Post by Brian Mackay on Aug 3, 2007 17:03:55 GMT
Castletown are chasing a double
By Iain Grant - iain-grant@ukf.net
Published: 03 August, 2007
A NEW name will go on the David Allan Shield after tomorrow's final between Castletown and Swifts.
Neither has got their hands on the trophy in its 21-year history and both are desperate to round off their respective county seasons on a high.
The village outfit are chasing a double after romping their way to the John O'Groat Journal first division championship.
Swifts meanwhile have had frustrating league and Highland Cup campaigns and will be seen to have underachieved if their much-vaunted squad fails to land a piece of silverware.
Castletown skipper Graham MacDonald returns from suspension for tomorrow's match.
Swifts will miss central defender Graeme Reid, who has a golfing commitment in Orkney, while Stuart Campbell is also a doubt.
The venue for the final was settled by a toss of the coin before the sides met on league business on Wednesday evening.
Castletown's cup ambitions were hanging by a thread in their semi-final clash versus Wick Groats on Monday.
The fired-up visitors raced to a two-nil lead in 20 minutes and looked a good bet to be the first side this season to win in Castletown.
The second division champions forged an early lead after Kevin Miller was left unmarked at a corner to net with a powerful back-post header.
Playing with the breeze, they continued to call the shots and it was no surprise when they doubled their lead thanks to a spanking free-kick dispatched by defender Russell Bain.
Castletown were struggling to match their opponents but were thrown a lifeline just before the interval when Ewan Scott headed across for Colin MacLeod to net with a searing volley from eight yards.
That sparked the home side into life and they were soon chasing an equaliser.
Groats' cause was hit by the dismissal midway through the second half of Gavin Sinclair.
His offbeat booking in the first period for leaving and re-entering the pitch without the ref's permission was magnified when he was shown a second yellow for a trip on Stuart Florence.
Within a couple of minutes, it was 2-2 when Florence embellished a long-range foray with a cracking strike from outside the box which arrowed into the roof of the net.
The winner came six minutes from full time when a corner resulted in the under-pressure Callum Swanson firing into his own net.
Swifts had no such problems in their semi when they swept past an under-strength John O'Groats at the Dammies.
Missing the spine of their team, the villagers slumped to a 6-1 reverse. Raking drives from Mark Nichol and Martyn Cook had the town men two up before Nichol's pinpoint cross was headed home by Iain Elder.
Nigel Mackenzie and Nichol added further counters before a rare JOG raid let in Calum Campbell to get one back before the interval.
In a low-key second half, Swifts missed a hatful of opportunities and could only add one to their tally through a Jamie Mackenzie strike.
A dress rehearsal in Castletown for tomorrow's clash on Wednesday ended in a goalless stalemate.
The result means Castletown have completed their league schedule undefeated, with Swifts the only side to take points off the champions.
Swifts had the lion's share of possession and pressure but there was no shortage of chances at both ends.
Chris Sutherland missed a glorious chance to put Castletown in front early on with Gavin Bremner going closest for the visitors with a long-range strike which was just off target.
After the break, Lee MacDougall went close with two curling efforts from outside the box. In between, a virtuoso piece of skill from Martyn Cook cut open the home defence but trialist striker Derek Munro was unable to apply the final touch.
A clutch of opportunities in the final quarter roused the crowd and Sutherland almost broke the deadlock when his close-in shot was held by keeper Lee Allan.
Swifts had earlier moved closer to clinching third spot with a 11-0 drubbing of town rivals Pentland. Nichol began the rout and went on to grab a hat trick.
Graeme Reid netted a brace of headers while Nigel Mackenzie also scored two with Iain Elder, Stuart Campbell and Jamie Mackenzie grabbing singles.
Youngster Sean Trueman marked his debut when he came off the bench midway through the second half and made a perfect job of converting a penalty.
Pentland United made sure of runners-up spot on Wednesday after defeating Thistle 3-0 in Wick in their final match.
Jimmy Budge put United ahead with the Jags indebted to Graeme Williamson for keeping them in the contest.
Williamson, Wick Academy's number two keeper, pulled off a string of top-class saves and stops to regularly thwart the Dunnet men. Midway through the second half, Thistle's trialist Billy Davidson missed a snip to get his side back on terms.
Jimmy Budge got a second but he was eclipsed by his brother Grant, whose solo effort for the third proved the highlight of the evening.
Rovers' strong finish to the campaign was rounded off with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Acks in Thurso.
Stevie Reid was first to threaten for the visitors after 20 minutes when he forced a fine stop from home keeper Brian Mackay.
Keith Foubister was then foiled by a reaction stop from Rovers' custodian Ryan Robertson before Reid was put through to net with a well-judged lob 10 minutes before the turnaround.
Andrew Weir struck a post before putting his side two in front soon after the restart after getting on the end of a free kick from John Harper.
