Mowi Premiership
Oban Camanachd 4 Kyles Athletic 0
Oban Camanachd go third in the Mowi Premiership following a comfortable 4-0 win over Kyles Athletic in their 2pm throw-up at Mossfield.
Oban Camanachd’s Scott MacMillan and Daniel MacVicar were unavailable through suspension, but Blair McFarlane returned to take a place on the bench as his final rugby match was postponed.
Kyles were missing injured full back Callum Millar and Donald Irvine, whilst former Skye player Will Cowie started in attack alongside Roddy MacDonald, who was manmarked by Daniel Sloss.
Daniel Maccuish took the lead on 22 minutes when Malcolm Clark, with his back to goal, flicked the ball behind him. Maccuish had made a great run forward and ran in before slipping the ball by the advancing John Whyte in the visiting goal.
Kyles were always dangerous without really testing Cammy Sutherland in the Oban goal.
Oban Camanachd got the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot a couple of minutes after the hour. Referee Iain Kennedy pointed to the spot when keeper John Whyte’s high swing caught Malcolm Clark inside the “D” and Louie McFarlane’s penalty went high into the net off John Whyte’s shin.
Matthew Sloss gave Kyles Athletic defender Murdo MacRae a torrid time and he got the goal he deserved on 81 minutes. Daniel Maccuish’s ball took a deflection and Matthew Sloss ran onto it and he flicked the ball, on the bounce, into the top corner of the net from the edge of the box to make it 3-0. It was the 15-year-old’s first goal for Oban Camanachd and it put the Oban side out of sight.
Louie McFarlane put gloss on the win a minute from time, again from the penalty spot, and Matthew Sloss was involved again. There seemed little danger when Sloss had the ball by the corner flag with two visiting defenders around him. However, he wriggled free of their clutches and darted towards the goal area before being brought down inside the “D”. Louie McFarlane lashed the resultant spot hit home to make it 4-0.
The home side made changes during the game, with Blair McFarlane coming on in defence for Alexander MacDonald early in the second half. At the same time, Evan MacLellan limped off with a recurrence of an ankle injury to be replaced by Jamie Forgrieve. Andy MacDonald took over from Daniel Madej with around 20 minutes to go.
Reflecting on the match, Oban Camanachd manager Gareth Evans said: “The first goal gave us confidence, the second goal gave the cushion you always want and we went on from there.
“The boys played really well and while they all played their part, Daniel Sloss, Malcolm Clark, Daniel Maccuish, Daniel Cameron and Alexander MacDonald caught the eye. Matthew Sloss was outstanding. Matthew is a quiet lad, but he is a different animal on the pitch. He is only 15 but is so strong and his low centre of gravity makes him so difficult to play against. We gave him a lot of responsibility by playing him up front on his own but his skill levels are unbelievable. He did really well.”
Oban Camanachd are scheduled to play Caberfeidh in the league on Saturday with the venue still to be confirmed. Gareth Evans added: “We’ll have Daniel MacVicar and Scott MacMillan available again so there are some selection decisions to make.”
Lochaber was switched from Glendaruel to Spean Bridge and the hosts took a single goal lead into the break after Brennan MacDonald scored on 14 minutes.
Col Glen levelled though Dan MacDonald on 53 minutes before referee Craig Scott awarded the home side a penalty on the hour, with Ben Delaney scoring from the spot.
Lochaber pushed home their advantage, scoring three more times during the final 20 minutes through Findlay MacDonald on 70 minutes, another from Ben Delaney a couple of minutes later and Conor Sweeney on 84 minutes to make the final score 5-1.
Lochaber top the table.
Inveraray 0 Oban Celtic 0 Inveraray and Oban Celtic drew 0-0 at the Winterton.
Suspension ruled out Inveraray pair Ross MacMillan and Ross Montgomery, whilst injury deprived Oban Celtic of the services of Lennon Campbell and Peter Currie. Innes Jackson has joined the club after previously playing for Oban Camanachd.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock in what was a bad-tempered affair.