11.30am 18 May 2019
Highland Amateur Cup, First Round
Southend 1 Point 2 (att 25)
I love the Highland Amateur Cup, and this year's first round draw tempted me to head north and get a ferry out to the Hebrides, turning a groundhopping trip into a long weekend away.
I had been hoping to visit Eriskay's iconic pitch for their home tie against Barra, but that game suffered a frustratingly late switch to a pitch I'd already visited in Benbecula, so I needed a plan B. Fixture changes are fact of life in this part of the world and I wouldn't have travelled without an alternative game.
Southend v Point was a good back up, 25 years after I saw the home side play a league fixture on a long-gone pitch at at Benbecula Airport, I finally got to see them at their proper home in South Uist.
These days they play on a pitch behind the school in Daliburgh, a scattered settlement just a short drive from our Lochboisdale hotel. It's just a pitch, but it's enclosed and there's a pair of dugouts on the school side.
The location might not quite match that at Eriskay, but like most Hebridean football venues it's certainly scenic.
Visitors Point were in no mood to admire the surroundings though. They'd set off from their Isle of Lewis base at 6am to arrive in time for the early start, a necessity to fulfill the fixture and make it back the same day.
Teams from the Lewis and Harris League are generally stronger than those from the smaller Uist and Barra League, and Point looked the better side from the start. They had a 2-0 lead by half time, although they got lucky for the second which was an unfortunate own goal.
The own goal proved decisive in the end, as Southend were better after the break and gave themselves a chance when they converted a penalty to reduce the deficit. They had half chances to get level, but in truth Point never looked like conceding a second and the advanced to the next round.
Highland Amateur Cup, First Round
Southend 1 Point 2 (att 25)
I love the Highland Amateur Cup, and this year's first round draw tempted me to head north and get a ferry out to the Hebrides, turning a groundhopping trip into a long weekend away.
I had been hoping to visit Eriskay's iconic pitch for their home tie against Barra, but that game suffered a frustratingly late switch to a pitch I'd already visited in Benbecula, so I needed a plan B. Fixture changes are fact of life in this part of the world and I wouldn't have travelled without an alternative game.
Southend v Point was a good back up, 25 years after I saw the home side play a league fixture on a long-gone pitch at at Benbecula Airport, I finally got to see them at their proper home in South Uist.
These days they play on a pitch behind the school in Daliburgh, a scattered settlement just a short drive from our Lochboisdale hotel. It's just a pitch, but it's enclosed and there's a pair of dugouts on the school side.
The location might not quite match that at Eriskay, but like most Hebridean football venues it's certainly scenic.
Visitors Point were in no mood to admire the surroundings though. They'd set off from their Isle of Lewis base at 6am to arrive in time for the early start, a necessity to fulfill the fixture and make it back the same day.
Teams from the Lewis and Harris League are generally stronger than those from the smaller Uist and Barra League, and Point looked the better side from the start. They had a 2-0 lead by half time, although they got lucky for the second which was an unfortunate own goal.
The own goal proved decisive in the end, as Southend were better after the break and gave themselves a chance when they converted a penalty to reduce the deficit. They had half chances to get level, but in truth Point never looked like conceding a second and the advanced to the next round.
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