Two good wins for Whalsay in senior hockey’s Grutness and Shearer competitions

Whalsay had a good week in senior hockey, defeating Scalloway 4-1 in the Grutness Trophy league and Burra 5-1 in the race for the Shearer Shield, which they lead by five points.

Grutness Trophy

Scalloway 1, Whalsay 4

Whalsay started at a fast pace with excellent hitting between their forward and midfield unsettling the Scalloway team and within 10 minutes were rewarded with their first goal by Alison Williamson.

Scalloway began to settle after this and form was regained with the help of Lynne Scollay, Naomi Johnston and Michaela Johnson.

Whalsay continued to take advantage of spaces found between the Scalloway team but despite their best efforts the first half finished at 1-0.

The second half began quickly once again, and this time the Scalloway team put in a very strong pursuit of the ball. At one point Elsbeth Clark looked under pressure but Scalloway were unable to make contact with the back of the net.

Whalsay continued to connect well with Emily Shearer, Zoe Anderson and Diane Shearer passing and playing well and again Scalloway’s goalie Christine Georgeson was put under pressure and a goal slipped past her from Nicola Duthie. A third goal followed straight after by Marie Simpson who was playing a stormer of a game.

Scalloway picked their heads up again after this and some excellent running and defending by Scollay, Naomi Johnson and Nicola Smith helped set up for Rhiannon Inkster to slot a goal home. Whalsay retaliated quickly and Williamson scored her second of the game.

Players of the match were Maree Simpson for Whalsay and Michaela Johnson for Scalloway.
Delting 4, Zetland 3

Delting started well and excellent play from Ashley Burgess on the wing landed Megan Nicholson the ball in the box. She played it to Megan Hibbert who slotted it past Debie Kane into the bottom left corner of the Zetland goal, giving Delting the lead after just three minutes.

Zetland used this early knock positively to provide them with a bit of drive, and the side stormed down the field as soon as play was restarted. Some frantic play in the Delting half saw Zetland’s hard work pay off, as Ingrid Nicol equalised.

The two teams pushed each other as play resumed. Zetland looked to be in a much stronger form than they had been in recent games, and were really giving the Delts a run for their money. After a long bout of end-to-end play, the Delts broke through and Megan Nicholson managed to edge the ball past the keeper to regain Delting’s lead.

Delting took confidence by being back on top, dominating play, but Zetland came back and in the 30th minute Nicol managed to tap in her second goal of the evening.

Zetland were hoping to go into the second half with the score level, but during a Delting attack a penalty flick was awarded after an obstruction from Zetland keeper Debie Kane, which Jill Hibbert stepped up to take. Hibbert fired the ball into the back of the net, making the score 3-2 just before half time.

The second half started with Delting looking calm, in a more attack-focused formation, while Zetland still seemed eager to try and turn the game around.

Delting’s attacking strategy paid off however, as Jillian Copland’s fierce hit rattled the backboard after 12 minutes of play. Delting kept cool after stretching their lead further, as Zetland tried again and again to get another goal back.

After Zetland pushed the relaxed Delts back into their half, Nicol slid the ball past Dawn Manson to secure her hat trick after 26 minutes, giving Zetland some encouragement to try and get a long-awaited win. However, the Delts wasted no time in re-establishing their presence, and managed to dominate play up with constant attacks up until the final whistle.

Debbie Robertson was best for Delting, after an exceptional performance in defence, while Aimee Keith’s continuous hard work and excellent skill meant she stood out for Zetland.

Shearer Shield

Scalloway 2, Delting 2

Scalloway started with only 10 players but soon found their form with great linking play between Naomi Johnson, Lynne Scollay in midfield through to Sandra Petrie and Meg Laurenson up front.

Delting were soon on the attack, however, and used the whole pitch to switch the play and put pressure on Scalloway’s defence who had their work cut out.

Jillian Copland opened the scoring for Delting when she slotted the ball passed Scalloway keeper Kate Moncrieff who was unlucky not to save the shot.

Scalloway were back on the attack and Meg Laurenson evened the score five minutes later. The goal boosted Scalloway and with the arrival of Nicola Smith, they had their full team.

The game continued with great play from both teams and Scalloway were once again on the attack and were so unlucky to score after a goalmouth scuffle which showed some great defending by Delting’s defence and keeper.

After some good end-to-end play, Karis Irvine slotted the ball past the Delting keeper to give Scalloway a 2-1 lead before half time.

The second half saw Scalloway’s Meg Laurenson replacing Kate Moncrieff in goals and Delting came out determined to even the scoring.

Scalloway managed to keep them from scoring but eventually Lynda Gunn evened the score with a beautiful flick from the end of the D which Laurenson was unlucky not to save.

Scalloway were back on the attack with great passing around the pitch from Lynne Scollay and Naomi Johnson in midfield through to their forwards. Delting were under pressure and after another goalmouth scuffle, Scalloway were so unlucky not to score.

Players of the match were Naomi Johnson for Scalloway and Debbie Robertson for Delting.

Burra 1, Whalsay 5

Whalsay applied pressure to Burra straight away with accurate passing and brilliant communication. The Burra defence stood strong until the 22nd minute when Nicola Duthie scored her first of the half, her second coming some 10 minutes later through a goalmouth scrap.

Burra had some good runs up the pitch with good linking play from Sarah Young, Stacey Laurenson and Josie Jamieson, but were unable to capitalise and the half ended 2-0 to Whalsay.

Burra started the second half with gusto, with  Laurenson scoring her trademark reverse flick after five minutes. However, Burra’s hopes were dashed by another Whalsay goal from Deborah Mowat.

Burra were unlucky not to score a second on several occasions with the Whalsay defence working well to prevent them. Whalsay finished on top and managed another two goals from Shelley Sandison and Zoe Irvine.

Players of the match were Debbie Sneddon for Burra and Maggie Kay Irvine for Whalsay.