Sunday, May 31, 2009

No Smiles from Kyles or The Great 5-0 Victory of the Currachd Ruadh over the boys from Kyles on 30th May 2009.



It’s been a lovely weekend -and the weather’s not been bad either. The Wing Centre driven inside because of the Sunday sun, was flicking through that great book “Shinty: A World Compendium” by HD when he realised that it used to be a tradition in the Glen and in other parts of the Shinty world for a verse or two to be written to commemorate particularly fine instances of the indigenous sport played in all its competitive majesty. In fact HD’s book is full of little ditties, duans and odes-one of which – incredible as it may seem -is actually of Glen origin.
The Wing Centre, given that the position of Prof of Poetry at Oxford is now vacant once again and aware that it is invariably filled by those who could be classified as belonging to a minority, feels that as a shinty loving Highlander he falls into the category of being a member of an ethnic minority - and as such all he requires to do is submit a poem to be considered as a candidate.
A full twenty minutes of planning and the use of a Rhyming Dictionary which his late Auntie won at school was enough to give him a start and inspired by the peerless play of Barr’s Band of Brothers and indeed filled with the divine afflatus, the following verses were quickly noted down by his amanuensis. Had he been able to access opium like many 19th century poets there is no doubt that “the metre might have been sweeter” but who really cares?

Ref Cameron throws the ball up true:
From the very first the Glen burst through.
It seems they have the Kyles on toast
but EJ’s shot flies past the post

For the first half-hour, Glen are in charge
while Kyles defenders push and barge
they win nothing-then from young Reid
a blistering drive-Glen take the lead.

On the dust stands big John Barr
a back who hits the ball quite far
and close beside him strides The Boy:
they foil the Kyles at every ploy

But careful, here comes Dunky Kerr
He fires a shot but Smack is there
He drives the loose ball up halfway
Where Bill and Ben come into play

As the half time break draws near
Kyles attempt to up a gear.
But what they do seems incidental
while at the side big Norm goes mental

The whistle blows, then out of the sun
to the pavilion Glen now run,
where on Jaffa cakes they soon are fed
while the managers both sip claret red.

But the mood inside won’t quite be rightie
till twinges are put right by Whytie.
The guys will only take the field again
After listening to Menzies and Maclean

While young Cork gallivants abroad
old Cork carries twice the load.
He’s got the water bottles right.
Now let’s knock Kyles right out of sight

The second half has not gone far
when Irvine pops one o’er the bar.
The Kyles support begins to rave
not at EJ’s drive, but Kenny’s save

But soon there’s cheering in the stand
when Hosie, Ben on his right hand
slots neatly home a low fast ball
to give the Glen its second goal

No Kyles attack can quite get through.
They’re blocked by young Maclennan, Drew
or else The Boy comes into play
and simply slips the ball away

Now’s the time that Glen hold fast.
With Girv and Dixon none get past
while Ally Mac does just the same
one more goal will kill the game.

The goal soon comes: Glen are on song
when Lewis hits a ball quite long.
Will EJ score? He looks quite set
but Bill it is who finds the net

Old gits sit cheerful in a row
Of course we call them “legends” now
Fraser the Manager’s in the stand
Noting Glen glories in his fair hand

And at his side-not much to say
is former man in black, DA.
But wait-now Rhino’s on the park.
He’s sure to light another spark

He gets the ball out on the side
Kyles have nowhere left to hide.
He fires it over in the air
Even Girv can score from there.

Girv takes it down: he pops it in
Some girls dance round the kitchen bin
Another drive this time from Tembo
Goes over the bar en route for Embo

But finally ,it’s left to Gregor
who feeds on “D” scraps like a beggar
to nick the final glorious goal
and make five up the final total*

Now black and reds are wreathed in smiles
for such a win against the Kyles.
If it wasn’t before, it’s now quite sure
That Kyles have heard of the Currachd Ruadh

So there we have it, a genuine praise poem and match report rolled into one! There is of course no other possible photo that can illustrate the spirit of the Glen than that of Girv himself, goal scorer, role model and of course farmer. The other is of course Fraser Mackenzie, Scotland Manager. He’s only in here because he has some Glen blood coursing through his veins. DA? He is a real Fraser isn’t he? That’s OK then. Wee Billy and Hendo are of course there as of right.

By the way, it wouldn’t do to get too carried away with one win though even against a side like Kyles. Sean Nicholson of Lochaber scored three against Strathglass and while that in itself might not be a bad thing, it does make him a bit of a danger to the Glen next time out.

