Lovat pick up vital win
LOVAT captured two valuable points in their bid to avoid relegation from the Scottish Hydro Premier Division when they defeated Glenorchy 4-0 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Lovat’s reserve side finished their programme in North Division Two with a 4-0 defeat at Glengarry. Arran Clark (two), Stephen Cameron and Ben Armitage were on target for the hosts.
Lovat face an agonising wait to discover their fate for the matches cancelled at the weekend have yet to be rescheduled and may not go ahead until the middle of November.
The Balgate side finish their programme on Saturday with an away match at Kilmallie. A win for Lovat is essential and even that may not be enough to see them escape relegation as two points each for Inveraray and Oban would see Lovat go down.
The win means Lovat swap places with Oban Camanachd and are level on points with Inveraray as the battle to beat the drop intensifies.
With the sodden pitch making life difficult for both sides, the match slowly petered out, but Ferguson had the final word with a goal to seal the points in the 81st minute.
Any thoughts that Glenorchy had of making it an uncomfortable second half for Lovat were extinguished when Matheson struck again four minutes after the restart.
Owen Ferguson calmed matters down by putting Lovat in front after 25 minutes then 17-year-old striker Greg Matheson gave them some welcome breathing space with a crucial second goal just five minutes before the interval.
It took them time to settle down, but once they did it was Lovat’s young players who began to thrive under the pressure of knowing they could not afford to come away from Glenorchy with anything but the victory.
Glenorchy may not have been able to put a point on the board going into this one, but their endeavour early on had Lovat struggling to gain a foothold in the contest.
The game had been described as a must-win affair by the Lovat management team in the build-up to this encounter, but the visitors started nervously.
Lovat made the long trip south with the match still in doubt and the final go-ahead was given only after a last minute pitch inspection by the referee.
The Glenorchy versus Lovat match was the only Premier Division game to go ahead after heavy rain led to cancellations at Kyles and Oban.