Uist and Barra Football League Archives

On the spot… Angus ‘Nooie’ Campbell

August 13, 2016

In the first of a new series of interviews with players from the Uist and Barra Football League, Adam Gordon pinned down arguably one of the league’s finest performers.

Remember we said arguably, so don’t let it go to your head!

Known for his deft touch, silky skills and composure on the ball, Am Pàipear was keen to find out how the man this very publication once dubbed the ‘Zinedine Zidane of Highland amateur football’ would fare under the entirely different pressure of our quick-fire questioning – will it be a pass or a fail?

As a little taster to whet your appetite, we can tell you, to his credit, he remained diplomatic when quizzed on the shortcomings of his teammates, but did reveal the identity of his toughest opponent, and also drew comparisons between his manager and a certain Portuguese coach!

On the spot this week…

Name: Angus Campbell

Club: Iochdar Saints

Position: Midfielder

Nickname: Nooie

Adam Gordon (AG): Can you remember your first game in the Uist and Barra League, and if so did you win?

Angus Campbell (AC): My first game was against Barra at Talla an Iochdair pitch. I scored one and we won 3-2.

AG: Who is the hardest opponent you have faced in the league?

AC: The hardest opponent I have faced is probably Duncan MacQuarrie. He was very determined and hated losing. It was difficult to match him as he was a bit older. Ha ha – sorry Duncan. But we had some good battles.

AG: If you could pick one game as the best game you’ve ever played, which would it be?

AC: Maybe when we played Stornoway Athletic at Goathill. It was champions against champions and we won 3-0 in a great display all round. Or the 5-5 draw with Carloway a few years ago which we went on to win on penalties. The whole team played a cracker that day.

Angus (left) in a battle with Barra.

AG: Apart from yourself of course, who would you say is the best player in the Uist and Barra League?

AC: In my opinion, Harry Luney is the best player. He very rarely has a bad game.

AG: Who is the laziest player in training?

AC: Eh this is a difficult one to answer. Lol. We are all hard working at training and in games. Ha!

AG: Who is the biggest joker in the team?

AC: Just now I am going to say ‘Big Bad Rossi’ aka Ross Sutherland. Especially after EDF. It was a tremendous weekend.

AG: If you could describe your manager in three words, what would they be?

AC: Ginger Lightweight Mourinho.

AG: In a word, where will Saints finish in the league this season?

AC: First.

Verdict: A pass!

Another impressive performance by Nooie, who proved to be as slick and elusive off the pitch as he is on it. We commend him for not name and shaming the laziest player in training – such a gentleman! Although for we know it could be him…hmmm!

Keep glued to the Am Paipear Facebook page to find out who will be the next player to be put on the spot!

In you are currently strutting your stuff in the Uist and Barra Football League and think you have what it takes to be put on the spot, just drop us a message on our Facebook page, and we can see what you’re really made of!

Benbecula win marred by late sending off

July 3, 2015

The Uist and Barra Football League

Benbecula 5 Eriskay 3

– Benbecula move ahead of North Uist after high scoring match

– John Allan McLeod set to miss semi-final

Benbecula’s Sean MacInnes in action against Eriskay

By Adam Gordon

Benbecula moved into fourth position in the Uist and Barra League with a high-scoring victory against bottom of the league Eriskay. Andrew Macsween for Benbecula and Sean MacKinnon for Eriskay both scored twice, as the teams shared eight goals in an entertaining and chaotic match.

The game ended on a sour note, however, as Benbecula’s goalkeeper John Allan MacLeod was shown a straight red card for kicking an opponent and will now miss his side’s Summer Cup semi-final against Iochdar Saints on Tuesday.

Benbecula and Eriskay had played each other just over a week earlier, with Benbecula coming out on top by a 7-0 scoreline. This time though the margin would be considerably smaller and the match far more competitive.

The possibility of such as result happening again did appeared ominous for Eriskay, when Benbecula went in front in the 11th minute. Scott Mackay took advantage of some sloppy defending to latch on to the ball and beat Scott Stephen to make it 1-0 to Benbecula.

This time, however, Eriskay were not to be defeated at a canter and they soon hit back with an equaliser. Sean McKinnon ventured forward from centre-back position, and took advantage of a congested penalty area to flick the ball over John Allan McLeod to draw his side level at 1-1 with 20 minutes gone.

The Eriskay defence were soon breached once more as Benbecula hit back from the penalty spot. Sean MacInnes was brought down and the referee Paul Steele pointed to the spot. Hector MacPhee, who had put in a man of the match performance in the previous meeting between the teams, confidently dispatched the spot-kick into the bottom-right corner to restore the home team’s lead to make it 2-1 with just under half an hour played.

Calum Macmillan went close to levelling the scores, but his header was cleared of the line. The Eriskay forward line began to exert themselves on the Benbecula defence, and minutes later Macmillan showed fantastic skill to drag the ball backwards between two Benbecula players before leaving them for dead, as his team went in search of an equaliser.

Despite some promising play by the visitors, Benbecula superior power and cohesion began to expose some shortcomings within the Eriskay team. Stephen’s attempt to flick away a cross from his goal landed at the back post, leaving Andrew Macsween free to compose himself before hitting a neat half-volley shot into the net. The goal extended Benbecula’s lead to 3-1 going into half-time.

Benbecula causing confusion in the Eriskay ranks in what was a frantically paced game.

Eriskay, refusing to let the concession of a third goal bring them down, came flying out of the traps and soon had their opponents back pinned back in their own half. Macmillan, again showed great ability to roll the ball through the legs of his marker as he set about terrorising the Benbecula back four. His persistence soon paid off, as Eriskay reduced the margin to just one with a great goal from Jack Walker. Walker taking up a position on the right-hand side of the Benbecula box, was played in on goal by Macmillan, and despite being at a rather acute angle to the goal, he smashed his shot into the top-right corner from about 14 yards out to make it 3-2.

Iain MacDonald, somewhat perplexed by his team’s submission of a seemingly comfortable lead, imparted some strong words of wisdom to his team, which whether prompting a renewed will to win, or perhaps sheer fear, seem to have the desired effect on the Benbecula players, as they increased their lead soon after.

Jordan Macpherson arrived into the box from the right-back position to power home a fantastic header into the top corner from a Hector Macphee corner, giving Benbecula a 4-2 lead with just under an hour gone.

MacSween added a fifth shortly after with a fine piece of keepy-up. The striker, flicked the ball up with his right foot three times, before directing his shot around Stephen in the Eriskay goal to give Benbecula commanding 5-2 lead.

Although Eriskay now knew they would have to score another three goals to draw level in the game, their guile and trickiness still presented Benbecula with some problems. Michael Iain MacInnes, always a livewire in attack, drew a foul from MacLeod and left Paul Steele was no other option but to point to the penalty spot for the second time of the game. Sean McKinnon took the kick and score his second of the game, as Benbecula one again saw their margin reduced.

With the game now drawing to a close, Benbecula knew that time, if not defensive solidity, would render a comeback highly unlikely. There was still time for one last blow to the home team, when a red card was showed to MacLeod in the Benbecula goal. The goalkeeper, who was probably exempted from any blame for the three goals his team had conceded, kicked out at one of the Eriskay players and the referee duly issued a red card for the indiscretion.

It was disappointing ending to a match in which Benbecula played well and deserved to win and one that Eriskay had shown a marked improvement from their previous defeat just over a week ago.

Benbecula manager, Iain MacDonald: We went ahead and lost a goal and seemed to panic a wee bit, and then when they got a goal back, we just got deeper and deeper and seemed to invite Eriskay on to us. I wasn’t happy with a few things, our goalie getting a red card and missing the cup semi-final on Tuesday, obviously that was a big thing.

It is going to be tough, we are going to have to play a lot better against Saints (in the cup semi-final) At times, I thought we weren’t tight enough against the Eriskay players, we will have to do that better against Saints. Obviously they have better players than Eriskay, so they can hurt us in areas.

Obviously losing our goalkeeper is a really big loss, he has been playing really well for us in the last two or three games, so we will see. I mean it’s (the cup semi-final ) a one-off game. We will have to work hard against Saints, we will have to stop their key players, like Angus Campbell, Joseph MacInnes and Ally Downie from running the game. We’ll have a think over the weekend and try and come up with a plan to stop them.

It’s a two-horse league between Saints and Barra, I think that is always going to be the case, they have strong teams and strong squads and they play good football. They play a high standard of football.

We have a boy from Stornoway, who has moved down, he played for Westside, so he’ll be available for us on Tuesday.

Man of the match: Scott Mackay, Benbecula.

Mackay is an understated yet hugely important player for Benbecula. Scorer of the first goal of the game, Mackay’s deceptive pace and ability to link defence and attack offers a creative outlet for team to counter-attack their opponents. Calum Macmillan for Eriskay also deserves a mention for his inventive attacking play.

Starting lineups

Benbecula: J A MacLeod, J Macpherson, M Sloss, J A Skinner, N Macmillan, S Mackay, M MacDonald, D Macpherson, H Macphee, S MacInnes, A Macsween.

