Lochaber win Ferguson Transport & Shipping Balliemore Cup

26^th July saw Lochaber and Inveraray descend upon Spean Bridge for the Ferguson Transport & Shipping Balliemore Cup Final. Inveraray came into the match as underdogs, sitting 7^th in the Mowi National Division but having overcome Inverness in a comfortable 4-1 win in the semi-finals a fortnight earlier. Lochaber on the other hand were top of the National and had eliminated fellow title challengers Col Glen by the same scoreline. The shinty community had become used to blue skies and a warm breeze at the Balliemore over the past few years, however, this year saw a return to more traditional west coast weather with the introduction of some heavy showers, making the park slick.

Jamie MacPherson threw the ball into the air to get the game started and it was not long before the first real chance of the game, Lochaber’s Martin Johnstone picking up the ball from a loose shy and finding Captain Ben Delaney 19 yards out with his back to goal, he shifted the ball to his left and cracked a low shot at goal which was saved smartly by the feet of Scott MacLachlan and swept behind for a corner.

Ten minutes later, it was creator turned scorer as Johnstone picked up a ball that was pushed into the corner by Findlay MacDonald and rifled a shot across the keeper and into the top right corner, stunning both the crowd and the keeper, neither of whom were expecting a shot from that kind of angle. Fears that Lochaber may pull away after getting the opener were unfounded and over the next 10 minutes Inveraray had a flurry of half-chances, however, they were unable to trouble Lochaber stopper Brennan MacDonald.

The teams continued to exchange a few chances in a match that was played in the centre of the park a lot and with the slick surface leading to a lot of balls skipping out of play – and so, MacPherson brought an end to the first half with the score 1-0 to Lochaber.

In the second half the teams continued to vie for supremacy, but hard running and good defending kept chances to a minimum, however the Winterton outfit were definitely growing into the game, peppering MacDonald’s goal with balls, albeit not necessarily shots. The best of the bunch saw Aray’s Ewan Donnan fire a tricky one from distance at MacDonald, however, his defence were there to help him out after he made the stop with his feet.

In the 80^th minute, Lochaber doubled their tally. Max Campbell playing a nice ball into Delaney who was fouled, though play continued with the ball falling to Shaun Nicolson, his drive was well stopped by MacLachlan, but the ball which bounced up from his feet, was flicked up and volleyed home by the onrushing Ben MacDonald to give the Spean men a bit of breathing space.

Six minutes on, Lochaber created another chance, Nicolson again with some good work down the right-hand side, beating his man and putting one on target from distance. MacLachlan was equal to the strike which he beat away from above his shoulder with his left hand, however, in the rush to pick up on the loose ball, Campbell Watt tangled legs with Ben MacDonald and referee MacPherson pointed to the spot. Lochaber’s Campbell stepped up to take the penalty and left the keeper with no chance, driving the ball powerfully into the top left corner.

That was the last major action of the game and with it the 2025 Ferguson Transport & Shipping Balliemore Cup Final came to a close, Lochaber winning the competition for the 5^th time in total and the 2^nd time in as many years. For Inveraray, a valiant performance against the league leaders, but they were unable to put enough pressure on the Lochaber goal. Lochaber’s Max Campbell was awarded the Man of the Match Award, in honour of Captain Archibald MacRa Chisholm, by Strathglass’ Robert Geddes, but it would be Ben Delaney who had the ultimate honour of lifting the Ferguson Transport & Shipping Balliemore Cup.

The Association were pleased to donate half of the gate receipts from the final to Lachlan Campbell’s #MindNotDefeated MND Fundraiser, you can find out about getting involved here.

A photo album can be accessed here.