THE ANNUAL DANCE was held on the evening of the fete in the Colintraive Hall to the excellent music of the Saddlebags country western band.  There was a great crowd with an excellent atmosphere.  Neil and Jamie were at the door taking the entrance fees and checking that all bank notes were legal tender, either that or they just liked the colours ……. ?

Gramps and Joanna did a roaring trade at the bar to quench all the thirsts built up from earlier in the day.  The children had a good time and some even got up on the floor to dance. (I couldn’t see who was dancing, but generally speaking the children do get up to dance, so this is not much of deal)

The evening finished with Ewan, Captain of the Shinty Club, giving thanks to all who came and supported the event.  He went on to give a rough summary of the Team’s highs and lows of the season amidst great jocularity from his team mates.  His final announcement was of his engagement to Jennifer.  A great night was had by all and the much appreciated sum of £600 was raised for Shinty Club funds.

Joanna Sinclair

Glendaruel has played host to some tremendous sporting competitions during the last months.

Due to our ideal geographical position in Cowal, we are the preferred pitch on which to hold Youth Shinty Tournaments. This is a showcase in which our young talented players get the chance to play Shinty in their own surroundings, with their peers, and in front of their fans. Shouts of “Come on Finnan and Neilly” can be heard right around the Clachan.

Never is there more dedication and focus than at nights such as these when the atmosphere is one of excitement and anticipation. Please come along and see for yourself, but don’t forget the midge repellent! They especially don’t like our locally produced solution.

The senior team have at last had a chance to get into serious Shinty mode, well maybe you could call it that. Drier conditions have meant the the pitch has held up and we have won half of the last six games. Unfortunately we have sustained some injuries to key players, and this makes it that much harder for those remaining. Fitness is a major factor in a game as fast as Shinty, which was never meant to be played in temperatures in the 80’s.

We have six youth players who not only play in u-14 and u-17 teams, but also get a game on a Saturday. Three of these players will be attending the Camanachd Association’s Shinty Camp held each year in Perth. It is thanks to the Wind Farm Trust that these players are able attend this, expensive, but most constructive and valuable experience.

Sandy McVicar has been selected to play in the National Squad this year which is a great honour and a tribute to his fine shinty skills which we hope will get even better, and so, with the help of his team mates, further develop Col-Glen Shinty Club’s achievements.

Joanna Sinclair

Summer holidays are here and for the ColGlen kids this means another rung up the shinty ladder. The boys and girls who come along on Thursday nights range from five to eleven years old. We can proudly say that ColGlen has some of the youngest players in Cowal.

We recently held two evening tournaments in Glendaruel where they could try out their swings on real opposition. Teams from Strachur, Kyles, Bute and Dunoon gave the supporting crowd a great evening of shinty. This stage of play is giving the players their first chance to put their own stamp on the game and express themselves whilst having to play as a team. Their enthusiasm and ability range make these evenings to remember.

In June, Jamie, Ewan, Liam, Struan, Cairn, Andrew, Evelyne and their mascot, Josh, went to Oban to participate in a Primary Tournament for children all over Scotland. They plated their best shinty ever. Despite not carrying off the cup our team are still ‘Stars in Our Eyes’.

A new venture for the twelve to 17 year olds is the amalgamation between ColGlen, Kyles, Strachur and Dunoon. This Controversial move is designed to ensure they can still play competitive shinty within their peer group. So far, Cowal U14 and U17 teams have shown all the commitment and skill required to make their presence felt.

For the senior ColGlen players in South Division II, the season got off to a very wet start. We have stuttered through the weeks often not knowing before the last minute whether games were on or off. This does little for general morale but there remains a great deal to do. With some new young players and the return of others who had been off round the world, we are hopeful for great things.

Joanna Sinclair

For the second fixture in a row ColGlen were unable to field a full-strength side and unlike the opposition the weekend before, Oban Celtic were well-organised and accurate when shooting on goal. The home side’s dominance throughout the fixture was a measure of the strength of their midfield and forwards as much as the comparative weakness of ColGlen’s front line.

At half-time Oban were 3–1 up, their copy-book blotted by a truly magnificent strike by Willie McVicar on the right wing. At full pace McVicar managed to gather a quick cross-ball from John Beanie, neatly avoid the muscular attentions of his opposite number, and, still in full flight, shoot from the edge of the ‘D’ across the mouth of the goal to hit the target just inside the far post – the Oban goal-keeper was left in heap at the near post, completely foxed.

McVicar’s goal drew ColGlen onto equal terms for only a couple of minutes. Stung into action the aggressive Oban side took the initiative and the visitor’s defence barely had time to draw breath from then until the break, leaking a further two goals. This despite several monumentally spectacular saves from the captain, and a hugely impressive display from the back four which included new signing James Mitchell.

The second half brought more of the same – only Daniel Watt was able to show any sort of enterprise in front of goal when mid-way through the half he ran onto a fine forward ball from the ever-energetic Gordy Bruce, nutmegged the Oban half back and let rip a well-timed shot which the goal-keeper managed to scramble away for a corner. Watt’s adventure brought ColGlen their only measure of serious pressure on the Oban goal with a sequence of five or six corners, which alas came to nothing.

The last ten minutes were marked by several substitutions by Oban, no goals and a deserved red card for one of the increasingly fractious home side. By contrast and despite being 6–1 down ColGlen maintained an admirable cool and did not rise to what one bystander termed “ridiculous” levels of provocation.

ColGlen: McLeod (c), Sutton, A. McVicar, S. McKellar, J. Mitchell, R. Williamson, Bruce, Beanie, Watt, W. McVicar (1), F. Williamson, Dixon-Spain (M. McFarlane)

ColGlen travelled to Beauly for a Sutherland Cup tie on Saturday without several of their regular players due to lambing commitments. Without the experienced farmer backbone of the team, it was left to the young guns to carry the baton. A welcome return of John Beaney, Euan Morley and Neil Black gave some much needed steel to the team.

In a very even first half, ColGlen had their chances, not least of which was a spectacular overhead effort from Neil Black which had the Beauly keeper scrambling across his line only to watch it narrowly past the post.

Referee John Sloggie was not standing for any nonsense from the excitable home team and his decision to disallow a first half strike from the Beauly full forward was met with relief from a bemused “Doc” MacLeod in the Glen goal.

The second half continued much as the first with chances going a begging at either end.
The young Glen players acquitted themselves very well. However, with 20 minutes left, a 25 yard strike from Beauly’s Burnie bounced wildly in front of keeper MacLeod and found the top corner.

Young Hamish Harrison was brought on to try and spark a comeback as the visitors pressed for an equaliser but it was not to be. Final score Beauly 1, ColGlen 0

ColGlen will play worse than this and win games this season. All credit is due to the young players for this performance.

Alan ‘Doc’ McLeod