonmore and though they had shots at goal they were rushed and a lot went wide. Smack had a good game as usual. Neale Reid got a goal at the other end-a deflection off a defender’s stick and that was enough to win it. Two good points. Oh and Ed got hit on the head”
John’s understatement-including its incidental internal rhyme- probably does not tell the whole story but getting the whole story has proved difficult. Old friend and former Newtonmore player Donald Hugh Watson who provided the pics claims only to have seen the last bit of the game- and thus could not comment. However, being a Newtonmore man he would say that wouldn’t he?
A call to Dave Fallows who writes about Newtonmore’s victories in the “Strathie” (The Strathspey and Badenoch Herald for the uninitiated) was helpful enough though Dave did say that anything he was going to write would be about what Newtonmore didn’t do rather than what Glenurquhart had actually done. Understandable enough from Dave’s point of view- and precisely what the D would do in the same circumstances- but no way now can one crib from the Strathie. Dave did however confirm the primacy of the defence and the fact that they made ‘More snatch at their chances- and consequently miss them. Stuart Mackintosh‘s hardest save was stopping a deflection off one of his own defenders. He missed the fact that Neale Reid’s goal was a deflection though he did describe it looping up and over Mike Ritchie into the net. On that description it could have been a mishit and bearing that in mind it seems more prudent to go with John’s original take on matters.
On Sunday , Bill McAllister put in a call and at that point it became clear that the story-vague as it was – was about to go viral in its own modest way. The Wing Centre passed him on to Jim Barr to expedite matters and thus on Monday the following came out in the P & J under Bill’s byline all of which is fully acknowledged.
“Surprise club Glenurquhart is proving it has the Premier League’s iron curtain defence after shutting out the Badenoch big two. Glen followed their goalless draw with Kingussie by going to The Eilean and inflicting a rare home defeat on champions Newtonmore. Their 1-0 win, courtesy of a Neale Reid goal, means neither of the Badenoch sides have put the ball past Glen goalkeeper Stuart Mackintosh and manager Jim Barr said: “It’s quite an achievement but our defence is working extremely hard and deserves great credit.” Barr was disappointed to see David Girvan, injured in a pre-season friendly, break down on his comeback and the influential player’s knee problem will keep him out for at least four weeks.”( P & J Monday 2nd April 2011)

A result then – and no Corky! No Davie Girvan! No Liam Girvan for that matter!
So Glen were too much for More-but will they kill off ‘Mallie on Saturday.
One would be more confident if they were scoring more goals per game. There is of course no point in doing anything other than accepting with graciousness and humility what was a superb away win over the world champions.
The pictures provided by DH show the ‘More forwards and the Glen defence in “Meercat” pose while number two shows “ Ed’s rap on the head”. The final shot shows Ed in full flow.

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Five goals, rolling subs…one couldn’t ask for 'More

2011-04-01T21:51:00.001+01:00

Glenurquhart 5 Newtonmore 1
After the upsets of the last week or two this was a welcome return to form for the Glen’s second team – and it has to be said that to get a victory over Newtonmore at any level and any venue is in itself no mean achievement. For the first time this campaign the red and blacks started out with a stronger squad-indeed one that allowed Hendo the luxury of actually rolling the subs.
Have to say the Wing Centre was not really a fan of rolling subs when the new ruling was first mooted particularly in the opening weeks of the season, such was the scarcity of resources on the bench. Well, you could hardly call it a bench: it was more like the sort of shaky stool you used to make in the Techy room and you could only sit on it because the Billac made all the proper joints for you. Whatever- it could only ever seat one- and now here was Hendo with two or three on the waiting list- and the thing about the rolling subs is that the rule is excellent for the youngsters. They go on-they play hard: they come off but their heads don’t go down because there is every chance that they will get back on again. Result-all the boys on the bench are fully engaged in the game. They are not hopping about and haphazardly smacking a ball off the pavilion wall, knowing that in their heart of hearts, they won’t see action unless someone is hurt. It brings a new dimension to the tactics of the sport provided that you actually bother with tactics in the first place.
Iain “Balbeg” Macdonald was at full back; big Donald “Dunain” Fraser was at Wing back and youngster Sam Cumming was on the other. Not only that but with Dave “Dixon” Maclennan on one side of the centre and Calum “Jock” Fraser was on the other , it was always going to be difficult for ‘More to get through to Garry Mackintosh in goal. Hendo did have youngsters on the field too and it was one of them, teenager Ewan Lloyd, who opened the scoring inside 5 minutes when a strong push forward by Lewis Maclennan was overlooked by the Newtonmore defence and the youngster tucked it home low at inside the keeper’s right hand post.
There was then a long spell of even play in which the Newtonmore side gave as good as they got without really putting Mackintosh in the Glen goal under serious pressure except on the one occasion when, having judged a shot to be going harmlessly past, the Glen keeper was surprised to see the ball come back off the post. Fortunately he retained the presence of mind to blast the returning ball off in the direction of the A82 and thence to safety.
New Glen signing reformed Crofter, Calum MacAulay ”rolled” on as sub in 20 minutes and from the start looked neat and lively : the lad has a nice turn of pace and in 30 minutes he showed the fans in the stand that he also knows where the goals are-a part of the geography of a shinty pitch which remains largely unexplored by native Glenners . With a neat turn and touch he made himself space before drilling home the Glen’s second- and giving himself a dream debut.
The goal galvanised ‘More into action and before minutes had passed Garry Mackintosh had to pull off a fine save with his hand to keep the Badenoch boys at bay but they were not long to be denied when after some neat work up front Ackie Macrae got enough room to blast home a low shot and open the scoring for the visitors.
It was a dangerous moment in the game. Newtonmore are a proud side: their seniors are simply the best side in the land at the moment (though judgement has to be reserved on Oban who also seem to be flying). Any obvious weaknesses in the Glen defence and the Blues would pour through the gaps like the wolves of Badenoch from whom they are descended. (Oops! Not really historically accurate-they were by no means as scary to Glenners of old as were Lochabermen)
It was as so often in the history of the Glen- a Fraser who turned the tide in our favour. Calum Fraser in 38 minutes moved on to the ball in the middle after a little slip forward by Sam Cumming and drove it long hard and high-into the net to make it 3-1 in favour of the Glen. Working in Beauly every day has clearly done the fellow no harm- though it is not a life style the Wing Centre would advocate for other Glenners.
The fourth goal came shortly afterwards and Fraser also had a hand in its creation when his long shy was gathered in by Lewis Maclennan who quickly moved it on to Iain Macleod who rattled it home with authority and sent the spectators off for their half time venison burgers for the first time this season with a spring in their step(s)
Following such a half was always going to be difficult- and so it proved to be for the second period was duller though Newtonmore pressure did force Garry Mackintosh to look lively on a couple of occasions to tip the ball over the bar when the sporting thing to do would have been to let ‘More have a goal. The final Glen counter came ten minutes before time when Dave “Dixie” Maclennan finished off a move by scoring-well a goal. Not a great one though Dixie told the Wing Centre that it was - so there is no point in describing it, it was that good.
Ref. was John Sloggie- and it has to be said he was up to the mark in every way. He let the game flow, was firm when he had to be and particularly showed how to handle the rolling subs. No fuss – let them come on-noted them down and got on with things: a contrast, one hears, with how nameless others deal with the matter.
At Kilmallie there was a disappointing exit in extra time from the MacTavish. A creditable performance in some senses what with Neale Reid’s late goal balancing out an earlier rather fortunate strike from Michael Rodger. Glen, for whom Stuart Mackintosh had his usual array of excellent saves, might have pinched it when they had a 15 minute spell of pressure towards the end of the second half. The extra period belonged to John Stewart who hit two goals and though Liam Girvan got one back, the game was eventually lost when as a result of pushing forward to grab yet another equaliser , Glen left themselves short at the back and Peter Macintyre took the chance that mattered.
This week the big game is in Badenoch-at the Eilean. So no pressure there then!

The pics today are nothng special but I do wonder what Hendo is saying to Fraser about Brad. Donald Fraser and Iain Macdonald are formidable foes to get past but in the background Sam seems to have an opinion.

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Drawing with Drew

2011-03-25T20:02:00.006Z

Glenurquhart 0 Kingussie 0

A pleasant day with a bit of warmth in it provided you did not stand in front of the pavilion out of the sun-a perfect day for shinty,but with Kingussie arriving for their first visit of the season,it was always going to be a testing day as well. Certainly the last time the sides played Glen came out on top 2-1– and while no one wants to denigrate a victory the bottom line was that Kings did not need to win that day. The League had already been won by Newtonmore–and the Glen was safe for another Premier season.
Saturday was different in every way. Kingussie had come off a comprehensive home win over Lovat while Glen had succumbed to Fort William in the opening day fixture without, so far as reports returning from An Aird indicated, looking as if they were ever going to do much. So whatever the media might have thought and despite the home advantage Kingussie went into the game as favourites.
Absent of course was Ronald Ross-a damaged ankle will keep him out till the Cup campaigns start-and also missing was Lee Bain : Glen were without Davie Girvan and Ruaraidh Cameron while, on the morning of the match the management had to send home Paul Mackintosh who was suddenly taken ill. Indeed such was the pre-match gloom in the ranks of the spectators that they welcomed the sight of Kevin Thain in the Kingussie ranks. “At least when he’s here” went the comment, “he cannot be scoring a barrow load against Hendo’s boys on the Dell” It was a curious crumb of comfort to clutch-yet clutched it was.
It was Jimmy Gow who first noticed what was different.
“Is that Drew MacNeill over there with Jim Barr and the Glen boys?”
You can’t fool Jimmy, given that he’d been head to head with Drew numerous times in all sorts of senior finals and so it was as well to admit that it was indeed Drew and that he was helping out Glen in a coaching capacity.
“Good idea,” said Jimmy.
A fair enough endorsement from a man who always had the vision to look beyond the local if it was in the best interests of the club. He had the foresight to accept Oban’s Fraser Inglis into the Kingussie fold–and decisions like that can be tricky in a sport which prides itself on its community roots.
In point of fact, MacNeill’s position in the club is as yet informal but in the absence this year of big Ron Fraser, for the last week or two he has helped out with training and acted as an assistant to first team manager Jim Barr. A double bonus in every way-the side benefits from his input and MacNeill himself gets the opportunity to keep his hand in at coaching as well as getting a look at all the Premier League’s best players over the course of the season.
But is he a Glenner? Of course! As a Lochaber man he has a perfect right to be called a Glenner. After all his Lochaber ancestors spent 500 years raiding the Glen for cattle–and it is more than probable that in his veins flows the blood of the ”Gille Dubh nam Mart” the Lochaber man who was fostered in the Glen in the reiving times. It wouldn’t do to push the comparison too far-the Gille Dubh had his flaws- but for those who are interested in such old Highland tales, Mackay’s “Urquhart & Glen Moriston” is worth a wee look.
The match itself merits some attention because of how it panned out. With only one sub to roll, Glen were never going to have much by way of tactical ploys to outwit Kingussie’s own group of strategists - but by and large the defence stuck to its task and over the piece restricted Kingussie to just a few chances. There were two major scares late in the second half-Fraser Munro was left clear on the left hand side and his shot fired back off the post and finally of course there was the penalty.
Given away perhaps a little unnecessarily by Stuart Mackintosh when he brought down a Kingussie forward, it was well saved by the same fellow. Kevin Thain hit it hard-ish but perhaps a little high and too near to a keeper who has top class reflexes. A quick flick of the wrist and thankfully it went past the post.
At the other end, early misses from Neale Reid and Eddie Tembo kept Glen from imposing their will on Kingussie and a couple of excellent saves from Borthwick-one in particular down by his left hand post from youngster Fraser Heath – also kept Glen at bay. For the most part, however it was a tense competitive game and the Glen midfield-in the Wing Centre’s humble opinion- shaded it. Arran Macdonald, Eddie Tembo and John Barr did the business though at times it looked tough. The defence were fine–and Stuart Reid managed to handle Thain reasonably well, the trick being to prevent him getting in a strike on goal. On the one or two occasions he did have a drive he certainly showed ferocious power in the shot-though by good fortune his aim was off. The one occasion in the first half when he might have done something, Thain imagined himself to have less time than he actually did and his rushed shot lifted up and over the bar.
The plus side for the Glen was that the side kept its shape and coherence: the minus side is that though Glen created chances they did not put them away. We were certainly playing against a good defence:goalie Andrew Borthwick and defenders Ally Macleod and James Hutchison are as good as you get- but there is a need for a cutting edge. A side like ours needs a 20 goal a season man-the modest nature of this ambition only becomes clear when you consider Ronald Ross’s annual stats-but until that fabulous figure appears……????
Did Drew’s partnership with Jim make a difference? In as much as there was a more coherent feel to the side than was apparent in the previous game, it certainly seemed to do the trick.
This week we face Kilmallie in the MacTavish at Canal Park: not an easy gig but then again the guys have to stick to the game plan through thick and thin because from the perspective of the club it’s not this week that really matters. Whatever happens the focus has to be on the positive.

