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The Longest Day

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It might have been the midsummer solstice but for Glen supporters it certainly felt like it was the longest day ever. In any event, it was a day that took a very long time to come to an end. However there was no real sense of what was to come in the first minute or two when Lovat full-back Drew Howie had to come off the field. He had aggravated an old injury and was replaced by Fraser Gallagher. In truth that Howie injury turned out to be lucky for Lovat because Gallagher went on to have an excellent match at the back and was rarely troubled until very late on when he found the physical strength of Glen sub Callum Smith a bit more of a test for him. But that is to jump ahead of matters.




 The reality of what they were up against did not strike the Glenners, who actually had a little bit of pressure early on themselves, until the fifth minute when an error in midfield allowed Greg Matheson to run forward unchallenged and he fired home the opener from a narrow angle.  Glen fought back and Lewis Maclennan forced a save out of Stuart Macdonald but Glen were too slow on the follow up allowing Cruden to hack the ball away to safety. Next Lovat’s Lorne Mackay at the other end first timed a shot over the bar when he might have done better. Lewis Maclennan then just missed the target with a drive that flew just wide of the post. It seemed to be end to end stuff but the knowledgeable ones amongst the fans could sense that Lovat were actually the more direct and threatening of the two teams.

By the 17 thminute when Glen attacks had petered out on the rock of a sound Lovat defence or shots were having to be taken from too long a range to be effective, the truth became clear. Lovat were too focused, too fit and too quick to allow the Glen to get back into the game at this stage. It’s not that the Glen players were all playing poorly – youngster James Hurwood in the centreline had as much off his man as could be expected; the Glen shies consistently were longer and more reliable but the Lovat hitting was quicker and crisper out of defence and they also had players fit enough to pack the back line and deny Glen space.

 
At the other end the pace of their forwards left the Glen defence struggling. Something was bound to give but instead the crowd were treated to two excellent saves inside three minutes from Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh. Greg Matheson took a knock at this point as Fraser Heath cleared the ball and Ryan Ferguson went into the book for protesting that ref Innes Wood should have cautioned Heath. A third strike was also saved but the rebound flew out beyond the D where Kevin Bartlett was quickest to react and he fired home number 2.



Glen’s Neale Reid then made some space and fired a shot in on target which was stopped by Stuart Macdonald but once again the Lovat keeper was not put under sufficient  pressure at the second ball and he was able to clear it comfortably out for a shy. Glen were under pressure after this but though they dealt with most attempts reasonably well they were undone when a ball broke kindly in front of goal for Lovat’s Graham MacMillan and he rammed it past Stuart Mackintosh to make it three nil.


Lovat, now high on adrenalin and confidence continued to play with fluency and speed for the rest of the half but the Glen defence managed to hold together sufficiently well to deny them further goals before the half time whistle.

Credit is due to Lovat for the fact that they forced the pace of the match and for large parts of the half the Glen front players and midfield were pushed back too deep for any attempted breakout to carry much threat. Lovat kept a high line and their pace up front allowed them to create chances which they cashed in in the shape of three goals: one from a tight angle, the second via a well taken rebound from a save and the third from a break of the ball which was finished off smartly.


The point was that the Lovat front men were on hand to take the chances: at the other end, rebounds were not chased down, and the shots on target were just not accurate enough. It was clear that the holes left by the absence of Glen first choice defenders Mike Brady and Ally Mackintosh were just too big to close.



The second half from a Glen perspective was not quite as bleak though Lovat continued to look the more dangerous side whenever they broke forward while the Glen did not really ask questions of the Lovat defence on the occasions they attacked. Lovat too came close when the excellent Graham Macmillan was allowed to burst through and carry the ball forward for twenty yards before hitting a shot which came back off the post. It was a strike created by vision but executed by speed and fitness and showed that the Glen were going to be on a knife edge all afternoon if they did not manage to get to the ball first.

Almost immediately the Glen did manage to mount some pressure when Neale Reid cut a ball across from the right to David Smart in the centre but he was eased off the ball with the cutest of back pushes and the chance was lost. Kevin Bartlett was mysteriously booked next but a careless swing from Calum Cruden which caught David Smart on the top of the head also received a card which, on a different day, might have been red.



Still, the Glen continued to try to push forward and Lovat keeper Stuart Macdonald managed to hack away a shot from Lewis Maclennan which had squirmed past him, a save which tended to confirm the Glen support in the belief that this was never going to be their day. Indeed Glenurquhart attacks lacked the fluency of interpassing which characterised more or less each Lovat incursion into the Glen half – and the pace of the Lovat front men really meant that the Glen defenders really could not get any real depth or consistency to their clearances under pressure. Glenurquhart did to be fair, spend more time in the Lovat half in this period of play and this yielded a snap shot from close in from Neale Reid which was saved by Macdonald and cleared away.

To underline the fact that it was simply not Glenurquhart’s day Lovat’s Lorne Mackay scored a fourth from another Glen mistake when a rebound from goalkeeper Mackintosh was not cleared by Glen full-back John Barr.



Lovat then enjoyed a further spell of pressure before a snap shot from distance by Eddie Tembo brought another fine reaction save out of Macdonald.

The strike was to mark Tembo’s last involvement in the game and he was replaced by Callum Smith who moved to take up position at full forward while Dave Maclennan moved to his more natural centreline berth. This switch allowed Glen to mount some more sustained attacks but again the shooting was wayward, except for another powerful drive from Reid which Macdonald kept out. Always though, the pacy Lovat front men were liable to cause damage when they moved forward but it was actually Lewis Maclennan who was on the target at this stage when he picked up a little knockback from Callum Smith who was beginning to get some change out of Lovat fullback Gallagher.

Lovat took a fifth goal in the 90th minute when yet again another of their fast breaks won them a free hit when Andrew Corrigan threw the club to put Kevin Bartlett off his strike. The free hit was rolled across the face of the goal and Lorne Mackay was not marked closely enough at the back post and was able to finish from an acute angle. The only thing left to add to Glenurquhart woes was the bizarre end that came to the match when a Callum Smith strike in injury time flew into the net and came back out off the stanchion and the goal was not given much to the justified anger of Neale Reid who was booked for protesting. One would like to think this card would be rescinded given the circumstances once the officials have had time to think about it but given the way the Glen’s luck turned out on the day one would not bet on it.

 
In the end then Lovat ran out justified winners of the MacTavish. Somewhat flattered by the score perhaps but not much. They were certainly in parts too quick and clearly too fit for the Glen. While they weren’t first to every ball, as the post-match narrative would have it, they were first to more than their share and while the pace of Mackay, Macmillan and Bartlett was killer and helped them make their own luck they were also helped by Glen errors, which to be fair, the red and blacks were forced into. Superb goalkeeping from Stuart Macdonald also played its part in the Glen defeat as did the fact that until late in the game the Glen defence and centreline were really unable to take the game forward to the opposition. One might have thought that with injuries causing the loss of big players like Howie and Matheson that the Glen might have had a chance to get back into the game but the Lovat squad had clearly enough strength in depth to be able to cope.



Lovat now will want to push on and their next big test will be in the MacAulay against Newtonmore. They ought to win but you never know; they will certainly face more focused opposition from Newtonmore than they met at the Bught on Saturday.


As for the Camanachd Association, they need to cut the grass, do something about the stanchions and get someone to dust the seats at the Bught before the next final. On the other hand it was probably just as well for the Glen that the grass was not bowling green short since that might have helped the quick Lovat forwards to even more goals. On reflection, that long grass may well have been appropriate for the longest day. Perhaps even if the game had been played at Balgate, the Glen might have had a better chance!!



The action pictures are from Sheena Lloyd: the rest from the Wing Centre. The pictures of Mary Ann were provided by Neil Paterson.

 Last week the “D” made a pledge to get a decent picture of Mary Ann because the one we had was not very good- so here we have two. Obviously one is a lovely portrait but the other one is the real Mary Ann who is a legend in North shinty circles and received a well-deserved honour in the Queen’s Birthday List.





Behave yourselves-of course the other pictures have a Glenurquhart focus but if all else fails , read the text.



Why the band? The last man on the right- and this is the first time the Wing Centre has been able to use this line- is a genuine “Drum drummer.” Take a bow John Goodfellow of Druimlon, the only Glenner who had a successful day.

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Just another Summer Saturday

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Newtonmore 2 Glenurquhart 2 (Orion Group Premiership)


Beauly 1 Glenurquhart 3 (N Marine Harvest North Division 1)



A point off the League leaders away from home!  As bounce backs go it wasn’t a bad return to some sort of form from the Glen especially when compared to the dismal performance the week before in the MacTavish final. Now Lovat must be loving us because the door has been slightly left ajar for them to pick up a first ever Premier Trophy though to be fair to them and to everyone else Lovat still have it all to do- and how well they do will really depend on injuries and suspensions which as we all know are starting to catch up soon. Lovat also have to beat the Glen which we all know they can do- but they cannot afford any slips ups.

Saturday’s 2-2 draw at the Eilean, it has to be said, was somewhat unexpected but when the lads came back they said that they could have won the game. One of the Newtonmore penalties was dubious while the Glen forwards also felt they should have had one at the other end. Further questioning however elicited the information that Newtonmore had wasted a number of good chances early on- and there is a lesson in that for as all. Sometimes you can waste a few early chances in shinty and in life and get away with it: other times you will regret that and the chances will run out. Obviously in life that is a serious business so it’s best not to waste any chances at all- if only you could get that through to youngsters who are profligate with their talent and don’t take it seriously but we’ll will not go down that route. In shinty you are best not to waste chances either; sometimes as Kyles found out in the Celtic Society Cup more will come along and you don’t need to live with your regrets. Other times as Newtonmore discovered against the Glen on Saturday, more chances don’t come along and all the good work of a complete season is put in jeopardy.

James Macpherson grabbed an early goal for the Glen - he is always liable to do that and that will be about the 5th vital goal he has scored for the Glen this season - and then Norman Campbell got back with two penalties. The last penalty Norman took against the Glen he hit the Drum shop: this time, with no shop to distract him as a target he sank them both. But should they have been given?
One was for a kick by youngster Euan Lloyd who looked to have dragged the ball with his feet so that was fair enough: the second was against defender Lewis Maclennan who flicked the ball away with his stick as he was on the ground. Some refs will give this as a penalty if they feel the player on the ground is putting himself and his opponent in danger.


 

Others give it every time - and with any rule which has some leeway for interpretation the beholder is the decider. The squad did feel however that a penalty up the other end was merited on one occasion when keeper Mike Ritchie had lost his stick but still appeared to participate in the game. Equally Glen might have lost Dixie Maclennan to a red early on in the match when he injured Fraser Mackintosh with a careless swing for which he received a yellow only but Fraser Heath picked up a nonsense booking for apparently stopping a ball within five yards when the ball actually struck his stick due to a mishit Newtonmore free as he was running away to get back in position with his back to the player. He was well over five yards away but the ref went with the shout. In the end things might even themselves out but it’s human nature to remember the ones that go against you - and to accept without comment those that go for you.


Anyway Neale Reid who has had a lean time of it in front of goal recently grabbed an equaliser in 84 minutes – and Newtonmore probably felt it was coming because for whatever reason the Glen are able to give Newtonmore a closer game than most other sides, Kyles excepted, at the moment. Why? They all just seem to be up for it. It has to be said though that Newtonmore have struggled with injuries this season: Rory Kennedy has yet to lift a stick while Danny Macrae is not replaceable however much you put a brave face on it. Add to that a number of other lads who have suffered injuries and have come back: it takes a few weeks to get back on top of things and clearly ‘More are not quite there yet.


Lovat?  They had a bit of a struggle getting past Lochaber and had to rely on two strikes from ex-Glen under 17 player Graham Macmillan but given that they have a run of home games to win if they are to pip Newtonmore they will have to score more goals in matches like the above if they are to do the biz. They are a capable side but they cannot afford any more injuries or silly cards and while they cannot do much about the injuries they certainly have boys who could pick up cards and wreck it all. Let’s hope they don’t.



The Glen second squad picked up a nice 3-1 win away in Beauly on that same afternoon.

Paul Mackintosh taking a break from his normal full back berth nabbed his first goal of the season for the Glen, Raymond Robertson nabbed a second while Dunc Fraser scored another of his trademark brilliant finishes.
A rebound came back off the Beauly keeper and Dunc first timed the ball past him to win the match comfortably. James Cameron marked his return to the Beauly side with a goal.

This weekend sees the visit of Newtonmore second side to Blairbeg for the Strathdearn Showdown, while Inveraray, if they can make it through the traffic on the A82 should appear for the Camanachd Cup Quarter final. No predictions or previews. Let’s hope, as the Camanachd Association’s  new President elect, the Glen’s Jim Barr is required to say , that “Shinty will be the Winner” Suppose!

The pictures are from Sheena Lloyd (Newtonmore game) and Donald Cameron (Beauly game) Thanks to both for their stuff. The opening picture shows 'More's Tarzan and the Glen's Ali Mac at the Eilean -for some reason they were not playing but in Beauly , Drew MacNeill and “Storky” Maclennan were still defying Old Father Time at Braeview. They  played well too.

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Inveraray get Frosty reception in Drum.

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Sometimes you wait for ever to get a story which fits a headline - and then when you finally get the chance to use it you have to say to yourself “Why bother?”  The above is a headline in search of a story - but the game took place in July, both sets of spectators got on well, there was no hassle between the teams - so the only thing that would make it stick , barely, is that James “Frosty” Macpherson had a hand in Inveraray’s
defeat. In fact two glorious strikes and an assist can’t be bad and would carry the story if it were not for the truth that Inveraray actually have every right to think that the two goal margin flattered the Glen.



Perhaps the Glen started a little flat given that the second team had just suffered a disappointing exit from the Strathdearn Cup after extra time and actually leading for a spell- but more of that later. In the Camanachd match, Glen’s defence got off to a very shaky start - but then they were up against some wily forwards who have mastered the technique of getting to the ball first and then falling over. Result- a foul but then again the Glen defenders have to learn to get to the ball first and failing that try not to knock the man over. Whether that is worth the bother depends on how you read the ref but generally nowadays if the forward goes down under the slightest of touches it is a foul. It is hard to believe though that at this stage of the season the Glen are playing without three of the back four which began the season against ‘Shiel - Ally Mackintosh, John Barr and Andrew Corrigan - so the fact that the guys actually playing knitted together so well eventually in this match was a blessing.


