Lochaber primary schools victorious at shinty finals
Inverlochy and Caol lift coveted silverware
The Ferguson Transport and Shipping National Finals brought together more than 150 of the best young players from across Scotland all vying for the coveted National P5 and P7 titles.
The P7 and Under tournament was played at the Nevis Centre, Fort William, in front of a large, noisy crowd. The standard of play throughout the day was of the highest order with all 11 teams giving a great account of themselves.
Section A saw the impressive Portree Gaelic School top the group with the equally impressive young Dalneigh Primary School team two points behind, claiming the runners-up spot. Section B was extremely competitive, with the impressive Inverlochy Primary School topping the group, with
Taynuilt Primaries School edging out Newtonmore Primary School on goal-difference to clinch second spot.
The first semi-final saw last year’s winners, Portree Gaelic School, take on Taynuilt Primaries, with Portree racing to an early 2-0 lead.
The young Taynuilt side showed great character to pull a goal back, however, Portree Gaelic School scored a late goal to run out 3-1 winners and book their place in the final.
The second semi-final saw a dominant performance from Inverlochy Primary School, who ran out 5-1 winners against Dalneigh Primary School, who had acquitted themselves extremely well throughout the tournament to set up an intriguing final.
The final started with Portree Gaelic School on the attack and they raced to a 2-0 lead. But Inverlochy showed great resilience and pulled a goal back from Diesel Maclean and with only six seconds of the final remaining, the impressive James Clark scored a dramatic equaliser to take the final into golden goal extra time.
The winning goal from Inverlochy had a large slice of luck about it. As the Portree defender tried to clear his lines, the ball came off the body of Inverlochy’s Diesel Maclean and ended up in the back of the net to win the P7 and Under event.
Inverlochy Primary School were worthy winners, having gone through the tournament undefeated.
Ali Ferguson of tournament sponsors Ferguson Transport and Shipping presented the trophy and medals to the players and coaches.
The P5 and Under competition took place at Lochaber High School where the large, supportive crowd was entertained with an afternoon of fantastic shinty.
Kyles Primaries and Caol Primary School qualified for the final from two highly competitive leagues. Runners up in Section A to Kyles Primary Schools were Auchtertyre Primary School and runners up in Section B to Caol Primary School were Portree Gaelic Primary School. It was good to see relatively new shinty teams Glendale Primary School and Muirtown Primary School qualifying for the festival and finishing third in their sections. As a result of incoming Storm Jorge and parental concern regarding travelling in challenging conditions, it was decided prior to the start of the festival that the semi-finals would be withdrawn. This was appreciated by the parents and supporters travelling south.
The final was a classic and will live long in the memory. There were chances at both ends but Caol Primary School scored in the last few seconds to come out on top by six goals to five. Both teams provided a high-quality game and Kyles can be proud of their performances throughout the day.
The winners and runners up were presented their medals, on behalf of Ferguson Transport and Shipping, by Grade 1 referee Graham Cameron, who volunteered his time to help at the festival.
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