Skye Camanachd 2 Glenurquhart 1 | |
14 May 2023 Skye Camanachd reached to the cottages.com MacTavish Cup Final for the first time since 1990 when they beat Glenurquhart 2-1 in their semi-final tie at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree on Saturday 13 May 2023. Captain John Gillies and Ross Gordon both returned to the Skye starting line-up and whilst Jordan Murchison and Kenny Cushnie were also back, they started on the bench. Jamie Gillies held his place at full centre following an impressive performance against Newtonmore the week before. Glen skipper Lachie Smith was free of suspension and assumed the buckshee back role but Josh MacDonald-Haig was injured with Andrew Corrigan, Christopher Mack and Ryan Porter making up their bench. Josh MacDonald-Haig was injured. The whole match was broadcast LIVE online and on radio on Radio Skye’s “Camanachd LIVE” show. The Glen were quickly out of the blocks and they took the lead on 18 minutes. The visitors broke down the left and John Barr closed down Martin Pringle’s attempted clearance before playing the ball on to the left of the D. William MacKinnon then had the chance to clear but Oliver Black blocked his path before tucking the ball past Skye keeper Murphy Henderson from a tight angle. Glenurquhart stayed on the front foot with Lachlan Smith dominant at buckshee back, but some positional changes, coupled with the introduction of Jordan Murchison and Kenny Cushnie, saw Skye come more into it and they created a couple of chances in the latter part of the first half. Skye now had the wind advantage, and they were level within 30 seconds of the restart. Ross Gordon set James Pringle racing down the Skye right. He found Ruaraidh MacLeod who exchanged passes with William MacKinnon before firing low into the net from a central position. An opportunist James Pringle solo goal put Skye in front on 56 minutes. Kenny Cushnie won possession following Murphy Henderson’s goal-hit and there seemed little danger when Pringle gathered Cushnie’s pass on the Skye right. However, Pringle cut back and went on an arcing run, with Fergus Robertson in chase, holding off several challenges before cutting into the left of the D and slipping the ball low into the net. James Pringle then turned provider on the hour. First, he closed down Finlay Robertson’s clearance before being fouled by the Glen defender at the left of the D. Pringle took the free-hit himself, rolling the ball across the face of the goal when Jordan Murchison took a touch, held off his marker, and lifted the ball back across keeper Stuart MacKintosh’s right shoulder and into the net to make it 3-1. Skye, or more accurately Portree, lifted the first MacTavish Cup in 1898 and their 1990 defeat to Kingussie is their only other final appearance. They now face Kingussie again in this year’s final at the Bught Park, Inverness on Saturday 10 June 2023. Throw up will be at 4pm. Speaking straight after the final whistle, Skye manager Kenny Macleod said: “I thought Glenurquhart were hungrier from the start and their goal came from complacency on our part, so I wasn’t happy with the first half. We made a couple of changes to nullify their better players and I thought Lachlan Smith was tremendous but once we put William MacKinnon against him, the pendulum swung our way. Ruaraidh MacLeod’s equaliser changed the mood, and the second half was much better. It hasn’t really sunk in yet; it’s a special feeling to reach the final and it will help keep the momentum going for out league games as our priority remains to stay in the Premiership.” Skye Camanachd from: Murphy Henderson, Ally ‘Cleodi’ Macleod, John Gillies (captain), James Morrison, James Pringle, Sam Macphee, Kenny Cushnie, Jamie Gillies, William MacKinnon, Ross MacKinnon, Martin Pringle, Neil MacVicar, Ruaraidh MacLeod, Ross Nicolson, Jordan Murchison, Ross Gordon Glenurquhart from: Stuart MacKintosh: Finlay Robertson, Billy Urquhart, Fergus Robertson, Lachlan Smith (captain): Liam Robertson, Ally MacKintosh, Alistair MacLean: Oliver Black, Daniel MacLean, John Barr, David MacLennan: Christopher Mack, Andrew Corrigan, Ryan Porter Match Referee – Steven MacLachlan Goal Judges – John Angus Gillies & Billy MacLeod Click on the following link for Norman Strachan’s coverage of the game on the Camanachd Association YouTube channel. |