A SUPERB first half display helped Scotland post a memorable 24-14 victory in the Marine Harvest shinty/hurling international at Inverness’s Bught Park on Saturday.
For manager Ronald Ross it was not so much the victory but the manner in which it was obtained that particularly pleased him.
“I have not seen a better display from a Scotland side, especially in the first half. There were no failures out there. Everyone played their part. The hard work and commitment paid off and apart from dead ball points we scored three good goals and might have had more.
“Certainly Ireland came back hard at us in the second half but we continued to compete and in the end fully deserved our win”.
Right from the start Scotland showed they were the hungrier side and might have been a goal up inside the opening minute when a drive by Kyles’ Roddy Macdonald came back off Irish keeper Eoin Reilly to be scrambled away by an Irish defence, which did not look comfortable playing into the sun.
Scotland got their first score on the board inside five minutes, however, when dead-ball specialist Kevin Bartlett knocked the ball over from a narrow angle for a two-pointer. Ireland fought hard to come back but determined Scottish defending and in particular clean hitting out of defence by Steven Macdonald set the tone for the afternoon though a two pointer from Laois’s Zane Keenan had the scores level by the 10-minute mark. Bartlett then eased the Scots ahead with another two pointer only for a foul by Oban’s Daniel Cameron to allow Keenan to even the scores at 4-4.
By this stage however Scotland had begun to dominate with Reilly in the Irish goal being first tested by a shot from distance by Steven Macdonald and then having to watch helplessly as the Newtonmore man converted another two pointer.
Next, Scotland captain John Barr started a move which eventually saw Bartlett cut the ball across from the wing into the path of Premier League Shinty’s top scorer Glen Mackintosh and he hammered it home for Scotland’s first goal.
Moments later Mackintosh returned the compliment by playing in substitute Liam Macdonald who scored Scotland’s second with his first touch of the game. With each goal adding three points to the score, Scotland were beginning to build up a substantial lead which was underlined when Bartlett added a further double after a free hit was awarded for a foul on Barr.
Scotland got a third goal in this purple passage of play when Scotland’s newest cap Fraser Heath fired home from close range. Two further doubles from Bartlett and a single point from Liam Macdonald sent the Scots in at the break with a massive 18 point lead.
The second half was very different. Whatever Irish bosses Jeffery Lynskey and Gregory O’Kane said at half time had its effect and their team upped their level of physicality. Scotland though dug in, keeping enough pressure on the Irish forwards to make them miss chances which they really ought to have taken.
Eventually however something had to give and Shane Nolan finally managed to improvise a goal for Ireland on the 60-minute mark. Though Bartlett added another two points for Scotland, four more for Zane Keenan and a second Irish goal from Nolan might have had alarm bells ringing in the Scotland camp, but there was no real cause for panic and Scotland held on to win the contest in relative comfort.
The return leg takes place in Dublin’s Croke Park on November 21.
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