On the 7th of September Yoker, Glasgow was host to the Macaulay Association South Shinty World Cup. As ever this competition was for primary school kids in the South of Scotland, there were 2 entry categories.

Primary 6/7 section

Primary 5 & Under section

There were 15 teams there on the day and over 110 young people taking part. 3 pitches were set up and were manned by excellent volunteers and referees.

For the P6/7 section there were 2 league groups with the top 2 teams in each group progressing to the semi-final stage. In the P5 & Under section the top two from the round robin went straight to a final.

P6/7 Section

In the P6/7 section 4 teams came out on top. In section 1, Aberdour topped the group with 8 points from 8 and Glean Dail came a very close second with 6 points.

In section 2, Kyles Athletic mirrored Aberdour’s record from section 1 with a flawless 8 points from 8, with Glasgow Gaels Red finishing second with an impressive 6 points in the group stages.

This set up our two semi-finals for the P6/7 section, Aberdour V Gaels Red & Kyles Athletic v Glean Dail.

Kyles v Glean Dail was first up with Kyles taking early control. A quick fire 4 goals in the first half were unanswered by Glean Dail as the half time whistle went.  The Second half was much more contested, with Glean Dail looking to find a way back in. They probed but unfortunately for them it was too little as Kyles put the game to bed scoring their 5th goal and ending the game Kyles 5 Glean Dail 0.

Aberdour v Glasgow Gaels Red was up next to see who would join Kyle’s in the final. Aberdour looked threatening from the get-go, with chance after chance narrowly missing the Gaels goal. They finally got their breakthrough midway through the first half with a well worked goal from midfield giving them the advantage in this semi-final.

 Gaels Reds tried their best to stay in the game, defending with their bodies on the line. But two quick fire goals from Aberdour just before the half meant they had a mountain to climb if they wanted to reach the final. Like the previous semi, the game was much more contested in the second half with then Gaels looking for a breakthrough. But just before the end of the game Aberdour scored their 4th and final goal setting up a thrilling final, Kyles v Aberdour.

The final saw both teams starting at a fast pace. Kyles though begun to win the midfield battle which allowed them to create chances at will. Aberdour were defending well until a well worked Kyles goal saw them take the lead early in the first half. Aberdour fought back and began to create some chances of their own, but slightly against the run of play Kyles grabbed their second of the game giving them a 2-goal cushion in the final. Aberdour looked down, but just as the first half was coming to an end, Aberdour rifled a shot past the Kyles keeper from just past the half way line to get back into the hame, 2-1 at the break.

The second half was wide open with both teams pushing for a goal. Aberdour started to assert themselves, narrowly missing two chances early in the half. As Aberdour were looking for a way back into the game, they were leaving space in behind, space that Kyles exploited as they grabbed their 3rd of the game to finish Aberdour off and to clinch the cup. A great final to watch.

P5 & Under Section

After the round robin group stage two teams were at the top. Aberdour and Rockfield both finishing with 7 points, only dropping points in the group stages to each other with a 1-1 draw. This made for an exciting final on paper.

The final was set with both teams looking to be crowned this year’s winners. The game didn’t take long to spring into action with tackles flying in and great shinty being played, both teams determined not to lose. Nothing was separating the teams, that was until Aberdour hit Rockfield with a ball over the top, the Aberdour forward slotting the ball past the Rockfield keeper giving the Silversands outfit an early 1 goal lead. Aberdour continued to push, and it wasn’t long until they extended their lead with 4 quick fire goals, giving them a convincing halftime lead. Rockfield were playing with so much heart, but it just wasn’t going their way as Aberdour continued to hit the target repeatedly.

Aberdour seemed to be hitting form at the rig eight times and before they knew it, they had added to a commanding lead with a few early second half goals. The game was being played in great spirit with both teams giving their all, but as the full-time whistle came Aberdour with announced worthy winners on the day.

Davie Hamilton from the Macaulay Association was in attendance for the presentation.

All finalists received a medal from Davie and winning Captains Connor Cook (Aberdour P5s and under) & Struan Moss (Kyles Athletic P6/7) received the P5 & Under and the P6/7 South World Cup trophies to end what was a fantastic day for South Shinty!

A massive thank you to The Macaulay Association for sponsoring the event, to the team at Yoker for the amazing facilities and to the young volunteers helping on the day!