The first minute was a disaster - an Inveraray free hit after a back push. The ever lively Euan MacMurdo played the ball across the D and Lewis MacNicol was allowed too much space on the left to finish easily from close range. Inveraray high-fives all round and the Lovat players watching from the sidelines must have thought it was going to be another day of disaster for the Glen - and looking at them and speaking to them the Wing Centre thought they counterfeited genuine concern for the fate of the Glen. Truly. Nobody likes to see their neighbour burgled unless they are carrying out the burglary themselves - if you catch the drift.



Anyway Inveraray had a very good spell at the start of the match when they seemed to have the Glen centreline under control and the Glen defence chasing and only just catching shadows while Stuart Mackintosh in the Glen goals had at least one excellent stop. Other Inveraray chances went wide and high.


Glen began to gather a little more self-belief and the centreline especially Arran Macdonald began to get more into the game until in the 39th minute a free hit taken by Callum Smith on the right was slipped across by David Smart and out of some broken play James Macpherson pounced on a loose ball to smash it past ‘Rary keeper Graham Macpherson to level the match.



A much better Glen performance developed in the second half and Neale Reid began to look dangerous though the pick of the front men at this stage had to be David Smart whose tireless running meant that Inveraray always had to be alert when Glen attacked. In the Glen defence as the game went on the Inveraray threat began to ease as full back Lewis Maclennan and in particular buckshee back Fraser Heath began to dominate. John Barr who had come on midway through the first half moved to full centre to put some bite into matters. Inveraray were hampered too by the fact that the excellent Grant Griffin had to come off with a twisted ankle and their front line never totally refocused after his departure.
 Both sides had chances and Neale Reid in particular fired over the bar when he might have worked the keeper but late in the match a long clearance from Glen keeper Mackintosh skipped right through the centreline and fell to Reid; he patted the ball sideways and James Macpherson as always got his shot on target. The ball skipped up off the hard turf and back off ’Rary keeper Macpherson and back into the path of Reid who made no mistake from close range. That might have been enough to do the business but a tiring Inveraray defence let a through ball from Smart run across the D out to the left where Macpherson fired an unstoppable drive past Macpherson to make it 3-1.

A comfortable victory then - perhaps it looked that way in hindsight. It was however hard fought for: Arran Macdonald and EJ Tembo worked hard in the middle to make it happen and their shies plus those of youngster Callum Smith are exceptional and in some cases cause more hassle for defences than a free hit. Neale Reid battled hard all day and is now showing glimpses of his 2012 pre-arm break form and David Smart ran himself into the ground. “Frosty” Macpherson smashed home the chance which is what he is there to do.
 
The result is that the Glen is in a Camanachd semi-final for the first time in a wee while which can’t be bad for the village. Just a final thought : one other team in red and black made it into an actual final the other night- and the name of the team begins with a “G”. Of course the Germans play football but it might just be an omen.


Disappointing though was the Strathdearn result: 1-1 at full time, 1-3 after extra time. As the result indicates for the regulation 90 minutes there was very little between the teams with truthfully at either end very little being created. Glen would have been more effective perhaps if Ross MacAulay had been present and the use of Callum Smith in the senior team- where he ought by rights to be - meant that Glen were a little light in the middle of the field. Newtonmore had a good number of youngsters on show and if their sturdy display on Saturday was anything to go by they are going to have an excellent future.
They were also bolstered by the experienced Kenny Ross in the middle while fullback John Mackenzie never did seem very much under pressure despite the fact that Glen had a fair amount of play coming through Drew Maclennan at full centre. Glen too were not especially troubled at the back with Drew MacNeill preventing Brett Munro from being able to do much with the ball and Lachie Smith at wing back was on top of his opponent throughout .
Cairn Urquhart tested ‘More keeper Owen Fraser in 25 minutes but, sadly from a Glen point of view, he was up to the job. The other Glen attacks however seemed more unfocused and petered out at too great a distance to cause the blue and whites much bother.



The teams went in 0-0 at half time and despite the fact that Glen boss Iain Macleod strove to drive his men forward ,there was not much of note until the 68th minute when a slip by ‘More’s Mackenzie allowed Glen forward Cairn Urquhart to hammer home the ball from close range to put the Glen 1-0 ahead. 
 
Hardly had the dust settled and the cheering subsided in the stand when youngster Ian Robinson equalised.

 
That is the way it remained until the end of normal time with the only real excitement being the home spectators trying to annoy Glen Tonkin the ‘More manager over a disputed shy. Not that the shy ever was disputed because the guys couldn’t see the line properly from the stand but Glen got roused because at times he does. Memo to Glen: when this happens –the Sgiathanachs will do it in the final- just look at them, smile broadly and give them the thumbs up and they will either slag you off more or laugh. Either way you will have won.
Extra time though was a disappointment for the Glen: Ian Robinson twice beat Glen keeper David Macfadyen , once in either half but by that time the Glen just were not able to reply not least because forward Jack Hosie had taken a nasty blow to the back of his hand which reduced his effectiveness.
Newtonmore too had just too much energy for a Glen side which struggled to compete in the later stages. Good luck to Newtonmore in the final where they will be up against a Skye side which put out new side Strathspey.



Pictures are from Neil Paterson (1,2,3 & 4 Inveraray  + 1 , 3, 4 & 7 Newtonmore ) and Sheena Lloyd ( 5, 6 & 7 Inveraray   2, 4 , 5 & 6 Newtonmore game)

Thanks to Sheena for shot of Gary Mac showing Newtonmore’s Mr T how to smile. Thanks to Neil for nice shot of Glen’s Mr T looking through his visor as he contemplates fatherhood (Wee E J came into the world on the Monday after the match. All the best to himself and Sian).  Meanwhile have a look at the size of the Newtonmore men-children who surround poor Jack  in Pic 5 (Newtonmore game).
They will grow up into  Camanachd Cup winning beasts.

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Glen torch Lovat’s title hopes-maybe!

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Glenurquhart 1 Lovat 1 (Orion Group Premiership)


If you had said at the beginning of the week that Glenurquhart would go over the hill to Kiltarlity without a pile of players and end up nearly winning the match-in fact they more or less chucked it away-then no one would have believed you. But let’s deal with that a little later.


The real shinty story in the Glen however was about Helen and the Torch. For the last few weeks the Commonwealth Games torch has been wending its way around Scotland giving everyone a wee stake in the sporting extravaganza for which only the lucky few can get any tickets. Some time back it was announced that amongst the local runners the Glen’s own Helen Maclennan was to run with the torch somewhere in Drum. Helen has a long record of service to shinty in the Glen: she is the lady who organises the youth development and training, washes the strips, oversees the café rotas, bakes cakes, serves on the finance committee and takes the minutes for the meetings – and doubtless there are many other things that have been overlooked. To mark Helen’s big day the club organised a wee festival on the field with a bouncy castle, some father and son 6 a side shinty matches – and as a perfect opening touch Helen entered the field and was able to run through an arch of crossed camans-and everyone from the youngest to the oldest had a chance to touch the fabled torch. By good fortune too, the fact that Kingussie had called off their second team match meant that there was a plentiful supply of bacon and rolls to sell to the punters from the pavilion window. The only dark spot on the day was that Police Scotland who made many friends as they escorted the baton through the village and high-fived the kids also contrived to lose them immediately by mounting a wee speed-trap up at the old Free Church Manse on the way to Milton. The decision to have a speed trap there on the day of the Queen’s Baton arrival can have only come from the same strategic genius who thinks it appropriate to arm the police as they patrol the streets of Inverness on Saturday evenings. Where does he think they are? Dodge City?


Despite that cavil, it was a very pleasant start to a day that went on to become even better when the first team went to Balgate and won a point. The Glen went over the hill minus Lewis Maclennan, Ally Mackintosh, Euan Lloyd and David Maclennan. In addition to that James Hurwood who started was carrying an ankle injury while both Fraser Heath and David Smart had been ill earlier in the week and by rights probably should have taken a break. Lovat were without Kevin Bartlett, Michael Mackenzie and Drew Howie but given the fact that the game should have meant something to them they were certainly expected to prove the stronger side.



How wrong can you be? Lovat seemed not to be 100% focused on this match- and the Glen had a gilt-edged chance to go ahead early in the match when ref Graham Cameron awarded a penalty for a foul by Lovat keeper Stuart Macdonald. James Macpherson took the hit but did not hit it as cleanly as he ought to and Macdonald was able to get his feet to the strike.

A few minutes later Lovat’s Calum MacAulay out on the left fired a ball in at goal from a narrow angle but though he got his hand to the shot, Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh was unable to prevent it going into the net.


David Smart who was suffering from a sickness bug was replaced by Billy Urquhart after half an hour. Glen co-managers Billy MacLean and Dave Menzies had to further re-jig the team on 37 minutes when defender James Hurwood had to come off when he wentover his ankle again.

Andrew Corrigan, who had started at full centre, dropped back into defence. John Barr left the forward line to take over in midfield whilst attacker Smart returned to the field of play. The fact that Barr took up position against MacTavish man of the match Ryan Ferguson was probably decisive because though not fully fit, the Glen’s international defender has a physical presence that Ferguson struggled to deal with for the rest of the match.

Arran Macdonald in the centreline also gave an impressive performance- and when he plays at full tilt in the centreline as he has been over the past while then he adds an extra dimension to the red and black squad.


Eddie Tembo was replaced for a time by Ewan Menzies at half time and the youngster went on to have a fine match . There were of course chances at both ends just a couple of minutes into the second half. First former Glen under 17 player Graeme MacMillan set up Lorne MacKay and he fired a backhand shot through a ruck of players but keeper Mackintosh was able to deflect the ball for a corner. The corner was quickly cleared and Glen broke forward swiftly at the end of which James MacPherson forced a similar save from Stuart Macdonald who also turned the ball away for a corner.


Crucial to the Glen effectiveness was defender Stuart Reid who managed to contain Lovat’s Lorne Mackay and generally matched him throughout the afternoon though on one occasion late in the match Mackay got clear and might have done better but his shot flew just wide of the target. As the game proceeded the Glen came more into the match and to push for the point the Glen management team pushed Fraser Heath up into the front line and pulled Corrigan back to buckshee. This worked well although Lorne Mackay managed to get one long shot on target which as expected Stuart Mackintosh stopped comfortably. At the other end Glen created chances and eventually Billy Urquhart found the space and time to fire the ball home to make it 1-1.

Glen then had a chance to push for the game and created a number of pressure situations until just before the end of the match Fraser Heath fired a rocket hard and low towards the Lovat goal but Macdonald was once again present to do what he does best - pull off an exceptional stop to deny the Glen the points.   


Lovat can still win the League but however you spin it they could have done with not dropping a point. Still they had the best of the banter. Full back Fraser Gallagher was being harassed by the Drum support about his specially styled mouth guard- a fetching item in black and white which makes his mouth look like its full of sharks teeth with black gaps between them. Scary!


“Come on, Fraser. Give us a smile” shouted the Glen crowd as Fraser ran to clear up an early Drum attack. He fired the ball clear.


“Ok, “he said and duly produced a black and white leer.


Then he added “My Mam says it’s my best feature.”


The Glen crowd liked that piece of banter almost as much as the point - but not quite.



With the exception of the first picture (captured from the BBC)  and the last (captured by the "D") all the pictures are from Sheena Lloyd. Sorry about the "bug eyes" , Cork.  Why this one of Mike Brady sitting down? He had such a good game that he was always too fast to catch in an action shot. Here he is after the match. We could have done with him in the MacTavish. 

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Heath wonder goal Blairbeggars belief

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Glenurquhart 2 Kingussie 1 (Orion Group Premier League)
It was a game which looked to always be going to proceed in its own unexciting way: it really didn’t matter about the result. Of course you say it’s important but given where the Glen and Kingussie both are in the League it was not all that important. In truth it was a day for half watching a match, blethering to the Kingussie visitors and hoping that none of the Glen players on the field picked up a booking or an injury. There was a little stir of interest amongst the spectators in as much as Ronaldo was back: he has been out for most of the season and his return is probably not unconnected with the fact that Kingussie have made it through to the Camanachd semis.

You would also have to say that despite the lack of a pile of players, Savio Genini and Lee Bain being two notable absentees, Kings  looked lively at the start and had a couple of early chances neither of which fell to big Ron though he looked good enough but not what he used to be back in the day. Glen struggled to get forward and looked a little off the pace in parts but then again that was only to be expected given that Glen were a pile of players short too-Neale Reid and Dixie Maclennan were banned for going over the points level while Euan Lloyd and James Hurwood  were injured or unwell.

That meant a step up for Raymond Robertson and Ross MacAulay but put massive pressure on an already weakened second team due to face Strathglass on the same afternoon.


Then it happened-26 minutes into the match: Fraser Heath picked up a ball just up from the centreline, juggled it up over Kingussie defender Barry Dallas, ran with it bouncing on his stick and then volleyed it into the net. Goal of the Glen season? Pretty much though James “Frosty” Macpherson has also rattled home some beauties but nothing so far like that. The game then continued with the Glen for a period more dominant since Kingussie appeared to be shell-shocked at the outrageous nature of the goal they had just lost.


Just after halftime Glen picked up a second goal when James Hutchison gave Macpherson just too much time and he hit a powerful shot which Kingussie keeper Craig Dawson did get a hand to, but could not keep out of the net. It certainly came through a group of players and the keeper was probably unsighted till late on.


That probably should have been it but Kingussie continued to look lively and they had a series of opportunities to be more accurate than they were. During this short spell the Glen centreline seemed to be ineffective in as much as they could not prevent their Kingussie opponents from knocking the ball back.  Then in 56 minutes after a nice piece of interplay the ball was slipped inside to Ronald Ross and he hit it hard and low from distance through a ruck of players to put Kingussie apparently back in the match and himself apparently back in first team contention. Indeed if Kingussie get past Fort William in the Camanachd semi, which they should since Gary Innes is not going to be playing, it is unthinkable that they would play a Camanachd final without Ronaldo in the squad if he was fit.


 
 The news now is that he is fit, not as sharp as he was obviously, but then he is just on the way back to fitness – and he still seems to have the ability to score. He also missed a sitter too which is not the sort of thing you would normally expect from him: it will probably not happen again.


Glen rearranged matters in the centreline at this point and the ship stabilised to allow both teams to fight out the rest of the match on even terms: Glen had a number of chances including a number of free hits which they forced out of the usual no compromise Kingussie back line- but that all came to nothing.
 
 They also showed some nice patches of interplay which set up some half chances- Raymond Robertson showed some skill and fire in this stage of the match - but Dallas and Hutchison were solid and if given a chance to clear they did so efficiently. If they were absent Dawson certainly wasn't.
 
