The MacBean Cup for S1/2 secondary school pupils took place on Monday the 11th of May at Kingussie High School with 7 teams from across Scotland in attendance. Each team played against each other once in a round robin format, with the two top teams from the league phase progressing to the final.
The league phase provided some great shinty, with teams picking up and dropping points across the board. Charleston drew blank in their first game drawing 0-0 against Glasgow Gaelic School, but that did not dishearten them as they went on to convincingly win their remaining 5 games. Kingussie started in similar fashion, Drawing their first game 1-1 against Lochaber but going onto win their remaining fixtures except a narrow 1-0 defeat to eventual champions Charleston.
The remaining teams all tried to close the gap, with Glenurquhart narrowly missing out on the top spots after defeating Glasgow Gaelic, Lochaber High and Grantown Grammar but defeats against eventual finalists Kingussie and Charleston confirmed their 3rd place finish.
The final was set, with both teams confident going into the game. The game started quite slow, with little chances at either end. The midfields were dominating the game, with both defensives nullifying the opposing forwards. Before we knew it there was half time,0-0.
The second half could hardly be more different, Charleston went on the attack early and a ball from midfield found hitman Alfie Leslie, who took the ball down and turned to unleash a great forehand stroke to beat the Kingussie goalkeeper, 1-0. Kingussie responded, sending wave after wave of attack to try and get back into the game. Their efforts were being distinguished by Charleston captain and fullback Mathew Ogsten, who was a standout in the final. In one last desperate attempt Kingussie sent up defender Fergus Gilligian who in the dying embers received the ball, turning and sending a venomous strike narrowly wide of the Charleston goals. The full time whistle went, 1-0.
Mathew Ogsten stepped up to collect the 2026 MacBean Cup, which put an end to a great day of Shinty. Massive congratulations to Charleston academy, and commiserations to Kingussie High who put in a Valliant effort.
A massive thank you to Kingussie High/Camanachd for the facilities, and to referees Toby, Lexi and Adele who gave up their time and officiated in a confident manner.
