Match Reports

Shaky Start To The Season

The Strathclyde Women's and Men's Teams made a less than impressive start to the 2010/2011 season with only the Men picking up 1 point following their games with Glasgow.

The nearly re-formed Glasgow Women's side were dominant throughout the game with Kirsten Munro controlling most of the play. The experienced player was instrumental in her team's success, running tirelessly and passing the ball effortlessly. Whilst Strathclyde did their best, they were no match for the Glasgow side who were 3-0 up by half time.

Despite seeing more of the action in the second half, Strathclyde could not capitalise and saw themselves 5-0 down before Eilidh Macdonald netted a fantastic 20 yard shot from a tight angle. The game finished 6-1 to Glasgow, who themselves were knocked back 8-0 the previous week by Edinburgh.

 

The points were equally divided following Glasgow and Strathclyde Men's Teams game at Yoker on Saturday 23 October 2010. Glasgow who won their opening University League match against Edinburgh, were looking to remain on winning form, whilst this was Strathclyde’s first league fixture.
 
The first half was action packed and special mention to Strathclyde 'keeper Harry Luney, who saved a Kerr Gibb penalty as the game approached half time. The match was scoreless at the interval but Elliot Moir netted for Strathclyde straight after the break. Glasgow weren't going to take this one lying down and fought back to take the lead through an Innes MacMillan goal and a tremendous 30 yard strike from Kerr Gibb.

 

Strathclyde battled tirelessly in the remaining 15 minutes and were rewarded with a fantastic long range effort from Alan Palmer 10 minutes from time secured a point a piece and a 2-2 draw.

Both sides will be looking for a victory in their next game when they take on St Andrew's at home, in Glasgow, on Saturday 30th October

 

Mixed Success in Annual Universities Tournament

The Women's Shinty Team ended the season with a spectacular victory in the annual McCue & Porter Trophy competition, beating surprise finalists Aberdeen 2 - 0 in St Andrew's on Wednesday 24^th March. The event, which takes the form of a round-robin tournament, with the top two teams playing in the final, is the pinnacle of University Shinty. Strathclyde are one of only three Universities to have ever held the cup, however their most recent success came in the academic year 2001/2002.

Buoyed by their excellent performance in the League Competition the Women's team began their day with a scoreless draw against favourites St Andrew's. With this game likely to be the toughest in the competition the team were hopeful of reaching the final, but knew scores were necessary to ensure their success. Another good result followed in the form of a 1 - 0 victory over Aberdeen. Fiona Mathie managed to find the net for Strathclyde following many near misses. In the third game of the day, Strathclyde came face to face with defending champions RGU, who have held the Cup for 5 years running. Despite having the upper hand throughout the game, Strathclyde were unable to score and the game ended 0 – 0.  

With many of the other games in the competition ending in scoreless draws, Strathclyde knew a victory over Edinburgh in their final round-robin game was essential. A change in formation was adopted, with the Strathclyde team playing a much wider, open style of Shinty. The change was very successful, and the game ended in a 4 – 0 victory to Strathclyde, with Fiona Mathie scoring a hat-trick and Eilidh Macdonald adding a forth.

Following an unbeaten run in the round-robin competition against Aberdeen, who had notched up several surprise victories during the day. The Strathclyde team used their subs to great effect during this game, switching players on and off several times during the game and the Aberdeen team, who had travelled with the bare bones of a team, struggled to keep pace with the Strathclyde team. Once again, Fiona Mathie was on target for Strathclyde scoring once from open play, and once converting from a corner, resulting in a 2-0 win for the Strathclyde team.

Strathclyde have reached the final of this competition once in the past six years, but have not managed to match the success of 2001/2002. Winning the McCue & Porter Trophy was the perfect way to end the season, and an excellent way for Fiona Mathie, Katie Myerscough and Charlene Chung to end their University Shinty careers! Credit must be given to the entire team, who played excellently throughout the competition, keeping a clean sheet in every game and showing great determination and grit. We look forward to building on this success in the next academic year, where new recruits will be welcomed onto the team.