 At the other end Kingussie forced a number of chances themselves but wayward shooting and equally solid defending from Stuart Reid and Lewis Maclennan kept them at bay. Ross MacAulay who came on late did well and Mike Brady stuck to a difficult task against youngster James Falconer. Falconer is clearly an up and coming talent for Kingussie but though strong, still looks very much a youngster physically though he has a good deal of pace. The problem for a defender against a player of this type is that he is difficult to deal with and if he gets knocked over in a challenge it can easily look like he is being fouled. To Mike Brady’s credit, in what was a frustrating afternoon, he stuck to his task and as the afternoon wore on he came on to a sound game.
 
In the end Glen held on to win what was a tight game though Kingussie had more missed attempts on goal than the Glen. On the target Glen did better but only marginally- and it is as always in sport all about slight margins.

The other match at Strathglass saw manager Iain Macleod struggle to get a full set of players to make the game. In order to manage things he was required to dig deep into under 17 resources which at holiday time is not an easy task. However, Ryan Porter, Liam Robertson, Finlay Robertson and Lachie Smith all stepped up to the plate while Dan Mackintosh returned and future Camanachd President Jim Barr also pulled on the black and red stripes for an outing. Cameron Maclennan was up front but the absence of the Hosie brothers, Donald Fraser, Raymond Robertson, Ross MacAulay, Duncan Fraser and Bradley Dixon meant that the side struggled to play coherently. The fact that it was a wet afternoon was also not conducive to good shinty. However Strath scored two early goals and three late ones though the stats table does not indicate the times at which the goals were scored which is a pity. However, Strath will be down in Drum for the return fixture this Saturday and it would be good if there were enough players available to give them a more competitive game. After some excellent showings and some narrow defeats in the cups it would be a good note on which to wind down the season.


The pictures this week are from Neil Paterson and Sheena Lloyd. Best one is the snap of manager Maclean working out the tactics. Look how the position of the tongue shows his total concentration. Bless!


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Is the season over already?

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Glenurquhart 2 Strathglass 0 (Marine Harvest North Division 1)


Inveraray 0 Glenurquhart 2 (Orion Premier League)


The Queen, who is well informed about all matters in her realm, must have wondered if the little hiccup with the Commonwealth Baton had its origins in the Glen.

The ceremonial piece of hardware had after all been in the Glen not much more than a fortnight before – and given the enduring reputation of the Glen with regard to its handling of trophies, Her Majesty must have wondered whether the baton had received a wee knock on the napper during its sojourn at Blairbeg. In Glasgow it would not unscrew to reveal the message she had hidden in it months earlier. Had it been dropped or bashed in any way whilst in the custody of the Glenurquhart shinty team?



Whether it had or not, the said baton was eventually opened up and the nation and the Glen breathed a collective sigh of relief and was then permitted to carry on with its number one non Commonwealth sport - the ancient game of Caledonia.

In Drum that meant facing up to ancient rivals Strathglass in a Marine Harvest North Division League fixture. Glen had a stronger team than they had put out the week before – though the Hosie brothers were still sadly absent - but the return of the previous week’s draftees for the Kingussie game, Raymond Robertson and Ross MacAulay, boosted the side considerable. The calm presence of Drew MacNeil at full back also helped and the fact that referee John Macgregor of Oban was in charge was also a plus. Macgregor who is in the early stages of his career as a ref, was a superb senior shinty player in his day and this writer for one judged that his presence on the field would ensure that the Glen youngsters – and the Strath ones for that matter- would receive competent oversight for the whole 90 minutes.

Strathglass opened up in lively fashion and for a good part of the early play seemed to be the dominant force. They took up a fair few good positions but the Glen defence held firm with Ewan Menzies in particular providing top class cover. Youngster Lachie Smith on one side and not so youngster Paul Mackintosh on the other played well against lively opposition with Lewis Douglas and youngster Jono Price showing lively skills. Gary Reid however was unable to get past MacNeill with any conviction and when shots went through, -there were a fair number- Glen keeper David MacFadyen was in excellent form though his tendency to come off his line, while comparable to German soccer keeper Manuel Neuer, was a bit scary to the faithful though perhaps explicable because of his origins.  David was you see, brought up in south shinty and with a role model locally in Inveraray’s flying keeper Graham Macpherson, a man who thinks a line is never for toeing, it’s no wonder the lad takes off after balls that are only vaguely in the same postcode as he is.
Gradually the Glen began to mount more sustained attacks and Cairn Urquhart and Robertson began to trouble the Strath defence who were missing one or two of their more experienced defenders as well as the most ancient of their front men, Robert Geddes. Finally just before half time, Glen took a lead which they more or less deserved : Ross MacAulay drove the ball forward, Cameron Maclennan dummied it and player/manager Iain Macleod was on hand to ram it into the net from close range.
The second half saw the Glen dominate the game more – and captain Bradley Dickson sealed the win when he picked up a cross field ball, dribbled it into the “D” and tapped it home from a couple of feet. Strath tried hard to come back but were unable to do so while Glen rang the changes bringing on youngster Rory Maclean who almost snatched a third goal in the dying moments. Other youngsters like Jamie Maclennan and finally Finlay Robertson were given a run out and all performed well against what has been a side which has posted some decent results this season, boasts good players like Josh Fraser and the Reid brothers but somehow seems to have lost its way.


The other result at the Winterton was equally welcome. After what seemed like an age with no-one daring to phone down to find out how the game was going the text came through that Glen were leading thanks to a David Smart goal. By Glen accounts on a crackly line - the raindrops were louder than gunshots on Herd’s Hill - the guys played well especially in the first 25 minutes when they were on top though the conditions, as the papers would have said if they could have been bothered reporting it, were very difficult for both sides. Inveraray then dug in with their well-practised techniques of last ditch defending and the score remained unchanged until Lewis Maclennan bagged a second 8 minutes from time.

Before that of course Glen had balls in the net ruled off and Inveraray also had one chalked off and as usually happens everyone became irate. But they all made up and they were fine about it because let’s face it, it did not matter. What mattered for the Glen was that no one was injured or booked and ref Lachie Wood kept a handle on the game well -  a difficult thing to do when the park was as the west coasters would say “dampish”.  
 
Possibly the Campbell weather gods might look down favourably from the clouds if the Canaries renamed their pitch “The Summerton” rather than stuck with the old estate name “The Winterton”. Even a Gaelic name might help - but then the hospitality afterwards was good and the lads even reported that in “The George” they keep the vodka in the fridge which was more sophisticated than was necessary for the Glenners present but they appreciated it just the same.
 


 
Of more interest than the actual game was the fact that Mr Reid puts his money where his mouth is. This was obvious from his appearance. Clearly the Drum dental practice had supplied Mr Reid with shiny new teeth - and apparently Dr Dodo had fixed up the mouths of a number of other Glen residents with gleaming gnashers too as these snaps will testify.



The last Premier League game is now upon us - and we face a gameless wait until the Camanachd semi. The full English tourist season has not even started properly in the Glen yet we have no games left at home for the top team - not a happy situation for club income reports the Treasurer.
The photos of the Inveraray match are from Sheena Lloyd: the teeth ones are from Meg Mackintosh. The ones of the baton are from the Wing Centre’s phone - where else?

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Glen are love-bombed by the English Shinty Association-but not by Kinlochshiel.

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A disappointing 3-3 draw away against Kinlochshiel - though not upsetting to Shiel since the Glen’s lack of concentration has allowed their opponents another year in the top flight. Fair enough. Truthfully there is not a lot between the sides in the Premier and for that matter some of the sides in the National are fair enough too especially Fort William. Skye who are in North 1 are good too - too good apparently for their lowly division - though perhaps more of that later.


This last game at Kirkton perhaps encapsulates all that is good and not good about the Glen.


Fraser Heath started up front for the Glen and put the red and blacks ahead in 6 minutes with a superb strike when he picked up a through ball on the left, ran through the Shiel defence and fired an unstoppable shot past opposing keeper Scott Kennedy forthe opener. Shiel also had their chances in this early part of the match but the best of their strikes which came from front man Gordy Macdonald was comfortably saved by Glen’s keeper Stuart Mackintosh. 
To the uninitiated of the Western world it probably looked like a superb save but “Smack” does that sort of thing every week – and if he didn’t he would find his place under pressure from Glen’s No 2 David MacFadyen who would be a first choicer in every other Premier outfit except Lovat and Inveraray. Kyles? Time Kenny was packing it in: he’s now older than all the managers and some of the referees. 
Glen scored a second goal in 25 minutes when Arran Macdonald and Fraser Heath combined neatly to put Neale Reid into a shooting situation and his drive deflected off the caman of Finlay Macrae into the net. It seemed a pity to credit Macrae with an own goal and deprive Reid of a goal to add to his tally. However just before half time the Glen should have gone 3 up when Reid was presented with a 1on1 situation with keeper Kennedy but this time he fired the ball wide.

It was a rejuvenated Shiel which came out in the second half with Keith Macrae reintroduced to the fray after starting the game on the bench due to a groin strain. He did make a difference but that was after Glen had to rejig their side due to a nasty head knock suffered by Fraser Heath caused by a careless piece of caman control from Shiel full back Paul Macrae who was rightly yellow carded for the offence.

The setback unsettled the Glen - Heath unusually had been playing up front to avoid confrontations of this sort before the Camanachd semi-final - and that allied to poor defending allowed Keith Macrae to win and then convert a free hit in the 60th minute. The momentum was now with Shiel and they equalised soon after through Duncan Macrae.The Glen management then reluctantly reintroduced Heath – heavily bandaged and also pushed defender Lewis Maclennan up front. John Barr who had also sat the game out with an eye on the semi, made an appearance late on and consequently the Glen once again took the lead with a superb goal from Neale Reid created once again by Heath.

That should have been enough for the Glen given that the clock was rapidly running down.  Shiel however had other ideas which given their League situation they certainly ought to have had and by dint of a mighty effort Gordy MacDonald managed to create an equaliser more or less all by himself.

Any lessons from this experience? Certainly. Take your chances and don’t give away silly goals. There is no doubt that the Glen went into this match with more than an eye on the Camanachd semi - the League competition at this stage is meaningless. Conventional wisdom says that Shiel wanted it more: what was disappointing though was that the Glen defenders lost three goals. One notable fixture apart the Glen defence has usually been miserly over giving away goals; they will have to be so once again. Best Glenner on the day? Probably Eddie Tembo who worked right to the end.
Anyway that was the season that was! No more home games for the top team and all those tourists won’t get charged a thing. Actually we should turn Blairbeg into a campsite for the next month or two.


Elsewhere, Kingussie did not hain the squad in their match against Newtonmore: it was a match which Newtonmore needed to win to clinch the League for themselves before Lovat, no doubt looking forward to a sesh at Belladrum, gifted it to them on Saturday. The difference? The return of the master. Ronald Ross is back with no doubt an eye to yet another Camanachd Cup win. Quite right too. Ronald is a top player; he could score goals with a walking stick and the prospect of playing Fort William in a semi and no Addie Robertson marking him will seem like a skoosh. He will probably even have done some training. Add to that the fact that Fort William do not look to have a defence capable of holding out both Ronald and Savio for a full 90 minutes. The one good thing is that Ronald certainly won’t be up against the Glen second team at Drum though with all their children most probably at Belladrum Blairbeg can look forward to hosting the mad old Uncles- Kevin, Michael and Rory. It’ll be a treat for the tourists to see these old monsters on Loch Ness side.


 

Last week too the Glen hosted the English Shinty Association which was nice, though it was sad to see that nearer home Lochbroom could not even manage to get a side together for a home game.  Our visitors were very friendly though one poor lassie had been very badly bitten by the midgies in Glenfinnan- and will probably not want to come back up to Pictland ever again. People should really be told to keep away from Glenfinnan (and Invergarry for that matter) for the whole of July and August on account of midgies and gartans both of which leave marks on everybody not just the summer visitors. No one would go to India in the monsoon or to Florida in the hurricane season so why do we give the impression that the West Highlands are a tourist attraction in July/August. Better to come to Loch Ness-side and the East Highland coast where the midge is an endangered species.

The English visitors trained with the Glen – and it has to be said that some of them had a clearer idea of what training actually meant than some Glenners –though when it came to sampling the hospitality in the Loch Ness Inn the Glenners usually have a fair idea of what that entails. There was the presentation of a ball and a shirt and the crack in the pub was how it used to be before teams got all professional and cleared off back home to play a round of golf before sunset. In the winter, in the old days, that wasn’t an option.

 
The decent pictures as always are from Neil Paterson. Thanks to him – again as always. The other pictures are from somebody else. The most symbolic picture is of English captain Matt Mossop receiving a replica shirt from Davie and Billy though the Treasurer wonders why we did not give them an old Glen shirt with Gleesons on it since they were an English company and we have heaps of them that we no longer wear. On the TV in the background is the Commonwealth Games. No it’s not a political statement ;nor is it ironic: it’s just what happened.

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Kicking our heels , waiting for the day……

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Glenurquhart 7 Kingussie 0 (Marine Harvest North Division 1)
It’s now getting near to the business end of the season for the Glen. No need to dwell on what that might entail but it is certainly appropriate to deal with the most recent match-the North Division 1 home game against Kingussie. The main problem confronting Manager Iain Macleod’s selection plans was Belladrum and quite frankly it looks like that is going to be an on-going problem for shinty in the Inverness area. The majority of the young lads in the second time opted to go to Belladrum, so Iain Macleod’s team had to pull in a number of players from the first team which fortunately enough had no fixture.


There was no other alternative though certainly included in the side were three younger lads who have not really featured much in the side so far this season- and they were probably too young to head to Belladrum without adult supervision. Whatever - the team which turned out was an extremely strong side and it faced up to a Kingussie side which with the exceptions of Russell Menzies, Scott Macintyre, Rory Mackeachan and Chris Hollysong was their current under-17 squad. The old guys whom we have faced in the past were absent for various reasons and none was missed more than Kevin Thain, though Ronald Ross could probably have just squeaked into the team if he had not been needed elsewhere.

Given Glen’s experienced side - the main top teamers were Arran Macdonald and Lewis Maclennan - there was only ever going to be one result so the interest lay in how the game was played. It was, despite the final score, very interesting not to say entertaining at least as far as the first half went. Indeed Kingussie started strongly because they have some lovely young shinty players in their side and the experienced Glen defenders - lack of personnel meant that Drew MacNeil had to fill in at full back and with Stuart Reid and Paul Mackintosh also in the defence - had to look lively to keep up with the willing running of Jack and Ruaraidh Anderson as well as that of James Falconer who has already played at Drum this season in the Kings’ first team despite his tender years. It is always tricky for an experienced senior player to play against a much smaller player because physical challenges are so unequal they are bound to look unfair and so the only thing that can be done is to use one’s experience to read the game better and move the ball quickly.
 Glen took a little while to adapt to this and for the first ten minutes they were all over the place - and in that period Kingussie had a chance to go ahead but hit the bar with a drive.