*goal/total- this rhyme might appear barbarous to those unfamiliar with the dialect of English which has replaced the ancient Gaelic tongue among the modern inhabitants of Glenurquhart and indeed the whole of the Aird. Both words consist of two syllables and in the second, the “t” is omitted and replaced by a glottal stop. Thus we have “Go-ahl”/To-ahl” which is in essence a perfect rhyme, in a manner of speaking.

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Friday, May 29, 2009

Sunshine shinty in the Glen, but dark clouds on the horizon for the indigenous sport.




Glenurquhart 6 Glenorchy 1
Skye 0 Hendo’s Bairns and Grandpas 8



Hey Mr Wing Centre, why the sad headline? Certainly not on account of the two matches in which the Glen participated this past weekend. Not even the fact that Caley Thistle were relegated from the Premier. Oh dear! What a pity. Never mind – after all Glen’s own “Ikey “ Fraser ,smart boy, stays up in the Premier with Motherwell which looks more and more like a clever move on his part.
No, the problem for the Wing Centre is the news which he received that Inverness Shinty Club are in danger of being pushed off the Bught Park in favour of a football club. If shinty folk sometimes feel paranoid that’s not because there is no one trying to get at them because there always is even if some of them don’t realise they are doing it.
Indeed if the Wing Centre were to write an essay entitled “What shinty teaches you about life.” then the main thrust would be that you should prepare to be marginalised, patronised or otherwise “dissed”. Good training if you want to be a politician or a public service worker, but on the whole not a sensible way to live your life. But more of that anon -and in another blog. It is enough to say that its time the Cameron Cattlethieves in Alton Towers got down to a bit of politicking with the Provost of Inversnecky.
Back in the real world, away from the sporting politics of Newville on Ness, the Glen forward line had a useful afternoon – and for the supporters of the home side, if not for those of Glenorchy it was a rare day when the result was never in doubt
However before we start, some words of caution. Glenorchy were under strength in as much as whoever else was missing from their squad, the absence of Alan MacKechnie at full back left a massive hole in the defence. The “D “has referred to MacKechnie before ,having been impressed with him as a force of nature of the John Barr-type when the two Glens went to war in the National League a few seasons ago. His absence was greatly missed.
The Glen of course were without players too but that did not stop Andrew Corrigan knocking home the first goal in 6 minutes after Neale Reid’s goal bound shot came back off ‘Orchy keeper Graham MacKechnie . Glen continued to press for the next period but it seemed even to the biased observers on the side line that they were being too elaborate in front of goals and chances to put more pressure on the Glenorchy keeper were not taken swiftly enough. Indeed in the 17th minute a snap shot by ‘Orchy’s Kieran Mackay forced Glen keeper Stuart Mackintosh to make a smart save.
Then the tide turned in the Glen’s favour about the 20 minutes mark. First Dave Girvan had a drive saved by MacKechnie and then some neat work between Neale Reid and Eddie Tembo, with referee Macrae playing advantage after a foul on Tembo, left Glen’s top scorer Billy Urquhart to open his personal account for the day.
Minutes later a Neale Reid shot was saved by the keeper and shortly after a cross from Dave Maclennan was pulled out of the air by full centre Lewis Maclennan who dispatched a left hand drive past MacKechnie.
The second half continued in similar vein because shortly after the restart last week’s poster boy Billy Urquhart got on the end of a ball in by Neale Reid to put the Glen four up and in 60 mins Superbill completed his hat-trick after getting on the end of a little slip ball from Corrigan.
Glen continued the pressure and in the 85th minute they made it 6 in a most bizarre way. Corrigan took the corner on the right and the ball spun up off the stick of ‘Orchy wing back James Livingstone and sneaked in at MacKechnie‘s post. If that was a lucky goal the one at the other end was all down to carelessness –suffice it to say with 89 minutes on the clock Ewan Murray scored for Glenorchy.
And that was it on the day apart from the news from Skye which must have surprised even MacVicar and Malky because they were bound to have had a better side than travelled to Drum recently.
Apparently not because up there, amidst a great deal of mist, there was a fair amount of mellow fruitfulness for the Glen in terms of goals. Eight is a lot and for those who wish to read all about them the suggestion is that you flip to the Skye Camanachd website. It is worth recording that Ben Hosie and Dave Smart also joined the hat-trick club while Ewan Brady and Brad Dickson got the singles. Good games were had by Macleod, Macdonald and Smith while Sam Cumming got another run out in a big team. Well done guys.
After reflecting on the day and cheering up a bit, it’s always nice to have some pics and here they are. Visiting legend Burton Morrison chats on the sideline with Fort Augustus legend Graham Morrison and all round Great Glen legend DP Mackintosh. One supposes they were talking about the Macdonald Cup (1975) because all three are pictured in Peter’s book together having just won that final – and in the absence of anyone to contradict, that will have been the last occasion they were snapped together in the one team. Young Al and Boy are pictured in the “Up the Glen” corner in the changing room. The other? It’s The Man. Back out of Africa and into the team. But the barnet? Cool on the extras in Shaft but in the Glen? ? There is definitely a money-making sponsored event there. Don’t tell the Treasurer.....