The goal came a minute after Acks youngster Chris Wann was dismissed after picking up two bookings.
Lee Lyall later pounced on a loose ball in the Acks box to make it 3-0 for Sanders Harper's troops.
Acks earlier notched their fifth victory of the campaign at the expense of Thistle at Upper Bignold. A headed goal from Robert Mackay in the final action of a lacklustre first half put the Thurso men in front.
After 55 minutes, Mackay doubled the advantage with a 40-yard snap-shot that eluded Williamson.
Williamson again distinguished himself with some brave stops before Acks went 3-0 from the penalty spot.
After trialist Ian Munro was adjudged to have fouled in the box, Mackay strode forward and converted the spot kick for his hat trick.
The Jags got one back with 15 minutes led after Mark Morrison executed a spectacular overhead kick from 12 yards out.
Wick Groats all but confirmed their place in the final of the second division Steven Cup when they scored an 8-0 home win over Ashes.
Mark Bremner And Kyle Ross each struck twice with the highlight being a spectacular strike from Russell Bain.
For Francis Street Club to top the section, they would have to defeat their Wick rivals by a 14-goal margin in Monday's match.
FSC on Wednesday had to come from behind before defeating Ashes 5-2 at Ormlie. An Eddie McGrory header cancelled out Nathan Mackay's opener for FSC and Willie Miller sent in Peter MacGregor for his first goal of the campaign.
The Wickers levelled soon after half time through Liam Anderson and super-sub Graham Scollay then weighed in with a double.
The inter-county between Caithness and Sutherland has been rescheduled for next week. Caithness will be defending the historic Portland Bowl in the clash in Thurso on Thursday evening.
Fixtures:
Tomorrow - David Allan Shield final: Castletown v Swifts (in Castletown 3pm).
Monday – Division One (7.15pm): Swifts v John O'Groats. Steven Cup (7pm): FSC v Wick Groats. Thursday – Caithness v Sutherland (Sir George's Park, Thurso, 7pm).
Results:
MacLeod IFA Highland Amateur Cup semi-final: John O'Groats 0 Point 1 (AET).
David Allan Shield semi-final: Castletown 3 Wick Groats 2; Swifts 6 John O'Groats 1.
Division One: Acks 0 Rovers 3; Castletown 0 Swifts 0; Thurso Pentland 0 Swifts 11; Wick Thistle 1 Acks 3; Wick Thistle 0 Pentland United 3.
Steven Cup: Ashes 2 FSC 5; Wick Groats 8 Ashes 0.
By Iain Grant - iain-grant@ukf.net
Published: 03 August, 2007
A NEW name will go on the David Allan Shield after tomorrow's final between Castletown and Swifts.
Neither has got their hands on the trophy in its 21-year history and both are desperate to round off their respective county seasons on a high.
The village outfit are chasing a double after romping their way to the John O'Groat Journal first division championship.
Swifts meanwhile have had frustrating league and Highland Cup campaigns and will be seen to have underachieved if their much-vaunted squad fails to land a piece of silverware.
Castletown skipper Graham MacDonald returns from suspension for tomorrow's match.
Swifts will miss central defender Graeme Reid, who has a golfing commitment in Orkney, while Stuart Campbell is also a doubt.
The venue for the final was settled by a toss of the coin before the sides met on league business on Wednesday evening.
Castletown's cup ambitions were hanging by a thread in their semi-final clash versus Wick Groats on Monday.
The fired-up visitors raced to a two-nil lead in 20 minutes and looked a good bet to be the first side this season to win in Castletown.
The second division champions forged an early lead after Kevin Miller was left unmarked at a corner to net with a powerful back-post header.
Playing with the breeze, they continued to call the shots and it was no surprise when they doubled their lead thanks to a spanking free-kick dispatched by defender Russell Bain.
Castletown were struggling to match their opponents but were thrown a lifeline just before the interval when Ewan Scott headed across for Colin MacLeod to net with a searing volley from eight yards.
That sparked the home side into life and they were soon chasing an equaliser.
Groats' cause was hit by the dismissal midway through the second half of Gavin Sinclair.
His offbeat booking in the first period for leaving and re-entering the pitch without the ref's permission was magnified when he was shown a second yellow for a trip on Stuart Florence.
Within a couple of minutes, it was 2-2 when Florence embellished a long-range foray with a cracking strike from outside the box which arrowed into the roof of the net.
The winner came six minutes from full time when a corner resulted in the under-pressure Callum Swanson firing into his own net.
Swifts had no such problems in their semi when they swept past an under-strength John O'Groats at the Dammies.
Missing the spine of their team, the villagers slumped to a 6-1 reverse. Raking drives from Mark Nichol and Martyn Cook had the town men two up before Nichol's pinpoint cross was headed home by Iain Elder.
Nigel Mackenzie and Nichol added further counters before a rare JOG raid let in Calum Campbell to get one back before the interval.
