COLGLEN travelled to Newtonmore last Saturday in search of an elusive first win in their historic first Premiership season.
It was always going to be a tough task for the Cowal side as they went north to Badenoch to take on the league leaders, who are already staking a claim for the title. The Glen’s job would be made even harder when their goalkeeper Jack Whyte picked up an injury during the pre-match warm up. Thankfully, utility player James Hamilton stepped in and was ready for action when referee Robert Baxter started the game. Despite the recent inclement weather, the Eilan pitch was in remarkably good condition.
Newtonmore wasted little time in opening the scoring as Mathew Sloss wrong-footed the Glen defence and slotted home. Shortly after, James Hamilton was forced to make a smart save, however Iain Robinson pounced on the rebound forcing Hamilton to put in a very physical tackle in the area, which he was penalised for. Robinson made no mistake with his rasping strike from the spot.
The Glen did have a few forays up the other end of the park during the first half and forced a couple of corners, with Cally McNaughton looking dangerous on the ball at full forward. However, Newtonmore, who boast the best defence in shinty cleared their lines effectively and quickly counter-attacked.
Euan Dingwall and youngster James Coyle both added to the scoresheet for the home side before the interval.
Coyle scored again shortly after the restart, putting the game out of reach for the visitors, and Robinson showed what a prolific goalscorer he is in front of goal as he bagged a further three. However, the ColGlen players never let up and started to find their feet in the latter stages.
There was a worrying moment for the Glen when team captain Murray McClymont was subbed off with a suspected injury. However, it turned out to be a communication breakdown and thankfully the half back who had been superb throughout was found to be fighting fit and was quickly brought back on. Other changes were made though, with Sandy Paterson and Andrew Rossi coming on for the injured Somhairle Fraser and hard-worked Marcus Keith.
And the Cowal side enjoyed a good final quarter. Once again, their fitness levels stood out and they managed to put in some very tidy passages of play. After a series of passes up the field Cally McNaughton got on the end of Sam Bulloch’s delivery and cracked in a fine strike from a tight angle a great team goal. The large travelling support thought the boys in yellow and black were going to bag another at the death, only to see Neily McNaughton’s effort veer wide just prior to the final whistle.
With Glen manager Ronnie MacVicar absent due to lambing commitments, assistant manager Stevie Bulloch and team coach Rory Fraser could still find plenty of positives from the team, who never gave up against what was a very strong and clinical Newtonmore side. Auryn Kerr, who is sponsored by MacVicar Butchers, was picked out as ColGlen man of the match. The team were also extremely grateful to Kizzie Illustration for sponsoring them on the day.
ColGlen will be back at home in the Clachan this Saturday, April 25, where they will take on Bute in the first round of the Celtic Cup.