Eriskay: S Stephen, N McDonald, M Campbell, S MacKinnon, P Morrison, D MacInnes, J Walker, C Campbell, C Macmillan, M MacInnes, N Revol

Red card: JA MacLeod – Benbecula

Macs help Benbecula drive through to next round

June 24, 2015

The Summer Cup First Round: Benbecula 7 Eriskay 0

-Inexperienced Eriskay side succumb to late onslaught

– Benbecula make experience tell to progress to the semi-finals

Benbecula on the attack against Eriskay in what would prove to be a comfortable win

Benbecula showed a keen appetite for goals as they swept aside Eriskay in a late second half flurry to seal their place in the semi-finals of this season’s Summer Cup.

A hat trick from Sean MacInnes and a brace each from Andrew Macsween and David MacInnes gave the home side a commanding win over a very inexperienced Eriskay side.

Benbecula raced into a two-goal lead in the opening half hour, as Sean MacInnes and Andrew Macsween took advantage of some slack defending. MacInnes reacted quickest to a flick on and timed his run into the box perfectly, to simply slot his shot past Thomas Steel in the Eriskay goal, with just 11 minutes on the clock.

Macsween doubled their lead in the 28th minute, when again unmarked inside the Eriskay box, he had the easy task of picking his spot and placed the ball into the bottom-left corner of the goal to make it 2-0 to the blues.

Niko Revol did his best to lead the fightback for Eriskay as the first half progressed. The striker turned well, rolling the challenge of his marker, but his attempt, although accurate, failed to seriously test the Benbecula goalkeeper John MacLeod.

Michael Iain MacInnes, who started his first full game for Eriskay, looked to stretch the Benbecula defence at will, and his speed and close control was proving to be an increasingly useful outlet, as the visitors tried to carve out a way back into the match.

As the first half drew to a close, Benbecula started to threaten the Eriskay goal and twice wasted opportunities to increase their lead. First, Sean MacInnes and then Hector Macphee, looked to give their side a 3-0 cushion going into the interval, however both players’ shots were off target in the end.

A stern half-time team talk from their manager Martin Macaulay, seemed to energise Eriskay into action and they wasted little time in taking the game to home side at the beginning of the second half. Revol, who had scurried about the Benbecula back-line so industriously in the first half, brought out a fine save from MacLeod at close range, as Eriskay intensified their hunt for a goal.

Eriskay came out fighting at the start of the second half

Calum Macmillan and Dominic Macaulay were the chief protagonists as Eriskay forcefully imposed themselves on the Benbecula defence. Macaulay’s pace and trickery was fast becoming a real source of worry for Benbecula, as his side started to sense some vulnerability within the home team’s defence. Indeed, ten minutes into the second half, Macaulay was instrumental in a fantastic move for the visitors, causing panic in the opposing half. The youngster, collecting a pass from Macmillan just inside the Benbecula half, played a superb through ball back to his teammate, Macmillan then found Revol whose shot was blocked, bringing an excellent passing move by Eriskay to a frustrating end.

The visitors continued to put Benbecula under pressure, and Calum Campbell’s fine attempt with the outside of his right foot, much to his dismay, was met by an equally good save from MacLeod, as the hosts just about kept the underdogs at bay.

Regretfully for Eriskay, their chance to reduce the margin had come and gone, and while the home team’s backline stood firm amid a series of attacks, the visitors defence was not so much a dam, but more of a false wall, a porous facade soon to be exposed.

Hector Macphee began to pull the strings for Benbecula as gaps became apparent within the Eriskay rearguard. Macphee had an attempt blocked and then David MacInnes placed his effort over the bar, as the momentum was now with the home team, as they chased a third goal.

In the 67th minute, Macphee was presented with a good opportunity to kill off the game, but he directed his header well over the bar. That reprieve for Eriskay, was to be short lived and three minutes later Benbecula scored a goal owed in large part to fortune. David MacInnes was granted too much time on the right-wing and his cross, deviating from the winger’s intended target of a teammate, looped over Steel at the back post and into the net, to give Benbecula a 3-0 lead with 20 minutes remaining.

Scott Mackay of Benbecula, under close attention from Michael Iain MacInnes of Eriskay

With the margin between the two teams now greater and the time left to play ever decreasing, Eriskay knew that a goal was imperative to any chance they had of progressing beyond the first round of the Summer Cup. Calum Campbell showed great skill and drive to burst down the right wing, evading three Benbecula defenders on the way, but his composure was found wanting as he directed his shot over the bar from a close but acute angle to the goal.

