Bute 3 - Inveraray 6
Aberdour 1 - Taynuilt 4
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| Bute's Brian Liddell clears under pressure from Chris Crawford |
You can see the key moments at Shintyfan's You Tube channel
Recent form suggested that Inveraray’s tussle with Bute would be a tight affair.
The two premier league sides had cancelled each other out at the Winterton in a league match some weeks earlier, with a late Inveraray penalty only just splitting the teams in the end.
And with both of these sides struggling to find the net on a regular basis, there was little beforehand to suggest that the game would provide anything like the drama that unfolded at the Meadows on Saturday.
Bute were first to threaten – hitting the post with a shot that had MacPherson beaten in the Inveraray goal and pressurising the yellow and black defence with a series of attacks.
Inveraray soon settled into a rhythm that proved too fast for the Bute defence, and, having survived earlier scares, swept upfield to score through Chris Crawford on 17 minutes.
A few minutes later, Garry MacPherson fired home a second for the away side as an increasingly dispirited Bute side battled on. Euan McMurdo scored with a scrambled effort after the half-hour mark to make it 3-0, and the Bute management team was pleased to hear to half-time whistle to rally the troops.
The islanders’ half-time pep talk was still ringing in the players’ ears – when Aray’s Chris Crawford struck almost from the re-start.
Bute were four goals down and second best in this spell, particularly in midfield. A comfortable lead in the bag, Inveraray then seemed to relax as Bute upped the tempo.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Roberto Zavaroni gave his side some hope with a well taken goal.
Ten minutes later, captain Robert Walker fired a deserved second past Graeme MacPherson, and Bute voices were heard once again.
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| A spot of tango from Douglas Dando and big Hector Whitelaw |
With Russell MacKinlay back in the side and on form – and the forward line alert – Inveraray were looking dangerous. Bute’s second goal seemed to spark the Argyll side back to life, and within two minutes of Walker’s goal, MacPherson rattled in his second and his side’s fifth.
It was MacKinlay who added the sixth goal to rub salt in Bute wounds.
Whitelaw scored a late penalty for Bute with a couple of minutes left, but the game was finished by that point.
This was a good all-round performance from Inveraray, who were resolute in defence with young Nicky Crawford catching the eye; strong in midfield where winger Stuart Robertson kept the forward line well supplied; and excellent up front, where the forwards found the form missing so far this season.
In the other semi-final played in Fife, Taynuilt made the long journey to face fellow south division one side Aberdour.
This was a proud and historic occasion for Aberdour, as the club’s first Celtic Cup semi-final, and Cameron MacCue sent their fans into ecstasy with the opening goal on 27 minutes.
The Fifers held the lead until half-time, but Taynuilt were a different prospect in the second half.
Six minutes after the re-start, Willie Nielson levelled matters, and two further goals inside eleven minutes rocked the home side.
Stuart Scott scored Taynuilt’s fourth with quarter of an hour left to seal the victory – and send Taynuilt to their first-ever Celtic Cup final.
The televised showpiece occasion, featuring Inveraray and Taynuilt will take place at Strachur’s recently-completed playing fields on June 23.
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