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Friday, May 22, 2009

Urquhart Scores Twice for Glen but Hendo’s Heroes Score More.


Glenurquhart 2 Lovat 1 (MacAulay Cup)
Newtonmore 1 Glenurquhart 6 (North Div 2)

It might not last for long so making hay while the sun shines is a sentiment Saturday’s defeated Crofters would share. At the moment Glen shinty is living in dreamland. The top team negotiated a tricky MacAulay fixture against a Lovat side which never gives up by 2 goals to 1 while the youngsters put 6 goals past Newtonmore on the Eilean.
“When was the last time a Glen side put six goals past a Newtonmore side at the Eilean?” asked Mr Calder
“Not since a while -a very long while” was as accurate an answer as can be got in the Glen and given that we don’t have John Willie or Joe Taylor on hand with their note books then we are not going to find out. Indeed it is doubtful if Rab Ritchie himself is old enough to remember.
The good thing about Lovat as far as Glenners are concerned is that they are not Strathglass - and they bring with them a nice crowd of visitors over the hill. In fact the two sets of supporters get on extremely well – and if it wasn’t for the fact that the Treasurer likes a wee constitutional round the field himself he would probably let Mary Ann do the collection for him. Indeed she would probably be more persuasive and attentive to the collection than he is: half the time he’s watching the game over his shoulder and the other half he is pestering people who have obviously no money like backpackers and the subs for the other team.
This week the Glen started with a revamped front line with Eddie Tembo, Ben Hosie, Neil Reid and Billy Urquhart as the front four while Lewis Maclennan took up the full centre berth. He was specially chosen to go up against Ewan Ferguson, whom everyone on this side of the hill knows is the key player in the Crofters side, given that he is actually a real farmer like Girv.
Like the Glen with Arran Macdonald and Paul Mackintosh missing, Lovat were without the injured Martin Bell and Fraser Gallagher but it has to be said that the absence of these players on both sides did not spoil the game as a spectacle.
Glen were as always fast out of the blocks and were quickly firing the ball up into attack. The first strike of consequence came in five minutes when EJ regaining his Ireland form, fired a ball, albeit narrowly - over the cross bar from about the penalty spot. In the end the miss did not matter because soon after Neale Reid fired a sharp shot in on the keeper and Billy Urquhart was quickly in hand to ram the ball home from the rebound.
Reid now surely looks back to the form he was in last season - numerous times he got past his man in the tightest of corners with little flicks and bursts of speed. All he needs to do now is hit the target himself a couple of times and the Glen will surely be on their way.
Also performing well was Ben Hosie: his touches opened up the play and his stepovers and dummying of the ball on a dry hard pitch had Lovat’s James White is a tiz for most of the early part of the game.
Glen went two ahead after wing centre Ali Mackintosh fired a free hit up from – again Billy Urquhart was on hand to tuck the loose ball away in 11 minutes. For a moment or two the Wing Centre thought that perhaps he was back at Kirkton last season when the Glen racked up 4 quick goals against ‘Shiel. However, Lovat are made of stern stuff. They never give up and when Raymond Rennie nipped off his marker controlled the ball neatly and tucked a low strike inside keeper Stuart Mackintosh’s right hand post it seemed like game on. By this stage Lewis was tiring in the midfield and the thought was beginning to grow in Glen heads that this might be one of Lovat’s “get out of jail “days.
Except it wasn’t because when the second half began Eddie Tembo shifted into the full centre berth ostensibly for ten minutes and Lewis went up front to the forward role he is well suited to play.
Lovat did not really show in the second period and the fact that Glen did not score was down to a series of extraordinary saves from Lovat keeper Stuart Macdonald. Within 15 minutes he saved three marvellous strikes from Lewis Maclennan two with the feet and the third was an instinctive poke over the bar of a ball that ricocheted off a Lovat defender’s stick and seemed net bound all the way till he turned it over.
Later still Ben Hosie did some neat juggling with the ball in the heart of the Lovat defence but his drive whistled past. In the end it was Glen who went through but while Lovat could have rescued something if luck had been with them, the absence of Fraser Gallagher and Martin Bell was too much for them to cope with.
While all this was going on Hendo and Mike’s crowd of kids and grandpas were having a memorable day down in Badenoch. From what the Wing Centre heard the backs could have taken their snowboards down and got off the bus at Aviemore for all the use that was made of them.
The story of that match was as follows: Boy wonder Ewan Brady opened the scoring in 10 minutes and in 12 Brad Dickson found the net only to be ruled off side.
Newtonmore’s Chris Sellar equalised in 29 before the Glen were awarded a penalty. Stuart Morrison took the penalty but his shot was saved by 16 year old ‘More keeper Douglas Gray but fortunately Ewan Brady reacted quickest and hit the rebound home.
Finally in 36 minutes young Brady got his hat –trick with an accomplished finish.
If the first half belonged to Brady, the second was the property of Calum “Jock” Fraser. The big striker was quickly on target two minutes after halftime and he then brought the Glen to a tally of 5 goals in the 52 minute. Hendo then used the first of his young subs when he swapped Calum Smith for Ewan Menzies. Jock completed his hat trick with a fine goal in 65 minutes and at that point Hendo put on youngsters Sam Cumming and Ross MacDiarmid for the two other young forwards.
Despite some frustration from the ‘More players (read between the lines!) and who can blame them- the Glen held firm and both Iain Macdonald and Ian Macleod had excellent performances. Macleod in particular had an especially hard tussle with ‘More’s Cameron Binnie but given that both were Premier players last season then that was to be expected.
If the D is to give credit to any player who does not wear the black and red it is to 16-year-old keeper Douglas Gray. He had an excellent second half and thanks to him the Glen were restricted to a mere three goals after the break.
Commiserations to Garry Mac though. He as usual played well but he lost his clean sheet. Shame!
This week’s pic. The Wing Centre was too busy blethering to remember to take a snap of two-goal hero Billy Urquhart when he was walking off the field. By the time he got inside, Billy was in his birthday suit, which is why the snap had to be cropped.
Indeed, if we can get any sponsors then there is every prospect of a Calendar. If the ladies of the WI can do it, why can’t the Glen? And before you start, just don’t bother sending in any reasons to the D.
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Friday, May 15, 2009