The game as a contest was put beyond doubt with just over ten minutes left on the clock, after some well-worked link-up play resulted in Benbecula’s fourth goal of the game. Macphee brought down a pass and played the ball into the path of his teammate David MacInnes, all within one neat layoff, leaving MacInnes with a clear path to beat Steel once more from around 10-yards out.

Eriskay’s resistance was now futile, as Benbecula sought to take full advantage of their tired and demoralised opponents. And so it proved, as a fifth goal followed just a minute later. Macsween positioned himself free from the attentions of a now flagging Eriskay defence to head home at the near post, to score his second of the game and make it 5-0 to the home team.

Although the match was quickly approaching full-time, there was still enough time for Benbecula to score a further two goals, as the Eriskay defence well and truly went to pieces in the closing stages. A poorly judged kick out by Steel only succeeded in finding the feet of an opposing player, and despite a good save by the Eriskay goalkeeper to make amends for his mistake, Sean MacInnes was on hand to put away the rebound to give his side their sixth goal of the game.

With just a minute left of the ninety, a great through-ball by Macphee found Sean MacInnes, and the midfielder had the easy task of picking his spot beyond Steel, to score his hat-trick and Benbecula’s seventh, to seal a place in the semi-finals for his side.

Iain MacDonald, Benbecula manager: ‘I thought we played quite well in the first half, we had a decent shape, and we passed the ball about well. However, we missed a lot of chances to be honest, especially in the first half. In the second half, I thought the standard of football was terrible, perhaps it was due to the fact that this was our third game within in a week, including the game against Saints, but the second half tonight was night and day compared with our performance against Saints.

‘I wasn’t happy with the second half, I thought it was poor, even though we scored five goals, I was more happy with the first half than the second half. I think Eriskay tired, they had a lot of young players who done well for them.

‘We were very slow out of the blocks, I don’t know if you heard me shouting there, I was very annoyed. I thought our passing was very sloppy and it wasn’t to feet. At the end of the day, if you win 7-0 you should be happy, but I wasn’t happy at all.’

Martin Macaulay, Eriskay manager: ‘It was a very disappointing result right enough, but at the start of the second half it shows that all we wanted to do was play football on the deck all the time, it’s young boys we have in the team basically. If we had taken our chances, it would have been a different matter. If we got a goal, we would have got back into it big time, if you take your chances though, that is it.

‘We were getting bullied, that was what I was saying at half-time, make sure you get a foot in, because we were getting pushed off the ball, we were too light in the first half.

‘Michael Iain MacInnes, did well for us in his first full game. The team is looking promising, if we keep a hold of our players, but we lose players every year. Our oldest player is 24 years old, so hopefully good times are still to come.

‘The signs were there that we can play football; all these young boys are very skilful. Benbecula were just too good on the night, a lot stronger, so it was a well deserved win for them. You can’t be too hard on the young boys, I can’t slag them off, they have been doing well for us.’

Man of the match: Hector Macphee, Benbecula

A notable mention must of course go to Sean MacInnes for scoring a hat trick, however it was Macphee who stepped up and took control of the game just as Eriskay threatened to make the breakthrough at the other end. His long-range passing and quick one-touch exchanges with his teammates, helped to stretch the visitors defence and give Benbecula more purpose in attack after a sluggish start to the second half.

Benbecula: John A McLeod, Scott Mackay, John A Skinner, Donnie MacLeod, Neil Macmillan, Sean MacInnes, Mark MacRury, Donald MacPherson, Hector Macphee, David MacInnes, Andrew Macsween.

Subs: Jordan Macpherson, Colin MacLennan

Eriskay: Thomas Steel, Michael Campbell, Paul Morrison, Calum MacDonald, Neil MacDonald, Calum Campbell, Calum Macmillan, Jack Walker, Dominic Macaulay, Michael Iain MacInnes, Niko Revol.

Subs: Stephen MacDonald

Uist and Barra League and Highland Amateur Cup Previews

June 19, 2015

By Adam Gordon

This weekend, league leaders Iochdar Saints are in action in the Highland Amateur Cup. Meanwhile in the Uist and Barra League, Saints’ midweek conquerors Benbecula travel to Barra, who can return to the top of the table with a win, and Southend will look to make it three wins in a week as they host North Uist United.

Match of the Week

Highland Amateur Cup: Quarter-final

– Saints look to get back on track after shock defeat to Benbecula

-The winners to face either NMM Ace or Staxigoe in the Semi-finals

Angus Campbell in action for Saints during their recent win over Barra.

