McNeil praises his '12 heroes'

Published: 24 September, 2009

DREW McNeil insists it's not just James Clark who should be hailed a Fort William shinty hero.

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Although his talisman struck the late winner on Saturday to seal a stunning 4-3 Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup win against Kyles Athletic, the manager told the LN any one of his cup winners could have stolen the limelight.

Fort have now won the silverware three years on the trot and McNeil says the achivement has barely sunk in yet.

He explained: "I am really proud of all of my players. If you put any of them in another team, they would be stand-outs and they would shine, but they all shine collectively for Fort William and that was evident in the final.

"Anybody could have been the hero, but it was Jim (Clark) who finished it off for us. He had three great chances in the match and he scored with two of them. The TV didn't show the replay, but only an unbelievable save from Kyles goalkeeper Kenny MacDonald prevented him getting a hat-trick.

"He's a terrific player, but it's the other 11 players who get the ball to him to score from, so they deserve praise as well."

Kyles came back from 3-0 down to level the showdown at 3-3 in the closing stages, and McNeil was delighted by the character his men showed to handle the pressure.

He said: "We started a wee bit flat, but I was confident that our experience would come through. Kyles had terrific support and whenever they attacked their crowd were right behind them. When we went 3-0 up, they seemed dead and buried and I thought we could have scored a fourth or fifth.

"However, once Kyles scored they caught fire and all credit to them. Even at 3-3, we were creating chances and I still felt that we would have enough quality to win. People talk about Kyles and how their young side are really fit, but even late on, we were not dead on our feet.

Fort William celebrate their hat-trick of Camanachd Cup wins

"We were not flagging and I thought we would go on and win – even if it took extra-time."

The Fort boss says people believe Kyles will be back on this stage and get their hands on the coveted trophy sooner rather than later, but McNeil reckons it takes something special to even reach another final.

He explained: "When you reach this stage, it can come down to just one moment. There is no tomorrow, you have to grab your chance when it comes and, thankfuly, we did that on Saturday.

"I would like to see Kyles progress from here because they have a very good young side, but who says they will get back here next year?"

Fort return to Premier League action on Saturday with an away trip – to Oban!

With three games to go, McNeil is keen to gain maximum points to ensure the side end a tough campaign on a high note.

He added: "Oban Camanachd beat us at An Aird, so that's something we will have in mind for this one.