 
After this period Glen’s strong centre line took control of the game and from this point on it became one way traffic. In 15 minutes Glen pressure forced a penalty which Lewis Maclennan struck home superbly.


The Glen’s second goal came in 24 minutes when a corner out on the right evaded the Kingussie defence and Maclennan glanced the ball past Kingussie keeper Russell Menzies from a narrow angle. Two minutes later Bradley Dickson, whose pace was proving a problem for the visiting defence, picked up a through ball from the Glen centreline and turned it out to Raymond Robertson and his low shot found its way into the corner of the Kingussie net for Glen’s third goal of the afternoon. Then the game from a Glen perspective went flat – though Kingussie continued to perform well in attack whenever the ball came through while their defence especially Macintyre and the increasingly acrobatic Menzies stood firm and kept the score at half-time down to 3-0.

 
 
 

 
The second half was a big improvement in that the side showed a more positive approach to their shinty. The introduction of James Macpherson and the fact that the side went 2-2 up front helped spread the Kingussie defence a little more effectively which in the end created chances which eventually were taken. Lewis Maclennan completed his hat trick in 60 minutes with a well taken strike and then the Glen’s fifth came when Kingussie keeper Menzies stopped a high ball from Maclennan with his chest but failed to clear it decisively and James Macpherson fired it home from a narrow angle. Youngster Ryan Porter got the next goal for Glen when he followed up a strike to poke the ball home from close range in 69 minutes and Macpherson smashed home the seventh goal of the afternoon two minutes later.
By this stage Glen had introduced their two remaining youngsters Jon Bremner and Jamie Maclennan and the latter was denied a goal by a fine save from Russell Menzies who, despite a slip or two, played well all afternoon.
 
 
He seemed very keen on entertaining the crowd on one occasion by firing a loose ball out of the field, across the A82, over Alistair the Baker’s house and into the wood. This probably puts him up on that small list of the Glen all-time greats because it’s hard to think of many apart from Donald Paul Mackintosh and Arran Macdonald who can comfortably hit the ball right over that house. Lewis Maclennan once put the ball down a chimney in St Drostan’s but that is another story.

In the end Glen won 7-0 convincingly and it is always hard to pat yourself on the back after a match like this because Kingussie had a much less experienced team on the field. However the performance of the Glen’s youngest players - Ryan Porter, Jamie Maclennan and Jon Bremner - gives cause for optimism for the future. Drew Maclennan at full centre was however the best Glenner on the day : he is always an intense and committed player and the only disappointment is that he took a nasty blow on the foot in the last two minutes of the match which means he must now must be a doubt for next Saturday.

 
Elsewhere Ronald Ross won the other Camanachd semi for Kingussie with a goal in real time and two penalties in the shootout at the end. He kept his technique and his nerve and got both balls on target out of what was basically a mini-bunker. Credit too must also go to Kings goalie Craig Dawson who made the saves that mattered - the Wing Centre should have been more generous to the big fellow when describing goalies last week. He kept the Glen out in the Premier League game in Kingussie and he did the same with the Fort penalties on Saturday. We have no snaps of Mr Dawson but we do of the King’s keeper who came to Drum this past week. That is why the focus this week in the pictures will be on visiting keeper Russell Menzies. He did struggle a bit, for obvious reasons, when the rain started to get heavier. There is also a snap of the Kingussie old guys on the sidelines.

 
Apparently the Glen face up to Skye in the other Camanachd Semi this weekend. The Wing Centre will not go to the game because seeing it will obviously prejudice his opinion when he comes to write about it next week -or not- as the case may be. Instead he will watch it on TV- Gilleasbuig should be required to commentate rather than play- but he will switch off the sound and listen to Ally Bruce on Cuillin FM.    Why? Just because.

Thanks to Sheena Lloyd for most of the pictures and to Donald Cameron for his help too, His picture is number 7.

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Final? What final?

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Wow! It’s pretty easy to imagine Ronald Ross as a latter day Han Solo- and Kingussie mastermind Russell Jones has had the cryogenically frozen shinty superstar defrosted and recycled in his team just in time for the Camanachd Cup Final on September 13th. Well it’s a theory that the Wing Centre heard proposed at the Glenurquhart Gathering on Saturday (or the Drum Games as it is more popularly known in Balmacaan Road and Druimlon) and that’s a thought only marginally more disturbing than the picture carried in Tuesday’s Inverness Courier of Strathglass’s Bruce “Pie” Douglas urging the Drum tug o’war team to tear up the Glen’s hallowed Blairbeg turf. He seemed to be smiling too. To make matters worse the main judge overseeing this was Newtonmore’s own Rab Ritchie. However, the grass will regrow – eventually but presumably not under Pie’s feet.
 
Anyway there’s been a whole week which has gone past now with the Glen in the Camanachd final- but what could you write about it? Glen simply had to beat Skye given the difference in divisions and where the teams are this season. If not then the whole of Blairbeg shinty pitch might as well be turned into a village camp site - the Italian camper vans are in the car park most of the time anyway-and the proceeds used to help the community buy more flower baskets. In the end the Glen came through relatively clearly, though it has to be said that the first twenty minutes, albeit affected by a strong wind, made for nervous spectating. Skye took an early lead but when Fraser Heath got on to the end of Dixie McLennan’s super shy and first timed a rocket past Jamie Gannon, the Glen’s fortunes began to turn. David Smart made it 2-1 when he fired a shot home through a ruck of players.
 
A nasty injury to Dixie Maclennan broke up the Glen rhythm for a time - and certainly caused a deterioration in their shy-taking abilities until Eddie Tembo moved across to take responsibility for all hit-ins.

In the second half with the wind now against them, Skye seemed to lose a bit of invention or perhaps it was that the Glen defenders began to dominate more. The Islanders did have attempts at goal but they seemed to be snatching at chances or shooting from too far out to trouble a top class keeper like Stuart Mackintosh. Glen  continued to try to play the passes and create the cleaner chances - John Barr kept forcing forward from buckshee - but the Skye defence played well though Neale Reid should have done better when he was presented with a clean strike just out from goal. Fraser Heath too seemed to fade somewhat in this portion of the game and failed to convert what seemed from the sidelines to be a straightforward chance. However Glen eventually worked a fine final strike when Neale Reid fired a rocket shot in on Gannon: the keeper got his stick to the ball and deflected it wide where it was intercepted by the ever energetic David Smart who worked it back into the path of James Macpherson and he fired it home to make the final score 3-1.


In the end, the Glen were comfortable enough winners though they played well enough as the selection of Mike Brady as man of the match proved. Defensively however, Glen will have to start at a higher tempo than they did since Kingussie are likely to be more sophisticated up front than Skye were on the day - and with Ronald back in the squad they are bound to be dangerous. Fort William handled Ronald well because they had a dominant midfield but the big ace still scored in normal play - and of course you cannot give away a penalty if you want to win against Kings.


There is no point in second guessing what the Glen will do - and there will probably have to be some big calls for the management to make before the game and on the day. The bottom line is however that the players will have to perform - but then again so will Kingussie who were probably fortunate to squeak through on penalties against Fort William in the other semi.


There was however another Glen game on the day - and that was a home tie for the seconds against Inverness. This was a game in which the under-17s had to play a big part given that a full squad was required for the semi at the Fort. However the side was boosted by the return of Calum Scott-Woodhouse to the side after a gap of around a decade.

 Under 14 Finlay Robertson also had to turn out along with youngster Ryan Porter. In the end a 0-0 against Inverness was a reasonable result though much reliance had to be placed on the defensive qualities of Dave MacFadyen and Paul Mackintosh.


 
What was more disappointing was the fact that so few supporters of the club were able to see the game because they were inclined to head early to Fort William to see the semi and thereby get through the stressful journey down the busy A82 in relative comfort. Given the fact that the first team has no League games left it is arguable that this fixture could have been held over to a later date, just as Kingussie’s might well have been last week.
Sadly the game was Jack Hosie’s last match. He now moves to England as his family have relocated. If he is lost to shinty it will be a great pity; he was an exceptional talent. The guys gave him a strip as a farewell gift. He wore it with distinction. Let’s hope he gets back North as soon as he can.

This Saturday the Glen seconds have to play Skye - the same Skye team which the Glen firsts beat in the big game - so it’s going to be a big ask for Iain Macleod’s side especially given the fact that they are going to have to face up to the Islanders without any senior help since the seniors are having a “friendly” with Kinlochshiel.
 
Anyway the thing which pleased the Wing Centre almost as much as the Camanachd semi result was the fact that the Shinty tribes in the Glen came together on the night before the Games to take part in the annual Zandra Mackintosh Memorial 6s on the Astroturf. Six teams competed with the usual mix of veterans, ladies and real players taking part in what was a very enjoyable pre games jamboree.

The eventual winners were the Town- and the player of the tournament was Ruth Forbes who played a strong part in that winning combo which is pictured. Also pictured is Donald Paul as he welcomes everyone to the tournament and of course winning captain Liam Girvan receives the trophy from Anna Macdonald
 
The main pics from both games are from Sheena Lloyd but the one that lifts the heart is from Drew MacNeil and it’s of wee Isla and the rainbow. The rainbow appeared when we beat Inveraray and there it was again at Fort William. Let’s hope it comes back at the Bught.

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Yes We Can!

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Glen are in the Camanachd Final but while everyone on the street is excited and on edge  - and the village is putting on a bit of colour - most of us close to the club are pretending it’s just another game.
 



 

It’s almost as if there is a little part of us all that wonders if after 26 years the Glen have the right to be there. Of course they have: this sort of thing just does not happen by accident. Results don’t lie. The team has performed well throughout the season and has not actually lost since the MacTavish final.

 
 
At present they stand third in the Premier League, just ahead of Kingussie.


It is also clear there is some depth to the club from the manner in which the second string played against Skye the other week. A last minute mixture of vets and under 17s with three or four more mature players holding key positions (and the keeper back in Drum helping out the firsts in a pre Camanachd rehearsal) combined to give the Islanders a reasonable game. Had it been earlier in the summer and the side had Raymond Robertson, Jack and Ben Hosie available then the whole thing might have been closer still. These points clinched the championship for Skye.


The best team in the division is of course Newtonmore and they have come through the traumas of a huge injury list to make it 5 Premier League championships in a row, helped, it has to be said, by second placed Lovat who missed an opportunity to create history by losing points in games in which they should have done better. These two sides and of course Kyles Athletic then went on to lose vital games in the Camanachd - and so the big day devolves on two teams whom it is fair to say would not have been everybody’s first choice to put down on the betting slip.
So where are we now in the run up to the Camanachd final? Well we are at the silly photograph stage. Lee Bain - a former Glenurquhart High School pupil it should be noted - has already been snapped in his working togs and very smart he looks too though he has disappointingly swapped the traditional Strathglass “deerstalker” hat for the natty tweed cap more in favour amongst the Badenoch toffs. Still it seems to suit the young man. Lee has had some injury problems this season but now he seems to be back on his feet again - and Kingussie will need him to be - because he is a big player for them and having grown up in Strathglass he knows how the individual Glenners play better than anyone else hefted to Badenoch.

 
Rumours have also abounded that a photo shoot was going on in the Glen too, so the Wing Centre has been waiting patiently for a pic of a monster or a castle to turn up somewhere. The only thing the Treasurer insisted on was that he was certainly not going to pay “Hysterical Scotland” prices for entry to the Castle for any players to be pictured against an historical background. It appears these snaps have been taken and will appear sometime over the weekend in publications more favoured than this one. The photographer was kind enough to send one or two over.

 Note how Hutchie does not touch the trophy. That will be an old Badenoch superstition going back to the days of the Black Officer of Ballachroan who met his match at Gaick. Now the Officer was a fair player in his day but from a Glen point of view maybe it’s a pity the game is not being played at Gaick.


Note that for the Glen’s “Heathie” there is no equivalent superstition. That is most probably because the red and blacks have not actually appeared in enough finals to build up a genuine superstition.



Meanwhile the Glen is getting set up for the big day. A wee stroll around the centre of Drum shows the shops are getting geared up for the match with window displays of black and red - and the Post Office is selling tickets faster than it is selling the latest edition of the Glen Bulletin.

 Even the Drumossie Hotel has got in on the act.


Every second person you meet will present you with a copy of his chosen team -well not everybody but a goodly number. The Wing Centre has been handed little sheets of paper on four occasions complete with tactics, names with roles assigned. Both Lewis Maclennan and Fraser Heath are suggested to be playing in every known position except goalkeeper.

There is certainly no shortage of suggestions for a Plan B. It all makes for a nice build up. On top of all that Russell Jones of the Camanachd Association is going round the Primary Schools tomorrow to let them see the Cup.

 
Which brings us to the preview: “It’s too close to call” is the usual cop-out. Cop-out or not it is genuinely hard to call. For one thing it brings together Kingussie and Glenurquhart in a re-run of the classic 1988 final. On that occasion Kingussie eventually came out on top 4-2 but only after the Glen had given them a real scare taking a 2-1 lead into the half time dressing room. Kingussie were the favourites on that day and they’ll be favourites again this time simply because they have tradition on their side but that said this present Glen team now are at a different level from the squad of ‘88. This is their 4th major final in the last few seasons though in saying that, none of them has played in a Camanachd Cup semi-final before this year’s win over Skye. There is this time very little between the teams and that judgement of the relative strengths of the two sides is supported by the stats surrounding their Premier League meetings this season: both sides took points off each other with narrow home wins - and at present sit third and fourth in the Premier table with every possibility that they will finish the season on the same points though goal difference at present favours the Glen.


Back in 1988 the different goal scoring abilities of the two sides was very marked. Out of the top 6 scorers in the then North League, 4 were from Kingussie (Davie Anderson, Kevin Thain, Angus MacIssac and Steven Borthwick). Coming in at No 5 was Ron Fraser with 29, a full 19 strikes shy of Anderson.


That said tradition will certainly play a part as it does in every Camanachd Cup final but will it win the day? And for whom?  Both teams have a long history: Glenurquhart existed even before the Camanachd Association did having come into being in 1884 while Kingussie date from 1893. In cup winning terms however Kingussie clearly come out on top. While the Glen are making only their second ever appearance in a Camanachd final, Kingussie have won shinty’s premier trophy 22 times in total and 12 of these have been since 1988.Indeed in a nice nod to tradition Kingussie will wear special commemorative strips which will honour their 1914 Camanachd Cup winning team, six of whom later lost their lives in the Great War. From Glenurquhart too came many who made the supreme sacrifice - there are 52 names from the 14-18 war on the Memorial outside the Bank - but given that the last Glen team to get to an important final was back in 1902 the names of those who had a shinty connection among the dead have sadly gone unrecorded.