Saturday 20th June

Iochdar Saints AFC v Wick Groats AFC – Kick-off 10.45am in Portree, Isle of Skye

Portree is the venue, as the reigning Uist and Barra League Champions, Iochdar Saints take on Wick Groats, currently top of the Caithness League for a place in the semi-finals of the Highland Amateur Cup.

Both teams come into the match in formidable form, Wick Groats has won four and lost only one of their opening five league fixtures, scoring 18 goals, an average of 3.6 goals a game, and conceding just four in the process. Saints’ record is equally impressive, as they have taken maximum points from seven of their eight league matches and have also lost just once. Putting the ball in the net has not proved a problem for Saints either, with 37 goals in their eight matches so far, that’s an average of 4.6 goals a game.

Both teams, however, are beatable, as Benbecula proved in their shock victory over Saints during the week, which was also the more surprising given Saints’ win against Barra last Saturday. While Groats’ 2-3 league defeat at the hands of fellow quarter-finalists, Staxigoe United is proof they are also fallible.

Neither side will have the comfort of home advantage, so whichever team adapts quickest to the pitch in Portree could well come out on top.

Wick Groats has played three matches en route to the quarter-finals, in the first two rounds they progressed by comfortable margins; first they defeated Helmsdale 4-1 in round one, and then they knocked out Merkinch of Inverness by an emphatic 1-7 scoreline in round two.

Although their margin of victory was even greater in their third round win over Westside of the Harris and Lewis League, they did enjoy a spot of good fortune along the way. Westside were unjustly reduced to ten men after a perfectly fair tackle by Ally Williamson resulted in a penalty, as well as a red card for their opponents. The goal was the first of nine scored in the match as Groats went on to recorded an incredible 1-8 win in a ruthless and deserved victory.

Saints’ passage through to the last eight has also been relatively hassle-free, indeed they have only had to play two fixtures to progress to the quarter-final stage, as they were given a bye in the first round. A 4-1 win over four-time Highland Amateur Cup winners, Ness was followed by an entertaining tussle with Stornoway Athletic in the third round. Although they trailed one-nil, two braces, one from Ally Downie, the other from Archie MacDonald, and a Harry Luney free-kick from 50 yards out, following a calamitous mistake by the Stornoway goalkeeper, enabled Saints to run out 3-5 winners.

Defence will perhaps be the key area for both teams, as there is certainly no questioning the strength of either of the sides’ attacks, although Groats’ top scorer this season, Graham McNab will miss the match due to a one-match suspension. Saints possess real resilience, enabling them to win matches, regardless of how well they have been playing, however, they have been liable to concede goals. Their last two matches, a 6-3 win against Barra and a 3-2 defeat against Benbecula, provide recent evidence of that. On the contrary, Wick Groats has been fairly miserly at the back, in their three matches in the Highland Amateur Cup this season, they have yet to conceded more than one goal in a game. Their league record is also impressive in that regard, as they have already kept two clean sheets in their first five games and conceded just four goals in total.

Although a semi-final berth awaits the winners, (against either NMM Ace of Inverness or Staxigoe of Caithness), the chances are that neither team will be likely to obsess over how to stop the other from scoring. The sheer amount of firepower in both teams means a tight game seems highly unlikely. For fans of both sides and neutrals attending Saturday’s game, an old-fashioned game of, if you score one, then we’ll score two, will surely leave few people disappointed in the end, whatever the result.

Route to the quarter-finals

Saints: Round 1: Bye, Round 2: 4-1 v Ness (H), Round 3: 3-5 v Stornoway Athletic (A)

Wick Groats: Round 1: 4-1 v Helmsdale (H), Round 2: 1-7 v Merkinch (A),

Round 3: 1-8 v Westside (A)

Players to watch

Saints: Angus Campbell (Nooie): Although the midfielder can look quite languid and disinterested at times, he possess an unerring ability to glide past opponents and has the foresight to create space for his teammates.

Wick Groats: Sandy Sutherland: With three goals so far in the competition, he could provide the main attacking threat for Groats’ in the absence of Graham Macnab.

Click here for Am Paipear’s interview with Saints’ manager, Stephen MacAulay.

Uist and Barra League

Southend has hit form after recent defeats to Barra (pictured in red) and Saints.

Friday 19th June

Southend (3rd) v North Uist United (4th) – Daliburgh (6.30pm)

From second bottom of the league to two wins off second spot – prior to Barra’s win against Eriskay on Thursday night – it’s been quite a week for Southend. In Am Paipear’s preview of last weekend’s fixtures, we said that: ‘Southend’s performances, if not their results have shown promise’, well those efforts have, in the last two matches, transformed into results as they have put back-to-back defeats behind them to record two successive victories and in doing so moved themselves up to third position in the league.

