TALENTED young shinty players from Aberdour will have the chance to be crowned Scotland’s best after they qualified for the final of a national competition.

The Primary 4/5 team from Aberdour Shinty Club will represent Central Scotland at the Camanachd Association National Indoor League Final in Fort William on Saturday, February 25 after winning the Central Scotland Youth Shinty Indoor League.

The competition, which took place throughout the winter period, saw the West Fife youngsters prevail against strong opposition from Glasgow, Strathkelvin, Milngavie and Bearsden before they took part in a regional qualifier competition in Dumbarton.

After drawing 1-1 with Strathkelvin in their opener, they racked up victories against Gaels (3-0), Edinburgh (2-1) and CCL (4-0) in round one, before two 1-1 draws with Strathkelvin and Edinburgh, and 4-0 and 5-0 successes over Gaels and CCL in round two saw them advance to the final.

A resounding 4-1 victory over Strathkelvin saw them progress as double winners, having gone through a 16-game league season losing just once, which came in the regional qualifiers.

Lisa MacColl, the club’s head coach, said: “It’s fantastic to see such deserved reward for children who are all under 10 but who put in such effort over the year developing their skills and experience in training and at competitions.

“The P4/5 coach, Keith Chamberlain, has given lots of time and commitment to this squad and, under his guidance, they have become a great wee team. All our primary school players deserve huge credit for their attitude and commitment to the game of shinty and we are delighted to have 28-30 children attend our training sessions at Dalgety Bay and Silver Sands every Friday evening. To see them winning competitions is a bonus but to see their shinty skills develop is more of a reward.

“We are keen to see the game of shinty grow in West Fife and beyond with these young children showing the way. They deserve to be regarded as the top team in Central Scotland.”

Meanwhile, preparations for the new senior season began last Saturday and Aberdour firsts took on top flight newcomers Glasgow Mid Argyll firsts.

Angus Thorburn’s early strike was enough to settle the game for Aberdour, who fielded four under-17s, and they more than held their own against the Premiership team, who couldn’t breach a strong defence or beat an in-form Tom Bowerman in ‘Dour’s goal.

Prior to that, both clubs’ second teams faced off and ‘Dour’s development squad are showing considerable improvement after securing a 2-1 win.

Supported by some senior heads, they took a two-goal lead within the opening 10 minutes thanks to Craig Girvan and Brian Toal.

Although GMA pulled a goal back in a more even second half, ‘Dour did enough to secure a confidence-boosting win.

The club’s ladies were also in action last weekend at the Drop Kick Murphy sixes in Edinburgh, where they saw off all competition to be crowned champions.