In today’s squads both sides have excellent forwards: while the Glen’s James Macpherson is the top scorer in the competition so far, Kingussie youngster Savio Genini who scored with a fabulous strike in the semi-final was the pick of the Badenoch frontmen for most of the season. That was until a certain Ronald Ross M.B.E. was restored to the side for the semi. Ross completely changed the dynamic of the team scoring once and netting two penalties in the shootout against Fort William. Davie Anderson reincarnated as Kingussie co-manager acknowledges the contribution of Ross but is keen to shift the focus away from the sport’s most high profile player.“Of course, Ronald has been a great performer for us but people have to remember he has only played one game in the Camanachd Cup this season. We defeated Lovat and Kyles without Ronald so it is not the Ronald roadshow in the same way as it has been before. We have players in there, like Louis Munro, Fraser Munro and Lee Bain, who have never won a Camanachd Cup winners’ medal. It will be as much about these lads because they are desperate to be like the Kingussie players before them.”


Davie is putting up the usual managerial smokescreen and why not? That said the eyes of all the punters in the stand will still be on Ronald - but he is right about one thing. It won’t all be about Ronald. The Glen have a fine squad - and if the guys in the middle can come out of the tunnel focused and get a grip of the centre-line then they have a serious chance of a result. Much will depend too on the Glen forwards not allowing Lee Bain and James Hutchinson in particular to make long clearances from defence. The Glen defence may have problems with Ronald and Savio but the King’s backline will definitely have a hassle with Fraser Heath and David Smart - Kingussie’s Bob Macgregor will have to be on top form to do the leg-work.


It is more than probable that this match will hang on smart tactics and a bit of good fortune although the referee can also make it or break it. The Glen have worked hard this season: they have held their form for the second part of the season, though the long gap without a game since the semi will not have helped. One would also wish for them to have scored more goals but League wise they haven’t conceded many either. They will have to be careful early on but then the Glen start quick too. Above all however the Glen deserve this result - and simply must want it more. Come on Lads - make this one a win for Jimmac, Big Tom, Peter English , Geordie, Ali Ban, big Ron, the Brickie, Mr. Reid, Sandy in New Zealand and all the supporters , players right back to the 22 guys who put this whole Glen shinty thing together in 1884. Can we do it? Yes we can!!



The pictures:the one of Lee is from Neil Patterson; Jeff Holmes gave me the one of the guys with the cup. The rest came from the Archives and from Sheena Lloyd.


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Camanachd Special- Check out the Crowd!!

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It should have been the biggest day for Glen shinty since the Loch Ness Inn changed its menu. A monster day as MacAllister himself might have said. It wasn’t. That’s all that can be said about it. There is little point at this stage writing a report about the game such as it was: by now the news has moved on and since most people in the Glen were there they saw it happen and will have formed their own opinion of what occurred on the day. The three folk that stayed to drink in the Ben Leva will have been privileged to hear the on-the-spot analysis of Fraser Inglis who called it right. How does the Wing Centre know this? He recorded the match and watched the play back and at every point where Fraser was asked what he thought, he commanded his brief and called it right.

 

 
Apart from that, congratulations have to be offered to Himself M.B.E. who turned the game as he did the semi. He provided the first goal for Savio Genini, scored the second - going past two defenders - and nabbed the fourth. Congratulations are certainly due to the Glen defence for stopping him getting a hat-trick! That would have been too hard to bear.

 
 
 
 
Well done to Savio Genini too for two superb finishes and for showing the strength of character to keep his head up when some early touches did not go for him. Well done to the rest of the Kingussie lads too and to Russell Jones and Wee Davie and that fine friend of the Glen, Houston Old on the sidelines who coaches their forwards. He seems to do a fair job.



 As for the Glen they have to learn to score when they have the opportunities and they should try hard not to get injured. On the other hand we have to thank these lads ;all of them , on both sides , put their livelihoods on the line. They don't get paid but one missed block can mean a big loss of income.

 
To step back a little, it might be best to reflect on the fact that the Glen got to two major cup finals in the one season which can only be a good thing. The greatest step is to come but that will be up to the players who make it into the side in the future and the real task is to work hard at keeping the sport to the fore in the community to a high enough standard so that these chances can come round again.
 
 
 
In the meantime the Wing Centre and Glenurquhart Shinty Club would like to thank all who came to support us at the Bught Park on Saturday. Exiled Glenners came from near and far, from home and abroad to swell the ranks of the faithful and the colour, noise and excitement generated by the Glen support made the day the success it was and gave the sport one of its biggest Camanachd Cup crowds since the Glen were there last. Thank you one and all.
 
 
 

 
Enjoy the pictures of players and spectators from Sheena Lloyd and the Wing Centre’s trusty old mobile. Also included is one of the Strath Ladies team with our minibus: they actually won their cup. Grrrr!!

 
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Glen make encouraging start in the Orion Group Premiership

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Glenurquhart 4 Kinlochshiel 0

 
A better start than was in evidence this time last year- and that has to be a good thing for all Glenners especially in what is bound to be the tightest of shinty leagues.
On the other hand what does that result do apart from postponing the pressure for another 7 days?
Well it gives Glenners far and near some comfort in that the forwards are able to hit the target accurately though it is a dead on certainty that the Glen defenders will encounter more testing forward lines than the one they faced up to on Saturday. Not a surprise that, what with ‘Shiel’s Keith Macrae confined to the sidelines after a hernia operation and the other two Macraes in the centreline for a time.
Even having said that- and admitting that the Glen were without  Ali Mackintosh – the final result was more than a little harsh on Kinlochshiel because, especially in the first half there was little between the teams and it certainly took Glen a long time to get on the score sheet.


Glen certainly had some good early pressure- an early drive over the bar from David Smart and a neat piece of work by Ewan Brady to set up Eddie Tembo whose shot whistled past are testament to that. However it took until the 15th minute to test ‘Shiel keeper Scottie Kennedy when he just managed to stop a low drive from Lewis Maclennan with his foot.


At the other end Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh also had to earn his keep with a fine save but ‘Shiel’s other chances like those of Glenurquhart  were squandered without bringing the keeper into play. However just as everyone was becoming resigned to accept a goalless first half, Glen broke the deadlock with an excellently executed finish. Neale Reid picked up the ball beyond the penalty area flicked it in to David Smart who knocked it on in the air and James Macpherson on the left, under tight pressure from the Shiel full back managed to get just enough room take the ball on the bounce and fire what was in essence a half-chance into the bottom corner of the net.


The half time whistle came with the Glen having the psychological edge which with about 60% of the pressure was just about deserved: the big disappointment was an injury to key defender Andy Corrigan just before the half time whistle. He took a blow from a ‘Shiel defender on the thumb and had to leave immediately for Raigmore where the injury was confirmed as a break. He will miss the next very important 6 weeks of the Premier campaign which given the tightness of the league and the small number of fixtures is a severe blow. As to the cause of the injury, the least said soonest mended though credit should go to ref Deke Cameron for defusing the situation in a sensible manner.


Shiel too suffered an unfortunate injury in another tackle as defender David Falconer had to leave the field with an injury which turned out to be a broken collar-bone.


Despite the absence of Corrigan the second half was more securely with the Glen and Shiel tired as the match went on something probably not unrelated to the fact that because of weather related call offs, they had been unable to have pre-season fixtures to sharpen then up.


Lewis Maclennan doubled the Glen lead in the 53rd minute after a Neale Reid shot came back off Shiel keeper Kennedy and James Macpherson added a third when he too pounced on a rebound. The final goal came when Ewan Brady who had a solid match set up Neale Reid with a clear sight of goal and he hammered the ball home from close range. Neil’s victory somersault was less elastic than it used to be but at least he always celebrates with style.



Where does this leave the Glen? Bizarrely, at the top of the league for the next day or so but on looking back at the game the score was more than a little harsh on Shiel- and for both sides the game was hard fought with the attrition rate on players quite high for Shiel’s Mark Macdonald appeared to struggle at the end and both Fraser Heath and Euan Lloyd took knocks. Hopefully, neither will be hurt badly enough to keep them out of competition in the next game. Saturday’s match against Lochaber at Spean has been put on hold because of the funeral of Scotland darts player Brian Whyte who had a shinty club connection.


 

Kingussie 4 Glenurquhart 1

Should have done better! There can be no other verdict on what was a disappointing result. The match was first supposed to have been at The Dell, then with the reversal of the first team fixture it was moved to Dunbarry and then finally shifted back to the Dell. Not that that made any difference because Kingussie , to be fair to them ,played their normal second string in a match where had they so wished they could have strengthened it with players from the top squad. They did not do so and that can only be to the good of the game at this level.
The first half was a very even contest with one good goal from Chris Hollysong separating the two teams. However despite the fact that Glen defended well enough, too many players were under par and performed disappointingly.


Kingussie positioned their older experienced players, Camanachd Cup winning veterans Ally Macleod, Kevin Thain and Michael Clark down the middle and placed their quicker players in the wing forward positions. Glen matched this with James Hurwood and Bradley Sneddon dropping into wing back positions with Paul Mackintosh and Donald Fraser down the centre. James Hurwood had an excellent half, putting in excellent tackles as required: Bradley Sneddon played well in parts too though there were occasions when he was caught out by intelligent Kingussie forward play. Both Donald Fraser and Paul Mackintosh played Kevin Thain and Michael Clark well in this half but the Glen’s centreline and forward play was a disappointment and it was clear that only a massive improvement would get Glen back in the game.


Sadly things went downhill right at the start of the second half when keeper David MacFadyen gave away a penalty by kicking the ball. Kingussie’s Kevin Thain then scored from the spot and as a result Glen found it doubly hard to get back into the game from that point. To attempt to rectify the situation the Glen management made some positional changes, with Duncan Fraser doing extremely well when he came on first at full forward, then at half back. Liam Robertson too injected energy into the Glen forward line. Sadly however Glen lost another poor goal through slack defending half way through the second half before a spell of nice shinty resulted in a well taken goal from Jack Hosie. Thain scored another goal four minutes from the end which put a flattering gloss onthe result from the Kingussie perspective but by this point the game was well beyond retrieval.


As always there are lessons to be learned but given other results in this division genuine second teams are going to find it a difficult season against recognised first teams. What makes it trickier is that they can come up against second teams that can call on senior players with experience at the very highest level. It is to be hoped that sides do not beef up their squads unreasonably in such circumstances.


Glen now find themselves in that situation on Saturday when they are due to face Beauly and they have options to use at least seven senior players because the Lochaber game is off.  No doubt we’ll find out the line-up on the Saturday but lets hope that common sense prevails.
In the absence of Neil Paterson the “D” can offer only a few poor home-made pics. The WHFP has a double page spread of pics about which a word of caution. While the report on the match is balanced and fair the pics are selected and captioned to reflect a parallel West Highland shinty universe. Almost without exception they illustrate a Shiel player besting his Glen opponent: if the Wing Centre hadn’t been at the game himself, he would have worried about the outcome!!



 

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Testing Times

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Sport sometimes lifts you up; other times it drags you down. This particular author, after having sat through the crushing disappointment of a Camanachd Cup performance, did not particularly want to blog about the end of season Glen games despite the fact that the boys played well enough when they were asked to pull on the red and black - and there were one or two other things too that merited a mention - and perhaps still might get one given there is now little else to write about but shinty politics.
 
 


Then after a spell in the doldrums a game comes along which lifts the spirit and that surely was the first leg of the mixed code international. The night before the match the Marine Harvest awards ceremony was held in the Kingsmills Hotel and while the Wing Centre was certainly intending to report on the success of Glen’s Fraser Heath who received the under 21 trophy, the two guys who picked up the major awards Stuart Macdonald of Lovat and Steven Macdonald of Newtonmore are worth a blog all on their own.

Why? Simply because along with all the other guys they put in superb performances at the Bught the next afternoon and for a week at least let you believe that shinty was every bit as good as hurling. This writer still believes it is, but after last weekend in Newry he lacks the evidence to prove it.


The week before at the Bught was very different. A bright dry afternoon right after the National Mod with the Bught dry, short and in fine condition for an open game despite the stiffening breeze - and the Shinty fans turned out in goodly numbers despite the fact that universal wisdom in the bit of the stand where yours truly sat was that the boys would be “up against it”. But then shinty folk always say that simply because the Irish guys are professional in all but name, training 3 to 4 times a week and playing in a sport which is backed firmly at national level. Shinty by contrast is patronised in most places and even in Inverness, the Highland Capital, is at best, regarded as a rural eccentricity. This much we all know.



Still on that first Saturday the guys won: this is how the Herald guy more or less saw it.

Marine Harvest Shinty/Hurling International Series


1st Test, Bught Park Inverness
Scotland (3-14) 23 Ireland (2-8) 14
Ronald Ross’s side restored some pride to Scottish shinty when they pulled off a memorable victory against Ireland’s hurlers and put themselves ahead in the series for the first time since 2010. The last few clashes in the mixed code game have seen the Scots struggle with the pace of the Irish forwards but this time it was the home side which dominated.
After taking an early two point lead thanks to a Kevin Bartlett strike and with the assistance of a strong breeze, the Scots looked likely to overwhelm their visitors but first Gary Innes and then Kyles front man Roddy Macdonald missed simple chances while at the other end, Scotland keeper Stuart Macdonald made a tremendous reflex save to keep out a point blank strike from Tipperary’s Patrick Maher.
Both sides appeared to cancel each other early in the match but it was Scotland’s Bartlett  who put his side a further two points ahead in 14 minutes from a free hit won by the persistent play of Newtonmore’s Fraser Mackintosh.  Mackintosh then turned provider when he dispossessed an Irish defender and Kyles’ Roddy Macdonald scored from close range to add a further three points to his side’s tally.
A further two pointer from Bartlett gave the Scots a 9-0 lead before the visitors finally got on the score sheet in 25 minutes first through a single point from Patrick Horgan and then with a  goal from Cork’s Connor Lehane who fired an unstoppable shot past Macdonald from an acute angle.
Horgan clawed another Irish point back before the Scots re-asserted their dominance when a neat interchange between John Macdonald and Mackay let Newtonmore’s Paul MacArthur clear but his effort flew just over and only counted for a single. Bartlett however was once again on hand with another two pointer and although Horgan notched another point for the visitors Scotland went in at the break with a 13-6 lead.
If the Scots supporters were in any way concerned about their side playing into the wind in the second half, their minds were quickly set at rest. Though Paul Dermody picked up an early single, Roddy Macdonald who has been in the international wilderness for a year or two repaid the manager’s faith in him when he nipped in front of his marker to glance home a Bartlett through ball for his second goal of the afternoon.

Two more points from Bartlett helped Scotland further ahead before Patrick Maher ran through to score a fine solo goal with the pace beginning to take its toll on the Scottish defence. Bartlett once again helped out with a further double. The Irish fought back with points from Lehane and Paul Divilly but Bartlett however who had the last word when he plucked a high cross out of the air and fired the ball home for Scotland’s third goal to confirm his status as man of the match.
Stuart Macdonald then had to make two fine late saves as the Irish, mindful of next weekend’s return leg in Newry, fought to reduce the margin of defeat.

The Wing Centre went on to the field at the end of the match to enjoy the celebration and to have a word with Ronald. While everyone was rejoicing at the win he articulated what most knew already. The Irish would be smarting and out for revenge. With their fitness and the fact that they had a week to analyse a televised recording of the match they would be much better prepared. The other telling factor was bound to be the refereeing. In the first match Ref Innes Wood kept on top of the physical Irish challenges and when they pushed in the back or smashed through from behind with their sticks then he perfectly correctly pulled them up. That was most unlikely to happen at Newry’s Pairc an Esler the following Saturday when the GAA would provide the officials.


For a week the feeling was positive and despite the frustrations of having to follow the match on Facebook and Twitter the build up to the big game was quite uplifting. First Scotland’s women’s side, coached by Glen’s Stuart Reid won over a County Down select 14-9.Then the  under 21 match was an even  more successful affair with the Scots running out comfortable winners 21-7 thanks to excellent individual performances from Lovat’s Greg Matheson and Zac Coley of Kyles Athletic who was man of the match. Glen’s Fraser Heath made his own invaluable contribution to the victory
Then came the big game – under floodlights and more or less impossible to follow in real time because TV4 did not stream it live in Scotland and while it could be accessed via arcane technical means for this writer that was a non-starter. Thanks therefore to phone contact with Calum Duff, Jim Barr, Richard Gall and Eoghan Stewart plus Facebook and Twitter the following account was pieced together. A few words from Gary Innes at the end of the match also helped paint the picture. Is it accurate? After the disappointment of the result that matters little.


Here it is.

Shinty/ Hurling International Series
Second Test, Pairc Esler, Newry Co.Down 
Ireland  (2-18) 24  Scotland (0-8)  8
(Ireland win the series 4-3)

Ronald Ross fielded an unchanged side as Scotland attempted to secure their first victory in the mixed code series since the event became a double header in 2010.


With a comfortable lead from the first leg – a 3-1 advantage based on two points for a win and a bonus point for scoring twice ,the side should have been in the driving seat but playing under floodlights into a tricky wind they found their opponents much more up for the return encounter.


The speed and the quick interplay of the Irish side hassled the visitors into conceding early fouls but Ireland were initially unable to cut the ball over the bar for a score and it was Scotland’s hero of last week Kevin Bartlett who put his side ahead with a two pointer when Irish keeper Eoin Reilly handled outside the box.


Clare’s David Mcinerney quickly levelled with a free off the ground and then just after a nice combination between Bartlett and Roddy Macdonald resulted in a tremendous save from Reilly , West Meath’s Eoin Price broke away to put the Irish ahead by a single point.


The pace of the Irish continued to worryScotland and if the Hurlers had not been so wasteful in front of goal then Scotland would have been in deeper trouble. Bartlett though picked up another two points from a free hit to give Scotland a brief lead after front man Fraser Mackintosh had been fouled.
Ireland then began to turn the screw. First Paul Divilly powered past stick-less Scotland defender Steven Macdonald to nick a single point then Eoin Price and Patrick Maher worked fine singles before some fine ground hurling from Price culminated in a fine goal. Scotland had a late chance from distance but Steven Macdonald’s free hit flew wide and the visitors went in at half time still ahead on aggregate scores but on the day trailing 9-6.


Ireland started the second half in the same high tempo manner with Connor McCann immediately striking a single. Despite Bartlett once again popping over another two pointer Lehane immediately restored the differential.


Ireland then had the ball in the net for a second time in 58 minutes but the game was pulled back for an offence which was immediately converted by Lehane for two points to bring the tally to 13-6.


Price and Leland picked up two more singles and matters might have been worse if Scotland keeper Stuart Macdonald had not pulled off a fantastic stop from Maher. Bartlett picked up two more points to keep Scotland ahead but further singles from Larkin McLaughlin and local boy John McCusker once again evened things out.


It was only a matter of time however before the Irish onslaught succeeded and a second goal 3 minutes from time from man of the match Eoin Price brought Ireland the extra point which decisively ensured a home victory in the series for the 5thyear in a row.
Further singles from McCusker and Lehane were then racked up to further widen the aggregate scores but it was the two goals from Price which definitively decided the fate of the trophy.



A disappointment for Scotland then - and certainly not the first for the country this year. Still, the side was in with a chance right up till the half way mark but the faster, fitter men in green were just too good overall, though to be fair it was not until the last quarter that they finally pulled ahead.


As for the Glen? John Barr played his part on both Saturdays. Glenners can’t ask for more. The Bught at least provided the crowd.


The pictures- cheery ones most of them from that happy day at the Bught and most from the Camanachd Association via Neil Paterson. One or two from the Wing Centre himself- and one of Kevin Bartlett in Newry from Kim Ferguson.Why ? Kevin at least hit the target. There certainly was not much of a crowd in Newry but at least the Bught stand was pretty full up- and you never thought you would ever see two pics of Jimmy Gow in the "D"?

 

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Glen man takes over Shinty's top job

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The election of Glenurquhart’s Jim Barr to the Presidency of the Camanachd Association is as good a reason as can be given for any Glen blog let alone the “D” coming on line again after a two month stutter. That stutter has in no small measure been due to the manner of the Glen’s defeat in the Camanachd Cup final and the loss of the Shinty/Hurling series to the Irish after what can only be described as a disappointing second leg In Newry.


Still Jim Barr’s appointment on Friday 27th is rightly marked as an important occasion in the history of Glenurquhart Shinty Club. Not only is Jim the first Glen president of the Association but he is probably the most famous Glenner to come out of Balmacaan Road since Burton Morrison, Mike Cameron and Eddie Tembo. Certainly, he is not quite as famous as his son John however who when the Wing Centre last checked up on had his own Wiki page but undoubtedly Jim will probably be accorded one now.


On a more serious note Jim brings to the Camanachd post much experience, common sense and a deep knowledge of the game. He first made his name as a member of the very successful Aberdeen University side of the early 1970s. When he the left University side he resumed his links with the Glen and played with the red and blacks at all levels. He also managed the Glen firsts and served as Chairman. He has also served his time on the Board of the Camanachd Association in various roles and his years of management experience at a senior level in the oil industry will stand him in good stead as he guides the Association through the various stages of its next strategic plan.


The picture of Jim on the night could have been better if Neil Paterson had been present but the snap of Jim in the helmet from a year or two back is perhaps more appropriate both because he may need that helmet for protection in the years to come and because it also sends out a message to young players that wearing a helmet can be cool. On the other hand looking at the pic, perhaps not.  Whatever happens in the short term however, the long term future for shinty as it is for hurling must be helmeted. The Insurers in the long run will see to that.


The most pressing business of the AGM was the increase in the Premier League to 10 teams – and the maintenance of the National League as the tier below though it was not increased in numbers to the disappointment of some. Nor was it scrapped altogether to the equally felt disappointment of others. The only thing this writer would say, apart from the obvious that the whole scene needs to be monitored carefully, is the fact that the Board should perhaps look sympathetically at the cup entry regulations for the 1 team clubs. In the North that means for the moment Lochcarron, Boleskine, Glengarry et al. The MacTavish is beyond them and if experience last year is anything to go by teams will pull out depending on who they are drawn against. They do have the plate but that too will be the preserve of bigger teams. They perhaps need a chance in at least one of the other national trophies.


The increase in games at Premier level as Fraser Inglis sensibly pointed out in the post meeting session also calls into question the viability of having a two leg international series. The maintenance of a single fixture however is a must for the profile of the sport.



What else has been happening in the world of Glen Shinty?

The Annual get together at the Clansman Hotel was held on Friday 14th November. A good night enjoyed by all with fine dining and dancing , very appropriately to Caman.


The evening also saw the yearly awards to the players and the awards were as follows:


Young player of the year-Fraser Heath



Second Team Players' Player of the Year-Paul Mackintosh

 

First Team Players' Player of the year-Arran Macdonald.

 

The Wing Centre forgot to bring along a decent camera and had to rely on an inferior model to pick up a snap of Fraser Heath. The others come from somewhere else.

 
Earlier in the month the under 14 side were presented with their North Division 2 – Phase 2 League Trophy by Camanachd Association Development Officer Russell Jones.



Before that the inaugural GUSC Youth awards were held in the theatre at Glenurquhart High School and a series of excellent pics of the presentation were presented on the club website courtesy of Andrew and Sheena Lloyd. The names of the winners were also recorded and will of course appear for posterity in the next edition of the Glenurquhart Bulletin. A number of these pics appear here.


The youngsters did particularly well this season and a later Blog will detail their year.

Also worthy of mention was the fact that Fraser Heath represented Scotland under21s while John Barr was chosen for the senior match. Stuart Reid headed the management team for the Scotland womens side while Ewan Menzies was a member of the victorious Scottish University side which defeated the Irish in the mixed code game.
At the start of the month the Wing Centre got a bit of a surprise. He was down late to the Ballachulish v Skye playoff match and on the way there he was met by a man who said. “I see the Glen have had to step in at the last minute to make a game of it. Ballachulish probably could not get past the landslides they keep having at Onich.”


From the gate of the field that’s what it looked like: one team was wearing the familiar red and black –but the Wing Centre did not recognise the players until he got close enough to make out that it was John Macdonald, Lorne Brown, Donald Wilson, Clark the full back and the rest of the Balla boys who were in the Glen strip.
 

Unfortunately it did not bring them luck but at the very least it was good for the general exposure of the Glen sponsors because Neil Paterson who took the pics (and is here gratefully acknowledged) managed to get some into the P & J. As a game it was a good enough contest which drew a large crowd from both communities who were passionate in their support, so to speak.


In the end it did not matter because thanks to the AGM’s decision to restructure the Leagues both sides progressed to the next level of shinty.


What’s next on the agenda for Glen shinty?  Only these next two minor details



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Christmas Message from the “D”: Be thankful and keep building on what we’ve got.

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At this time of the year the Wing Centre usually writes his annual letter to Santa. This year he won’t bother. Why? Because Santa certainly seems to pay no attention at all to requests from the Glen. He probably stops off in Badenoch to pick up his reindeer from their Cairngorm summer pastures and while he was there last year he picked up Ronald Ross’s Xmas letter and since Santa can’t give everyone the same present the Glen missed out. So “ma thogair” to Santa - the Glen will just give thanks for what we actually have –teams of all ages still playing the old sport of the Gael but in particular the youngsters coming through.


Have a wee look at this year’s Xmas Card; it contains photos of all the four main teams: the firsts, seconds, under-17s and the under-14s. Enough of the “D” has been devoted to the firsts and seconds already – and rightly so. This posting however will concentrate solely on the youngsters and their participation in a variety of competitions over the past 12 months.


The Shinty Year started in February with the Inverness Area CC Primary indoor six a side tournament in which the Glen p6/7 side were successful enough to proceed to the North National Schools tournament at Fort William.


The next event on the calendar was the local Glen Albyn (six a side) tournament in March. This is confined more or less to teams from the Great Glen and the Aird area and at this time in the under 14 category Glenurquhart were victorious. After the Easter holidays the p6/7 Glen Albyn tournament took place over two Saturdays. At this age group the Glen were able to put out two teams and at the end of the tournament the A side were the winners. This was quickly followed up with the P5 and under competition, again over two Saturdays and encouragingly the Club was able to field two teams once again. Most encouragingly, a third Glen side this time from Balnain Primary came out on top.


 
 
 

The Robertson Cup (under -14), run by Glenurquhart High School took place in April and this was won by one of  the High School’s own sides – and 4 of the players were attached to the Glen .

 
April too saw the start of the under 14 & under 17 Leagues. There were only three teams in the first section of the league that the Glen, under the management and guidance of Davie Stewart and Stuart Morrison, competed in and the matches were played on a home and away basis. Glen’s side was made up of players from nearer the start of the age group though there were one or two older players available to bolster the team. In the end Glen came second in their section losing out to a strong Fort William side but still progressing on to the Phase Two games after the summer break. In October a win against Strathglass in the last match of the season saw the Glen pick up the trophy for this B league and the players were presented with their medals by Russell Jones the Camanachd Associations Development Officer later in the month.


In the MacMaster Cup however, a first round win against Strathglass was unfortunately followed by defeat against Kingussie.


The under 17s as a squad were again a little on the young side with the exception of 4/5 players at the top end of the age range. Under the management of Davie Stewart and his helpers they took part in a large League with a total of eight teams competing. The early part of the season went well but after the summer term three players were lost either to work commitments or (as in the case of one of our strongest players, Jack Hosie) through leaving the area and this stretched the Club’s resources and the team ended up  5th in the League despite some good performances.


As can be seen from the Christmas Card at the top of the posting the Glen were fortunate in that they were able to kit out both under age teams in the same strips as the seniors thanks to the Loch Ness Inn, who sponsored the under-14s, and Home Farm Cottages who provided the under-17 strip.
Thanks also go at this juncture to HIS and in particular incoming Club Chairman, Garry Mackintosh who in the early part of the season initiated an interesting incentive scheme in which for a period of commitment every youngster received a free water bottle and a discount on new shinty sticks.


 
 

At representative level, Euan Lloyd was selected for the Scotland team that travelled to Ireland in July while Finlay Robertson was picked for the North v South under-14 match at Spean. Euan Carroll and Jamie Maclennan also represented the club at the annual summer shinty camp.
Perhaps one of the biggest aspects of shinty progress the Club made this year as has been hinted above was at Primary level. The youngsters were kept busy with the Kirkhill Gala, the Peter English Shinty Festival in June, and the Schools’ World Cup Day: P6/7 went through to the final of the development plate and actually won it,
while Balnain also performed well coming 5th in their group.
The teachers at Balnain and Coach Donjee Macleod are to be congratulated for all their efforts in that regard. Finally the young team also made an appearance at the Kingussie Tournament.

Glen were also invited to Strathglass for the George Phimister Trophy in September with a P6/7 team and an under-14 6 a side team- and in the end the Glenners won the trophy.