Due to previous fixture cancellations, Southend and North Uist United will meet for the second time in three days, Southend won 1-2 away at Paible on Tuesday. Southend will be hoping that Duncan MacQuarrie can continue his recent run of form which has seen him score 3 goals in his last two matches. After coming off the bench to score twice in the 1-3 win away to Eriskay, MacQuarrie was rewarded with a starting place against North Uist, and scored again to help his side record another win.

North Uist, who themselves, were third this time last week, go into the game looking to arrest a two-game losing run and with a superior goal difference to Southend, they know a win would leapfrog them back into third place.

Barra will look to the likes of Craig Ferguson to help them go top this weekend

Saturday 20th June

Barra (2nd) v Benbecula (5th) – Castlebay, Barra (12.30pm)

It’s been a strange week for Barra, they scored three goals against the reigning champions Saints last Saturday, but were comprehensively beaten 3-6, they then conceded three away to the bottom side Eriskay on Thursday, but ran out comfortable winners in the end by a 3-5 scoreline.

Despite their erratic form of late, Barra know that with Saints in action in the Highland Amateur Cup, they have the chance to go top, albeit they will have played two games more. On paper Benbecula, currently in fifth position, are a team who many would believe unlikely to provide a real test for Barra, well perhaps a week ago that is. On Tuesday night, Benbecula recorded, what is so far, the result of the season in the Uist and Barra league with a stunning victory over the hitherto undefeated reigning champions, Saints. Benbecula went one better than Barra has managed this season with a 3-2 victory over the champions, which was aal the more impressive given the form Saints were in prior to the match; seven straight wins, and 35 goals scored.

After their disappointing defeat to Saints, Barra will be looking to use their win over Eriskay as a springboard to build up some momentum. The title challengers have now conceded 21 goals in the league, which is the same number as Benbecula, but they do have the attacking prowess to propel themselves back into the race for the championship, and in James Davidson, the leading scorer in the league with 11 goals.

Benbecula has proven they are a match for any team on their day, the problem is they have so far lacked consistency and failed to win two matches in a row in the league this season, their win recent win against Saints was preceded by a defeat against North Uist. If they were to win against Barra, it would be real proof that their famous win was not just a flash in the pan.

Barra in seventh heaven as goal-fest takes them top

June 10, 2015

Uist and Barra Football League: Match of the week

Southend 1 Barra 7

– Southend hammered after taking the lead

– Barra move ahead of Saints by virtue of goals scored

By Adam Gordon

Barra regained top spot in the Uist and Barra league after a superb victory over Southend at the new pitch at Daliburgh on Thursday, 4th June. Forget Yule Bryner and Steve McQueen, it was Craig Ferguson and James Davidson who assumed the roles of sharp shooters as they each scored hat-tricks in Barra’s very own production of the Magnificent Seven.

The result was all the more impressive given the start made by the home side, as it was Southend that took the lead inside the opening ten minutes of the game. Paul Steele showed great ability to cut inside the Barra defence at the edge of the box and strike the ball into the top corner beyond Cailean MacArthur to make it 1-0.

Unfortunately for the hosts their auspicious beginning to the game was not to last, as Barra soon drew level. James Davidson, who had scored in his side’s Co-op Cup quarter-final victory over Lochs in their previous match, took advantage of some slack defending by Southend to beat the offside trap and round the goalkeeper before simply placing the ball into the empty net.

With the scoreline now 1-1 after just 20 minutes and Southend’s lead wiped out, Barra quickly started to dominate proceedings. A neat passage of play between Craig Ferguson and Roddy MacInnes down the left-hand side created space for James Davidson, whose whipped ball across the face of the goal caused panic among the Southend defence, but ultimately failed to find a teammate.

By this point, goalscoring chances for Southend were few and far between, they did, however, cause some concern within the Barra defence when Andrew MacIssac evaded his marker inside the box, although his lobbed effort failed to test MacArthur.

Barra’s slick passing game and fluid attacking approach was rewarded in the 25th minute when they deservedly took the lead. Craig Ferguson continued where he left off from his man-of-the-match performance in Barra’s Co-op Cup win, by unleashing a fierce strike from inside the box, which hit the underside of the crossbar, before leaving the Southend goalkeeper stranded, to put his side 2-1 ahead.

