Inverness primary school creates history to become national shinty champions
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HILTON Primary School made history when they were crowned national shinty champions for the first time.
The Inverness primary school were crowned primary five and under champions when they came out on top at Lochaber High School in Fort William.
Hilton Primary School put in a dominant display during the group stages of the tournament when they finished top ahead of Rockfield Primary School from Oban who also qualified.
Hilton beat Rockfield 2-1 in the group stages to finish in top position.
Hilton went on to face North End in the semi finals of the competition and led by Lewis MacPherson, secured their place in the final with a 3-1 victory.
They would meet Rockfield again in the final, who came from behind to defeat Tighnabruaich 4-2 in the other semi final.
The final was one for the history books as Rockfield, wanting to avenge their group stage defeat came out of the blocks flying.
They nailed their tactics and managed to score three goals in quick succession.
Hilton looked taken aback, but Daniel Beaton managed to edge them closer scoring before the break making the score 3-1.
Hilton still had it all to do in the second half.
But captain Lewis MacPherson who had been excellent all day then started to dominate the game with his close control and silky skills. MacPherson scored the next two goals bringing the game to 3-3 with one minute left to play.
Hilton had the momentum and a nice passage of play by their defenders then gave the ball to MacPherson once again who drilled the ball into the net to secure the victory for his team and win the P5 and Under National First Shinty Championships 2024 as well as Hilton Primary School's first ever national shinty trophy.
Kevin Ferguson of tournament sponsors Ferguson Transport and Shipping presented the trophy and medals to all the players.
The Primary Seven and Under National Tournament also took place.
Glenurquhart Primary School from Drumnadrochit put in an excellent performance to reach the final of the competition.
They topped their qualification group with Inverness Gaelic School also qualifying in second place.
In the semi final, Glenurquhart faced Aberdour Primary School in what was a classic encounter. Aberdour raced to a two-goal lead only for
Glenurquhart to respond with two quick goals before half-time. With play raging from end-to-end Aberdour got their noses in front again only for Glenurquhart to respond with two late goals to prevail 4-3 to reach the final.
They faced Caol in the final who proved too strong for Inverness Gaelic School with a 6-0 win. Caol were too good in the final for Glenurquhart with a 5-0 victory.