In a low-key second half, Swifts missed a hatful of opportunities and could only add one to their tally through a Jamie Mackenzie strike.
A dress rehearsal in Castletown for tomorrow's clash on Wednesday ended in a goalless stalemate.
The result means Castletown have completed their league schedule undefeated, with Swifts the only side to take points off the champions.
Swifts had the lion's share of possession and pressure but there was no shortage of chances at both ends.
Chris Sutherland missed a glorious chance to put Castletown in front early on with Gavin Bremner going closest for the visitors with a long-range strike which was just off target.
After the break, Lee MacDougall went close with two curling efforts from outside the box. In between, a virtuoso piece of skill from Martyn Cook cut open the home defence but trialist striker Derek Munro was unable to apply the final touch.
A clutch of opportunities in the final quarter roused the crowd and Sutherland almost broke the deadlock when his close-in shot was held by keeper Lee Allan.
Swifts had earlier moved closer to clinching third spot with a 11-0 drubbing of town rivals Pentland. Nichol began the rout and went on to grab a hat trick.
Graeme Reid netted a brace of headers while Nigel Mackenzie also scored two with Iain Elder, Stuart Campbell and Jamie Mackenzie grabbing singles.
Youngster Sean Trueman marked his debut when he came off the bench midway through the second half and made a perfect job of converting a penalty.
Pentland United made sure of runners-up spot on Wednesday after defeating Thistle 3-0 in Wick in their final match.
Jimmy Budge put United ahead with the Jags indebted to Graeme Williamson for keeping them in the contest.
Williamson, Wick Academy's number two keeper, pulled off a string of top-class saves and stops to regularly thwart the Dunnet men. Midway through the second half, Thistle's trialist Billy Davidson missed a snip to get his side back on terms.
Jimmy Budge got a second but he was eclipsed by his brother Grant, whose solo effort for the third proved the highlight of the evening.
Rovers' strong finish to the campaign was rounded off with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Acks in Thurso.
Stevie Reid was first to threaten for the visitors after 20 minutes when he forced a fine stop from home keeper Brian Mackay.
Keith Foubister was then foiled by a reaction stop from Rovers' custodian Ryan Robertson before Reid was put through to net with a well-judged lob 10 minutes before the turnaround.
Andrew Weir struck a post before putting his side two in front soon after the restart after getting on the end of a free kick from John Harper.
The goal came a minute after Acks youngster Chris Wann was dismissed after picking up two bookings.
Lee Lyall later pounced on a loose ball in the Acks box to make it 3-0 for Sanders Harper's troops.
Acks earlier notched their fifth victory of the campaign at the expense of Thistle at Upper Bignold. A headed goal from Robert Mackay in the final action of a lacklustre first half put the Thurso men in front.
After 55 minutes, Mackay doubled the advantage with a 40-yard snap-shot that eluded Williamson.
Williamson again distinguished himself with some brave stops before Acks went 3-0 from the penalty spot.
After trialist Ian Munro was adjudged to have fouled in the box, Mackay strode forward and converted the spot kick for his hat trick.
The Jags got one back with 15 minutes led after Mark Morrison executed a spectacular overhead kick from 12 yards out.
Wick Groats all but confirmed their place in the final of the second division Steven Cup when they scored an 8-0 home win over Ashes.
Mark Bremner And Kyle Ross each struck twice with the highlight being a spectacular strike from Russell Bain.
For Francis Street Club to top the section, they would have to defeat their Wick rivals by a 14-goal margin in Monday's match.
FSC on Wednesday had to come from behind before defeating Ashes 5-2 at Ormlie. An Eddie McGrory header cancelled out Nathan Mackay's opener for FSC and Willie Miller sent in Peter MacGregor for his first goal of the campaign.
The Wickers levelled soon after half time through Liam Anderson and super-sub Graham Scollay then weighed in with a double.
The inter-county between Caithness and Sutherland has been rescheduled for next week. Caithness will be defending the historic Portland Bowl in the clash in Thurso on Thursday evening.
Fixtures:
Tomorrow - David Allan Shield final: Castletown v Swifts (in Castletown 3pm).
Monday – Division One (7.15pm): Swifts v John O'Groats. Steven Cup (7pm): FSC v Wick Groats. Thursday – Caithness v Sutherland (Sir George's Park, Thurso, 7pm).
Results:
MacLeod IFA Highland Amateur Cup semi-final: John O'Groats 0 Point 1 (AET).
David Allan Shield semi-final: Castletown 3 Wick Groats 2; Swifts 6 John O'Groats 1.
Division One: Acks 0 Rovers 3; Castletown 0 Swifts 0; Thurso Pentland 0 Swifts 11; Wick Thistle 1 Acks 3; Wick Thistle 0 Pentland United 3.
Steven Cup: Ashes 2 FSC 5; Wick Groats 8 Ashes 0.