Thirty years on from the playing of shinty returning to the island, we held our traditional Iomain Challain game at Smith Avenue astro. It was fantastic to get back in the swing of things & kick off our 2025 preseason with a friendly game of shinty, even in tricky conditions. In a game that was less about the score & more about getting everyone back together, it was those sporting the away strips that came away with an 8-3 win.
Indeed it was the away side that struck first in the fourth minute with Donnie collecting a pass from Sean before finishing neatly past Willie.
Sean turned from provider to scorer six minutes later when he picked up the ball & shot a rasper on the turn to double the advantage.
The game settled down after that with the home side coming closest to scoring through a trademark Callum strike but Chalmers pulled off a blinding stick save.
The end of the first half saw a goal bonanza, with three goals in the final four minutes.
First up was Ciaran who found the top corner with an excellent strike to make it 3-0.
Almost straight from throw up, the home side pulled one back when Donald found a bit of space and his low effort found the net.
The away side had the last laugh of the half however when Sean nabbed his second of the game with a shot that found the bottom corner.
Two goals in the opening ten minutes of the second half gave the away side what would prove to be an insurmountable lead.
It was Donnie who once again kicked off the scoring, his shot doing just enough to nestle into the bottom corner.
Sean then extended the lead to five with his hat-trick goal when he fired into an empty net after Ciaran had dispossessed Willie.
To be fair to the home side, they didn’t let their heads drop & had a really good spell in the match.
They immediately got one back when Callum powered one into the net & the forward almost got himself on the scoresheet again sixty seconds later but his shot whistled just past the post.
Callum was determined to get another and he did just that fifteen minutes into the half. Another ferocious shot stung the palm of Chalmers but had enough on it to find the back of the net.
Iline, one of four ladies playing on the day, almost made it 6-4 when she escaped the clutches of Lucy but her effort went just wide.
Despite the efforts of the home side to get back into it, the away side made it 7-3 with a little over ten minutes to go when Ciaran got his second of the day with a shot that was just the right side of the far post.
Donnie both started and finished the scoring, getting his third of the day from distance in the final minute to wrap up the 8-3 victory.
The game was played in great spirits with everyone enjoying themselves but also plenty hard work was on show for the spectaors in attendance. Kudos also to young Seumas Duke who stepped up to play with the seniors for the first time. He acquitted himself very well which is a promising sign for the future
An excellent start to 2025, the intensity will now ramp up as we begin preseason training proper.
Less than eight weeks until the start of the league campaign!
🖤💙🖤💙 DUBH IS GORM 🖤💙🖤💙