The week’s pic is of Dave Smart coming off at the end of the 90mins. What with the snow on Drumbuie behind him ,if it were taken with a real camera it would have been an iconic shinty snap- but then again that sort of status requires at least a win over Kingussie.

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All Snow and No Show-will the real Fraser Mackenzie please stand up?

2011-03-19T08:52:00.007Z

Lochaber more Glen Urquhart 1

“I see Fraser Mackenzie’s back on the score sheet again”
“I heard that. It must be the first one he’s hit since about 1985”
The Wing Centre pricked up his ears. The conversation was taking place on the other side of the bread shelves in the VG-except it’s not the VG now but the Co-op and the D dare not breathe its name because that would be advertising and for that to happen someone has to reply to a letter from Russell Fraser. The speakers so far as he could make out from the voices were male and local though one of them had those high Highland tones that you associate with someone from Kingussie.
By the time he’d got up to the end of the aisle, pushing past pensioners queuing for their bread ration, and peeped round to see who was talking there was no sign of anyone other than a few strangers from Culanloan who were unable to help because on questioning they didn’t know who Fraser Mackenzie was.
The news of the goal scorer’s identity was intriguing. Doubly so because if it really was the Fraser Mackenzie who scored in 1985 then that would be a surprise since that chap very rarely got on the score sheet even in real time when he actually had a chance to get on the score sheet. He did however score one goal that really mattered- and that was further back in history, the spring of 1984 to be exact, when the Glen surprised Scottish champions Newtonmore by beating then 2-1 at the Eilean in their Weatherseal Double-glazing League Division 1 Match. This was the first time that the Glen had beaten Newtonmore at this venue since the club turned senior in 1963 and the narrative went as follows. “After a goalless first half Newtonmore took command early in the second half and opened the scoring in the 60th minute through John Fraser (who was he one wonders?)The Glen withstood some further ‘More pressure before Fraser Mackenzie equalised. This pepped them up and they gradually took control. With three minutes left Martin English snatched a sensational winner” For those of a curious disposition it is as well to record that the headline stated “English gives Glens cause to celebrate” One assumes the plural was used because all the neighbouring Glens - including Glen Cannich and Glen Affric- were equally delighted at the defeat of the Champs by a neighbouring side.
Intrigued at the existence of this iconic goal–written off by the media through the use of the word “equalised” and intrigued that such a veteran should still be scoring in 2011 the Wing Centre phoned up the man in question to enquire as to both matters.
First that goal-;
“It was a cold windy day up on the moor. Indeed at one point a shed blew across the field and from the noise it appeared that there were still hens inside. The ball came to me between the buckshee and wing centre positions and I had my back to goal. I turned and hit it first time but knowing it was Hughie Chisholm in goal I deliberately mistimed the shot causing it to bounce along the ground. Everyone knew in those days you could never beat Hughie with a real shot. You had to be crafty.
Then Martin grabbed the winner and the rest is Glen history.
They went mental and that was the first time that I noticed that Newtonmore guys also speak in high voices.”
And what about the Lochaber game?
“I wasn’t playing. In fact the last time I scored against Lochaber, wee McGregor was full back."

So it wasn’t him. It was an altogether different Fraser Mackenzie who scored against Lochaber-and goal keeper Garry Mackintosh provided some details of the way the game had gone.
Playing and adapting well to the snow, Lochaber got some easy goals which can never be reported in the “D” because Gazza M wasn’t willing to say what they were like. Glen had chances themselves but were unable to convert them.
Glen then went in at half time 1-1 because-a familiar phrase-“Fraser Mackenzie equalised”
Then the second half happened in the snow-and Lochaber won-simple as.

And what about this new Fraser Mackenzie?
The Glen have strict rules-indeed rules which are more convoluted than those required to play for Scotland itself.
There Garry was able to provide re-assurance. It seems Fraser actually is a Glenner. Analysis of his mitochondrial DNA has indicated that his mother hails from Bunloit and that by picking up a black and red bound Tanera (product placement-forgot to check with Russ?) he is merely coming home to his mother club.

Garry was also able to provide further re-assurance about other signings. Liam Girvan is a Glenner obviously because there have been Girvans in Corriemony and throughout the Great Glen for hundreds of years–stands to reason he’s a Glenner.
And Fraser Heath ?
His first name is Fraser-what other proof is required? Garry is so logical and his mother was also a Fraser.

Saturday sees Kingussie in the Glen and Garry is off to that ancient burgh with the seconds.
“I’m fair looking forward to hearing all those friendly high pitched voices once again” he said. “but what’s with that particular vocal inflection ?”
The Wing Centre pondered on the question.
“ Nobody really understands but the phenomenon has been known about in Drum ever since The Glen fell into the hands of the Grants back in 15oatcake when the king gave them the castle and orders to keep down the Macdonalds. Waste of time – the Grants are gone but the Macdonalds still play shinty for the Glen. The theory is though that because they live on the High Chaparral, Badenoch guys adapt their vocal chords to the thinner air pressure thus causing them to squeak. That’s my theory whatever”
“Pity they did not play shinty as if they had squeaky voices?” said Garry.

Pity indeed!

In the photo Whytie welcomes the new Fraser Mackenzie – and reads his palm. The omens are better than they were.

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Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

2011-03-11T20:40:00.002Z

Glenurquhart 4 Fort William 7

It was a much changed Glen team that went out this week for the start of the League proper compared with the side that performed against the pride of Ross-shire last weekend. This week Hendo and Mike welcomed back to the fold Gary Smith, Gregor McCormack and Iain Macleod. Drew Maclennan made his first appearance of the season alongside his brother Lewis while Fraser Mackenzie (formerly of Lochcarron) and Craig Cameron were on the bench. Absent were Ewan Lloyd –out with a knee strain – Donald Fraser, Brad Dickson and Jack Hosie.
The top side down at the Fort had also made some depredations on Hendo’s pool of available livestock while the youngsters who performed well against Cabers were deemed as just too wee to be risked against Victor Smith’s Fort William team. The Fort side certainly does contain many youngster but most are in the upper teenage age group and as such probably just too mature for the Glen to compete against. However, James Hurwood started the match as did Rory Maclean and Cameron Maclennan while Lachlan Smith was on the bench with the two veterans.
With a low sun troubling the young Fort keeper, Glen started strongly firing up towards “Sandy Whyte’s” end and Daniel Mackintosh looked lively on what was an uneven surface. On a number of early occasions he attempted to nip the ball forward but the Fort backs were slick – and the pressure came to little. However Glen did go ahead in 12 minutes when a long drive from Lewis Maclennan dropping out of the sun deceived the Fort keeper who let it bounce past him into the net for the opener.
Veteran Michael Slezas equalised however within 5 minutes and the strike was no more than the Fort deserved though truthfully their front men did have a tendency to overplay the ball, a luxury that this year’s Glen side given the absence of Kelvin Mackenzie and Ewan Brady can no longer afford.
However the Glen centreline continued their barrage of high balls on the Fort goal and in 25 minutes Daniel Mackintosh having quickly switched wings broke wide on the right and played a nice ball across the front of the D but Fraser Mackenzie was unable to convert the chance.
Lewis Maclennan however sent another high ball in –this time on the goal- and as the ball broke back off the keeper, Billy Urquhart was on hand to ram home the rebound.
Next it t was Fort’s turn then to break away and a fine drive from youngster Ewan Campbell made the game even at 2-2. Parity did not last long however because ref Ronnie Campbell judged Glen defender Gary Smith to have kicked the ball and from the resulting penalty Daniel Stewart sent Fort William in at half time with a 3-2 lead.
Glen restarted the second period with a bang and within 5 minutes of the restart Billy Urquhart had helped himself to a second and brought the game back level. Better was still to come when in the 62nd meeting Gregor McCormack finally got a quality strike on target to put the red and blacks in the driving seat. And there they should have stayed.
Indeed Glen even looked for a while as if they would actually add to their lead and pressed hard but without coherence up front they found the Fort defence unwilling to yield. However it took a bit of careless play starting with the concession of a foul just about the penalty spot to let Fort back into the game. From the free hit the ball was touched to Daniel Stewart and with the marking not tight enough to matter he fired the ball past Garry Mackintosh in the Glen goals. There were precisely 70 minutes on the clock.
The game moved on for a further 15 minutes with any further score though it was clear to all that Fort were becoming stronger while the Glen defence and midfield were finding that the fitness and speed of their Fort counterparts gradually enabled then to get the upper hand. The games finished on a grim note with three late Fort goals - in the 84th 85th and 87th minutes- and without a marvellous reaction save by Garry Mackintosh of an Iain Macleod deflection the result could have been more embarrassing.
For the record the Fort William scorers were Daniel Stewart, who completed his hat trick, youngster Jack Fraser and veteran Michael Slezas.
Looking back on the game, it is more than probable that inexperience on the field in a variety of positions and perhaps too cavalier a desire to push men forward late on when perhaps the defence should have been shored up to protect what we had, led to a Glen defeat the size of which the first 83 minutes of play certainly did not warrant.
Still , it’s reserve shinty life but not as we have known it over the past three years. Let’s hope we don’t have to get used to it.
There is no intention of commenting on the first team match except to say that Ed had an excellent game – and he is still looking good in training.

Two photos this week- main one being Glenners leaving the field a little despondent. The Wing Centre? Didn’t even bother going down to the Loch Ness Inn for a plate of soup.

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Disappointing Day at Blairbeg for Henderson the Strain King

2011-03-01T22:39:00.006Z

Glenurquhart 3 Caberfeidh 3+

Have to say that Hendo had a hard job getting a squad together for this match and in the end he put a side out that did OK considering Cabers were able to bring some senior players along for the afternoon. Not that Cabers planned it that way-they had a friendly postponed and merely took along some extra guys for an afternoon safari in Monsterland. Most importantly they took along Archie the Goalie and he always makes a difference.
So Hendo was most certainly under strain getting a side together and for the second time in two weeks as well-if reports are correct last week’s 2-2 with Boleskine was also accomplished with a depleted squad. Not to worry-you play with that you’ve got – and so far as the Wing Centre could judge Hendo unearthed a fair bit of child talent in the village. The young boys all played well and tried hard- indeed not since they stopped putting kids up chimneys have so many youngsters worked so hard for so little reward.
The start was promising however. In 5 minutes Ross MacAulay got on to the ball out on the right and fired a hard low shot on target that managed to elude the attentions of the Cabers goalie and put the Glen one up. For the next spell the match was bitty but evenly contested with the Glen youngsters James Hurwood and Sam Maclean playing sensible shinty while they were still fresh. Both got to the ball first and moved it on without giving their opponents a chance to tie them up in tiring tackles.
In 20 minutes Daniel Mackintosh –the only one of last year’s crop of youngsters on the field- got the ball under control, zipped past two defenders but his shot flew wide of the post. Five minutes later the same thing happened- and it was encouraging for the Glen support that he was able to get on to the ball and go clear of the defence.
Cabers Mark Macdonald then levelled the scoring with a fine drive and his team mate Ian Macdonald put Cabers ahead after he pounced on a rebound from Glen keeper Gary Mackintosh who had done well to save the first attempt.
Glen managed an equaliser just before the halftime break when teenager Rory Maclean picked up the ball on the left, rode a heavy Cabers challenge before squeezing the ball inside to Mackintosh who hammered home an unstoppable shot. There were 44 minutes on the clock and the evidence was at this stage that Glen were well in with a shout of getting a result from the match.
The second half was different.
Scott Maclennan scored two goals –one after about 15 minutes sneaked in at the post while the other could be regarded as well worked. Then a long ball from Martin Macdonald increased the difference but Billy Urquhart then bagged one back for the Glen. Fort a short spell with Ian Macleod and Bradley Dickson putting in determined shift, things began to stabilise and young Lachlan Smith at left wing back soon showed that he too could play sensibly at second team level.
It was however too hard for the kids to keep hanging on and with young legs looking tired and heavy in the last ten minutes, Arran Ross fired a ball into the roof of the Glen net and then five minutes before the end veteran Alan Ross finding himself in space just outside the D caught the ball correctly and blasted home the final goal of the day. A nice goal indeed but from a Glen point of view-at the wrong end. Oh dear! What a pity! Never mind.
And we certainly don’t mind about the Skye game- a 4-2 for the homesteaders with Glen goals from Ruaraidh Cameron and Ally Mackintosh – and the absence of Stuart Mackintosh, Eddie Tembo and Davie Girvan. Glen provided a good first half display followed by a weak second half with errors which allowed Skye to score goals they should not have been allowed. The Sgiathanachs indicated that we were sporting in defeat-not a habit the Wing Centre would like to encourage!!
Just as well the Primary 5 boys made it to the final of the First Shinty Festival in Fort William on Saturday. They actually beat two Skye sides (south Skye and Portree) and Kingussie. On the same afternoon! Now that’s a habit to get used to.
The photo is of Rory Maclean at the end of Saturday’s encounter: he carries his caman in the same manner as his Maclean forebears carried their claymores.In the background Ross MacAulay and Lachlan Smith.

