Good turnout for Unst football tournament

The annual Stanley Cup indoor football event, in memory of Stanley Mouat, took place on Thursday 27th December at Unst Leisure Centre.

Some 34 players turned out for the four-a-side event, from as far afield as Swaziland, America, England, Orkney, Lerwick, Whalsay and Yell.

Eight teams competed for the trophy, with a round-robin league format culminating in semi-finals and a final for the four top teams. In the round robin, Paul Henderson’s team came out on top, followed by Lee Jamieson’s team, Neil Laurenson’s team and Richard Pottinger’s side.

In the semis, Henderson’s team played Pottinger’s side and looked the better side for much of the game. They squandered some chances however, with Bruce Johnson and Henderson himself hitting the post; their opponents cashed in with a late goal by Joe Pottinger to put them into the final. In the other semi-final, Jamieson’s came out on top against Neil Laurenson’s side to put them into the final.

The final went the Pottinger team’s way to begin with and they built up a three nil lead. But Lee’s team came back into it after some poor defending and took the lead 4-3.

In the last minutes, Erik Thomson made it 4-4 and the game went to penalties. This was also close, with both teams drawing, until Kevin Priest pulled off a save to take the Cup.

The trophy was presented to the winning captain, Richard Pottinger, by Tony Mouat, Stanley’s father, with all the players, officials and Centre staff being thanked for their support.