Shinty on Skye - Portree in Motion

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 13 April 2019 at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree, Skye
Result	Skye 0 Lovat 0
Competition	Camanachd (Shinty) Association North Division 1 (3rd tier of the game in Scotland)
Hopstats	Number 1 on my list of shinty grounds!
Context
This is a game between the second teams of the two clubs.  Skye's 1st team play in the 2nd tier, and Lovat's in the 1st tier.
In one sentence
I cannot really claim to be a valid judge here, but neither team looked like scoring.
So what?
Lovat's point takes them to the top of the division although they have played more games than rivals just below.  Skye stay eighth (of eleven).
Match Report
To this inexpert observer, defences were on top.  Lovat seemed to have the better of the first half, with at least two chances whizzing past the post at head height with the keeper beaten.  Skye were much improved after the break but created no clear-cut chance.  The majority of the game was a hard fought battle in midfield and at the defensive lines.  Here's what I learned: The game is played over two halves of 45 minutes.  Players seemed to have set positions and quite often they would be waiting in opposing pairs in their designated zone when play was at the other end of the field.  There are goalkeepers.  Free hits and corners worked as a soccer fan would expect.  The object of the game is to hit the ball into the goals. The game starts with the throw-up. From then on it appears to be carnage with technical rules.  It is a contact sport.  The ball can be played both in the air and on the ground with either side of the stick.  It would be foul play to hack down on the opponent's stick.  Other than that it seemed that anything reasonable is allowed! Instead of throw-ins, play restarts when the ball has gone out over the sideline with a "shy".  The player throws the ball vertically and then uses the stick somewhat like a tennis player's serve to send the ball back into play. The ball, which resembles a cricket ball or baseball, is made of leather pieces sewn round a cork core.  When watching the game, pay attention - it would hurt if you got hit.  At one point a stick was dislodged from a passing player and flew past my nose before I could react.  There was spectator chat about the fact that there'd "only been one broken thumb today". All in all I am very happy to be adding shinty to my list of live sporting action and I recommend it to all hoppers looking for a break from football!
Pix
Lovat in white.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
There are goalkeepers in shinty but I have decided to protect whatever scrap of statistical credibility remains in this blog but NOT including them here, despite two clean sheets!
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter!  Heading down to the south of the island for more Amateur League football at Kyleakin.

And I Would Fly-Drive 558 Miles

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 6 April 2019 at Portree High School
Result	Portree Juniors 8 Glenelg 0
Competition	Skye & Lochalsh Amateur Football League
Hopstats	Ground 691 on the lifetime list, and I am here because it is the opening day of the season for the Skye and Lochalsh Amateur League.
Context
First day of the season, so nothing to go on at all.  Thanks then to the West Highland Free Press for this ... https://www.whfp.com/2019/04/05/skye-and-lochalsh-football-league-preview-2019/ which suggests a youthful side taking on visitors in transition.
In one sentence
A dominant win for the home side, but with an element of gift-wrapping or good fortune for three of the goals.
So what?
A score more than enough to put these teams top and bottom of the Week 1 league table.
Match Report
A 3G cage at the High School in a delightful setting was the venue for this game, under grey skies.  The match referee helpfully gave me sight of the teamsheets confirming the presence of several young players.  It took the hosts only four minutes to take the lead with a glancing header by David Potter from a right-wing corner.  Juniors were trying to play possession football with triangles and movement, which did not always work as planned, and it took till 35 minutes for the second goal to arrive.  It was worth the wait, Dean Macleod shooting low into the net from distance.  2-0 at half-time then - it was clear that a home win was on the cards, but nothing to suggest Glenelg's later defensive collapse. The third goal had an element of luck but fair play to Sean Collins for being in the right place to turn in a rebound off the post.  Just before the hour, Ang McPherson neatly finished into the right-hand corner across the keeper, and then four goals in the final quarter turned a defeat into a thrashing. 4-0 John Murphy's direct freekick was fumbled over the line by the keeper for number five.  To be fair, he went on to save many other goalbound attempts. 5-0 Sub James Pringle picked the defensive pocket of the back line and had all the time in the world to score the sixth.  With Juniors now peppering the Glenelg goal, McPherson got his second with the aid of a deflection and then defender Malcolm Beaton joined the queue of players waiting to score with a fierce shot as the game entered stoppage time. The game was played in a good spirit, refereed with no assistants, and there were almost no instances of gamesmanship or histrionics.  Refreshing.
Pix
Portree Juniors in white.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
New this season – a pre-match prediction based only on keeper top colours as a preliminary test of the data.  Proper statistical significance test to follow in due course. Today, a thumping win and a clean sheet for Green over Yellow. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Home Win Was the prediction correct? Yes % of correct predictions so far 55% (26 from 47) Based on conventional 3pts for a win, 1pt for a draw, but also -1pt for a goal conceded (GC) and +5pts for a clean sheet (CS).  Colours ranked on a points per game (PPG) basis. The odd decimal places were caused either by half-and-half tops or sub keepers in a different colour.  The Fire Cracker colour was confirmed with the help of the social media team at Dulux UK.  All of this arises from a comment attributed to Petr Cech that orange is the best colour for a goalkeeper because it changes the behaviour of other players around the box Table not including this match - will update in a future post. P W D L GC CS Pts PPG Red 10.5 5.5 1.0 4.0 11.0 3.5 24.0 2.286 Grey 50.5 24.0 11.0 15.5 80.5 15.0 77.5 1.535 Blue 47.1 21.0 7.0 19.1 76.0 14.0 64.0 1.359 Green 105.0 52.0 12.0 41.0 183.0 23.0 100.0 0.952 Fire Cracker 3.0 1.0 0.0 2.0 6.0 1.0 2.0 0.667 Maroon 5.0 2.0 1.0 2.0 9.0 1.0 3.0 0.600 Orange 54.5 20.0 12.0 22.5 93.5 10.0 28.5 0.523 Purple 21.0 8.0 4.0 9.0 45.0 5.0 8.0 0.381 Black 6.5 2.5 3.0 1.0 15.0 0.5 -2.0 -0.308 Yellow 36.0 9.0 8.0 19.0 77.0 6.0 -12.0 -0.333 Radioactive Bile 23.0 9.0 0.0 14.0 51.0 3.0 -9.0 -0.391 Pink 18.0 5.0 5.0 8.0 37.0 1.0 -12.0 -0.667 White 1.9 0.0 0.0 1.9 4.0 0.0 -4.0 -2.105
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter!