Glen Young Team Flying Skye-High…….

 

Another shinty weekend- and more time spent that one will not get back. No that is probably too harsh. The shinty weekend started on Tuesday when the under-17s finally decided to start actually trying to win and pulled off a 2-1 against Skye that would not have been expected either in the wooded Glen of Urquhart or the Island of Mist.

Why would the result not have been expected? Kilmallie under-17s that’s why- but lost games are for learning from- and the lessons from a difficult evening down at Canalside were well and truly learned- and the result was an excellent performance and a tight competitive game. Skye are an impressive side in their own right.

With the very early action going slightly in favour of Skye, it soon became apparent that the young Glen defence were up to the mark with Murphy Ross, Tom Edwards, and James Keating in command of their brief. Especially heartening was the performance of youngster Max Garrison at wingback who has come on by leaps and bounds to put in a solid performance.
Up front the young Glen forwards give fresh hope to this tired old scribe- Alfie Macleod is lightning quick and he along with Seonaidh Macleod set the tone. They consistently tried and often succeeded in getting to the ball first and spreading it. Balls up the middle were latched on to and held up appropriately by Glenn Macdonald and Skye defenders Nicholson and Tuncay were kept on their toes constantly.

About 15 minutes in the red and blacks opened the scoring -a ball played forward by Seonaidh Macleod was picked up by David Hart whose first attempt was initially blocked by the visiting keeper Archie Buchan only for Hart to persuade the ball over the line for the opener.

Skye weren’t for lying down however and before half time Jamie Ross had equalised via a nice finish.

The teams went in 1-1 at half time and when it came, the second half certainly lived up to its promise. It was an even contest. Excellent competitive shinty was served up to the enthusiastic crowd. Indeed, it might be tempting fate but one can probably say it without fear of future contradiction that Referee Jamie Macpherson will not have a more enjoyable game to adjudicate all season.

 In the end Glen got the win- the forwards got the glory but the result was built on solid defensive work and some hard graft in the mid-field which is traditionally the strongest part of youth teams. Immense amounts of energy and no little skill exercised by Daniel Maclean, Doug Brockie and Daniel Van Loon in the centreline were the foundation of the victory. One further feature of the match was super-cool goal keeping from Rory McWhirr- all he needed were shades to complete the picture. The match was so tight that managers Donjee Macleod and Siobhann Thomson were unable to find an opportunity to use any subs so Chris Edwards, Tyler Wilson, and Rowan Brockie had to sit matters out but with further U-17 games on the horizon there was an opportunity for competition relatively quickly.

Late in the second half Glen got the goal that eventually mattered: it followed a corner which was half defended by the Islanders who pushed it back out only for Alfie Macleod to knock it back towards goal in a high looping arc which just evaded Skye keeper Buchan. No matter-it made it over the line and the victory went to the Glen.

 Afterwards the above pic was taken of the winning side, with the exception that Rowan was overlooked. Obviously she was in the separate changing room when the team pic was called for but  she was snapped at training later in the week. She was also among the scorers along with Sophie, Finn and Glenn when the Under-17 Development side had a fine 4-2 away win against Glengarry

So what else happened?

The Mowi North Div 1 team defeated Kilmallie 12-0 in the opening round of the Strathdearn at home. This is a team that lost to Kinlochshiel badly a week before – and the main difference was Mike Fraser was in the colours this past weekend. It is difficult to write a report (other than list the scorers) on what was one way traffic as the Kilmallie youngsters were overwhelmed but fair play to them they kept competing to the end. For the record the goals came from Jed Stoddart 4, Charlie Macleod 3, Doug Brockie 3 and Josh Macdonald-Haig 2-so all the forwards were on target- and some of the strikes were superb. The important thing is to keep it going for there will undoubtedly be sterner tests ahead.

The Premier League continues to be problematic-a home defeat to Newtonmore- and to be honest we have beaten better Newtonmore sides. Finishing is the point however-in the first half Newtonmore had only three clear strikes on target and two of them went in. Daniel Maclean’s early strike kept the Glen in it up till half time. The second half saw Newtonmore eventually score two more and though the Glen continued to compete-despite lashing rain and hail at one point there was never any way the young forwards were going to get past international defenders Steven Macdonald and Rory Kennedy. Add that to the sight of former Scotland Captain Kenny Ross sprinting out of goal to clear his lines at the advanced age of 50 + and you realise what a real role model is.

Next up- Kingussie. It never rains but it pours. Och well…..

(Picture Credits-Siobhann, Judi & Glen Shinty Facebook)