SSE employee captains shinty team to Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final victory

Scottish Hydro, part of SSE, is proud to support the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup competition, but it was an especially proud day for one of our employees who captained the winning side in the final.

The 107^th Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final took place in front of more than 5,000 supporters, one of the best attended in recent history, at Bught Park, Inverness. The fans were treated to 90 minutes of attacking shinty and it was Kingussie who converted their chances against Glenurquhart to take the trophy home with a 4-0 victory.

James Maclean, a marketing employee with sponsors Scottish Hydro, shone the last time Kingussie won the Camanachd Cup in 2006 however, since then, the club has lost three finals, with James playing in two closely fought matches.

“The fondest memory I have of that day against Fort William was simply seeing our captain John Gibson lift the trophy so to lift the trophy as captain myself was a fantastic feeling.

“I’ve played two finals since then and we’ve literally been pipped at the post on both occasions, once in extra time against Newtonmore and once in the last minute against Fort William.

However with two goals each by Kingussie’s Savio Genini and Ronald Ross at the weekend, James’ fear that he would not lift the trophy again quickly vanished.

“I can’t thank my teammates enough for their hard work throughout the season, it was a real team effort to bring that trophy home,” James continued. “It was such an honour to be the captain but the fact that I was a winning captain made it all the sweeter.”

Scottish Hydro understands the key role sport plays in the communities and is very proud to be a part of it. We are keen supporters of grassroots sport, be that shinty (with the likes of the Scottish Hydro Development Camp), football or golf and through our sister brand SWALEC in Wales, rugby and cricket too.