Inverness Primary Schools victorious at Ferguson Transport & Shipping National First Shinty Finals 2022

The Ferguson Transport and Shipping National finals brought together over 150 of the best young players from across Scotland all vying for the coveted National P5 and P7 titles.

The P7 & Under tournament was played at the Nevis centre, Fort William in front of a large and noisy crowd. The standard of play throughout the day was of the highest order with all the 11 teams giving a great account of themselves.

Section A saw the impressive Muirtown Primary School top the group on maximum points with the equally impressive Glenurquahart/Balnain team two points behind, claiming the runners-up spot.  Section B was extremely competitive, with the impressive North End Primary topping the group, with Strathkelvin Primary in second spot.

The first semi-final saw Muirtown Primary School take on Strathkelvin Primary, with Muirtown proving too strong winning 6.0 to book their place in the final.

The second semi-final saw Section B winners North End take on Glenurquhart/Balnain primaries in what was a closely contested game, with Glenurquhart/Balnain prevailing 1.0 to reach the final against a Muirtown side they had already played in the group matches.

The final between Muirtown Primary and Glenurquhart /Balnian Primaries was, like their earlier encounter, a closely contested match with the standard of play of the highest order. Muirtown Primary however driven on by the outstanding Jay Macrae son of 2021 MOWI Player of the Year Finlay Macrae went on to win by 3 goals to 1 to win the P7 & Under National First Shinty Championships 2022.  Muirtown Primary School were worthy winners having gone through the tournament undefeated.

Michael Oliver of tournament sponsors Ferguson Transport and Shipping presented the trophy and medals to all the players and Coaches.

The Primary 5 and under event took place at Lochaber High School and unfortunately due to continuing covid restrictions no spectators were allowed to attend. This did not stop the youngsters from 10 schools across the country from putting on a fantastic display of shinty.

Group 1 saw Lochcarron Primary get off to a flying start, beating an impressive Alvie Primary 4-3 in a fantastic game. In fact both teams were the ones to progress to the semi-finals from their section with Lochcarron in top sport and Alvie close behind. In Group 2 Caol Primary were very impressive, winning all their group games and not conceding a goal in the group stage at all. Inverness Gaelic School were a close second, showing some solid displays and only losing out to Caol.

The first semi final saw Group 1 winners Lochcarron taking on Group 2 Runners Up, Inverness Gaelic School. Lochcarron took a quick 2-0 lead but after a quick reshuffle the Inverness school came back to make it 2-2. Another goal a piece saw the game finish 3-3 and extra time with the golden goal rule in place begin. A high paced start by Inverness Gaelic School saw them score the goal that sent them to the final.

The second semi final was between Group 1 Runners Up Alvie and Group 1 winners Caol. Caol, who had been in fine form all day continued this into the semi-final and although Alvie never stopped battling it was Caol Primary who won comfortably through to the final.

The final was played 5 minutes each was and was very evenly contested. A rotation in positions from the first game saw Inverness Gaelic School have an early bit of possession before Caol put the Inverness goal under pressure. The Inverness School defended fantastically and took their opportunity 1 minute from full time to break away and score a fantastic goal, slotted into the bottom corner. Caol had no answer for this and couldn’t penetrate the Inverness defence. A wonderful victory for Inverness Gaelic School who were presented their trophy by Jack Ferguson from Ferguson Transport.