Thurso Acks vs Thurso Pentland

Thurso Acks beat Thurso Pentland 3-2 tonight at the Dammies.  Pentland were 2-0 up midway through the 2nd half and Acks stormed back to score the winner 2 mins from time.  The celebrations were as though they won the Scottish Cup!

The winner was controversial as the player seemed to knock the ball out of the keeper's hands.  The keeper and two other Pentland players were booked for protesting.

Caithness Riding Club Show

The Caithness Riding Club held its annual summer show yesterday at Bylbster, Watten.  The day was dry and warm, but light was poor and made it difficult for me.  With 5 rings to cover, I found it impossible to catch everything. 

Apologies to the in hand section for not getting any photos.  The ring was tucked away at the side and by the time I got round to it, the classes had finished. 

1st pic - Ridden pony Champion - Emma Coghill & Durran Miss Ellie.  Reserve - Jessica Florence & Megland Royal Pretence, owned by M&J Gunn

2nd pic - Ridden Horse Champion - James Munro & Ruby V.  Reserve - Joanna Hunter & Ben Mhor. Special - Ruth Sutherland & Playboy II.

3rd pic - Working Hunter Horse Champion - James Munro & Ruby V.  Reserve - Lisa Kennedy & Stemster Millenium Bug.

4th pic - Junior Condition & Turnout Champion - Rhiana Angus & Rosevale Seren Surprise

5th pic - Janet Welsh trophy winner - Bridget Holt & ?

6th pic - Working Hunter Pony Champion - Caitlin Bissett & Eddiston May-Bee, owned by M&J Gunn.  Reserve - Rachel Gunn & Galloway Boy.

Halkirk vs John O'Groats

John O'Groats beat Halkirk tonight at the Recreation Park by 3 goals to 1.  Halkirk were in control until Lee Elder got sent off for removing his shirt after opening the scoring.  His second yellow card.
Groats scored all 3 goals in the last 10 - 15 mins as 10 man Halkirk tired.  The last photo shows Martin Sinclair scoring the 3rd.

The match was quite bad tempered with some strong tackling and the ref (Sol) struggled to keep control at times.

Scottish Cup Final - Misc

Some miscellaneous pics from cup final day including two of Dundee United's goal celebrations.  I was postioned just along from the Dundee goal in the second half, but unfortunately County did not have many goal attempts for me to capture.

Scottish Cup Final - County in tears

Many Ross County players were in tears at the end of the match. It will probably be their once in a lifetime opportunity at winning a major final.  Manager Derek Adams saluted the fans before the team collected their medals.

Scottish Cup Final - United Celebrations

At the end of the Scottish Cup Final it was a bit of a scramble with the hordes of professional photographers to get the photo that will make the sports page headlines. 

The select few had special coloured bibs that allowed them onto the pitch and join the players on the lap of honour (and so get the best opportunity to get the photo they wanted).  The rest of us had to run round the trackside and hope for the best!  The atmosphere was unbelievable. In a different world to the Highland Amateur Cup match at the Dammies the weekend before!

I managed to attract the attention of United's manager Peter Houston and Club Chairman Stephen Thompson just before they went back down the tunnel.

Scottish Cup Final - match action

Action pics from the Scottish Cup Final match between Dingwall's Ross County (in blue) and Dundee Utd.  United won 3-0 to win the cup for only the second time in their history. It was County's first ever final.

The atmosphere was fantastic with nearly 50,000 fans making lots of noise.