The North Under-17’s and Under-14’s defeated their South counterparts at An Aird, Fort William last Sunday. All the teams were well supported on a sunny but cold afternoon in Lochaber where the best of Scotland’s shinty talent was on display.

North 14s v South 14s

The U14 Fraser MacPhee Memorial Cup was once again won by the North of Scotland by 15 goals to 0 but the match was a lot closer than the large score line suggests. Newtonmore’s Hitman James Coyle wasted no time and got the North off to a great start with an early goal on 7 minutes, and that was quickly followed by another well taken goal from that man Coyle, doubling his tally and the North’s lead. The South responded well and created some chances of their own, but the North defence was standing strong. Skye’s Harry Speed extended the North’s lead with a great strike on 22 minutes. Following that, the game quickly started to slip away from the south, with another flurry of goals from Newtonmore’s North Duo James Coyle and Donald Ross. Coyle fired his 3^rd and 4^th goal of the day on minutes 28 & 30, while Donald Ross got his first and only goal of the day on the 32-minute mark. With that, the first half was brough to a halt, the score: North 6 South 0.

The second half started in similar style to the first, with the impressive Coyle picking up his 5^th goal of the game 2 minutes after the restart. The pressure from the North was relentless and yet again they got their rewards. A kick from the South keeper gave Harry speed a chance to double his tally from the spot, and he did just that. Speed rifled his penalty past the helpless South keeper to make it 8-0 to the North. Both teams started to make changes and it didn’t take long for Norths first substitute Lovat’s Aaron Gallacher to get in on the action. Gallacher found himself at the back post a he got on the end of a crossed ball to slip it past the south keeper on minute 47.

6 minutes later Coyle scored again, while Glenurquhart’s Glenn Macdonald scored a well-deserved goal in the 57^th minute. This was followed by a quick double from Kinlochshiel’s impressive talent Jay Macrae as he finally got his reward for a strong showing. Harry speed completed his hattrick with a well worked move on the 62^nd minute. The final goal of the game fell to Jay Macrae as he completed his hattrick in the dying embers of what was a convincing win for the North. Full time North 15 South 0.

Rosemary MacPhee presented the trophy to the winning North captain James Coyle.

North 17s v South 17s

It was then time for the U17 match to take centre stage, and just like younger brother earlier in the day Newtonmore’s Joe Coyle scored an impressive forehand strike after 1 minute to give the North an early advantage. The South were struggling to pick up the impressive North forward line and this was evident by the quickfire goals from Glenurquhart duo Alfie Macleod & Daniel Maclean. Macleod taping in a loose ball on the 4^th minute and his clubmate Maclean also finishing well after going 1 on 1 with the South keeper. The south made an early change bringing on Aberdour’s Alistadair Chamberlin to try and sure up the South defence. This was having the desired effect as the South started to get into the game and creating chances for themselves, and after a well worked move Kyle’s Roan McVicar fire a shot hard and low past North keeper Hayden Taylor-Ramsey of Kingussie to get the south back in the game. The south pressure didn’t last long as the North quickly restored their 3-goal lead with as Maclean secured his brace in the 20^th minute and Kilmallie’s Shane O’Rua finishing a devastating north move in 23^rd minute to make it North 5 South 1. Daniel Maclean continued to cause problems and he got his reward on the 28^th minute as he fired a low shot past the South keeper to complete his hattrick and making the halftime score North 6 South 1.

After the break the game started to slow down with the pace of play decreasing. There were few chances for either team as the ball was being played in the centre of the park. The South were awarded a penalty on the 55^th minute as Taylor-Ramsey kicked the ball in his box. Oban Camanachd’s Mathew Sloss had the chance to give his South side a life line but his penalty was well saved by Taylor-Ramsey as he made up for his earlier mistake.

After the Penalty there was nothing particularly to write home about, with both keepers having little to none to do. The game finished and both teams shook hands on what ended up being a comfortable North win. Credit must go to both sets of players and managers for all the hard work put into making this day a great spectacle for the fans.

Rosemary MacPhee presented the cup to the North captain Seonaidh-Alex Macleod who had a very impressive game for the North.

Special thanks to the MacPhee Family for their continued sponsorship of the U14 and to AMP for sponsoring the U17 game, Fort William Shinty Club for the use of their excellent facilities and the referees and match official’s on the day .

Images courtesy of Iain Ferguson