Clinical Montrose blunt punishing Portree threat

Montrose Magpies - 400* vs Pride Of Portree - 100

	Prides	Magpies
Keeper	McCormack	Wintringham
Chasers	McNewton	Keitch (C)
	MacPunnet	MacLean
	Pilliwickle	MacTavish
Beaters	Van Hoorn	Moriattis
	Stroulger (C)	Ollerton
Seeker	McBride	Abberley

Amedeus Pagley has never been one to rest on his laurels. His ladder-leading Magpies were beginning to look something scarily resembling unbeatable, but one has to keep moving to stay ahead of the game and he saw fit to remove Beater Morna MacGregor from the starting seven.

Zachariah Ollerton had worked hard to earn a much-deserved promotion, but his return lasted just three minutes, thanks to a devastating Bludger from Mordred Van Hoorn’s bat.

Just minutes later, Van Hoorn’s partner in crime and skipper Terrence Stroulger had taken out his opposite number Royden Keitch. With their Beaters putting on a stunning show of early aggression, the Prides took a shock early lead.

But even two Chasers is more than enough when they of the calibre of Farquhar MacLean and Fingal MacTavish. Both have flown under the radar this year compared to the headline-grabbing heroics of Chasers such as Marina Grinderford and Blodwen Birch. But their team is undefeated on top of the table, and those sort of numbers don’t lie. MacTavish has been unwaveringly dominant in every facet of his game, while young MacLean has stepped up brilliantly from the shadows, placing himself firmly in the same bracket as his two esteemed veteran colleagues.

The Prides’ Beaters were been astonishingly effective, with Stroulger striking MacLean in a thankfully light blow for Montrose, and going within inches of taking our Seeker Alison Abberley. But there were more than enough Magpies standing to dominate, there was little the hapless Portree Chasers could do. They all performed perfectly adequately without error, but were just thoroughly outclassed.

Sensing the danger posed by Stroulger and Van Hoorn, Alison Abberley was notably more hyper-active than her usual calm early self. The hustle paid off as Abberley was able to end the match and get her boys off field with the two points and minimum damage inside two hours.

Montrose Magpies - 400: MacTavish 14, MacLean 11, Abberley Capture

Pride Of Portree - 100: Pilliwickle 6, McNewton 3, MacPunnet 1

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: TERRENCE STROULGER (PRIDES)