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The Great Glen Cup Scare

2011-02-17T21:34:00.003Z

Macdonald Cup
Glenurquhart 1 Strathglass 0

Ali Ban
Glenurquhart 3 Strathglass 2

It’s that time of the year again- or at least over the last year or two it’s become that time of the year. Which is to say that it is the time for pre-season friendlies and with them comes the Macdonald Cup and the Ali Ban, those traditional reasons for the ordinary folk of Glenurquhart and Strathglass to be nasty to each other on the shinty field and, occasionally on the side-lines. Point is when the Wing-Centre played the ancient sport of the Gael he did so at the end of the season in June or July: now the match is fitted into a pre-season scramble for fitness and the old rules as to who should be available for selection to the teams apply. When the Glen went to play the match they had to face up to the fact that none of their new signings were eligible for selection while some of their old signings had moved on to pastures new. Probably the same had happened to Strathglass but in a Glen blog that is naturally of no concern.
However Roy’s comment did cause a little feeling of guilt-however fleeting-to trouble the Wing Centre’s conscience. With the score at 0-0 well into the second half of the game of the day things were looking as if “ even stevens” was to be the note on the non-existent score-board (The Royal Marines lorry knocked it flat on Games Day. Don’t ask: it’s a long story). That would have meant that Strath would have retained the trophy, as they apparently have since 2002, because a draw means the holders keep the cup.
“So” said Roy with his characteristic tact “You won’t be writing about the Macdonald Cup in the Blog. In fact you have never written about the Macdonald Cup in the D”
It wasn’t strictly true-the D has featured big Arran Macdonald being man of the match and then on another occasion published an ill judged snap of young George Phimister standing with the cup but without his head. Juvenile stuff indeed- but MacCoinnich was right: there never was a “proper” report on the Macdonald Cup as a game. There didn’t look as though there would be one this year either.
“Why would that be? “asked himself.
“Well,” said the Wing Centre “it’s just that the Ali Ban is a bigger story at the moment and it is in pole position- but if there is any breaking news ….” and with that the Wing Centre moved off down the line and down to the shop end for a blether with some veteran Glasaich who take a more relaxed view of matters. Indeed Roddy, Dooley and Johnny G were in grand form: it’s amazing how a blue sky, some warm sun and a half decent game of shinty can lift the human spirit. They were full of the “crack” as well they might be because up until that point in the game the Glen, though they had territorial dominance were only in the game because of two paranormal saves by international keeper Stuart Mackintosh. Who fired them in? Robert Geddes that’s who –the best striker of a shinty ball west of Loch Ness since-----since…well since Billy Macleod.
Fortunately in the 70th minute the breaking news finally broke. Neale Reid pounced on a ball 35 yards out from goal, smashed it hard and low on the turn into the net past big Raymond Fraser who had had an excellent afternoon between the Strath sticks. Indeed right at the start of the match, when the Glen looked as if they would sweep their visitors off the park and into the Enrick it was big Raymond who had saved the day with a series of stops from Calum Miller and Reid himself.
At the time the goal had gone in the Wing Centre was having blether with Strath legend George Fraser who was rightly pleased with how the Strath under-14 had performed earlier in the day. Since one always likes to encourage the youth it might appropriate to say the young Strathers won but not to mention the score.
At the time however George was happy to admit it was a strange game and that defences were on top. John Barr was powerful in the Glen back row as was the outstanding Ali Mackintosh while Strath’s George Phimister kept the pressure up on Eddie Tembo so that while the big man played well he never really got the room to shine.
Strath’s player of the day – at least it seemed so to this unbiased observer- was Scott Douglas who had a fine game at buckshee back. He seemed to read the game clearly, timed his tackles well and cleared his lines effectively. But then he is of course half a Glenner so a fine display was only to be expected.
In the end the day went with the Glen and Stuart Mackintosh as captain picked up the trophy for Glen’s second piece of silverware of the season. The first piece was of course the Ali Ban which came to the Glen courtesy of a hat-trick from Kelvin Mackenzie against a brace from Strath’s Brian Mackay, The third bit of silverware was of course the Shewglie trophy for man of the match which went to Ali Mackintosh. Young Al had an outstanding afternoon in defence and in attack and was the immediate choice of ref Deke Cameron. That was certainly one ref’s decision no-one could dispute.
A nice evening of celebration followed in the Loch Ness Inn but next morning reflecting on the game it seemed to the Wing Centre that perhaps Strath had every reason to feel they had been hard done by. Then again perhaps Glen simply need to learn to score goals when they have the chances to do so.
The pics are all local except for the one of 3 goal hero Kelvin Mackenzie: he moves so fast only a professional can snap him. Acknowledgements as usual go to Neil Paterson

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Let’s have a drum roll for Druimlon!

2011-01-31T22:13:00.007Z

Finally, eventually and at last, Glen Shinty got back to business with the Zandra Mackintosh Memorial sixes taking place on the astro on Saturday. This was of course some four weeks after they had been originally scheduled to have been held as part of the New Year Festival but the frost and snow of course made that impossible. Neither did they go ahead in 2010 –the weather again being the problem- so technically Chrissie Surts and his squad of Lewistonians have been top dogs for near enough two seasons.
For the Wing Centre and indeed for many its followers, the indigenous sport has been a long time away- and apart from Ronald’s MBE there has been little to describe in the D- because quite simply little has been happening apart from Cup draws, a new President and the Lovat Cup. The Wing Centre and the Glen loyalists have paid little attention to any of them though three of the most dyed-in-the-wool Glenners out of sheer boredom did break with tradition and pop into town to see George Fraser’s football boyans last Wednesday. Interestingly enough not one of the trio- and that includes the Wing Centre himself -had ever been into the new Caley Park before in their lives and it has to be said it’s a nice place though the pitch is to shinty eyes a little tight. In fact one can safely say that if big Peter were to take a bye hit at the Raigmore end he would near enough put the ball in the sea.
In the game itself there was little to comfort Caley- with the exception of full forward Rooney who looked a bit of a player -none of the rest looked fit enough even to get a game for Lovat. Clearly Aberdeen had the better centreline and in Paul Hartley they had a player who controlled the game –but few influential shinty players would be left alone and unmarked for 90 minutes without someone attempting to mark him. Big George-if he was watching- would have known that. He never stepped on a shinty pitch without someone marking him, in many cases literally but he was determined enough and fit enough to shake such attentions off. His footballers - if what was on display the other night is typical - lack those qualities - and for fans to have to pay £25 to watch such antics is not really fair. The score? Aberdeen won 2-0 - one was a blooter, the other a sclaff- but they all count. Caley Thistle? Caley Swizzle more like.
So all in all it was with relief that the Wing Centre strolled down to the astro on a surprisingly mild Saturday afternoon to watch the Sixes. This year there were six teams in two groups of three- but horror of horrors -no Balmacaan Road squad. Young James ended up playing for Druimlon, Ruaraidh Cameron and EJ Tembo turned out for the Blarmor and big Ross MacAulay was working on the house. However with teams representing Druimlon, Inverness and Up the Glen in one group and the Blarmor, Lewiston and the scarily named Wildsiders in the other group the afternoon was set to be filled with some lively and skilful shinty action. And so it turned out to be.
With the Wildsiders – who turned out to be a team of youngsters managed by Dola Brady- and Inverness eliminated in the group stages the competition moved on to the high pressure semis. There Lewiston edged through 1-0 against up the Glen in what was an excellent and fast moving cake which pitted the silky skills of Young Corky against the power play of Neale Reid. Scare of the day came when Chrissy Surts, Lewiston’s veteran striker was poleaxed after a dodgy tackle from Up the Glens wily goalie Old Cork. Old Cork had an excellent series of saves though nothing he did could quite match the brilliance of Lewiston’s keeper David Emery who played so well - saving penalties and everything else- that he won the trophy for player of the tournament.
Druimlon meanwhile defeated the Blar by a single goal despite the desperate efforts of EJ and Ruaraidh to thwart Lewis Maclennan’s trophy winning ambitions. The Druimloners - who included Bradley Dixon, Calum Smith, Kelvin Mackenzie, Fraser Heath , Steven Henderson and Helen Maclennan as well as young James Hurwood – were it has to be said the younger and fitter team – and that semi showed why. The final simply confirmed that fact - a first half goal from ever green Steven “Hendo” Henderson set them up for the trophy and a power drive from Lewis Maclennan saw the “Up the Glenners” off in the final. 2-0 just like the Aberdeen score the other night.
Naturally such an occasion requires photos so we have the winning team, the goal scorers, the player of the tournament with Brian Fraser who provided the trophy, Donald Paul Mackintosh and Josie Mackenzie who presented the cup to the winning captain.
Here they are- but doesn’t Lewis take a nice photo even without his slimming jersey but he really should tell his Uncle Dave to cheer up.
Roll on the Macdonald Cup!

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Giving Honour Where it is Due

2011-01-04T21:00:00.001Z

It has been a while since there has been any shinty activity worth writing about at least in as much as it actually affects the Glen. Not to say that the new Camanachd President does not affect the Glen nor that he should not require a word or two but then the Courier guy wrote a very good profile and the West Highland Free Press actually carried a picture of Himself – as he will be known here from now on in-in front of the family croft house and it was indeed a snap which complemented the Courier article exceptionally well. While there was some unease-not to say alarm -on the shores of Loch Ness at the prospect of a proud Kiltartan taking up Shinty’s top job, Mr Reid was pleased to note that with the departure of Mr Cameron from the hot seat that now, of all the senior people running shinty, he -that is Mr Reid- has the most hair.
Back in the Glen thanks to the snow, Zandra’s Sixes were postponed for the second year running and with an article on the funeral service for the Glen’s late great Eddie McGavin being held back for the Shinty Year Book then thoughts naturally turned to the New Year’s Honours list. Once again Mr Reid was overlooked in the lists of the great and the good but the award of an MBE to Ronald Ross has got to be good news for shinty. Of course Ronald was not the only person with a shinty connection to pick up a gong. Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow who played for Glenorchy and who also graced the dark blue International jersey in the 1990s was awarded an OBE for his charity work. Magnus is the founder of the charity “Mary’s Meals” which provides daily meals for undernourished children in their local school. In this way the hungry child is encouraged to attend school and, through education gain a better future. Mary’s Meals provides daily meals in school for over 400,000 children in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe and it has to be said that if we work on the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number then Magnus should probably have gotten a bigger gong. He was after all named as one of Cable News Network’s (CNN) 2010 Heroes; and was in fact the only British citizen in the final ten and given that that CNN considered over 10,000 nominations from more than 100 countries then the shinty player certainly done good.
Another recipient of royal approval (MBE) who has a shinty connection is of course Liz Buchanan who was actually honoured for her services to Tourism. Liz has dedicated more than 30 years to the Scottish tourism industry and to promoting Scotland primarily through her role as Chief Executive of VisitScotland’s subsidiary Tourist Board Training Ltd. In this role she was instrumental in the establishment of a training programme for information centre staff and securing European funding for Scottish tourism. Liz has played a key role in ensuring that Scottish tourism is represented at a European level. She is also president of the European Union of Tourist Officers. However Liz had the strongest of shinty connections back in the 1970s when as well as being heavily involved in editing and co-editing the Shinty Year Book she put in time as secretary of the North of Scotland Camanachd Association, the Referees Committee, the “Future of Shinty” Committee and also helped organize the Aviemore 6 a side tournament over a number of years. Beyond that she was also the first female Vice President of the Camanachd Association, a ground breaking role that might have seen her receiving the a royal award twenty years before she actually got one.
Of course the real deal for Shinty was Ronald’s MBE because he won it for his supreme mastery of the sport. Though he sustained an injured ankle when he captained the Scotland side in the recent Shinty / Hurling international against Ireland at the Bught Park he intends to continue his involvement in the sport in the Kingussie colours as captain in 2011. His career has had many highlights one of which occurred in June 2009 when he received a special award from the Camanachd Association for having reached the figure of 1,000 senior goals, the first shinty player ever to have scored so many. Indeed as Kingussie retained their Premier League title in October 2009 -it was their 13th triumph in the 14 years since the National League was introduced in 1996 -Ronald could have been excused for congratulating himself that he had done it all on his own. He in fact hit 55 of the 82 goals that Kingussie scored en route to the title - and in fact bagged 93 in all competitions that season, one short of his all-time record. This season- 2010- he was again Kingussie’s top scorer with 58 strikes to his name.
Beyond that in 2009 Ronald won the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award when it turned out that he was in fact the first Scot in any sport to score 1000 goals. In winning the award following a public vote, he pipped golfer Catriona Matthew, bobsleigh ace Gillian Cooke and curler David Murdoch to the prize. What tends to be forgotten is that this is the second time Ronald has scooped the prize. He also lifted it in 2003 after scoring a record 94 goals in a single season.
This year of course Ronald was also named as the Sunday Mail amateur sportsman of 2010. He was selected for the honour by an esteemed judging panel which included Scotland football team boss Craig Levein, and Olympic 10,000 metre silver medalist Liz McColgan.
The MBE is of course for Ronald and for shinty , the icing on the cake and the award now means that he joins a prestigious list of shinty legends who have received similar awards from the Queen viz. Newtonmore legend and former Camanachd President John Mackenzie and referee Douglas Mackintosh have previously received MBEs as have Kingussie’s Donnie Grant and of course Ronald’s father Ian Ross.
Ronald may have got the award but the whole shinty community cannot really underestimate the value of his contribution towards raising the profile of the sport at a National level and having it seen as being on a par with other sports which have a wider appeal.

