Shetland fights back for Stuart Cup glory after strong hockey and swimming wins

Shetland regained the Stuart Cup in the junior-county after an amazing fightback by the hockey and swimming teams on day two of the event.

Trailing 147-121 overall this morning after defeats in yesterday”s  netball and athletics and a draw in the football, the hockey team pulled off something of a shock result by defeating Orkney 4-0 at Brae. That was followed by a resounding 56-38 win in the swimming at Clickimin, which meant a final score of 197-185.

The visitors began Sunday’s action by claiming a 108-86 victory in the athletics competition, and followed that up with a 34-30 win in the netball match.

The football match on Sunday evening was closely contested, ending in a 1-1 draw. That meant Shetland retained the Peterson Trophy having won in Orkney last year. There was a hold-up before the presentation as the visitors appealed for extra-time and penalties, a request which was eventually turned down.

The hockey result was the first victory for some years, and the margin of victory meant that Shetland went into the final swimming event only six points behind.

During the first half of the swimming programme Shetland won five events to Orkney’s three, meaning the visitors still held a single-point overall lead at the break. However, the home side stormed to victory in all eight of the remaining races, including both final relay events, to secure the trophy and move Shetland two ahead in the overall Stuart Cup series at 34-32.

Full report and photographs in this week’s paper.

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