Sport / Sporting round-up 17 December
THE SHETLAND men’s rugby team earned a hard-fought draw with third-placed Banff in their final match before Christmas at the weekend.
They travelled to Aberdeenshire for the festive fixture on Saturday, hopeful of a victory that could have seen them leapfrog their opponents in the table.
However both sides had to settle for a 17-17 draw after a fiery and frenetic encounter.
That keeps Shetland fifth in the table, with three games in hand over Aberdeen University Medics one place above them.
Next up for the men’s side is a trip to face second-placed Garioch on 11 January.
The joint under-13s/14s Shetland side were also in action in Saturday in Banff, succumbing to an eventual defeat.
Banff paid tribute to the juniors, saying Shetland had provided “one of the most challenging games of rugby that Banff have had to play”.
JOHN Allan scored an 82nd minute equaliser to rescue Turriff United and extend their unbeaten streak to four games.
Turriff had lead Formartine United in the Highland league before two quick-fire goals turned the tie in the away team’s favour.
But Allan – who recently announced he is leaving the club to move home to Shetland – struck late on to earn a 2-2 draw for his team.
Goalkeeper Henry Oldbury kept a clean sheet for Golspie Sutherland as they thrashed Thurso 6-0 in the North Caledonian league at the weekend.
Oldbury had a comfortable day between the sticks as his side kept the pressure up on league leaders Halkirk at the summit.
Golspie remain nine points behind, but with two games-in-hand on the league’s front-runners.
Brora Rangers and George Robesten also remain hot on the heels of the league leaders in the Highland league, with a 3-1 win over Forres Mechanics on Saturday.
Robesten was a second half substitute as Brora moved four points behind Brechin and former Lerwick Rangers player Spencer Moreland.
Brechin’s match at the weekend was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
MEANWHILE Shetland’s men’s group for the Island Games has now been announced.
Organisers Orkney confirmed on Monday that the Falkland Islands would take the place of Guernsey, who dropped out due to concerns about accommodation.
Åland had initially been offered the vacant spot in the group, but also declined.
Jersey and Gozo join Shetland and the Falkland Islands in the group stage.
THIRTY pairs entered the Shetland Darts Association (SDA) doubles competition on Saturday, for the final grand prix of the year.
After the early rounds of action the event moved into the quarter-finals, with Ryan Inkster and John Phillip Hughes narrowly seeing off James McNab and Michael Eunson 4-3.
Ian Hannah and Bobby Cumming beat Clive Scott and John Robert Scott 4-2, Ben Ferguson and Kyle Tait defeated Stuart Paul and Tommy Williamson 4-1 and Roger Irvine and Liam Sutherland beat Ronnie Johnson and Craig Redfern 4-2.
The best of nine leg semi-finals saw Sutherland and Irvine win a last-leg decider 5-4 against Ferguson and Tait, while Hannah and Cumming beat Hughes and Inkster 5-3.
The final, played over the best of 11 legs, saw Sutherland and Irvine emerge 6-3 winners to pick up the Shetland doubles title.
The SDA said it would like to thank Whitedale Social Club for hosting the event and James McNab of JDC Ltd for sponsoring.
SHETLAND’S volleyballers suffered back-to-back defeats at home over the weekend.
The men’s side hosted Forza Regazzi and Glasgow Mets 2’s at the Aith Leisure Centre on Saturday, with the two away sides also playing each other.
However home advantage could not help the blues to victory, with Forza sealing a 3-0 victory in sets – winning 24-14, 25-15, 25-11.
And though it was much closer in the second fixture, Glasgow Mets 2’s also won 3-0 against Shetland, sealing the sets 25-21, 25-17, 25-21.
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