With his recent promotion to the position of Shinty’s National Development Officer the bosses at “Alton Towers” clearly are aware of the fact that his value to the sport runs beyond that of mere goal scorer for Kingussie though it’s in that capacity that the Wing Centre values the big man most. Which is your favourite Ronald Ross goal? Perhaps it was all of the four goals in Kingussie's 4-2 Camanachd Cup final victory over holders Fort William in 2006: it might have been all four goals he scored against Inveraray in the final of this year’s MacAulay. For the Wing Centre it has to be the goal that let Kingussie back into the MacTavish cup tie at Drum back in April. With Glen in the lead and Kingussie going nowhere in 55 minutes Ronald suddenly scored. The goal came via a set piece-but more interestingly it shows Ronald in the two lights that opposing teams like to see him in -the Villain and the Genius.
As the ball dropped into the Glen defence Ronald the Villain was one on one with John Barr. He barged John aside with a high elbow. A foul? Yes, definitely. Then Ronald the Genius - he has a split second free and as the ball is dropping over his shoulder he guides it first time into the net. No big swing – simply wrist and timing and Kingussie are back in a game that no one else looked like saving for them.
This may well be a Glen-orientated blog and a Glen biased Wing Centre that says it but that goal alone was worth an MBE- yet the betting is that Ronald has scored so many that are on a par with that one that it is doubtful if he even remembers it. Kingussie went on to win that Cup of course.
So well done to Ronaldo but who will be next from the world of shinty to get a kiss of the Queens hand?
Pics? One of Ronald (thanks to Kingussie Website) and one of Magnus receiving his CNN Award.

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Everything Tickety-Boo at Glen’s Big Do

2010-11-30T12:02:00.010Z

It was “snow snow quick quick snow" outside the Clansman Hotel on Friday night but inside was warmth, friendship, good food – and from snake hips Tembo in particular- some pretty cool dancing. For the meal the dining room was tricked out in black and red with on the top table a row of cups –North Division 2 Championships, Marine Harvest Team of the Year, the Ali Ban, the Young Player of the Year trophy and of course the Strathdearn .This latter trophy was fiercely guarded all night by Mr Reid in the way a dog will guard a bone from a basketful of hungry puppies. Or at least something like that- but as you can tell from the pic he certainly wasn’t going to let that particular piece of silverware go off on its own to take its chances at the bar.

Club President Russell Fraser spoke to thank those who had helped inspire the Club to a successful season such as our sponsors, the main committee, the fund raising committee, the field preparation squad, the lottery organisers , the management(s), the trainer(s) , the youth helpers, the tea room team and of course the players.
Stuart Morrison spoke nicely about how much he has enjoyed his shinty playing for the Glen over 30 years and more and the assembled company accorded him a warm and heartfelt round of applause.
The main award for the evening was of course the “Young Player of the Year” and the choice this season was between two outstanding candidates- Ewan Brady, the top under-14 in the world in the Wing Centre’s opinion, and Kelvin Mackenzie who had a sparkling season in the second team which was crowned by outstanding performances in the finals of both the Sutherland and the Strathdearn Cups. In the end Kelvin picked up the trophy which is, unsurprisingly, why he is pictured holding it.
The meal provided was the usual excellent fare created by Rory and his kitchen crew- and was served with precision and care by skilled team of local waiters/tresses. For the record the Wing Centre had the chicken after a prawn starter though if truth be told he does not remember if he had pre-ordered those actual dishes having a tendency to tick random boxes on such forms to get them out of the way. However- and here is a tip that is willingly passed on it being the wisdom accrued over 40 years of attending and indeed “gatecrashing” many functions – if you sit near the kitchen entrance you can have pretty much anything you want. This can be more or less guaranteed if you smile at and make eye-contact or even conversation with a waitress, though it is best to do this before the meal is actually served. That way she will not guess at your motives and you will have a friend in the kitchen which is the only place you need to have a friend on such occasions- unless of course there is a buffet in which case a whole set of different rules apply. No matter-this was a technique the Wing Centre observed Jimmac using on the night though, since he could precisely remember what he ordered, there did not seem much point. But then again, Jimmac might just be a genuinely sociable guy.
After the meal, the music was by international goalie Stuart Mackintosh and his backing group Schiehallion which consisted of guitarist and singer Kenny Jamieson, Beauly piper Craig Mackenzie ( a “bandit” at the Drum Games by the way) and a young drummer-and the “nicht drave on wi’ sangs and clatter”.

The photo of Smack taken on the night had too much reflection from the window which was behind him- but here is a nice one of him in the Bught tunnel befor the international and clearly he is telling Ronald his playlist for the dance-not that Ronaldo will be doing much dancing himself this Yuletide. Then it was time to go out into the snow, back on the bus and off in the direction of the Glen to send out our Xmas Cards, elect a fresh Camanachd President and prepare for the new season.

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Barr’s Irn-Bru not strong enough to see Scotland through.

2010-11-18T22:46:00.009Z

Marine Harvest Shinty/ Hurling Series
Scotland 3:7 (16) Ireland 5:6 (21)
Ireland win the series 5-4*

It has to be said that Ireland deservedly picked up the Marine Harvest Quaich last weekend at the Bught though to be equally candid there was not a lot in it at the end. The Wing Centre had a nice seat in the stand behind the royal box along with the Herald guy and Kenny Stephen of Scotland on Sunday. Just as well too although there was no sign in the Press Gallery of the Courier’s top man Dave Calder which was a shame because you can always rely on him to get the facts right which is not a bad idea at a public occasion. Sadly the royal box did not contain much in the way of civic dignitaries with the exception of Cllr. Roddy Balfour. Roddy is an old friend of the Gael, his language and of his sports but where the rest of Toytown’ s top guys were was a mystery but given the fact that the visitors were representing another country you might have thought that somebody might have shown up to represent the fastest imploding town in Europe. Perhaps they had worked out that the TV cameras were not going to be present!
No matter. The game was fast and exciting and certainly Ireland turned in a powerful performance to clinch what was the second leg of the 2010 Shinty /Hurling international series with a 21-16 victory. With Drew’s Blues having won a notable victory in the first leg in Dublin, Ireland trailed the series by 3-1 under the arcane formula* which ultimately decides the championship: sensibly ,that formula rewards goals-score two and you get an extra point - and in the end victory went to the side which hit the net most frequently. However, had the home side not lost the services of front man Ronald Ross just before the interval –he twisted his ankle on the heavy turf and had to be substituted- things might have been very different.
Scotland started strongly going ahead in 2 mins when Lochaber’s Shaun Nicholson (that boy ought to consider a Glen career) fed Roddy Macdonald and he went past the Irish defence on the left and pulled the ball back to Ross who drilled it home for the opening goal. Then a free hit from Gary Innes should have added two further points to Scotland tally but the ball struck the post and bounced wide. This was a signal for GAA all star Tommy Walsh to burst into life and he picked out Shane Dooley with a neat pass and the Offaly man opened the Irish scoring with a single point. Within a minute Dooley, a constant thorn in Scottish sides, had added to his team’s tally when he eluded his marker to fire home a simple goal.
Ross hit back with a two pointer but Ireland’s Willie Hyland replied with a single before the Scots put together a flowing move in which Ross juggled the ball through the visitors defence and cut it back to Gary Innes but his shot was superbly saved by Irish keeper Paul Dermody. Minutes later Dermody pulled off yet another save from Innes but this time the ball squirmed over the bar for a home point.
At the other end Scotland keeper Stuart Mackintosh had an excellent series of saves -in particular a stunning stick stop from Neil MacManus- and with Glen’s John Barr and Lochaber’s Neil Macdonald solid in defence it looked good for Scotland especially after John Macdonald had popped over another two pointer. The sight of Ronald Ross on the touchline however perhaps was a hint that without their talismanic striker to lead them for the rest of the game then the home side might struggle and so it proved in first half injury time when Antrim’s Neil MacManus burst rather easily through the Scotland defence to send the teams in level on points.

The half time chat behind the royal box revealed that there were growing doubts among the home fans at the number of times Scotland had failed to convert their two point chances, but a well worked goal from John Macdonald just after the restart ought to have settled them and the team. Unfortunately, it was quickly cancelled out by Dooley when he bagged a third Irish goal– and the ease with which he did so raised further fears at the vulnerability of the home defence. Single points from the massively built Gareth “Magic “Johnstone, Neil MacManus and Brendan Murtagh increased the pressure on the Scots who came frustratingly near when Innes hit the woodwork for a second time.
A foul on John Macdonald let Innes finally clinch a two pointer while Mackintosh was again on hand to prevent a finish from MacManus though he could do nothing about the single from Hyland which resulted. With Scotland chasing the game, Gareth Johnstone found enough space at the back to score yet another Irish goal but with 70 minutes on the clock fine stick work from Finlay Macrae set Gary Innes up to score Scotland’s third goal. One more goal for Scotland would hand them a share of the series but inevitably pushing forward they left space at the back which was exploited by Ireland’s player of the day Shane Dooley. He picked the ball up in midfield and ran through a tiring home defence to fire home an injury time clincher. The Offaly forward, son of Irish manager Joe, makes a habit of such goals. He did precisely the same thing last year at the Bught with the same trophy winning effect.
So how did the Glenners do? Very well indeed and the whole Glen should be proud of their contribution. John Barr was superb at the back though at times he is scarily intense in his tackling as more than just his Mam will understand. He is simply an uncompromising boy- and he definitely gets the gig as Glen full-back. If at times the Scotland defence looked vulnerable to pacy Irish attackers doing an “egg-and spoon” race imitation with the sliothar balanced on their hurley, Barr was certainly not at fault. The main problem there seemed to be that big Norman Campbell was carrying a knock from early in the match- and truthfully Walsh and Dooley seem to possess a turn of pace and a level of aerobic fitness that implies they play on a plane akin to Ronaldo and John Macdonald.
Stuart Mackintosh in goal was also outstanding- his reflexes are superb, his adaptation to the new “skills” of catching the ball and volleying it out on the run make it clear he could switch codes without problems- but then one must remember that bearing in mind his under 21 experience Scotland have never before had a keeper so used to the mixed code experience.
Andrew Corrigan had a harder deal when he came on not only because he had to replace Ronaldo but also because – and it was something that Manager Drew MacNeil hinted at three weeks ago- the surface of the Bught in November is not made for flowing shinty. The ground was much too soft for that and it was a bitter irony that the treacherous surface caused such a nasty injury to Shinty’s ace player-Ronald-of-the-thousand-goals. It was also too heavy a surface for the lads to be able to lift a “live” ball over from open play for singles-none were scored. Beyond that dead balls hit from distance were too heavy to carry over and fell just short of the Irish goals and were able to be batted gleefully away by the defence on several occasions. Whatever the difficulties, “Corky” stuck to his task and played his part though in his front position in the latter part of the game he got little service and Scotland had to rely on Gary Innes, John Macdonald and Finlay Macrae to spark the crowd.
The contest was intense and physical and at times the Wing Centre was wishing that MacNeil had a fourth Glenner on the bench i.e. Mr Tembo. He certainly has the strength from shoulder to wrist to handle any Irishman who might wish to tango but having hurt his back mid-season he was simply not available. Pity.
So memo to whoever becomes President:
Congratulate our Irish friends.
Ask them to play the games in the dry.
Persuade Drew McNeill and Kenny Achnasheen to stay.
( * Under the mixed code rules teams get two points for a win and 1 point for scoring two goals. In Dublin Scotland‘s scored two goals and picked up 1 point and then of course they earned 2 for a win. Ireland got 1 point for their 2 goals i.e. after Dublin the points were 3-1
Today Ireland got two points for a win and two points for scoring four goals. Scotland merely won 1 point for their two goal, so at the Bught the points were 4-1 in favour of Ireland.
Put them together and you get Ireland 5 Scotland 4-thus Ireland win the series. Simples!)

