Double county success and two teams into cup semis in great weekend of sport
SHETLAND enjoyed double inter-county success at the weekend, as well as dual joy on the hockey pitches to seal cup semi-final places.
The blues retained the netball B inter-county trophy in Kirkwall on Saturday morning, seeing off county rivals Orkney with an eventual 41-37 victory.
And the men’s volleyball produced a stirring comeback from two sets down to beat Orkney 3-2, also away from home, to ensure a superb double-header.
That was capped off across the weekend when both the men’s and ladies hockey teams were victorious in their respective cup quarter-final fixtures, setting up last four clashes next weekend.
Two goals from Joshua MacColl helped the boys in blue to beat Edinburgh University 6 2-0 in the Scottish Hockey reserve plate, before the women thrashed Boroughmuir Ladies 5-0 on Sunday to reach their third District Cup semi-final in three years.
Shetland got off to a flying start over the weekend after clinching the B inter-county in the netball, surging ahead 20-13 at half-time as they looked to keep the trophy they won in Lerwick last year.
The blues lead by just four heading into the final quarter, and held their nerve to keep that deficit the same at the final whistle.
There was to be no double on the netball court though, with Orkney wrestling back the A title after a tough encounter.
Shetland lead narrowly at the end of quarter one, but the reds roared back to take a 29-19 lead at half-time.
Despite Shetland’s best efforts, Orkney increased that advantage to secure an overall 63-41 victory.
It was then over to the volleyball, and Orkney women were tested in the early stages by a young Shetland side, Orkney eventually taking the first set 25-17.
As Shetland tired their opponents took advantage, and won the next two sets 25-14, 25-13 for an overall 3-0 win.
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It looked like the men’s inter-county was going to follow the same pattern, with Orkney winning the first two sets 25-23, 25-19 to race into a 2-0 lead.
With no room left for error Shetland began to turn the match back around, winning the next set 25-20.
And a 25-14 win in set four meant that the men’s county match went to a deciding leg.
The blues would complete their superb fightback to win it 15-10, earning an overall 3-2 win and the bragging rights.
Over at the hockey pitches in Aberdeen, Shetland’s men were aiming to reach their first ever cup semi-final with a tie against Edinburgh University 6’s.
It was Joshua MacColl who would prove to be the difference-maker on the day, scoring twice to earn the blues a place in the last four.
And a day later – again in Aberdeen – the women would join them in making the final four of their own cup competition.
Their victory was a lot more one-sided, with a brace from Kristan Robertson and goals from Rhea Nicolson, Cara Leask and Chiara MacColl resulting in a 5-0 victory over Boroughmuir Ladies in the Scottish District Cup.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will now have to make the journey south again this weekend for their semi-final matches.
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