One’s More than enough
Glen Mackintosh’s lone early strike earns Eilan outfit their 31st Camanachd Cup final triumph. Stewart Weir reports
SHINTY’S biggest day, the Camanachd Cup final, ended in triumph for the favourites Newtonmore, who defeated Oban 1-0 at An Aird yesterday. If truth be told, the game never matched the colour or atmosphere generated by those who travelled to Fort William to watch.
The game was settled by a single goal, scored after just three minutes by Glen Mackintosh, brickie by day, match winner by weekend, who was surprised his strike proved decisive. “I thought I’d given us a great start. Nothing more,” said the 37-year-old who now has three Camanachd Cup winner’s medals to his name.
“We wanted to make a fast start because we wanted to get at Oban early on. We hadn’t played them this season, but they are a decent team and getting the first goal was going to be so important. I just didn’t think it would be this important.
“The game in general never really hit the standards the teams are capable of and that was because the defences played so well. I thought there would be a lot more goals. But I’m not complaining about the one being enough.”
The only goal owed much to a poor clearance by Oban keeper Gavin Stobbar. Evan Menzies collected and drove in on goal, the ball eventually arriving at Mackintosh who drilled a low shot in to the Oban net.
Perhaps if the first goal had gone in favour of Oban, currently second in the league and just two points behind More, things might have taken a different course.
As it was, they struggled to make any headway against a resolute Newtonmore defence, marshalled expertly by captain Steven Macdonald, a former youth player with Ross County, who didn’t stand on ceremony. Indeed, a couple of his challenges, had he continued with soccer, would have had the SFA compliance officer tapping out a letter.
Try as they might, there was never any real concerted pressure from Oban. Indeed, Macintosh might have added a few more – one fizzed wide of the target, another was palmed away by Stobbart before an extended first half closed, the added minutes coming as Neil Stewart was carried off.
“I’ve dislocated my knee,” said Stewart afterwards, propped up by crutches.
“I knew what had happened immediately. This is the third time I’ve done it and I just popped it back in while I was lying there.”
The 20-year-old joiner claimed he’d be back “in a couple of weeks”. Hardy boys these shinty players.
Into the second half, Stobbart was still the busier shotstopper, making good contact with Norman Campbell’s rocket from distance to avert the danger, just as a steam train chugged across the mountainous backdrop. However, try as they could, Oban couldn’t get any head of steam up. The biggest cheer for them as time ran out on what they had hoped would have been their first cup success in 20 years came when Willie Neilson wiped out the linesman. Hardy boys these officials.
As the steam train headed south, so too did Oban’s trophy bid. When the referee sounded the final whistle, even Newtonmore’s celebrations seemed somewhat subdued, just happy to have seen out time.
“We’d have liked more of a performance, but credit to Oban they never gave up and limited us to just a few chances,” said Newtonmore team manager PJ Mackintosh. “I suppose good teams win when they may not have played particularly well, and that applies today. I won’t complain, I’ll happily take it.”
Mackintosh appeared relieved at the outcome, although that puff of the cheeks at the end could also have been something to do with the run-up to the final, PJ’s route home from foreign parts more akin to a scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
“I was in the Czech Republic, and because of the French air traffic controllers, I had to come home via Brussels,” he said. “I didn’t get back home until one o’clock on Friday – that’s am – which was hardly ideal.”
“But I was never not going to make it,” he added as he accepted the handshakes for what was Newtonmore’s first Camanachd Cup win since 2013.
Man of the match Andy Mackintosh would have accepted the congratulations as well as his medal, but for the fact he was holding his baby daughter, Marnie, just a week old. And already, a Camanachd Cup final winner.
We knew the first goal would be very important. I just didn’t think that it would be this important