Enjoy the pics from Neil Paterson (www.neilgpaterson.com ) and of course the three Glenners together came from the Herald guy.

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Scotland Make Their Point-Just

2010-10-31T22:56:00.001Z

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!

2010-10-24T23:12:00.005+01:00

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?

2010-10-03T22:18:00.006+01:00

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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Former Glen School Shinty Player turns in Top Performance in Camanachd Final

2010-09-26T23:16:00.004+01:00

It has taken a long time since 1988 but finally -if you pardon the pun -another lad who came through Glen Urquhart High School’s Shinty Academy has made it to the big stage and performed well. This thought came to the Wing Centre as he sat in the stand at the Bught and watched what was an excellent display from Kingussie full back Lee Bain in Shinty’s biggest match of the year.
Camanachd Cups and indeed Camanachd medals are not ten a penny in the Glens on the warm side of Loch Ness. Before ’88, Davie Thow who picked one up with Lovat in ‘53 and the legendary Jimmy Burnett who captained Kilmallie to their ‘64 triumph were the only chaps in the whole of Glenland who had made an appearance in a Camanachd final. Then there was ’88 and all that- but since then despite a whole heap of Glenners who have made international squads at various levels there has been nothing. Nothing that is until former Glen Urquhart School player Mr Bain made it to the big time with Kingussie.
How he got there is a bit of a story - as was detailed in a recent article in the Scotsman by Kenneth Stephen. When he left Glen Urquhart High School, Lee became a gamekeeper and in the course of his training through North Highland College he picked up a two year placement in Pitmain Estate near Kingussie. There he came into contact with head keeper Graeme Mabon assistant manager of Kingussie second string.
Whist there, Lee continued to play in North Division 1 but when his job at Pitmain became a permanent one, he decided to attempt to move clubs. On Mabon’s advice he wrote to the Kingussie club stating that he was now living and working in Kingussie and on the strength of that letter, was accepted and the rest is rapidly becoming history. After starting the season as an outsider carrying an injury , he recovered to clinch a place in the top team and has given assured performances in all three cup finals he has played in this season. A win over Kilmallie in the MacTavish was followed by victory over Fort William in the MacAulay Cup and in the Camanachd final he kept the hems on big James Clark so effectively that it can only have been that glorious last minute strike from Gary Innes that prised the Albert Smith medal from his grasp.
How well did he do? Pretty well if this unbiased observer is anything to go by. Kingussie were rather unlucky not to hit more goals in the second half but Bain’s ability to block Clark and more importantly to nip in front of him to smother Fort attacks kept King’s in the game when they were under first half pressure. The other feature that impressed was his ability to clear the ball for distance when he got the chance of a free swing: we’d seen him do it in the MacAulay and the MacTavish but the Camanachd certainly confirmed that he was a player whose time has come.
For all that he is a nice lad and deserves every success. Last year he lost his twin brother Scott in a road accident -but his displays this season have showed a grit and determination that all in the shinty world admire.
Will he continue to play for Kingussie? He most probably will but if he returns to the sunny side of Loch Ness to guard Lord Burton’s pheasants then he is always welcome to write a letter to the Glen.
It will most probably be accepted.
Two pictures to note. Lee with the MacAulay Cup and - what else- playing against the Glen. Thanks to Kenneth Stephen at Heartland Media for the first and to Neil Paterson (www.neilgpaterson.com/)for the second.

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Just another Saturday

2010-09-18T20:46:00.006+01:00

A perfect Highland Saturday : the Free Church Coffee Morning followed by the Camanachd Final at the Bught Park- and all the better because of the soft Highland rain which didn’t let up for a minute . Whateffer! The afternoon was a perfect one-drive into the Bught; follow the directions of Big George Campbell and Malcolm Fraser; on past Davie Glass up to Stevie Munro who directed the parking of the Glenmobile as if he was bringing a Jumbo jet into a landing bay.
Then pick up the tickets, and off to the stand- and because the Glen are not on duty the next 90+ minutes are spent jotting down some jumbled notes on the big game . Here it comes.

Fort makes it Four in a Row-Just

“A last minute goal from man of the match Gary Innes saw Fort William lift the Camanachd Cup for the fourth time in a row- edging out a disappointing Kingussie side by 3 goals to 2. In the end Fort just about deserved the win though judged on their second half performance they would have had little to complain about if, when ref Billy Wotherspoon blew his final whistle, the cup had been on its way down the A9 to Badenoch instead of the A82.
Kingussie have won shinty’s premier trophy 22 times, the last occasion being in Dunoon in 2006 when Fort William were their victims, but on the slippy Bught surface they failed to impose themselves on an understated game which was crying out for a big personality to step forward and make a difference to the pattern of the play. Usually you can rely on Ronald Ross to provide such an injection of energy and power: after all he has already scored 56 goals this season- but this Saturday out of all possible shinty Saturdays it wasn’t quite Ronald’s day.
Indeed so closely shackled was he, with two Fort William defenders deputed to dog his footsteps that it wasn’t until 18 minutes were up on the clock that he got away his first shot of the day, a nice piece of opportunist striking from a chance he created himself but it bumped harmlessly past the right hand post of Fort keeper Paul Mackay.
By that stage Fort William were already in the lead having moved ahead thanks to a Gary Innes strike in 15 when he blasted the ball home from just outside the D having picked up the slip ball from free hit. James Clark might have made it two for the Fort a few minutes later but under severe pressure from defender Lee Bain, who put up an outstanding defensive display, he spurned the chance and Kingussie began to come into the game. Part of this was due to the fact that with Liam Macintyre and Addie Robertson hovering within Ross’s immediate environs, Kingussie’s Barrie Dallas was left virtually unmarked in the middle of the field and he began to feed up ball to the front men. The problem was that apart from Ross up on the D, the other forwards, cousins Thomas and Ryan Borthwick were unable to physically power their way through the Fort defence. The wet grass too played its part slowing down the ground passes and making the ball heavier- and when push came to clash some of the Fort defensive tackling in the first half had an admonitory edge about it.
For all that the tackling was hard, the game was played in good spirit and referee Wotherspoon had little to do in the earlier stages although Fort William’s John Macdonald did have to go into the book after a high swing at Kingussie‘s Paul Gow.
At the other end Innes was the man on form and in quick succession had a shot saved by Andrew Borthwick and then having muscled Ricky Grant out of the way he fired a shot just wide. At the half hour mark Ross began to drift deep off the dust to hunt out balls that were being denied to him up front. In 36 minutes he picked up a ball from Dallas drove straight at the Fort William defence and fired the ball out wide to Thomas Borthwick who found himself unmarked at the back post, the youngster had just enough space to squeeze off a shot but with the ball net-bound, Fort Keeper Paul Mackay turned it past the post.
Two minutes later Ross picked out Ryan Borthwick with a neat ball but the youngster failed to convert the chance. Then with Kingussie pushing strongly for what seemed the inevitable equaliser, some slackness crept in at the back which allowed Fort William’s Bryan Simpson, playing with his hand in a protective cast, to pounce on a through ball from Innes and finish emphatically from close range.
The loss of a second goal stung Kingussie into more co-ordinated action and finally Barrie Dallas’s unmarked situation paid dividends when he placed a long diagonal ball into the D and Ross, having reverted to his front role, was on hand to finish the move with a precise flick past Mackay to make the score 2-1 at halftime.
Kingussie continued their assault on the Fort defence after the turn around but somehow their attacks seemed not to get the break of the ball. When Paul Gow juggled the ball through a ruck of players the crowd rose in anticipation, but his flick sailed over the bar. Then Ross drifted out, and fired a shot on the turn only see it fly back off the post a feat that Thomas Borthwick replicated shortly afterwards. Kings continued to string the passes together and in the move of the match Fraser Munro slipped a ball to Gow who fed Dallas on the right but the shot was blazed wide. Fort momentarily reversed the situation when a long free hit out of midfield by John Macdonald was picked up by Gordy Mackinnon but his shot went high over the bar.
At the other end Ross was still on the prowl bringing down the unprotected Neil Robertson with a fierce swing, hitting a slip from a free hit over the bar then having a dink at goal once more saved by Mackay who was belying his inexperience with a solid performance between the Fort sticks. Kingussie then stuck on James Maclean in the centreline and moved Fraser Munro up front in an effort to make their pressure count which it finally did in the 75th minute when Ross in his unaccustomed role as provided released Thomas Borthwick at the back post and he blasted the ball past Mackay for the equaliser.
With a mere 9 minutes left on the clock veteran Rory Fraser came on in the back line to replace Ricky Grant who was beginning to find Mackinnon troublesome while James Clark who had been well marshalled by Bain was also withdrawn to be replaced by Victor Smith. It was still anybody’s game – and when Paul Gow made another lung bursting run up on the Fort backline he deserved better that to be brought down by Addie Robertson just outside the D.
Robertson went into the book but the resulting foul came to nothing and the ball rapidly returned to the other end where King’s keeper Borthwick had to concede a corner.
From the set piece Fort William managed to work the ball to Innes who got some space free on the right, held his balance under pressure and drove the ball home for the winning goal.”

Then there was singing and dancing, Gary Innes picked up the Albert Smith medal for the second time and James Clark brought a baby out from under his shirt to put in the photo.
And the Wing Centre? He is now a Kingussie supporter – after all his daughter married one of the Masons from Ardbroilach road, - and now that Kings are the underdogs, the traditional position of Glenners everywhere, he feels he can support them at least until they start winning again.

Enjoy the pics. The opener is obvious. A nice one of Scotland Manager Drew MacNeil- but boy was he cold what with scarf and earmuffs and everything!

And Bobo? The only man from the Glen to get a medal on Camanachd Cup day.

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Glen get it Smack on against Bute- and in the Strathdearn as well!

2010-09-17T21:57:00.005+01:00

It could have been a day to forget- but in the end it was a night to remember. Or rather bits of were. Walking up the bumpy path from Lewiston to Balmacaan Road with the base of the Strathdearn in a coop bag along with a modest “cairry-oot”, the Wing Centre uncharacteristically mused on what actually had been, rather than his more natural subject of “what might have been.”
What actually had been was a win against Bute in a game where a loss or a draw would have left the side wondering what might happen in games yet to be played by other less trustworthy sides: as it was the two home points took the Glen clear of the relegation zone and up ahead of Lovat on goal difference. It set the seal on a season which saw Glen perform in an uneven manner throughout the season discarding points that really should have been gathered in and losing out on at least one occasion to a freaky goal.
Saturday saw a comfortable win - and it could have been more -but at the back of the Wing Centre’s mellow mind was the fact that Smack had saved the day by stopping two penalties-one from Hector Whitelaw in the first half and another from Roberto Zavaroni in the second. Though that was balanced by a save from Bute’s Kevin Queen of a Glen penalty by Neale Reid. It was that tight.
The 1 pm start did catch some of the lazier Glenners having a late Saturday lie in but when Duncan Kelly threw the ball to start the action it was clear it was going to take both sides a while to settle. The opening encounters were nervy and not much worthy of record occurred until the 8th minute when Eddie Tembo fired in a rasper which was excellently saved by Bute’s keeper Queen. At the other end Bute had some pressure but nothing direct on goal until the penalty was awarded. Whitelaw struck his shot firmly enough but Smack was equal to the stop and more importantly killed the danger by firing the ball out over the bowling green for a shy.
That’s how you can tell the class of a keeper: it comes down to the way he clears his lines. Every premier keeper is a good shot stopper- the measurable difference comes in how they deal with the balls they stop. In this respect Smack had a superb afternoon: all these nasty little bouncy shots around the D with forwards following them up - and let’s face it shinty doesn’t do many forwards bigger than Hector Whitelaw unless you count Danny Macrae-were tucked by or volleyed wide despite the fact that the Glen keeper knew the incoming forwards were going to hit him anyway. He couldn’t afford an error: he simply didn’t make one.
The game swung from end to end until the 32 minute when Calum Miller playing well at full forward pulled in a ball tight to himself and slipped it left to Eddie Tembo who found the net with a nice strike. Bute were not to be outdone and with James Craig pushing them on at centre then mounted a series of attacks on the Glen goal none of which came to anything more serious than a number of corners. Glen then missed a penalty and Bute, heartened, upped their efforts. However, the Glen defence marshalled by Stuart Reid, who had an excellent afternoon against Hector Whitelaw, kept the Islanders at bay and the Wing Centre for one was relieved to hear the half time whistle while trying not to find a ball in the grass after it had been fired out into Sandy Whyte’s field for a corner.
Glen started the second half well and almost immediately after the restart Calum Miller had made it 2-0. “Game over,” thought the Wing Centre. “What we have we hold. Pull John Barr back to buckshee, concentrate on hammering the ball up long and not letting them through.”
But before these negative, Rangers-like thoughts were fully formed in the Wing Centre’s brain (if he possesses such an organ and there are those in relationships with him who contend that he doesn’t) Bute’s Robert Walker had won a ball on the right and finished excellently to make it 2-1.
Then Bute had their penalty saved , then Calum Miller had a sharp shot saved by Queen , and the game flowed on from end to end until in the 81st minute the unfortunate Bute defender Ian Macdonald, under pressure, directed the ball past his own keeper to make it 3-1. That was really it-though Paul “Mac” Mackintosh came on for the last two minutes to help run down the clock.
Apart from Smack, Stuart Reid, David Maclennan and Andrew Corrigan were top drawer though everyone played their part. As for Bute, they are a good side and it has to be said extremely sporting in a contest when with so much at stake, the temptation to swing the stick must have been strong. They must be reflecting however on the bitter truth that losing 4 points to the Glen in the one season is no way to safeguard Premier status.