Shiel-Shocked Glen Pay the Penalty but Hendo’s Heroes Rave on



Glenurquhart 1 Kinlochshiel 2 (aet) - Camanachd Cup
Glenurquhart 3 Inveraray 0 – Sutherland Cup


There was a wee bit of confusion in the minds of the Glen supporters over the timing of this match. The Wing Centre got it nearly right by coming down at the back of twelve to find the game had just started but some of the other members of the loyal black and red clan were under the misapprehension that the Camanachd Cup game for the big teams was due to start at 2.30pm and that the morning shift would be occupied by the Heroes. Whatever happened, by the time the Wing Centre arrived at Blairbeg, Kinlochshiel were in the lead thanks to a goal by Scott Maclean who had followed up on a ball which had struck the post.
The Glen were quickly back in business when Billy Urquhart struck the rebound home after a drive from Lewis Maclennan came back off ’Shiel keeper Graham Kennedy. Glen then took the game to the visitors with a passion much credit is due to Bert’s Boys who kept their defensive line in good order and the match reached the halfway mark with no additional scoring. If anyone is to be picked out for praise it has to be big Shiel full back Paul Macrae who was excellent – sure in the air, faster on the ground than the Wing Centre expected but above all extremely accurate with the stick.
The second half opened with Shiel on top and they kept up the pressure for most of the half though the Glen did get back at them in the last quarter. That Shiel did not hit the net was due to the excellence of John Barr at the back-how we could have done with him against Fort last week- but keeper Stuart Mackintosh was also on song keeping out attempts from Scott Maclean and Steven Callander.
Glen began to come forward with more confidence in the last third of the game and began to ring the changes with the replacement of Gregor McCormack with Calum Miller. Lewis Maclennan had an excellent chance to win the game but his flick from close range hit Kennedy and the opportunity was lost.
The first half of extra time very much followed the previous pattern of the match with neither side able to penetrate. Things changed however after the whistle and if truth were to be told Shiel looked the fitter of the two sides and they got their reward when Gordy Macdonald followed up a ball which came back off keeper Mackintosh and was brave enough to steer it home despite collecting a nasty face cut for his pains.
Glen woke up at this point and they mounted a last ditch assault on the Shiel goal as a result of which in the last minute they were awarded a penalty. Kennedy then became an instant Shiel hero when he got his feet to Neale Reid’s strike and with that the game was over.
While the home camp were upset and it was possible to point to Glen chances which were not taken the truth is that on the day Shiel looked the livelier side and if you were to look at the game with an unbiased eye- which the Wing Centre certainly never would - then you would have to say Shiel deserved the win and no-one typified their spirit more than centre man Steven Callendar. Just back from a bad chest infection, Callendar ran himself into the ground for the jersey- from the Wing Centre’s point of view the wrong jersey because Steven is an inhabitant of the Glen though his roots are in the West. You never know though, perhaps he’ll make a Glenner yet.
For the Glen the result was a disappointment but with Andrew Corrigan being added to the missing list along with big Arran and Paul Mac the side was not at its strongest. The return of Mr Tembo though was very welcome and his powerful presence in the second half of extra time caused Shiel plenty problems. The fact is that from here the only way is up!!
