2021/22

Saturday night was the final night of the OYDG 2022 indoor season with the finals of the TSB trophies and the East v West select matches.

First on court were the teams playing for the Reid Crescent shield. This is always an unpredictable competition with all teams coming with hopes and looking to play good football. Straight away there was some good, competitive football on show with eventual finalists, Papdale Kings and Stromness Devils recording single goaled victories over Stromness Rebels and Papdale Vikings in the first round. Inter Dounby recorded a good win over a strong Glaitness United team, whilst school team mates Glaitness Spurs progressed to the semi-finals playing some great football along the way. Both semi-finals were as close as expected, with Kings scoring the only goal to advance past Inter and Devils requiring extra time and penalties to get past Spurs. The final remained a tense affair throughout normal time, both teams having chances. However, Kings got the first breakthrough in extra time and with Devils chasing an equaliser, Kings were able to take advantage of good counter attacks to win the trophy.

Next came the Paterson’s East and West select team matches. West got off to a great start, playing a little more as a team in the first match to record a 2-0 win. The girls match was next and West again got off to a great start scoring early on. East held fast and had a couple of breakaway chances before West eventually went on to record their first victory in 5 attempts in this match. Then was the first select teams and it provided some great football and end-to-end entertainment. West dominated the chances but couldn’t force the opening past an inspired East keeper, and they were the team that managed to break the deadlock with a nice, volleyed finish into the West goal.

Finally was the turn of the leagues top finishers in the TSB Trophy. St Andrews Cyclones, Evie/Firth Raptors and Papdale Dales had all done well to qualify for this competition but the Stromness Predators, St Andrews Hurricanes and Papdale Flyers progressed through. Game of the round was Hope Hotspurs v Real Dounby, with Hotspurs twice taking the lead only for Real to peg them back in the dying seconds. Real progressed with a single goal in extra time. None of the teams in the semi-finals could be separated in regular play but it was Hurricanes that progressed against league winners Predators, and Flyers that overcame Real. The final saw some really good play from both sides and it was Hurricanes that took charge early on. Flyers were chasing the game and got an equaliser before Hurricanes scored almost straight away. Putting everything into trying to pull back on terms, Flyers got caught with some great counter attacking football, with St Andrews Hurricanes able to round off the game with a win.

This has been a fantastic opportunity for so many young people to get together again and play some good quality football, to enjoy playing and to get some important social time. This wouldn’t be possible without the time, effort and backing of many people, so OYDG would like to thank the competition sponsors TSB and Steven R Paterson’s Ltd; the Pickaquoy Centre for the great facilities; the players for the spirit the games were played in; and all parents, coaches and officials that give up so much of their time to make this happen.

Last Saturday saw the final round of S&JD Robertson’s Primary Indoor League. It has been a great competition again, with 22 teams having competed over 8 rounds in around 30 matches each. Covid was always going to have some impact, and it has been a substantially changed competition again, with substantial efforts to put in place safety procedures to allow these youngsters to come together to play. And it was thoroughly worthwhile to see the youngsters playing, competing, having fun and re-establishing the friendships and rivalries with their peers from across the other primary schools.

This year’s format had to be quite different, and the 8 weeks were split into 4 blocks of two. To reduce the numbers mixing, each two-week block consisted of 5 mini-leagues with promotions and relegations throughout the season, still managing to give teams a similar playing time to in a ‘normal’ year. Only a single league was present in the Pickaquoy Centre at any one time with one way systems in operation and, although there were individuals’ players missing as always happens, only 4 teams were not able to field a team on certain weeks due to Covid. Our thanks go to the coaches and players for following the Covid guidance so well, allowing this competition to go ahead whilst trying to keep everyone safe.

Because of this nature of the leagues, we saw many more competitive games than we see with a larger league. Every team had some successes throughout the year with wins over rivals or unexpected draws with classmates or those from other schools. By the end of the first 3 rounds, the teams had sorted themselves out well into a ladder, and we had 5 teams rising to the top. The ‘Big 4’ of Papdale Flyers, Real Dounby, St Andrew’s Hurricanes and Stromness Predators were joined by a fantastic season-long performance by Hope Hotspurs, all these teams maintaining their top division status throughout the year. Other notable performances throughout the year were the younger teams of St Andrew’s Cyclones, who almost joined the top 5 and certainly caused a shock or two along the way, and Stromness Rebels, who moved up through the leagues and were unbeaten until playing in the top division.  

These 5 teams competed over the final two weeks for the honour of holding aloft the JDM Robertson Mount Cup. Heading into the final round, Predators held a slight advantage over Hurricanes, but with each team having beaten the other once anything could still happen. Papdale Flyers were just behind, ready to capitalise on any slips and Hope Hotspurs were able to provide a match for any of these sides. Unfortunately it was at this point that Dounby suffered their Covid outbreak, ending Real’s chances of overall victory but still making it back to play out the final week.

In the end it was Stromness Predators that held aloft the trophy, with Papdale Flyers pipping Hurricanes for second place after the St Andrew’s team struggled for numbers in the final week.