And so it was a happy throng in red and black who went over Culnakirk to Prioryville. The thing was that when we got there we found the pitch going the wrong way-how the houses on the up side let that happen is hard to explain-and we had to park on the pavement. Then we found there wasn’t a programme- how were we to know who we were playing?

Truthfully there is little to say about this game except that both sides will agree that they did not play as well as they did in the Sutherland. Perhaps it was the earlier rain or perhaps the Beauly grass held up the ball but the wee flicks and touches which both sides pulled off at the Eilean were all but impossible at Braeview. Both sides were a player or two short but perhaps both sides were truer to the spirit of the whole campaign in their selections in which the kids predominated.
Lovat opened strongly and gave the Glen a few hairy moments at the start and racked up two or three corners all in a row while at the other end Kelvin Mackenzie managed to force a ball over the line but the goal was disallowed for offside. Then Glen’s Ruaraidh Cameron shot over the bar while up at the houses end Lovat’s Greg Matheson had the ball in the net- but only after the ref had already blown for an infringement.
Glen began to come into it here and with Ewan Brady switching to full centre after a lacklustre start on the wing the Glen began to fire on a few more cylinders. This in fact quickly paid off when after some neat interplay Kelvin Mackenzie ran in on goal in 35 minutes and, meeting a cross from the left from Ewan Menzies, flicked the ball past Chris MacCallum in the Lovat goal.
The second half saw the introduction of Ewan “Boo-Boo” Fraser initially at wing forward and pressure mounted somewhat on the Lovat goal and in 60 minutes a long high shot from Kelvin Mackenzie deceived Lovat keeper Chris MacCallum and crept over the line. You had to feel for the youngster but when you reflect that he won his club the Sutherland, then you cannot be too hard on him. Anyway the men in black and white had plenty time to get back in the match but they didn’t. At this point the Wing Centre went away to his car to phone Astie to see how the other matches were going, then he went off down to Beauly Square to have a look in Jock’s window knowing the man himself-freshly unbanned- was at the match. You can’t go when he is there in case he thinks you’re going to buy something- and you would be left with feelings of guilt if you didn’t.
Anyway when the Wing Centre returned to the field of battle, Glen were in defensive mode. “Boo Boo “ had been hauled back and along with fellow defenders Ian Macdonald, Donald Fraser , Ian Macleod , Gary Smith and Mackintosh the Shopkeeper were taking absolutely no black and white prisoners.
In fact the Wing Centre spent the last ten minutes blethering in a state of calm confidence with Ronnie Milligan, Coke Macdonald and Martin Maclean about life and shinty while they seemed to hint he should be worried. Not a bit of it: he came across as the coolest guy in Cooltown. The simple fact is that he was blissfully unaware that 5 minutes after Kelvin’s second goal, Greg Matheson had pulled one back and Lovat were in fact pushing for an equaliser. The two goal cushion did not exist except as a piece of misknowledge in the Wing Centre’s head.
In the end- well the Glen’s name is going on the Strathdearn 2010. Though it has to be said that while the 1962, 1972, 1977 numbers are on the old silver cup-there is no sign of 2002.
Still there’s a whole year to sort that out and meanwhile the club cat now has a new bowl from which to drink its milk.
Anyway, then we went to the Loch Ness Inn, then we went home-then we were sick.
Enjoy the pics.

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It's Shinty's Super-Saturday

2010-09-10T23:30:00.002+01:00

Not much to say- that’s the buzz from the Wing Centre about last week’s trip to Kyles. The depleted side did fine for a half and then lost a pile of goals at the end when the guys-particularly the young ones- ran out of steam. Still well done to those who travelled and out of the experience Stuart Reid and young Calum Smith emerge with credit as did Lewis Maclennan who always seems to thrive way out west. The crack on the bus-which we paid up front for the first time in ages- was seemingly good and Dave Emery in goals played well enough in the opening phase for Jimmac to mistake him for Smack! Where did that come from? Should have gone to specsavers, James. If he had mixed him up with the “shopkeeper” then perhaps one could have understood that. The only piece of controversy came with the announcement in the local press that the Glen had as an act of desperation brought on to the field of play “59 year old manager Jim Barr.” Apparently he is not 59: he is in fact 60. Fine. Let it go.
No way is the score being recorded here but if a Kyles poet is able to send some verses up in praise of the victorious Kyles the Wing Centre will not only publish them here but smugly justify the inclusion on the grounds that thereby is a folk art preserved and that however hard it is to read, higher goals are being served in a manner of speaking.
Tomorrow we play Bute. A point is required to stave off the R word. We also play Lovat in the Strathdearn: last time we played them in a final their keeper Chris MacCallum played OK-suppose. All true Glenners will be praying for rain tomorrow at 4pm. Almost enough said except to add that the Wing Centre would rather that both games were won in the wet or not as the case may be. Truly it will seriously be shinty’s super Saturday-in the Glen at least.
The very thought of wetness caused the Wing Centre to meditate upon rain particularly of the west coast variety- the sort that shouldn’t wet you but always does. You know the drizzling, moisture-laden tidal fliuch that inundates shinty fields between Lochbroom and Bute but stops at Drum, Balgate, Castle Leod and Braeview. And lo into his hands came a Beauly inspired cartoon referring to goodness knows what.
Here you can see it but goodness knows what the Beaulacs mean by it.

Clearly Murph is implicated and one assumes the venue is way out west where the hills are all high and the cattle all low. Not only that but the suggestion is that the denizen of the deep is an optimistic west coaster who truly believes that west coast rain won’t wet you- and here was the Wing Centre thinking that west coast teams try to get games cancelled when they do not have a strong side by getting the fire brigade to wet the pitch or driving the team bus into the ditch somewhere out in the wilds. Just shows you how wrong you can be!

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Games People Play

2010-08-31T23:19:00.005+01:00

That’s the Glenurquhart Games over for another year and now the Club must face up to the prospect of two or three weeks which will determine the ultimate success of the season. The Club has worked hard enough to get where it is: the next trick will be to keep focused for the run in.
Not that the Royal Marines were focusing last weekend. Despite billing themselves proudly as the “Royal Marine’s Visibility Team” the driver of the 15 tonner smashed the Club’s scoreboard into tiny pieces as he tried to extricate his vehicle from the muddy mess left on the park at the end of the Games. The park too took a battering – and would have fared worse had not Games chairman Iain Urquhart taken his tractor down to the field and pulled the big show vehicles out. Left to themselves there is little doubt that the Show folk would have taken route 1 – across the field to the Balmacaan Road exit leaving goodness knows what kind of mess.
As it was with sun and wind drying out the ground the former president, the Chairman, the Treasurer, Geordie, Davie Menzies, Peter, Boy, Hendo, Mike and of course, the foreman Mr Reid himself spent an entertaining evening forking out the holes caused by hammers and shot putts as well as trying to level out the deep ruts caused by the lorries.
That aside the men in Black and Red were fairly high profile on the big day having decided to lug a caber up to the top of Achmony following the hill race route. Before they set out they had conned gullible members of the public not only to sign the post but also to pay money to guess how long it would take to get it there and back. 43 minutes turned out to be the answer to that particular question a turn of speed which caught everyone out. Then having done that ,the bold boys only went and won the tug of war – a picture of the squad is included of them receiving the trophy from Games chairman Iain Urquhart- and to cap it all Ewan Menzies actually ran the hill race in a very respectable time as well.
While the Club website is really coming into its own with pictures and info about recent events (http://glenurquhartshintyclub.com/) what with all the emphasis on Premier survival, the eyes of the Glen public –including those of the Wing Centre- have been diverted from the fortunes of Hendo’s Heroes.
Big mistake! The heroes have just produced two back to back 7-0 wins - against Beauly and against Kilmallie. The Beauly game was an excellent encounter notable for the fact that five of the goals came from youngsters. If this sort of free scoring, free running play carries on in the team with youngsters to the fore then perhaps we ought to restyle the team as “Mike’s Mites”.
Against Beauly – who were by no means an unpromising outfit with wing back Scott Maclean in particular playing well - the young Glen forwards were simply too hot to be stopped.
Kelvin Mackenzie opened in 10 minutes and he was quickly followed on to the score sheet by Daniel Mackintosh. Dan the Man took his first neatly firing it home from the left hand side of the D in 22 mins then ramming home his second in 35. Ewan Brady extended the Glen lead with a tricky shot from about 15 yards in 38 minutes – and the Glen were coasting.
Goal of the match was that scored by Kelvin Mackenzie in 55 minutes when he turned quickly and found the roof of the net with an excellent strike. Ross MacAulay who had a fine display in the centreline then was on hand to score two goals from distance -one an unstoppable drive in 62 minutes and his second –and the Glen’s seventh- in 70 minutes with a shot which bobbled past the by now demoralised Beauly back line. Beyond Beauly the player to feel sorry for was forward Ewan Menzies who had a series of excellent strikes on target – all of which were saved by the Beauly keeper.
The young Glen forwards were equally on song against Kilmallie who also went down by 7 goals to nil despite an excellent display by their stand-in keeper Robbie Macfadyen. In this game Glen got off to an excellent start with Iain Macleod slipping the ball through to Ewan Brady who found the net in the first move of the game. The time on the clock? A mere 22 secs.
From that point on despite a strong wind which undermined the game the young Glen forwards were rampant. Daniel Mackintosh in particular found space in the early part of the game but his shot agonisingly grazed the bar. Not long after that Kelvin Mackenzie fed the ball back to Mackintosh but his drive was blocked by Macfadyen. Then Mackenzie dribbled through himself but his final shot whistled past the post. Two minutes later Macfadyen again defied the glen forwards this time saving from Mackenzie after the latter had run on to a neat through ball from Ewan Menzies.
The second Glen goal eventually came just before halftime. The provider was once again the inspirational Iain Macleod. He held the ball until Daniel Mackintosh made some space on the left and when Macleod flicked the ball through to him the Glen youngster finished with style.
The second half saw five Glen goals –the first coming in 56 minutes – when Menzies finished strongly. His drive fired in from the right and from a narrow angle was too fast for Macfadyen and though the keeper did manage to get a touch on the ball with his stick he was unable to keep it out of the net.
Six minutes later Ewan Brady got his second courtesy of an excellent piece of skill from Daniel Mackintosh who juggled the ball over the head of the ‘Mallie full back into the path of Brady who accepted the chance gratefully. Brady picked up his hat-trick shortly afterwards when drove the ball home from the edge of the D.
Ewan Menzies was also a hat trick kid with two late goals both of them well taken, the last being right on the final whistle. What made the victory sweeter was the news that Fort had beaten the Garry 3-0 – a result that meant a ten goal advance on the day over Glengarry for the Glen. This league trophy is there to be won for the second year in succession but as always caution is the watchword. And there is of course still the Strathdearn. Interesting times indeed.
And who else played well? Chips, Ian Macleod and Smithy as always were doing the biz. Boo-boo Fraser looked as if he was back on song and the Shopkeeper himself was solid at the back. Calum Smith did the simple things well as did Ross MacDiarmid. Kelvin? He was excellent but try as he might his luck was out in front of goal. About 7 of his shots were stopped by Macfadyen and after he had got over his frustration he began to see the funny side - but by then we were winning comfortably.
The pics speak for themselves. Enjoy!

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Determined Glen pick up three home points out of four.

