On a beautiful sunny day at the Inverness Caley Thistle Stadium, The Nicolson Institute U15 Girls’ football team were aiming to make history by becoming the first school from a Scottish Island to win this national competition. Their opponents were arch rivals Mintlaw Academy from Aberdeenshire. This was the first time in the competition’s history that two teams from the North of Scotland were competing in the Scottish Shield final and both teams had their sights set on victory.
The sun was shining, the pitch was in good condition and the supporters who had travelled out with the Nicolson team in the morning were in good voice – the scene was set for what was to become an epic final.
The Nicolson girls started briskly and were on the attack in the first minute. A driving run down the wing from Beth Macleod sent alarm bells ringing in the Mintlaw defence and gave them a taster of what was to follow for the entire game. A low cross into the box was met by Sophie Macaskill who managed to swivel round to get her shot away but it was straight into the keeper’s path and she gathered the ball well. The Nicolson girls continued to attack the Mintlaw box through some brilliant running from Beth Macleod and Kirsty Macdonald down the wings but the Mintlaw defence were strong and Latimar and Macaskill were being crowed out in the box at every opportunity. Fifteen minutes into the game saw the first corner of the game awarded to the Nicolson and Beth Macleod stood to line up a left footed in swinger. Isabelle Bain caught the Mintlaw defence napping when she burst out of the box towards Macleod to play a short corner and this work superbly well with Macleod who was able to play a one-two with Bain and whip a dangerous ball into the box which narrowly missed the lunging foot of Latimar and the ball was cleared by Mintlaw. This was a well worked set piece, straight off the training ground and the Nicolson girls were unlucky not to score. The Nicolson girls continued to press the Mintlaw defence and some direct running though the centre of the park from Bain and Nicole Maclean caused problems for their opponents and the quick, crisp passing from the Nicolson girls showed just why they deserved their place in the show piece final. Despite the sustained pressure from the Nicolson girls, the Mintlaw defence stood strong with the centre back having an excellent game and closing out the threat of Latimar and Macaskill. The Nicolson girls continued to press their opponents and despite chances in the box from Latimar, Macaskill, Maclean and Macleod, they couldn’t make the break through. Mintlaw started coming into the game towards the end of the half and got their first corner of the game with ten minutes to go. The ball came into the box with pace but the impressive Cirsty Gillies in goal came charging off her line and jumped high above her opponent’s to gather the ball safely in her hands and relieve the danger. The remainder of the half saw both teams with lots of possession in the middle of the park but unable to breach either defence. The end of the first half beckoned and both teams were relieved to hear the sound of the referee’s whistle for their well earned break. The Nicolson girls had a slight edge over their opponent’s in the first half but there was still all to play for at 0-0.
The second half started just as the first had ended with the Nicolson girls immediately on the attack with a defence splitting pass from Maclean straight to the feet of Macaskill but once again she was stopped in her tracks by the impressive Mintlaw centre back and the ball was cleared up the pitch. The Mintlaw midfield were coming more and more into the game and soon began to cause problems for the Nicolson defence with their direct running and their crosses into the box. Gillies in goals was having an excellent game and took full command of the box area. Eleanor Smith at the back was marshalling her defence well and any balls coming through were soon cleared by the solid centre back. Amanda Nicolson at left back showed great pace to keep the Mintlaw winger at bay and she continued to block every pass and cross that her counterpart attempted to play. In the 55th minute of the game, another defence splitting pass from Maclean saw Macaskill clean through on goal only to be called offside – a very close call indeed. Minutes later, Latimar caused panic in the Mintlaw defence with her strong and direct running and her shot from just inside the box was saved comfortably by the keeper. The Nicolson girls continued to press and looked for that winning goal but the Mintlaw defence were standing strong. The large pitch and the searing heat began to take its toll with the right midfield Mintlaw player going down with cramp. Mintlaw were the first team to make any changes and they sent on a fresh pair of legs to try and make the difference in what was a very tight game. The game was balanced precariously and both teams fought furiously for the remaining ten minutes with Minltaw creating more chances and putting the Nicolson rear guard under intense pressure. The back four of Amy Shirkie, Eleanor Smith, Amy Macleod and Amanda Nicolson were holding on and were managing to close out the threat of the Mintlaw onslaught. The powerful Mintlaw strike force were unlucky to see a rasping shot from the edge of the box go just over the bar and in the final minutes of the game, Mintlaw earned themselves a corner. The in swinging corner dropped straight to a Mintlaw player who managed to poke the ball goal wards. The ball was goal ward bound but Amy Shirkie threw herself towards the ball and managed to deflect the ball onto the post which Smith then cleared up the other end of the pitch. It was a heart stopping moment for the Nicolson girls but they had managed to hold on. The final whistle then blew to signal the end of the match at 0-0 and it was now straight to penalties.
After a few minutes’ rest, the girls then make their way to the centre circle for the heart wrenching decider. This was it, the Scottish Shield final to be decided on penalties. The penalties proved to be equally as tight as the game itself and there was little to separate the two teams. With Mintlaw missing their third penalty it was up to the Nicolson to slot their fifth and final penalty away to be crowned the champions of Scotland but the shot hammered off the crossbar to take it into sudden death. The tension was unbearable for both teams and with two more missed penalties from Mintlaw and one from the Nicolson, it was up to penalty taker number 10 Amy Shirkie to step up and send her team into jubilant celebration. Amy coolly slotted the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the goal and the Nicolson were now crowned Scottish champions. It was an epic end to a well fought out final. Eleanor Smith, captain and player of the match stepped forward to receive the Shield from the Scottish Schools FA President Rod Houston to the jubilant cheers of the Nicolson team and their travelling support.
“I am so proud of the girls and what they have achieved. We have scored 39 goals and only conceded 3 in this competition and have travelled over 1000 miles up and down the country fulfilling each of our fixtures. Our last two games were particularly tough and it says a lot about our girls that they can hold their own against teams with Scottish Internationals and Club players. It once again highlights the talent of our young people when they can achieve success such as this on a national level, and we as a school are exceptionally proud of these girls.”