The Men's Team were unlucky runners up in the Littlejohn Vase competition, losing once again in a penalty shoot out to RGU, a repeat of the 2009 and 2005 finals. With the score level at 0 - 0 after normal play, it took 12 penalties before the winner was declared in dramatic fashion. RGU thought they had clinched victory after the 9th penalty; however their eager penalty taker had not waited for the referee's signal and so was asked to re-take his penalty, which was saved by the Strathclyde keeper, Kenny Michie. However, Strathclyde's luck ran out and RGU once again claimed victory and retained the Littlejohn Vase.  

Strathclyde reached the final after a shaky start, losing 1 - 0 to Edinburgh, however they followed this up with a 3 - 0 victory over Aberdeen, with Sean Cameron (2) and Ruairidh MacLeod getting their names on the scorecard. Strathclyde then continued their winning form, recording a 2 - 0 victory over RGU, with scores coming from team captain, Alan Palmer, and Ruairidh MacLeod. The team then almost suffered shock result, as the game against St Andrew's looked to be heading to a 1 – 1 draw, before Strathclyde found the net three times in quick succession, to give a final score 4 – 1.The penultimate game against Dundee finished with a 1 - 0 victory, with Donald Macdonald scoring, despite playing with a broken thumb. The round-robin action was completed following a scoreless draw with Glasgow.

Despite being one of the strongest teams in the competition over the past 6 years, Strathclyde have had mixed success in this competition, winning in 2005, 2007 and 2008, whilst being runners up to RGU in 2006 and 2009. The team, who are currently in the top spot in the Men’s League, hope that next season they can build on their success of this season and go on to win both the league and Littlejohn Vase in 2010/2011.

Women's Team - League Runners Up 2009/2010

Strathclyde Women's Shinty Team ended the season with a loss to a determined St Andrew's side. With both sides unbeaten before entering this game, the game was effectively a league final. Strathclyde needed at least a draw to win the league title however the result didn't go in their favour with the Fife side running out 2-0 winners.

St Andrew's were confirmed as league winners, with Strathclyde taking the runners up spot.

Credit must be given to the Strathclyde side who fought hard to break the deadlock from the beginning, however it was St Andrew's who finally found a way past the Strathclyde keeper, Charlene Chung, who pulled off some phenomenal saves throughout the game.

Neither side dominated the game, with play passing from end to end. St Andrew's had most of the early opportunities, but Strathclyde managed to keep them at bay, however Aisling Gribben managed to knock a shot cleanly through to Caroline Graham who converted the goal leaving the home side 1-0 up at half time.

Strathclyde made a couple of changes at half time, replacing Sarah Howden and Rosie Boswell who both contributed excellently in the first half. The refresed Strathclyde team returned from the break eager to score and spent the majority of the half pressing forward for a goal, with Fiona Mathie, Vanessa Harvey and Alex Russell doing their best to send passes in to Cassie Dorrian, Eilidh Macdonald and Emma Smith, who determindly tried to score. St Andrew's managed to stifle every Strathclyde attacking move and the ball quickly returned to the Strathclyde defence.

The defence of Kirstie MacLeod, Rachel Macdonald and Oonagh Collins coped well with the pressure and Charlene pulled off some great saves. However, midway through the second half, Aisling Gribben doubled St Andrew's score and they looked well on their way to securing the league title.

Strathclyde continued to push for a score, but their endeavor was not to be rewarded and the game ended with a victory to St Andrew's, who celebrated their first ever league success.

Strathclyde would like to congratulate their hosts for the day, St Andrew's, for a great game, and warm welcome to their facilities and for providing refreshments after the game. We look forward to returning to Fife for the Littlejohn tournament on Wednesday 24th March.

 

Vanessa sending a pass into the forward line

photo courtesy of Lyndy Donaldson (St Andrew's)

 

Double Victory for Strathclyde - 17/10/2009

Both Strathclyde Women's and Men's teams got their season off to a spectacular start with victories over Edinburgh University, at Peterson Park in Yokermill on Saturday.