2010-08-18T22:07:00.001+01:00

It’s been a tough old run in but Glen have so far managed to come out on the plus side and although mathematical security is not quite assured the side is closer to Premier League safety that it was three weeks ago.
The first side that needed to be overcome was Glasgow Mid Argyll, a team which picked up both points when Glen visited them in the smoke. This time the points went to Glen but it was not as straightforward as the 4-0 score line would appear to suggest.
GMA did well but came to the match minus not only team boss George Hay but also without a considerable number of their more experienced players. Archie Robertson took the helm however and his expert eye laid out a side which included 6 youngsters from the Bearsden and Milngavie shinty academy.
Glen began the match all guns blazing but apart from Ewan Brady hitting the side net in an early attack nothing really went goalward with any threat behind it and the few balls which were on target saw keeper Donald Oliver on hand to smash them away. Glen however made the breakthrough in 19 minutes however when John Barr playing at centre picked up a cross ball in midfield and then fired it home from all of 40 yards
The next act of note came from Ali Mackintosh, playing in the unfamiliar role of wing forward, but his drive at goal was once more saved by Oliver with his legs.
The second goal eventually came in 27 minutes when Eddie Tembo smashed the ball in on target and this time, though Oliver stopped the initial shot, the rebound fell to a razor sharp Neale Reid who tucked the ball home with a deft touch.
In 37 minutes, Tembo, again running through the defence at will caught a high ball in the air but his full blooded overhead strike came back off the GMA bar and was scrambled away to safety.
The second half followed a similar pattern and Glen pressure eventually paid off when Eddie Tembo reacted quickly to glance home a ball which had deflected off a defender to put the home side three up and finally in 79 minutes Neale Reid got his second when some close pressure on Oliver resulted in a fourth Glen goal

The match against Inveraray was probably a more severe Premier test but a greatly under strength Glen thankfully notched up yet another valuable point. With seven players from the regular side not available for a variety of reasons, Glen started the match in a state of uncertainty but as always opened at speed. With youngster Kelvin Mackenzie starting on the wing the pace of the Glen front men did cause some problems for Inveraray and in 8 minutes Neale Reid had a snap shot which keeper Graham Macpherson had to look lively to field. Gregor McCormack was next on target and minutes later Calum Fraser drove past the post.
At the other end though Inveraray always posed a threat-even without the presence of Gary Macpherson and after some sloppy Glen defensive work Grant Griffin pounced to put the visitors ahead with an emphatic strike.
When Griffin again pounced on some uncertain Glen defensive work to put Inveraray two up matters began to look grim for the red and blacks though up the other end, with Ian Macleod and Arran Macdonald driving them on from midfield more and more pressure began to build up on the Inveraray defence. You have to say that while Davie Robertson is a fine full back, the key to the ‘Rary defence is keeper Macpherson. He is sure in the air excellent at clearing his lines- rarely does a ball come back off him far enough to make a chance for the incoming forward- and he is like lighting off his line to clear the danger. However just when the clock was running down on the first half, Neale Reid put the Glen back in the picture with a stunning strike. Macpherson had just pulled off a fine save from a powerful strike from Iain Macleod but his defenders were slow to clear and Reid work the ball wide and hammered it home to throw the Glen a lifeline. Indeed one minute later Eddie Tembo hunted down a cross by Kelvin Mackenzie but his resulting shot whizzed just past the post.
The second half opened once again with the Glen in the ascendancy, this time shooting towards the shop. Once more Reid was on target almost immediately after the break when he picked up a ball in front of the defence and buried the ball with venom to score yet another memorable goal.
And that was really that - except for the fact that Glen were unable to snatch a winner despite having a number of good opportunities and then... disaster! Calum Fraser got tangled up with Davie Robertson and having caught his opponent round the neck found himself dismissed. Fair play to Robertson, he shook his opponents hand to indicate his sympathies for the man sent off and the Glen got on with adjusting to the last 20 minutes with 11 men on the field.
Was it a fair sending off? From the point of view of old stagers who put up with and handed out worse without being dismissed, the red card looked harsh. It was however correct.
Glen pushed on and had a further chance or two but in the last ten minutes they had their backs to the wall as Inveraray pushed forward to secure a winner. By now however they found a determined Glen defence with Ali Mackintosh, John Barr, Davie Girvan and particularly Stuart Reid in excellent form. Keeper Garry Mackintosh also played his part and though Inveraray caused Glen hearts to miss a beat whenever they crossed the half way line, they did not in hindsight actually threaten as much as the Glen spectators feared they might. The real downer was that John Barr found himself in the ref’s book with the last hit of the game when his clearance out for a shy- and he struck the ball- was judged to be dangerous to the young Inveraray forward who caught the follow through on the side of the foot. Perhaps it was though the Wing Centre doesn’t think so- but he would say that wouldn’t he?
When all the fuss had died down however the end of the story was that Glen had picked up a valuable point on a day when both Oban and Bute failed to do so.
However there is still a great deal of shinty to play before anything is actually settled-and at this stage of the shinty season it is safe to say that the form book is now meaningless.
One picture is of Stuart Reid who had an excellent afternoon at full back though the other two of Lewiston’s finest- Arran Macdonald and kid brother Neale gave him a run for his money.
The other should be in a caption competition. Iain Macleod is practising his heather step but what is Whytie up to and more importantly why is EJ letting him do it?

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Disappointing Glen lose out to Lovat in Sutherland

2010-08-05T00:05:00.009+01:00

Glenurquhart 1 Lovat 4
At 2.30 pm on Saturday as he sat in the Balavil hotel in Newtonmore eating sandwiches and looking out the window into Main Street, the Wing Centre was praying for the rain to stop. By 4.45 pm at half time in the Sutherland Cup final with the score at 1-1 and supposedly everything to play for, he began to wish there had been a strong and steady downpour. By 5.50 pm the chance of an appropriate weather window had gone and with it the Sutherland Cup. Why so? Simply because the only way it seemed that the Glen forwards were going to beat young Lovat keeper Chris MacCallum on that particular afternoon was if the rain had clouded up his specs so he could not see –anything.
It was a depressing day to be in Black and Red. Things began to go downhill from the opening 20 seconds when Glen got off to a nightmare start, one that Lovat even in their wildest dreams could not have hoped for. Problems were compounded with 10 head stitches for Glen captain Dave Smart inside 4 minutes; then came an injury to Ruaridh Cameron just before half time which changed the pattern of the game- and it all ended up with the goal that never was! And yet...and yet for the first 45 minutes the Glen were in the ascendancy.
It had of course started badly. Right at the outside the ball was played wide right where a slip on the wet turf by Glen wing back Andrew Macdonald allowed Lovat youngster Greg Matheson to fire a speculative shot on target from distance The shot was blocked with his legs by Glen keeper Gary Mackintosh but the ball bounced back into the path of Lewis Tawse who burst forward and popped it into the net from close range.
Bluntly that was all that Lovat showed in the first half. From that point Glen had them pinned in their own half having taken a strong grip of the midfield despite being down to eleven men for a good 15 minutes as Smart was stitched up at the side of the field. Glen subjected the Lovat goal to a barrage of shots with Kelvin Mackenzie outstanding in his role on the left wing. Ewan Brady also had an excellent match and Ruaridh Cameron was at the heart of most moves hitting the post on one occasion and performing a keepy-up run down the right which will shine on the BBC Alba credits for the next five years. However at the heart of the storm stood Lovat’s eventual man of the match Chris MacCallum. So laid back as to be almost horizontal he stopped everything that came at him even if at times the ball struck him when he was unsure of where it was. Some of his clearances out were not to safety but when the Glen returned the ball it went high and wide. High and wide too were a number of other attempts and it was not until the first period that Ruaraidh Cameron cut the ball back at the edge of the D for Mackenzie to hammer it home to put the sides even.
The second half was on the back of that an anti-climax. With Cameron unable to continue, the decision to switch David Smart to the forward line in retrospect turned out to be an error. Lovat solved their centreline problem by switching buckshee back Alan Macpherson to full centre and he began to play a bigger part in the proceedings.
It did not take long in the second half for Lovat to get their noses in front. Jimmy Mackenzie cutely flicked a ball through to Jamie Matheson who pulled it wide left but left it for his brother Greg who put his side in the lead with a finish from a tight angle.
Just 4 minutes later, Lovat extended their lead when Greg Matheson returned the favour to his brother when he flicked the ball forward into the D to create a chance for Jamie who beat keeper Gary Mackintosh to make it 3-1.
Glen could have pulled one back straight from the throw up when Kelvin Mackenzie flicked the ball across the face of goal but a pile of Lovat bodies stopped the ball going in somehow .
However it was the Black and Whites who sealed victory in 77 minutes in controversial circumstances when Greg Matheson claimed to have knocked the ball over the line. As he turned away in celebration, Goal Judge Laurie Skudos awarded the goal although the benefit of television replays showed that defender Andrew Macdonald had cleared the ball on the goal line.
Glen had one last flourish when Kelvin Mackenzie who had an outstanding display fired a high shot on target in 89 minutes but MacCallum was once more equal to the task proving he was well worthy of the title of man of the match.
For the record out of a pool of 19 the Glen used substitutes Ewan Menzies, Ewen “Boo Boo” Fraser and Stuart Morrison while Iain Macleod and Iain Macdonald were booked. For Lovat, skipper Jimmy Mackenzie went into the book early in the match for a wild swing at back Calum Smith after the youngster had won the ball in the air.
Beyond that the veteran played well and when Lovat decided to hold what they had he filled in effectively for Gordon Kelly at full back who had it is fair to say, effectively denied space to Glen’s Gregor MacCormack for the most of the afternoon
For Lovat youngsters Michael Mackenzie and Connall MacilliChiar caught the eye while David Smart,Ewan Brady, Kelvin Mackenzie and in the first half, Ruaridh Cameron performed well for the Glen on a day that did not delight.
Neil Paterson has provided the two action pictures and the team photo is of the Glen side on a happier day.Neil can be contacted at ngpaterson@btinternet.com and his website can be viewed at www.neilgpaterson.com/
The real task for the players now - and particularly for those in the pool who did not get a start on Saturday - is to put the experience behind them, show commitment to the Club and then move on with the rest of the season.
But what on earth is the Camanachd Association doing putting on a second team match in Skye at 2.30 on a day when the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival is taking place just over the hill from Drum. What a nonsense! If they can shunt some shinty arrangements because of Ross County playing in a football match – a dispensation which did not apply to the Glen - then commonsense ought to have been afforded this fixture. What was wrong with a mid-week fixture? An early start at least for youngsters who want to go to Belladrum should have been the least that was expected. Why are the Skye seniors not playing at 2.30?
Doubtless there will be a reason.

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Fine exhibition of winning shinty from both Glen Teams!