With top spot in the league up for grabs, Barra began to lay siege to the Southend goal and it wasn’t long before they added to their lead. Ferguson again played a pivotal role, this time as creator. Receiving the ball just past the halfway line and spotting the run of his teammate, he bypassed the Southend defence with an inch-perfect ball with the outside of his right boot, straight into the path of James Davidson, who rounded the goalkeeper once more to put Barra 3-1 up after 35 minutes.

Second half

Southend and Barra battle for the ball during their match at Daliburgh

While half-time was certainly a welcome reprieve for Southend, the second half started in much the same fashion as the first ended, with Barra thoroughly in control. Craig Ferguson wasted no time in testing the Southend goalkeeper, to force a corner for his team. Barra scored their fourth of the game from the resulting set-piece, this time it was Ally MacInnes who exploited some poor marking within the home team’s 6-yard box. MacInnes found space to flick the ball with the under-sole of his right boot into the net to put the game out of sight within two minutes of the restart.

Southend, to their credit, never gave up, but despite the best efforts of Andrew MacIssac and Paul Steele, who laboured hard to claw a way back into the game for their team, they failed to break down the visitors’ defence. MacArthur, again highlighted his credentials as arguably the league’s best goalkeeper with a good block to prevent MacIssac.

While goals were proving hard to come by for the home team, profligacy was not a problem where the Barra attack were concerned. James Davidson, who had scored twice in the first half, completed his hat-trick following some excellent passing play. The move began with a clever one-two between Craig Ferguson and Michael Davidson, Ferguson then broke down the right wing and found James Davidson with a fine cross, and the striker confidently finished from close range, for his third and Barra’s fifth.

With the score now 5-1 in Barra’s favour, the hosts went about desperately tried to reduce the deficit. Again it was MacIssac who looked the most threatening, but his shot was easily dealt with by MacArthur in the end.

Barra, though, were not merely content to ride out the game and you could have been mistaken for thinking that they were the team chasing the game rather than Southend, such was their desire to attack. Craig Ferguson was in irrepressible form as he twice went close to increasing his team’s tally to a cricket score. First he bamboozled the Southend defence was a fine piece of skill, rolling the ball from his left foot to his right, but his effort could only find the side-netting. Then he was unlucky not to score a second, as his close range shot came back off the post, with the home defence in complete disarray.

Ally MacInnes; scorer of Barra’s fourth with a neat flick from a corner

With just 53 minutes gone, Ferguson was running the home team ragged, such was his movement, imagination and skill. A fantastic dummy just inside his own half, left his marker for dead, as the young playmaker let the ball pass through his legs before rounding his opposite number to collect possession once more, his precise curled through-ball found Michael Davidson down the right wing, but his teammate’s attempt also rebounded back off the post.

The good fortunate enjoyed by the Southend defence would soon prove to be temporary as the visitors increased their lead even further. Despite being the standout player on the pitch, Ferguson was given an inordinate amount of room within the Southend box, and had ample time to compose himself to score his second from around the penalty spot. Incredibly, that goal made the score: Southend 1 Barra 6, with half an hour still remaining.

While the damage to the home side’s hopes of gaining any points had well and truly been done, the scoring was not yet over. James Davidson, who by this point had already claimed a hat-trick, turned creator to set-up Craig Ferguson. Davidson went on a fantastic 30-yard run, driving at the Southend rearguard and drawing defenders out of position. The run opened up space for Ferguson, who Davidson found 12 yards out, enabling his teammate to finish, and like Davidson complete his hat-trick to make it 7-1 to Barra after 65 minutes.

Barra’s Cailean MacArthur does well to block an effort by Southend’s Andrew MacIssac

Despite a late flurry of attempts, including a fine effort by Jamie McCall which hit the post from 20 yards out and good save from MacArthur to block MacIssac, Southend were unable to pull another goal back, and the game ended Southend 1 Barra 7. A combination of the sublime by Barra, especially the contributions of Craig Ferguson and James Davidson, to the ridiculous, in terms of some of Southend’s defending, sealed a commanding victory for the visitors.

Post-match observations

Southend: For the home team, the result marked another crushing defeat, with seventeen goals conceded in their last two matches. Southend’s need to improve their defensive shortcomings is urgent, if they are to avoid becoming the whipping boys of the league. While the team is full of promising young players and plenty of experienced heads, their frailties at the back have to be addressed to enable those players to fulfil their potential this season.

Barra: Conversely, the visitors look like genuine title contenders and a real threat to Iochdar Saints’ ambitions of retaining the league championship. With a fine goalkeeper in Caliean MacArthur, a solid defence, a good footballing ethos and arguably the league’s most creative talent in Craig Ferguson, they appear to have all the parts in place to challenge for silverware. Their next league game against the reigning champions, Iochdar Saints should give a greater indication of whether they are in fact the real deal this season.