More important that the result perhaps was the crowd. Indeed the attenders were very high class. Among the spectators we welcomed Ally Ferguson, former Scotland supremo and present boss of Lochaber, Drew McNeill , boss of current Camanachd Cup holders Fort William – and showing that his links with shinty never die, Inverness Caley keeper Michael “Ikey” Fraser was also in the considerable crowd who took in the game of the day.
The crowd did hang on until the next match – a Sutherland Cup tie against an Inveraray side who had been deposited at the side of Blairbeg in good time by their first team boys who were off over the hill to play the Beauly Guttersparrows. Because the first team game had run on however- the ‘Rary boys had to change in the shed- and fulsome apologies for that to the Royal Burgh boys who surely had not bargained on getting into their strip in such humble premises.
When the game finally did get underway it was clearly always going to be a win for the home side although the visitors, ably marshalled by veteran John Smillie did put up a determined fight. The Glen should have gone ahead in 5 minutes when a strike by Calum Jock Fraser hit the net, only to be ruled offside. The Glen upped the tempo and with Iain Macleod carrying on where he had left off the day before Inveraray were soon on the back foot. After Ross MacAulay had driven the ball over the bar on the quarter hour mark Stuart Morrison found the back of the net in 26 after a drive from Fraser had bounced back off the keeper. Soon afterwards Morrison grabbed another goal after latching on to a long ball put in by MacAulay who was having a fine game.
There was no more scoring in the first half and nor was there any for quite some time in the second period until finally Calum Jock Fraser put his name on the score sheet with a left hand drive past a beleaguered ‘Rary keeper in the 77th minute. There was as always a further twist in the Heroes never ending story of shinty confusion when Ben Hosie, who had finished the game against Shiel in the top team forward line, missed a penalty. What was he taking a penalty for? Well it seems he won the “Scissors, Paper, Stone” competition which the Bairns play when they are awarded a penalty. No doubt they practise it as part of their rehearsal of moves on a Wednesday night.
The question the Wing Centre asks is “Why wasn’t it taken by Garry Mac? “ Garry is a welcome returnee to the side between the sticks- and he certainly clawed one fairly accurate Inveraray drive out of the sky and looked to be , within reason, on his toes.
All of which takes us to this week’s photos. In one we see Ikey hanging out with his Homeboys and the other is Cleansheet Gazza himself smiling, it would appear, for the first time in some weeks.
There are of course two photos that cannot be used. One was of young Corky. He could not be snapped because he was not there! Why? He appears to have met a young lady from as his mum puts it “God’s Own Country.” So she is not a Sgiathanach or one of the Glasaich then? The boy has some sense then and he cannot be blamed for taking a week off against a side whom we usually tend to beat.
There is however another photo which cannot be used either for copyright reasons – but it must be one of the sports photos of the year. It is in the WHFP and it shows young Mr Reid upset after missing that penalty. What makes it a special photo is that the hand which is patting his shoulder and consoling him is that of a Shiel player. Shiel have just gone through to the next round and yet a Shiel player can find time to commiserate with an opponent who has just missed a big chance. It sums up the spirit of shinty and we should cherish it. Well done Shiel.
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Friday, May 08, 2009