2010-07-29T13:23:00.009+01:00

It’s official! The Original Glenurquhart Shinty Team have grabbed themselves two very valuable home points with a 5-2 win against Oban Camanachd. At the same time the Official Glenurquhart Shinty Team – who are in preparation for Sutherland/Strathdearn Cup finals against our Crofting Neighbours- managed to defeat Newtonmore 3-1 despite two of their main Officials turning out for the Originals so to speak.
Confusing isn’t it- but then to everybody outside of Glenurquhart, this normal situation of daily life is bound to be somewhat perplexing. It is a simple fact that everything in the Glen is divided ,and indeed judged, upon whether it is either Original or Official, though it has to be said that since the last month or so these terms have been banished from use in road signs and advertising boards . They are still however terms which come easily to the tongues of Glenners everywhere; we have an Official Garage and Original Garage; we used to have an Original school now we merely have an Official one. We have an Original up the Glen and an Official down the Glen and as for Monster exhibitions-well one cannot say too much since there is much that has been sub judice.
As for the Glen teams, Jim and Big Ron manage the Original Glenurquhart Shinty Team (est. 1884) while Hendo and Big Mike manage the Official side (est. - according to the badges- 1885)
The success of the Originals on Saturday was however long overdue and it is not since last season’s home win over Kyles that the Glen have hit the net so often in the one match. For the contest there was some movement within the side which meant that Iain Macdonald and Iain Macleod came into the defence for the afternoon allowing John Barr to move up to the centreline with Ally Mackintosh moving up to the right wing and Andy Corrigan pulled to buckshee back. Also drafted into the back line was Calum Fraser and it has to be said that in the end matters turned out fine. Respect has to be given to Oban but while Daniel and Aiden Macintyre showed plenty movement up front,if only they had been able to shoot more precisely and if Stuart Mackintosh had not pulled off a superb early stop, then matters could have turned out differently. As it was Glen supporters’ breathed a sigh of relief-or indeed it might have been a sigh of belief- when in 24 minutes Lewis Maclennan opened the Glen’s account with a truly blistering strike that no keeper could ever stop.
Ally Mackintosh on the right wing began to impose himself on the Oban wing back and in 29 minutes he slipped the ball to Eddie Tembo who smashed the ball low into the corner of the Oban net for another memorable goal. For the moment Glen had their tails up and before long Winger Neale Reid made it three with another superb finish. Latching on to a ball slipped up the wing from Dave Maclennan, Reid flicked the ball over the defender’s head before lashing the dropping ball past the advancing Oban keeper.
Glen posted a fourth goal four minutes from the half time break when good work from Reid saw the ball squared across the face of goal and John Barr was on hand to send a low controlled shot into the net from just outside the D. Some post goal euphoria and slackness in the Glen defence however saw Aidan Macintyre pull one back for Oban with a nice strike with the last hit of the first half. While the goal perhaps was no more than Oban deserved it certainly made the Glen spectators chew uneasily on their half time venison burgers.
The second half did not turn out to be quite as scary as anticipated. The Glen spent their time playing nicely and firing towards the shop with Eddie Tembo doing a power of work, getting on the ball early and using his pace and strength to frustrate defender Gareth Evans who was perhaps lucky not to be more harshly dealt with by referee John Macphee for his tackling of the Eddie from behind, though to be fair, playing behind a big physical forward is not an easy role to play.
Glen had a series of chances but were unable to convert them until Calum Fraser (moved back up front and was replaced in defence by Ally Mackintosh) finished nicely in 67 minutes when he tucked the ball comfortably home after running on to a through ball from Lewis Maclennan. Glenurquhart continued to press and both Eddie Tembo and his replacement Calum Miller had further balls in the net and there was one good shout for a penalty after the Oban keeper could have been deemed to have kicked the ball. It was however Oban who had the last word when Ian Macmillan knocked home a second goal 5 minutes from time though the gloss was taken off that by the unfortunate dismissal of Oban youngster Gary Lord for a foul on Neale Reid just before the full time whistle.
Meanwhile down in Newtonmore the Official Squad-boosted by the presence of Iain Macleod who set off for ‘More just on the final whistle- won 3-1 in a match which kept them in contention for back to back league wins in North Div 2. Scorers were Ewan Brady, Kelvin Mackenzie and Daniel Mackintosh.
What does this mean for Saturday’s Sutherland final? Not a lot really since it appears that our Crofting Neighbours have an excellent squad themselves boosted by the free scoring Mathesons who will be a serious threat.
Glen have not won this trophy since the Original side won it back in 1963 though the Wing Centre does vaguely remember a final at Dalmally in the 1980s which we did not win. Lovat have apparently lifted the trophy themselves in a more recent version of the past – and if the Glen are not on their toes then........
Of course both Official and Original squads have won League Championships in the recent past but putting on the thinking cap and trawling the recesses of memory the last cup to come Glen-wards was back at the start of the millennium- before digital cameras- when the Official team beat Fort William in the Strathdearn. Where? Farr, Farr away. That Glen team was a good one-it had to be because the Fort Youngsters went on –some of them –to win Camanachd Cups 4 times in a row. Why can’t it be like that here?
Anyway, leaving such metaphysical questions aside, the D includes some nostalgic pictures. Captain Calum Miller picks up the trophy, the team poses, Smack looks younger (compare it to his Mr Cool pose in the specks) and former boss Billy Maclean talks tactics after the game with the “youngsters”.
The top picture of course is Mr Cool himself with his new prescription sunspecs from the boy in Beauly while John and Cork warm down after the Oban match .
All the best to the Official Glen Team. Have a good day on Saturday –enjoy the Sutherland Final : it has been a long time coming.

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Heroes earn slot in Strathdearn final

2010-07-01T23:26:00.004+01:00

There’s a lot been happening in the world of Glen shinty though you wouldn’t know it if you’ve been looking at the D recently. No reason really except perhaps that a little disappointment has set in at the perceived lack of Premier success with the top side. The presence of a functioning website has also removed some pressure.
Apart from that, truth to tell the results don’t seem that bad and any defeats in recent times can give some comfort in as much as the games have been close. A 2-1 away defeat at Newtonmore with the boys from the open moor hoping to win things, does not seem too bad.
The game at Fort William was a 3-1 but some serious players were not on the pitch- and if they had been, a result was there for the taking. It is good however to see Big Calum Miller hitting the target and if the other front guys can touch the net too then there are games to be won. Any side coming to Blairbeg hoping for an easy two points really ought to think again- and there are a number of home games which are winnable as well as a trip to Kyles which, given they edged us out by the odd goal in the first fixture and the possibility they might be haining themselves for some cup success, could be a points possibility.
The real trick will be to score some goals- and although some sides haven’t been really outscoring us- it just seems a while since we hit a goodly number in the same game.
One of the pictures included in this blog is that of the under 17s who gave a good account of themselves at the Bught on MacTavish Saturday after that fascinating match between Kilmallie and Kingussie. You have to feel sorry for Kilmallie - the Wing Centre can hardly believe he has just written that! - losing out when by any normal standards they would have thought they had done enough to win coming back like they did. But you cannot judge Ronald by normal standards though it’s comforting to see that even the great man can miss a penalty. Comforting but then on reflection you realise that the miss did not count: you just know that if it had been vital he would have netted it. Kingussie boss Stevie Borthwick won’t like to admit it but without Ron the cup would have been in Kilmallie – and the goal which did the business was number 3 because without Ronald’s ability to take the pressure and keep his nerve surrounded by infidels , then there would have been no third goal.
The temptation is also to say that without the queer rules in the Celtic, Kyles would have had that cup too but that game happened in a far away parish where they do things differently and it is perhaps not up to the Wing Centre to comment.
The under 17s struggled a little against Lochaber in the early part of the match but credit must be given to them in the second half when with some help from the wind they maintained a more consistent pattern of pressure and young Jack Hosie picked up two goals to make the final total 4-2. The Bught was as usual in fine condition though to be fair it is just a little too long for under-14s though who would ever prevent them playing on Shinty’s own “Hampden”.
Talking of which it just might be in the Camanachd Association’s interests to keep a watching brief on the park given that Inverness City FC have no home. The Wing Centre does not want to be unfair to ‘Ness City-the fact that the Town has only one good standard local team (Clach) because it allowed its Highland League clubs to disappear meant that local footballers cannot play at a high amateur standard. However, the Highland League clubs flogged off their grounds so big George could have his prawn sandwiches at Celtic Park- and it is now a bit rich for City to expect the Council to bail them out at the expense of Shinty’s northern stadium. Bluntly, City entered the juniors without meeting the rather odd criteria the juniors want- a village team like Burghead can have their own village pitch but City can’t play at Grant Street- so perhaps the honest thing for City to do should be to drop back to their previous status and concentrate on the amateurs.
Whatever, the Camanachd Association bringing as it does televised shinty to the Bught and by extension to the Town, cannot afford to be complacent on this one.
Rant over and back to the point with the news mentioned in the headline. Hendo’s band of brothers are doing well despite injuries to Iain Macleod and “Boo Boo” Fraser. They have only gone and beaten Lochaber to make it into the final of the Strathdearn for the first time since 2002. The Wing Centre went to the game and watched in horrified fascination as a 3-0 early lead was gradually whittled away by a stuffy Lochaber side until the Glenners were hanging on to victory. The Glen scorers were Ruaraidh Cameron with two neat goals and Ewan Menzies who finished off a fortunate third from some distance. The second half saw Connor Sweeney get two back and the spectators were treated to a last 25 minutes of growing alarm as the red and whites pushed to take the game into extra time and darkness. The highlight of this period was the contest between Lochaber’s Angus Morrison and the Glen’s own Iain Macdonald: a vintage tussle of good humour, wee tricks, pushes trips and fine stick work from two skilled operators who went through all of shinty’s black arts in an attempt to outdo each other. With Garry Mackintosh in the goal however there was never a chance that Lochaber were going to get the equaliser though it is easy to say that now.
Then Hendo’s crowd had another match this time in the League against Fort William and –guess what – they won. The big story of the night was that Dunc Achtuie was back in the jersey. With brother Ewan “Boo Boo” out injured and big Donald Dunain at the Highland Show, there might have been no Frasers in the Glen team for the first time in 50 years or so- but Dunc came to the rescue and what is more he enjoyed his outing which is why he gets his pic at the top of the article. Ben Hosie opened the scoring in 6 minutes and Ewan Brady doubled the advantage in 9 but then Fort’s Bobby Macmillan scored a super goal which perhaps made the guys in black and red a little nervous.
Ewan Brady hit the third however just after the interval and though Fort pushed hard and were perhaps a little too vigorous at times, Glen held on to seal the game. For the record the Wing Centre thought Kelvin Mackenzie had an excellent outing up front as did youngster Euan Lloyd at wingback. Calum Smith was his usual solid self but the tone was set by the excellent Gary Smith and of course Mr “Iron Curtain” Macdonald himself at the back. Fort had no answer to them.
Now the Heroes have the chance of the treble : a Strathdearn final, a Sutherland semi against Kyles at home-(ridiculous really: it should be on a neutral pitch) and the League looks do-able for the second year in a row.
Interesting times indeed!

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It’s been a while..........!!

2010-06-17T23:43:00.002+01:00

It’s been a while since the Wing Centre has put forward his thoughts about Glen shinty but somehow after recent events shinty didn’t seem quite so important any more. The appetite will come back and the truth is that the games have still gone on – and despite rumours to the contrary the Glen as a club have been doing rather well. Hendo’s Heroes have managed to get themselves into two semi finals- the Strathdearn (Mr Reid is scared they will win and take away the glory from the ‘77 squad though truthfully it was won in 2002 against greater odds) and the other week Fort William went down to the Glen in the Sutherland after extra time and at An Aird too. Well done to Ruaraidh Cameron who hit two goals and of course to Ewan “Boo-boo” Fraser who got the other. Now that was a result.
So was the home win against Newtonmore on penalties- and it is good to see youngsters like Daniel Mackintosh and Kelvin Mackenzie hitting the net with regularity though to be fair the old guys are still doing the business as Boleskine found out earlier in the month.
The only fly in the ointment-or midgie to be more accurate- was the League result away against Glengarry where the Heroes were less than heroic. The Garry are a hard team to beat and if Michael Brady would like to consider a black and red jersey in the future then the Wing Centre would like to think that the Blairbeg door is open. It’s long past time that boys in the Great Glen won some real medals at a higher level and if young Mr Nicholson would care to apply for Glen membership that would be good too.
On the horizon however is a resurgent Kingussie second team in which Kevin Thain is doing the business ,as is Michael Clarke and at least one of the geriatric Borthwick boys- plus assorted former first teamers. So if we ever have to face up to them in a serious game ,then with Iain Macleod possibly doubtful due to a hand injury which happened against Newtonmore, it looks as if Iain Macdonald (Balbeg) will be required to come down on to level ground to keep the hems on Mr Thain – seriously!
The game which was worth reporting- and would have been reported if things had stayed the way they were- was the fine 2-1 win over Lovat in the Camanachd. Played in glorious sunshine it was the usual tough tense local derby-the peaceful scene of the boys waiting for the start could lull the unwary into thinking this was never going to be a passionate affair-and the Glen just deserved the victory although it took them until extra time to do so.
Eddie Tembo scored first for the Glen in 42 minutes when he ran through the Lovat defence to slip the ball home from close range but two minutes later Lovat were awarded a penalty. Youngster James Macpherson stepped up to the mark and held his nerve when asked to retake the penalty. His second strike was every bit as good as his first and with the game level, referee Deke Cameron blew the whistle for half time. The game continued in the same see-saw fashion throughout the second half with neither team able to score the goal that mattered until finally in the second half of extra time a drive from Stuart Reid was deflected by Lovat defender Lorne Mackay into his own net past Stewart Macdonald . Macdonald- like his counterpart in the Glen goal Stuart Mackintosh- had an inspired afternoon and he looked pretty upset with the way things turned out. The Glen fans were happy but relieved – and the result, though it merely brings the Glen a clash with Kingussie in the next round (at home though!) ought to have put new heart into the Glen.
Did It? Not if you went with the result against GMA who managed a 1-0 home win at the end of a traumatic week against a team weakened by the absence of Eddie Tembo and Neale Reid. OK so GMA have not been playing well but the side that played Lovat over at Balgate not so long ago were not a push over and the suspicion is that they simply suffer from the same problem as the Glen and Lovat- a lack of penetration up front.
Why this should be in the case of the Glen makes no sense since the players are precisely those who picked up points in the same league last season and with close results against Fort William , Kyles and Kingussie not to mention the opening day’s draw with Newtonmore then there should be no cause for worry. Glen have also picked up 3 points out of 4 against Lovat and should have done better against Oban Camanachd at Mossfield.
Anyway what is important is that the guys just get on with it and dig in- they have the talent and have worked hard to make it up to the top division. A little bit of positive grit and commitment particularly in the home games will keep us there. Not only that we are still in the Camanachd too-with a home draw and it’s only against Kingussie. We could just be warming up for a re-run of ‘88

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

2010-05-20T23:37:00.003+01:00

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

2010-05-13T23:28:00.003+01:00

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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