Caithness beat England in shinty challenge
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Caithness 3 England 2
A penalty saw Caithness Shinty Club beat the auld enemy to record its first competitive win of the season.
The Panthers took part in a 12 a-side challenge match against the English national team at St Andrews where the teams met for the first ever time.
The game started off at a fast pace, with the crucial battle in the middle of the park being dominated by the experienced England side and ultimately led to them scoring the opening goal through Jacob Harrell.
Caithness came back into the game and after scuffles for the ball, Shane Campbell broke free and waltzed past two English defenders before burying the ball n the back of the net to even the score.
The English side retook the lead early in the second half with a well-taken goal from Bernie Bowman, however once again Caithness fought back and got a goal, scored by Katie Booth. Shane Campbell had the ball in the net with a beautiful lobbed attempt, but the Referee ruled that a Caithness player was offside and the goal was scratched.
Caithness would not be beaten and started to dominate the match and when a Chris Sinclair shot was kicked by the England goal keeper, the referee awarded a penalty hit.
Caithness captain Alan MacDonald stepped up and hammered the ball home from 20 yards. Caithness then took control of the game and eased home to record their first win of the season.
Caithness also entered two teams into the St Andrews 6 a-side competition. One called Caithness Shinty, the other called Caithness Panthers.
The Caithness Shinty side managed to get off to a good start, with victories against St Andrews and Dundee, but a draw against England and defeat in their final group game meant their afternoon came to an early end.
The Panthers managed to go one better, despite a close defeat to London, they went on to beat St Andrews and North division two side Lewis, and secure their spot in the quarter finals.
But the fairytale run came to a halt as they were defeated by Aberdour 3-0. Aberdour went on to win the entire tournament, meaning Caithness have been knocked out by the eventual winners of the tournament two years in a row.
Caithness Shinty Club are set to make history next weekend when it plays its first ever game in the Strathdearn Cup game against Beauly Shinty Club, which takes place on Saturday, May 16 at Viewfirth Park, Thurso.
This will be a historic match as not only will it be the first Camanachd Association sanctioned match in Caithness, but it will also be the most northernly senior shinty match ever played.
Caithness team: Hamish Armes-Harris, Shane Campbell, Kyle Churchill, Michael Longmuir, Kyle Macleod, Rorie Stewart, Alex Calder, Ross Williamson, Chris Sinclair, Jamie Munro, Ewen Scott, Alexander MacLeod, Katie Booth, Isobel MacLeod, Matthew Swanson, Alan MacDonald, Robert MacGregor, Lauren Ross.