Man-of-the-match: Craig Ferguson, Barra

Craig Ferguson; scored a hat-trick and provided two assists.

The attacker/midfielder’s ability to read the game and roam freely around the pitch renders him a tough opponent to mark for the opposition. Equally adept at assisting his teammates as he is scoring, Ferguson’s pass to set-up James Davidson for Barra’s third goal, was a moment of real quality.

Match Statistics

Southend:

Goals 1, shots on-target 4, shots off-target 2, corners 5, freekicks 4

Yellow cards 0, red cards 0

Barra:

Goals 7, shots on-target 9, shots off-target 4, corners 2 , freekicks 3

Yellow cards 0, red cards 0

Referee: Harry Luney

REPORT & STATS: Saints punish defensive sins in ten-goal thrashing

May 28, 2015

by Adam Gordon

Iochdar Saints 10 Southend 2

– Close game descends into biggest defeat of the season for Southend

– MacIsaac scores from the halfway line in goal fest

Iochdar Saints reclaimed top spot in the league with an emphatic victory over Southend at Linaclate. After a frustrating first-half display, in which they opened the scoring, but missed several decent chances, the reigning league champions found their shooting-boots to rack up an incredible tally of nine goals in the second half.

Strangely, the match was evenly poised for much of the first half and indeed up until the hour mark, following Andrew MacIssac’s (Reebs) goal early in the second half. That goal had briefly drawn Southend level at 1-1, after Joseph MacInnes had headed Saints in front in the first 45. Unfortunately for the visitors, in scenes reminiscent of Dave Narey’s opener for Scotland against the mighty Brazil in the 1982 World Cup, the goal for Southend only served to awaken their opponents.

While it is fair to say the standard of Iochdar Saints’ play was not quite comparable with the attacking verve displayed by the likes Eder, Zico and Socrates against Scotland that day, the ruthless efficiency they displayed in dismantling their opponents was certainly on a par with the sensational South Americans.

Colin Scott’s neat lofted finish from a tight angle restored Saints’ lead, before Angus Campbell’s (Nooie) cool finished, albeit unchallenged, made it 3-1 and opened the floodgates.

At this point, Saints had the game by the scruff of the neck and despite spurning a couple of chances to extend their lead, it wasn’t long before they got their fourth of the match. A great chipped-effort from around 8 yards out by MacInnes, his second of the game, effectively ended the match as a contest. The glut of goals, however, had only just begun.

Harry Luney grabbed a fifth for the home team, before a fantastic long-range effort for Southend reduced the deficit to three. Andrew MacIssac’s speed of thought from kick-off caught the Saints goalkeeper off-guard, and with a spectacular strike, that Charlie Adam would have been proud of, the talented striker found the net from the half-way line to make it 5-2.

Much like his first goal, MacIssac’s strike spurred the hosts into action once more. Two quick goals, firstly from Nooie, who scored a penalty to register his second and Saints’ sixth of the match, and then another from Brendan MacPhee (Baba), who found ample space inside the Southend box, before easily beating the visitors’ goalkeeper from close range, further enhanced the home side’s lead to five goals.

Scott Matheson then helped himself to a brace, the first; an easy finish after some good build-up play, before he rounded the now beleaguered Southend goalkeeper to score his second, which made the score 9-2 to Saints.

Harry Luney still had time to score his second and Saints’ tenth of the match, an easy header from around 12 yards out, from a corner, which marked the end of a barely believable and breathless match. With 12 goals in total, the score line had changed dramatically over the course of the game, from 1-0 after 45 minutes, to then 1-1 after an hour, with the game finishing with the final result of 10-2 after 90 minutes. Incredibly, 10 goals were scored in the final 30 minutes of the game.

A rampant performance by the reigning champions ultimately overshadowed what had been a promising and spirited showing for long periods by Southend. A combination of sharp attacking play from the hosts and naïve defending from the visitors contributed to what was a highly entertaining and memorable match.

MATCH STATISTICS:

Iochdar Saints:

Shots on target: 20

Shots off target: 10

Corners: 7

Freekicks: 7

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

Southend:

Shots on target: 3

Shots off target: 2

Corners: 3

Freekicks: 6

Yellow cards: 0

Red cards: 0

MAN OF THE MATCH:

Scott Matheson – The Saints player helped himself to a brace, linking well with his teammates and was a real nuisance to the Southend defence in an good all-round performance.

On the spot… Angus ‘Nooie’ Campbell

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REPORT & STATS: Saints punish defensive sins in ten-goal thrashing

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