The Women's team, with a fresh look due to many new recruits, got off to a great start against their rivals from the capital, however could not break the deadlock. The Edinburgh full back proved to be a formidable defender and coped admirably with the onslaught of Strathclyde attacks. This was in no way a one sided game, with Edinburgh proving they were quick off the mark and breaking forward at great speed. One such break resulted in a cleanly taken goal from Edinburgh's wing forward, Jo Gorniack, just before half time. The teams ended the half with Edinburgh on top. A reshuffle of the Strathclyde team structure at half time resulted in a much more attacking formation, with Katie Myerscough, Claire Nance and Rachel Macdonald providing pace in the midfield and generating scoring chances for the forwards. Once such chance was successfully converted by Gemma McShane and Strathclyde leveled the scores at 1-1.

Both teams now set about looking for the win, with play passing from end to end. In defense Kirstie Macleod, Eilidh Macdonald and Rosie Boswell, who replaced the injured Mhairi Smith, stemmed the flow of every Edinburgh attack. However, Edinburgh were unlucky with several shots just missing the net and others that tested the Strathclyde keeper. Claire Nance had a great game playing wing centre and continuously pushed the ball from defense right up into the Strathclyde forward line. The Strathclyde forward line of Fiona Mathie, Gemma McShane and Sarah Howden battled to get the better of a determined Edinburgh defense. Strathclyde's slick passing and continuous movement resulted in a second goal from Fiona Mathie, which was quickly followed up by a third from Rachel Macdonald. Edinburgh now chased to recover their lead but Strathclyde remained dominant and ran out successful 3-1 winners of the game, which was entertaining and highly competitive. A stunning performance from new girl Claire Nance earned her player of the match status. Strathclyde will follow up this victory next Saturday with another home game against an Aberdeen team looking for their first victory of the season following a 4-2 defeat at the hands of St Andrew's. 

 

The Strathclyde Men's team started the game on Saturday looking to put behind them a defeat against Edinburgh last season and return to the winning form they had become accustomed to over the past five years. The team has been bolstered by a string of new recruits, who quickly fitted into the Strathclyde team and the game proceeded at break neck speed. For the first time since the 2006/2007 season the Strathclyde team have a regular goalkeeper in the shape of Kenny Michie, but the Strathclyde keeper had a quiet game, as Edinburgh struggled to break through the defense of Tom Smith, John Fraser, James Tagney and Dan Hood. Edinburgh did waste several chances as their shots sailed over the crossbar, or loose balls were quickly cleared out of defense by Strathclyde. The Strathclyde team dominated the game from the beginning and Edinburgh struggled to keep up with the pace of Ewan Murray, Donald Macdonald and Neal Hemmingway in the centre line, who were continuously dropping the ball onto the edge of the D, creating chances for the forward line. Donald Macdonald had a great game dropping back to assist the defense as they fought hard to maintain a clean sheet, whilst Ewan Murray, who played despite an injury, supported Neal Hemmingway in stifling Edinburgh's chances. Strathclyde quickly took command of the game as Ruairidh Macleod opened the scoring for the home side, following some impressive passing between himself and his team mates, Alan Palmer and James 'Harry' Luney. The first half continued along this pattern, with Alan Palmer dominating at full forward, scoring another two impressive goals for the home side. As half time was reached, the visitors looked to be beaten.

The second half commenced with a determined Edinburgh side fighting to get a grasp of a game that was slowly slipping out of their control. In a man of the match performance, half back James Tagney, showed strength and determination in every challenge against a gritty and powerful Edinburgh forward line. The visitors failed to find their mark throughout the game and were continuously frustrated as Strathclyde eased towards victory. Strathclyde seemed to put the game beyond Edinburgh with another goal from Ruairidh Macleod to make it 4-0; however Strathclyde showed no signs of relaxing as Alan Palmer and Ruairidh Macleod both chased the first hattrick of the season. Strathclyde mounted attack after attack on the tired Edinburgh defense, with James Luney netting a fifth goal for the home side, leaving the visitors dejected. With the game easily in their control Strathclyde made switches to the side, with Craig Lindsay and Xander Macgregor taking to the pitch for their first University Shinty game. As full time approached, Alan Palmer finished the scoring with Strathclyde's sixth, and his third, goal of the day. Despite the heavy defeat, Edinburgh showed resolve throughout the game and gave Strathclyde a challenge for periods of the game, although the home team will take confidence from the margin of their success. Next game for the victorious Strathclyde boys will be at home to Aberdeen next Saturday, when they will aim to make it two victories from two.