During the summer holidays the Club ran a programme in connection with Highlife Highland with coaches Gavin Heath and Stuart Mackintosh giving freely of their time. The youngsters also took part in the Schools Camanachd Primary tournaments under the guidance of coach Stuart Mackintosh.


Glenurquhart Primary invited the Club youth coaches to run shinty sessions through the Spring and Summer terms and these went well and this introduced up to half a dozen newer players to the regular club nights. Teachers Louise Macdonald and Kirsteen Mullin helped to set the programme up and it was delivered by Helen Maclennan, Laura Stoddart, Laura Quinn, Russell Fraser and George Stewart.


The big climax to the year came on October 6th with the inaugural youth awards ceremony which took place at the Craigmonie Centre. The idea behind this innovatory evening was to acknowledge the up and coming players at youth level and at the same time to engage all the new Mums and Dads with the Club. It was a successful evening and Sheena Lloyd’s photos- some of which are copied here-  give a grand flavour of the night.


Behind all this youthful activity stand the coaching squad all volunteers and all encouraged to take part in coaching courses: 4 volunteers came forward to complete the Foundation course which was run under the auspices of the Camanachd Association and already 10 volunteers have put their names down to take part in the Level 1 Course at the end of January 2015.


So there we have it: a comprehensive Youth report- and thanks to Helen Maclennan for providing the info and to all the coaches, volunteers and teachers who made it happen. Enjoy the pics and enjoy your shinty one and all.




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'More are the merrier

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If you think about it the biggest disappointment last weekend in Glen Shinty was not the defeat by Newtonmore; it was actually the fact that with the cancellation of the GMA visit to play the Sutherland Cup match, the Glen seconds will now have gone nearly a month without a game in which young players can be used. Why is that a big deal?  Simply because of the fact that the Glen youngsters are playing “out of their league” in the sense that at least six of their matches are against what would be have been seen as first team sides last season – Strathglass, Skye and Inverness- and manager Iain Macleod is concerned at risking 14 and 15 year olds against these teams filled with experienced players. The GMA match would have allowed him to play these young lads- certainly Lachie Smith, Liam Robertson and Jamie Maclennan would have featured-against at least some players in their own age group.


Last year when the League consisted of genuine second teams there is no doubt these young lads would have played every week-indeed some of them more or less did- : this year these same young lads and one or two just behind them must be getting frustrated with their lack of involvement and truthfully the situation is just not quite good enough and the Glen management must hope that these and other youngsters have the patience to stick with the sport until their chance can come.


GMA weren’t the only side to be unable to field a team in the Sutherland: Aberdour also found they were unable to get enough guys to go to Lochbroom while in the Balliemore, Strachur were unable to get a quorum big enough to justify a pile of money traveling to Skye.


All three games involved huge journeys for the visiting side– and the Wing Centre guesses that player availability was compromised not only by the prospect of a long day’s journey lasting into night but also by the fact that in some areas of the country schools had shut for the Easter break and youngsters were probably not available for the games due to being on holiday.


Can this be fixed? Maybe not perfectly but when you ask the kids they will tell you they want to play games and they want to do so every week- and if shinty can’t provide them with that then other sports perhaps will.


Perhaps it can be fixed if we can make the early rounds regional in nature which will ensure that teams do not have to spend the whole day away from home. It may also be that we need to look at being more flexible over when these games should be played, though with many youngsters due to be sitting exams in the next month or so that may be easier to think about than do.


The Glen being the Glen of course many of the second team lads actually did not miss out on a game at all. They got a call up for the first team to face Newtonmore. Glen started this game missing 8 players whom they would normally expect to participate in a first team squad. Gone through injury or other availability problems  were James Macpherson Andrew Corrigan, and David Smart . Added to that Arran Macdonald and Neale Reid were unavailable and to make matters worse Fraser Heath came down with flu on the morning of the match while Billy Urquhart suffered another flare up of his back injury To make matters worse Dave “Dixon” Maclennan was delayed and missed the start of the match.


As far as the game itself was concerned, it went pretty well as might be expected against the Champions given Glen’s understrength team.  Newtonmore had the bulk of the early pressure and struck a couple of decent chances wide; the Glen  then settled down and looked quite comfortable in defence until Fraser Mackintosh fired in from a corner after 20 minutes.The match continued in a similar vein until half time with ‘More having plenty of the ball but despite that they managed no further scoring.Newtonmore continued to dominate in the second half and the game was effectively lost in a ten minute spell when Fraser Mackintosh scored his 2nd after 50 minutes and then Danny MacRae added 2 more in 55 and 60 minutes.


There was a real danger that the red and blacks could have been heading for a very heavy defeat, however the managers took Ewan Brady back to full centre where he played very well and Glen actually came more into the game, culminating in an excellent strike from Lewis around the 80 minute mark to make the final score 4 -1.


In conclusion, if the Glen had to be extremely understrength, then this was probably not the worst game for it to have happened.  The 2nd team boys who came in all put in a very good shift against top players.


John Barr and Mike Brady were again solid at the back while Ewan Brady did well when brought back to the centre line.


The unexpected re-appearance of the excellent Danny MacRae from injury pretty well summed up the Glen’s day.


Some of the side’s more experienced players did not have their greatest day in the red and black, but as they spent most of the match under pressure and on the back foot, one could not be over critical.


To conclude on a more positive note there was nothing in the Newtonmore team to dissuade any Glenner from the point of view that given a full Glen team, they are beatable. The real trick for the Glen will be to get the squad that put 4 past ‘Shiel back fit and ready to face them though-not an easy ask.


As for Newtonmore they played as well as they needed to. They are side that do the simple things simply-all are good hitters and all are strong players who are very hard to shift off the ball once they are on it. Remember when you were wee and you used to get fruit cocktail with condensed milk for Sunday pudding; that’s what you get with this Newtonmore team. Good old fashioned hearty, even retro shinty-maybe that’s what all shinty should be- not patting the ball about as if the pitch was some new-fangled Astro turf.  On the other hand it might be good if the Glen could manage that more often too. It will be interesting to see how Lovat cope with them this weekend.



Thanks to Sheena Lloyd for all the pictures. Good to see Cork up to take in the match.     


 

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Shinty’s getting ready to go again

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A whole lot of snow has fallen on the Meall (not to mention Balmacaan Road as may be seen from the pic at the top of the page) since the last posting - and perhaps that is just as it should be for the close season held some measure of sadness for supporters of the Glen and its shinty.
 Life goes on certainly and will do so but at the same time the Club remembers other lives which have come to an end.


This last while there were three losses and all of them, it has to be said, were premature. Ronald Robertson formerly of Gartally who played for the second team for a number of years in the early to mid-1970s died after a short illness. Geoffrey Cameron once of Balmacaan Road, a fine youth player who also had a spell with the seconds, passed away at the age of 41. Finally Linda Smart, mum of internationalist and first team regular David Smart, sadly died at the age of 60 after a brief battle with cancer. Linda (nee Duff) had a connection with the club which went of course beyond her son’s commitment to the team for two of her brothers were heavily involved in the Drum sides of the past. Winston (Winkie) was a member of the 1977 Strathdearn winning side while Ali was the fiercely competitive full back who captained the second team for a time during the late 1980s: he had the misfortune to lose out in the Sutherland Cup final to a fine Kyles side at Taynuilt in 1987.  


(Sadly, just as this post was about to be uploaded, word came to the “D” that Mrs Dolly Fraser, Shewglie, has died. Mother to Glen stalwarts Calum, Ken and Ron Fraser, Dolly has been a much loved figure in the club ever since it was reformed in 1948 as her late husband Danny was one of those instrumental in reviving the ancient game in the Glen. A more detailed appreciation will be included in a later posting.)


However, to the new season. Just as the Camanachd Association are preparing for the new season by unveiling a renewed sponsorship deal with Marine Harvest - a six figure sum over three years would appear to the deal - so the Glen are putting matters in hand to collect the more modest three figure sums which accrue from their pitch side display boards.


The C.A. sponsorship is certainly good news though the Wing Centre did feel his heart fall a little when he learned that the deal did not involve a company new to the sport. No Global? No Lifescan? No Tulloch? No Diageo? It is a pity that none of these business folk see shinty as a partner in the commercial journey - and it was a pity to see Orion make a clean break particularly since their name gave a dynamic edge to the title of the Premiership.


Still we live in the real world and there at a local level in late December with the help of the Miller family of the Clansman Hotel, the Club successfully organised the annual “SwINNdle” at the Loch Ness Inn and the results of that are to be shared with the Glenurquhart Care Centre later this month.


Also in preparation for the new start a goodly number of the Club’s trainers went through a UKCC Level 1 course under the tutelage of the Camanachd Association’s Graham Cormack, Russell Jones and our old friend Jemma Docker. With other coaches in the club having already picked up Level 1 or Foundation certificates it shows that the Glen Shinty club are attempting to put themselves in a good place for the future.


The “D” has banged on for years about some of the problems that shinty faces: at times it feels like you’re walking up a down escalator and just as you start to make progress someone throws a switch to make it speed up. It’s all about Shinty’s place in the community in the narrow sense and about its place in the Highlands and Scotland in a more general sense. This is a theme which one could go on about at some length - but the upshot of it all is that there are not enough shinty players coming through in the peripheral areas and even in some of the traditional heartlands. The clubs mostly do their best but the sport does need some official backing from the institutions of the state and local government - and the bottom line is that it is the job of the Camanachd Association to keep on pushing for that.


Otherwise no matter what the participation figures might seem to say, they mean very little if a team like Lochbroom goes into abeyance and neither Bute nor Lochcarron can carry two teams with one performing at the higher level. Of course there will be individual circumstances which pertain to each community and the scarcity of young children in some small communities especially in the Highlands is disturbing – the pictures of the new P1 intake that are published in local papers tell their own stories. So where does this leave shinty? Certainly having to expand into the cities as the C.A. recognise is a necessity for long term development but the Heartland needs shoring up too. Certainly the issue runs wider than the Glen but here too the trick is to keep working at it in the face of whatever has to be faced.


With that in mind preparation for the new season is now in full swing with two sessions per week under the eye of trainer Gavin Heath. The snow cover on the Astro has however prevented much in the way outside activity taking place and may well play havoc with the friendly fixtures which have been arranged for the next few weeks before we open our season with the Macdonald Cup & Ali Ban matches at home on the 28th February.


In the younger age groups the action has started too: the under 14s travelled to Dalfaber, Aviemore for the 2015 North under-14 indoor championship and did well by making it through to the semi finals in which they were edged out by Kinlochshiel. Meanwhile the P5 and under side took part in the IACC Indoor first shinty 6-a-side tournament at the Craigmonie Centre and put in a sterling performance.
This weekend it is the turn of the P6/7 squad and the “D” wishes them all the best. Indeed the “D” wishes all the best to all shinty players wherever they are to be found: let’s hope this season is one to remember for all the right reasons.   
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Deconstructing the “D” and destructing opponents.

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Glenurquhart 4 Inveraray 1 (Orion Group Premiership)


Lovat 3 Glenurquhart 4 (North Division 1)


“Well,” said the co-manager to the Treasurer. “I’ve experienced losing 4-1 and I’ve also experienced winning 4-1 and I know which I prefer”


The co-manager was speaking just after the 4-1 victory over Inveraray at Blairbeg last Saturday and he looked reasonably pleased.


“Mind you,” said the other co-manager,”thon Inveraray are not a bad side and we rode our luck for the first 20 minutes. If they were not so wasteful in front of goals it might have been a different story altogether.”


And so it very well might, thought the Treasurer to himself, but out of respect to the two managers he actually said nothing about the game but wondered how the Wing Centre would see the game in the D, so he said that to the managers.


They looked at each other and shook their heads.


“Half the time I wonder what game he has actually been to or if he has even been to the match at all?  How he can write what he does some weeks is beyond me. And if we are saying that from a Glen point of view what on earth can other teams think? He’ll only be firing them up to go against us- and you can tell him that when you see him, because I didn’t see him here today”


And so the Treasurer passed on this information to the Wing Centre (which is why the above exchange is included here at all) and the Wing Centre duly sighed.


“It depends on what they think the D is... or what it is for. Is it reporting or is it comment?”


“I think they feel it is fiction- and what is more fiction told by the classic unreliable narrator, “said the Treasurer.


“Rubbish,” said the Wing Centre. “Like who?”


“Like the guy in Chuck Palahniuk’s book ‘Fight Club’ or Patrick Bateman in ‘American Psycho’ “


The Wing Centre shook his head, “I’ve never read any of that stuff.”


“All right then- Forest Gump in the film. Do you get it now?”


“You mean someone who is telling something but their perception is limited through their point of view.”
"Yes"


“If you are wanting an example of that, all you need to do is listen to Charlie Bannerman’s interview with the Newtonmore manager after the Lovat game; you don’t need to be showing off about films and books”


“That was just a one-off interview given in the heat of the moment. That wasn’t a whole blog written from a biased perspective.” …    and with that the Treasurer left to count the money from the Inveraray game which is how the Wing Centre found himself with a little pondering to do before he completed the report on the match.



It certainly had been a dodgy start-and the co-manager was wrong about him not being at the game. He had been though he did spend much of it in the tea-room keeping out of the strong wind which the Glen played against in the first half.

The start of the game however was all Inveraray, and for the first 20 minutes they dominated the game, showing impressive skill and smart thinking to open up the Glen defence on a number of occasions and the red and blacks were indebted to John Barr, Smack the musical goalie  and some wayward finishing that they did not go behind.  Gradually the defence got on top of their men, Ally Mackintosh moved to play in front of his man, while Mike Brady  and  Ewan Lloyd both gradually came on to their game. Inveraray also had the upper hand in the midfield at this stage though Glen should have grabbed a goal when Fraser Heath, who had taken a while to adjust to his forward role, set Neale Reid through clear on goal with only Graham Macpherson to beat but disappointingly the chance was missed.


Just before the halftime break however, the Glen struck twice. The first came in the 40th minute when Fraser Heath slipped a neat ball to David Smart and he laid it on to the stick of Lewis Maclennan who smashed it home with the visitors defence all at seas. Three minutes later Eddie Tembo fired a ball forward from midfield; Lewis Maclennan knocked it across the goals and Fraser Heath finished powerfully from close range. It was another trademark Glen move and it made it look at that stage as if the Glen were well on their way to a comfortable win.


However, just when it looked like the Glen could actually enjoy the 2nd half, Inveraray scored just 3 minutes after the break. This was a goal that was good to watch if you were from Inveraray but very poor from a Glen perspective as the Argyll lads played a pre-arranged short corner- Ewan MacMurdo to Gary Macpherson and back to MacMurdo in a   move which caught the Glen defence sleeping and was expertly fired into the roof of the net.