"Over the Moon”: Hendo’s verdict on Kings Result


Glenurquhart 2 Kingussie 1 (North Div 2)
Fort William 1 Glenurquhart 0 (Premier League )

It may have been tantalisingly close for the top team at An Aird but Hendo’s Heroes were over the moon (to coin a recently topical phrase) about their 2-1 home victory of Kingussie’s Borthwick select. They had every right to be because Kingussie put the Glen severely to the test in the second half of a well matched encounter – and even the Wing Centre, utterly biased though he is, has to concede that Kingussie were worth a point.
Equally, down at An Aird, the First Team were worth a point on their second half display and even more so given that Fort were a side a little way short of their full complement. Despite Andrew Macdonald being back in the side after missing out the week before, the Glen did not really shine in the first half. The strong wind blowing in from the west was favoured the home side and they managed to nick the first goal after a slip in the Glen backline allowed Fort’s Chris Bamber to get within range and finish with a strike from 20 yards.
The second half was a different affair and the Glen made plenty headway towards the Fort goal but some fine saves by Scott McNeill and some uncompromising defensive work which to Glen eyes at least went unchecked by the officials meant that the Fort goal remained intact. Best for the red and blacks were the midfield though they took a little time to get the measure of big Niall Macphee. Neale Reid had another good game and Gregor McCormack was always competitive in the forward line- and a good thing too. A pity then for a lost point but the requirement is – as always to score.
Back at Blairbeg it was true to say that the early money must have been on Kingussie because they started with a bang- sweeping the ball forward to big front man Dawson and he was very effective in the early minutes in spreading the ball to the litter of little Borthwicks that swirled around the shop end. The Glen defence of full back Iain Macdonald, wing backs Calum Smith and Donald Fraser were however equal to the task and they quickly got in about the Kingussie forwards and cleared the ball upfield with relish.
The first moment of note from the Glen’s point of view was in 20 minutes when Ben Hosie, back from first team duty against Kingussie’s big team, picked up a ball from a corner but drove narrowly past. Dave Smart then missed in 25 minutes but on the 30 minute mark he made amends when latching on to a long through ball from the excellent Iain Macleod he tucked the ball past the keeper from close range.
Ten minutes later Ewan Menzies pulled down a ball and Smart directed the shot onto the keeper and Ben Hosie followed up into the D to put the rebound into the net and put the Glen two up before the interval. Glen were coasting at this point and with Iain Macdonald and now Gary Smith playing an influential part in the possession of territory it looked as if the Glen would coast to victory.
Kingussie had other plans however and by switching Dawson to full back and bringing on a senior Borthwick – David- at half forward they almost turned the game on its head. That they did not was in no small measure due to the defence but also to the excellence of Iain Macleod at full centre. Macleod has big game experience but he also has determination and plenty skill and for most of the second half he inspired the centre line which, though it played well enough could have let their heads go down if Macleod had not driven them remorselessly on. On numerous occasions he patrolled across to the sideline backing up Euan Fraser and Bradley Dickson when it looked as if old heads like Kingussie’s Russell Jones were beginning to get on top.
Kingussie finally got on the scoreboard however in 67 minutes when a neat piece of interpassing left Rory Borthwick running in to direct the ball past Dave Emery from close range. It was down to good Kingussie play certainly but probably tired legs in the Glen backline contributed more than a little to the lost goal.
Three minutes later the game turned on one incident. With Ryan Borthwick about to shoot he was bravely but illegally impeded by Donald Fraser. Penalty! And unusually in the arcane world of shinty decision making it was rightly given.
Up stepped Ryan Borthwick, himself back from duties in Kingussie’s top team, and after a little hesitation he hit it goal wards but not hard enough. Dave Emery made yet another penalty stop and with that close call over the game was won. Indeed the Glen would have gone further ahead in the last ten minutes except for an amazing stop from a drive by Ewan Brady by the young Kingussie keeper Menzies.
The full time whistle blew and Major- General Emery marched the troops off the field and into history which was the point of the pic which accompanies this post. However the pic of the penalty king himself is spoiled by that of the young – and old – meercats who popped up into view as the snap was being clicked. If it wasn’t for the fact it was the 21st century you would be tempted to believe you were back in the 1860s doing an anthropological shoot amongst a tribe which had never seen a camera before. Only kidding guys.....

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