In the Shore Shield for peedie schools, Evie/Firth Raptors put up a very strong challenge to Hope Hotspurs, winning and drawing their first two games against their rivals. However, they couldn’t quite hold this form throughout the season and dropped away from their rivals. Orphir Torpedos also mounted a spirited challenge, making it up to the top divisions too, but Hope Hotspurs proved to be a class above the others and were deserved winners of this competition.

A big thank you has to be said to our generous sponsors, S&JD Robertson for their continued support of this competition, and to Pickaquoy staff for working together with OYDG to be able host this competition and bring together these youngsters again to take part in competitive sport. Also thank you to the players and especially the coaches and parents for supporting our efforts. Finally, thanks to the OYDG volunteers, for all their efforts behind the scenes in putting this on and in being there for 4 hours each week to allow this competition to run.

2019/20

S&JD Robertson Primary Indoor League

Saturday 14th December was the final night of indoor football before the festive break and it really brought excitement galore and leaves everything poised on a knife edge ready for the resumption on 11^th January.

In the Dunkirk Cup St Andrews Dynamos continued their great form and, despite a draw in the first game with Hope Terriers, secured top spot and a place in the playoffs for this competition with 3 wins.

The second spot was much closer, with 5 teams, Hope Terriers, Shapinsay, Orphir Torpedos, Glaitness Spurs and Papdale Mighty Marvels, all within a win of gaining the place. Shapinsay slipped away with a couple of losses but showed resilience in still gaining points in their final 2 games. Terriers had a good night and were pushing following a great win over Glaitness Spurs. Spurs kept themselves in the running with a tight 1-0 victory over Orphir Torpedos, who had won all 3 games up to that point. However, in the deciding game it was Papdale Mighty Marvels that secured the place by being the only team to beat Terriers so far. The remaining 4 teams will be sure to be competing with Papdale Kings and Inter Dounby when they join them in this competition next month.

In the Mount Cup it could not be tighter at the top. Following 3 wins each on the night for Stromness Predators and Papdale Flyers there is a three-way-tie at the top. Predators managed to secure a hard fought 3-1 win over Real Dounby in their performance of the night. However, in the final match of the evening, Flyers managed the narrowest of victories over St Andrews Hurricanes 2-1 meaning the Predators and Flyers join Hurricanes on top with no way to split the teams!

Real Dounby now find themselves a couple of wins behind these top teams but with all teams playing each other again, and so little between each of these teams, they will not be counting themselves out of the race just yet! Also on the winning trail were Galitness United, St Andrews Cyclones and Papdale Dales, all with 2 wins each on the night.

In the Shore Shield, Evie/Firth Raptors took an important win over Hope Hotspurs. However, they failed to capitalise on this with Papdale Dales beating them in a tight match, and Hope winning their remaining 2 games to also keep this competition tight for the second half of the season.

S&JD Robertson Primary Indoor League

The first two Saturday’s (26 Oct and 2 Nov) have seen some very exciting football in the preliminary rounds of the Primary Indoor League. Teams have been playing in 3 groups for the right to compete for the Mount and Dunkirk Cups during the league season.

Heading the way for the Mount Cup are Papdale Flyers, St Andrews Hurricanes and Real Dounby all with 100% win records. Papdale Flyers recorded a good win over rivals Stromness Predators who finished second in their group, with Papdale Dales and St Andrews Cyclones both finishing ahead of older school teams to also make the Mount Cup. Glaitness United, Papdale Kings, Inter Dounby and Evie & Firth Raptors also made the cut but the most excitement came in the final games in the Blue group. St Andrews Dynamos, Hope Hotspurs and the P5 team of Stromness Strikers all had a chance to make the top league going in to the last game. A 3 team playoff was one possible outcome if Dynamos could overcome Hotspurs but, in a very tight game, the Hope team scored a couple of good goals on the break to make it.

St Andrews Dynamos will now focus on reaching the playoffs for the Dunkirk Cup, facing the other 11 teams including, and welcoming for the first time in recent years, Shapinsay. Although they unfortunately could not make it in for the second week of fixtures due to the weather they look like being a strong addition to the league.

With the preliminary rounds now complete, this Saturday (16 Nov) sees the first matches towards the Mount Cup, Dunkirk Cup and Shore Shield. Teams will line up from 4pm in the Dunkirk Cup group and from 6pm in the Mount Cup group. With Hope Hotspurs and Evie/Firth Raptors both qualifying for the Mount Cup group these two teams will be looking to renew old rivalries in their competition to be the best Peedie School and gain the Shore Shield.

Fixtures are as follows:

2018/19

St Andrews Hurricanes - winners of the Mount Cup

Glaitness Utd, winners of the Dunkirk Cup

Evie/Firth Raptors - winners of the Shore Shield

St Andrews Hurricanes - winners of TSB Trophy

Glaitness Spurs, winners of the Reid Crescent Shield

East A, winners of SR Paterson Shield

East B, Winners of S R Paterson Shield

East Girls