 
After this point the Glen started to take control of the game and through some excellent interplay from the forwards, created a number of good chances.  The 3rd goal came from a penalty, after a hack on the edge of the box on 65 minutes and was dispatched firmly by goalkeeper Stuart Mackintosh the designated penalty taker. Three minutes later we scored the 4th which effectively killed the game and this was a goal of high quality, with the ball being moved in the air through the forwards from Lewis Maclennan to Neal Reid before being volleyed first time by Fraser Heath high into the net. In conclusion, this was a game the Glen needed to win and actually won well in the end.  The management had targeted movement and pace up front and that is what the spectators got.  Fraser Heath and the returning David Smart bring an extra dimension to the forward play, but the bosses had specifically asked Neale Reid to move the ball quicker and he delivered on almost every occasion and had a very good game.  Lewis Maclennan also played well.


In the centre line, Eddie Tembo had one of his best games of the season and Ewan Brady playing in the crucial role of full centre had an impressively effective game against Inveraray’s experienced David Robertson though he like the rest of the squad took about 20 minutes to get focused. That slow start won’t work every week. As Steve “Stato” Henderson pointed out to the Wing Centre after the game “Inveraray had 15 corners but they wasted them all but one”.


The only other down side was that the Glen’s Ally Mackintosh was booked for persistent fouling, a decision one could not argue with , though to be fair he has been playing all season through an injury which hampers his mobility.



The news from over the hill where the young boys were visiting the Croft was even better. For the first time in a good number of years the Glen came away with a win 4-3 with Callum “Smudger” Smith grabbing a hat-trick. That means he has scored more goals than Neale Reid and as many as Lewis.

As in Drum, the match was played in a very strong wind so the Glen decided to take the wind at their backs and get off to a good start. Unfortunately the side did not get into the game in the first twenty minutes, losing the midfield battle. Defensively Glen were shaky too and deservedly lost a goal about 15 minutes in. This woke the team up thankfully and they started to get on top. Callum Smith looked a threat every time he got the ball at full forward. Jack Hosie equalised in 20 minutes with a good finish inside the box and then Callum Smith scored a great goal a few minutes before half time to give the Glen the lead. Smith who was outstanding  showed great strength and skill to win the ball, then had the composure to create space and score.


 Unfortunately at half time Glen lost Paul Mackintosh due to his ongoing injury problems so Ross MacAulay was  dropped back into defence. Youngster Liam Robertson then moved into wing centre and Lachie Smith came on at wing forward while Ewan Menzies came on for Rory Maclean. 


These second half changes were able to transform the Glen’s performance  despite the fact that the team were now playing against the  strong and persistent wind.


The centre line continued to be dominant creating chance after chance, with Ewan Menzies making immediate impact. Unfortunately, the Glen were unable to kill the game off and because of that they were punished when Lovat scored a soft goal against the run of play.


After this setback the Glen remained on the back foot for a short period but the strong leaders on the park, Donald Fraser and ‘Dixie’ Maclennan, got the team back on top and again they dominated play scoring two more fine goals through Callum “Smudger” Smith. Smudger had to be the Glen man of the match. He was very strong in the tackle and showed an excellent first touch as well as good balance and control. His distribution to the players around him ,including that to his younger brother Lachie, was excellent too.

Disappointingly the Glen then gifted Lovat another easy goal and that brought in its train a nervous ending to the game with Lovat hitting the post in the last minute. Indeed Glen even had to pull Callum Smith back to defence to make sure of retaining both points though any other result would surely have been a travesty. In conclusion it is only fair to point out that as well as “Smudger” Smith doing the biz up front, “Dixie” Maclennan also came onto an excellent game at full centre too. Beyond his actual playing skills, his positive attitude the whole time helped to inspire the team especially in the latter stages when things were looking tough.


In addition, full back Donald Fraser, solid and strong, was also an inspiration in the heart of the defence and although the hope is that the injured Paul Mackintosh can still  play some part in the games to come, the basis is clearly there of a good competitive side albeit in a ridiculously imbalanced league. Finally and most certainly worthy of mention is Cairn Urquhart  who is a fine example of a hard working club man. A regular attender at training, Cairn always puts in unstinting effort and he is now getting his reward: he will undoubtedly be a key player throughout the rest of the season.


Nearly all of the pictures of the Inveraray match come courtesy of Sheena Lloyd: the very first snap was taken by former manager and forever Glenner Drew MacNeill. Let’s hope the rainbow really is an omen of good things to come.

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Glen retain Macdonald Cup against a stuffy Strath side.

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Glenurquhart retained the Macdonald Cup with a clear 3-0 victory over ancient rivals Strathglass and while the result was decisive enough, it was a competitive game and a number of the young Strathglass players showed that they will be a force to be reckoned with in North Division 1 this season.
Last week the Glen ran out 5-1 winners over visitors Kilmallie and it has to be said the margin of victory was a bit of a surprise to all at Balbeg. It must be remembered though that Kilmallie were without their young keeper and they had to weaken their outfield from the start of the match by pulling Michael Rodgers back into goals. Added to that they suffered a number of unfortunate injuries including one which may come back to haunt them later in the season-namely an ankle knock to John Stewart who has been without fail their most high profile player over the last decade.
 
The Glen’s goals were fine and for the most part well taken and one was especially fine-goal number 2 which came in 25 minutes. Fraser Heath knocked a ball out to Eddie Tembo and he fired over a high ball to the far post where Lewis Maclennan was on hand to glance it into the net with the heel of his club.
 
 

 
This week’s Macdonald Cup encounter was refereed by John Angus Gillies of Skye and it commenced as was appropriate with a minute’s silence in memory of the late Dolly Fraser of Shewglie. Dolly was an institution in the Glen and a lifelong supporter along with her late husband Danny who was one of the folk who instigated the revival of shinty in the Glen in 1948.


The opening stages of the match were very even though the Glen put together some fluent forward moves which unfortunately did not result in an accurate shot on goal. As against Kilmallie the Glen defence marshalled by John Barr and club captain Andrew Corrigan played well and denied the Strathglass forwards clear opportunities on goal though it has to be said that they made Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh look lively on a couple of occasions. At the other end Strath keeper Steve MacLachlan was in fine form and kept the Glen out until the 31stminute when buckshee back Michael Stokes, who had a fine game throughout conceded a free hit some 20 yards out. Lewis Maclennan quickly slipped the ball forward to Neale Reid and on the turn he whipped it past MacLachlan for the opener.


To the frustration of the Glen crowd there was no further scoring in the first half, though Lewis Maclennan had a strike ruled offside – and at the break the Glen management rang the changes. Eddie Tembo came on in the centreline and James “Frosty” Macpherson took his place in the forefront of the attack leaving Reid and Maclennan in supporting roles. The changes did not immediately take effect though Strath keeper MacLachlan made a series of excellent saves. Glen continued to press and eventually with 20 minutes to go made the breakthrough- James Macpherson fired a shot on target and the rebound from keeper MacLachlan fell to Neale Reid who poked it home. Within 10 minutes the Glen went three ahead when Macpherson latched on to a through ball and dispatched it purposefully past MacLachlan to put the issue beyond doubt.



After the match Glen captain Andrew Corrigan was presented with the Cup and retiring chairman Russell Fraser also received a presentation to mark his stepping down from the Club hot seat.
Player of the match? The Shewglie trophy went to Steve MacLachlan the Strathglass keeper for services rendered.

There were a number of other Strath players who turned in performances in particular youngster Josh Fraser who has excellent pace and stick work and Sam Todd at wing centre also played his part but the Wing Centre cannot sign off this match without a mention to Strathglass full back Donald Fraser- and the Wing Centre got the story from the mouth of the Treasurer himself. The Treasurer was going round the field doing a collection and happened to stop beside goal judge Billy Macleod of Glen fame and Alan Macleod the ex-Strath keeper. As the conversation continued the Treasurer lost focus on the match and suddenly realised that Donald Fraser was heading back towards the “D” to challenge Neale Reid and to save a probable goal he would have to play the ball out for a corner. If he drove it out full strength he was definitely going to do the Treasurer a mischief since he was less than 10 yards away. If it had been another Strath player there would have been no mercy-teach the old Glenner a lesson- but Donald is a true gent. He quickly buckled his wrist and chipped the ball high over the Treasurer’s balding pate. As he did so he gave a wee grin which let the Treasurer know that he had done it deliberately to save the distress of a fellow Fraser. No-one else in the crowd would have realised what had happened except the two Macleods who being Macleods had scuttled out of the way sharpish.

Earlier in the day, the Glen under 14s picked up the Slater’s Arms Cup courtesy of a 4-0 win over Strathglass youngsters. It was an entertaining game and the Glen goals came from Jed Stoddart (2) and Fergus Robertson (2). Glen captain full-back John Peteranna was presented with the cup by Jimmac Mackintosh former proprietor of the Slater’s.

Talking of presentations the final picture shows Glen Chieftain Alan Bell handing over a cheque for £1000 to the manager of the Glenurquhart Care Centre Carolanne Mainland. This money was raised at the Xmas SwINNdle which was organised by the Shinty Club and Isla Urquhart of the Loch Ness Inn with prizes, as was mentioned in an earlier blog, kindly provided by the Miller family of Loch Ness Gifts. We couldn’t avoid a second mention of this because the picture is so sweet in that it shows Centre user Tom Cave (l) and Alan (r) pinching a kiss from the mum of two Lovat players.

Finally and still on a charity theme , a cheque for £300 raised at Saturday’s Macdonald Cup match will be winging its way to the Isle of Skye as our contribution to the “Lucky 2B Here” heart-start charity set up a few years ago by Skye Camanachd’s Ross Cowie.



The pictures are from Sheena Lloyd , apart from the last one which shows the trophy back in its rightful place in the Loch Ness Inn where former Strathglass "hero" Roy Mackenzie was able to see it at close quarters for the first time in many years!!


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Discovering the Power of Positive Thinking-umm –not sure about that.

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“You have to be more positive,” said the Master Plumber to the Wing Centre as they drove along the A82 in pursuit of enlightenment. “Shinty has continued over the years despite all its difficulties. Just like the Games. The last thing it needs is someone being depressed about it: that will just make it worse…”

 
The Wing Centre had been ranting about something he saw in the Courier. Piles of money was being promised for sports facilities at the Bught - a velodrome, a rugbydrome, a tennisdrome- but he did not read anything about a shintydrome! It worried him that Inverness would lose its outside Bught pitch to a caravan park- and that there was no word of doing up the old wooden shinty stand at the very home of the native sport. How could the Camanachd Association have let that go by without a cheep? When you needed them, where were all the Councillors who had drunk the free Glenmorangie in the past and eaten the Marine Harvest smoked salmon vol-au-vents more recently?
 
Indeed, where was Donald Stewart when you needed him?
The Master Plumber was not impressed. “I’m too busy living in the here and now to worry about existential problems especially when they are concerned with shinty. Things will work out. After all Highlanders couldn’t make up their minds whether to spell their names Macdonald or MacDonald. And even then they were never sure if it was Mc or Mac. What happened? Nothing. They still all got called up for the First War and bit the dust in equal numbers with or without a capital. Both teams won on Saturday - why don’t we talk about that?”
And so the conversation in the van turned to the fact that Iain Macleod’s bunch of kids had crossed the watershed to take on a Lochcarron/Lochbroom select and managed to come back with two points. One goal scored but two points granted.

It turned out that Dunk Achtuie got the goal and that a description had been given that implied it was a fabulous strike. Cairn Urquhart had fired a shot across the field from some distance out and Dunk had seemingly stuck up his stick, guided the ball on to the oxter of a passing guillemot from whence it rebounded, confusing Lochcarron goalkeeper Peter Mackenzie and ended up in the net.    It was a goal that will live for ever in the annals of Glen shinty lore.

 
 
At the other end Glen keeper David MacFadyen had a couple of excellent early saves before turning acrobatic in order to save a screamer from Gregor Cushnie. Lochcarron put in plenty effort but full back Paul Mackintosh stood firm supported by James Hurwood, Lachie Smith and Liam Robertson. The rest of the lads in front also had to put in a shift because notwithstanding their present predicament some of the Carranachs have plenty experience at a reasonably exalted level. From a Glen point of view the game was notable not only for the inclusion of three youngsters-Finlay Robertson, Ryan Porter and Jamie Maclennan- but also for the return to Glen colours of Andrew Young.
Down in Inveraray the first team without John Barr managed to win 2-0 in a match which the Wing Centre had considered before-hand to be a difficult contest. The fact that the A82 was blocked by a boulder and the lads had to make a detour round by Inverness and the south shore only added to the pressure. It turned out all right in the end though as always there was a price to pay: Euan Lloyd tweaked a hamstring and had to come off. He also got himself booked as did Ewan Brady though neither fared as badly as Euan MacMurdo who picked up a straight red and a two game rest. You have to wonder what ref Billy Wotherspoon has against boys who are called Euan/Ewan.

 
Inveraray were without David MacPherson as he was due to run the Barcelona Marathon in aid of the Beatson Charity the following day. They were also missing John Kennedy and Garry Macpherson which tends to suggest that they were not liable to perform at the highest so the fact that John Barr had to serve a one match ban for a points accumulation carried forward from the end of last season was never quite as significant as it might have been. The Glen went ahead 4 minutes before the break when Lewis MacLennan fired a dipping 20 yard shot in from the right which was stopped by Inveraray keeper Graham MacPherson. However the ball got caught up underneath his feet and Fraser Heath ran in to knock the ball over the line from only a yard out.

 
Glen sealed the win 15 minutes from time when Heath got his second after some superb passing and movement involving the whole of the Glen forward line. Heath pushed the ball to James MacPherson on the left, around 25 yards from goal. MacPherson slipped the ball back to the forward-running Heath and he flicked the ball over his marker, who slipped, and this allowed the Scotland U21 international time to volley the ball into the net to make it 2-0.* (This description was pinched from the Skye website which is by far the most reliable source to pinch things from- and the Wing Centre of all people should know this)  

 
All said and done, it was a fine result and it certainly made the four hour journey back up the A82 a little more bearable.

Saturday however sees both Glen sides face up to Kinlochshiel and with them both being somewhat shorthanded it will be a tricky afternoon for the red and blacks particularly up at Kirkton where there is for the first time in ages a full and fit squad.

“There you go,” said the Master Plumber, “getting all down about it. Our lot are as good as anybody.”

“If only they believed it”, said the Wing Centre.

The picture of Fadgy has been captured by Garry Mack, El Presidente ;the rest have been composed by Sheena Lloyd. Thanks to both.

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