Shetland football team
The Shetland football team represents the islands of Shetland, Scotland, in association football. It is not a member of FIFA or UEFA and is therefore not eligible to enter the World Cup or the European Championships. The team regularly competes in the Island Games, which it won in 2005, and has a strong rivalry with the representative team of Orkney.[1][2][3] This representative team should not be confused with Shetland FC, which was formed as a separate entity to compete during the mainland's winter season cup competitions - despite being separate entities, the teams share management staff and squad of players.[4]
| Nickname(s) | The Shelties, The Blues |
|---|---|
| Association | Shetland Football Association |
| Head coach | Neil Fenwick |
| Captain | Erik Peterson |
| Home stadium | Gilbertson Park, Lerwick, Shetland |
| First international | |
| Orkney 2–3 Shetland (Kirkwall, Orkney; 7 May 1919) | |
| Biggest win | |
| Orkney 0–8 Shetland (Kirkwall, Orkney; 30 July 2022) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| Orkney 7–1 Shetland (Kirkwall, Orkney; 30 June 1972) | |
Venues
Shetland normally play their home matches at Gilbertson Park (capacity unknown, highest attendance approximately 5,000, sometimes referred to as "the Gibbie") in Lerwick. Some matches, particularly friendlies, are occasionally played elsewhere, often at Seafield (Lerwick) or Harbison Park (Whalsay). They sometimes go on tour to play pre-season friendlies against Highland League clubs in July.
Competitions
Beginning in 1929, Shetland played biennial matches against the Faroe Islands. These were initially played for the Adam Shield (donated by a Glasgow shipbuilding firm) and later for the North Atlantic Cup. The logistics of this required a 14-hour trip by boat trip and a week-long stay for the visiting team. The last such friendly was played in 1990, the same year that the Faroes joined UEFA.[5]
Shetland are neither a national team nor do they participate in league competitions, so they do not have many regular games.
However, more recently, they have entered some of the cup competitions organized by the North Caledonian Football Association.
The latest most noticeable event to take place in Shetland was the 2005 Island Games: many of the group matches were played on pitches all around Shetland, and the final was at Gilbertson Park.
2005 Island Games
Match: Final
Shetland Islands 2 (0) V 0 (0) Guernsey
Time: 16:00 Date: Friday 15 July 2005 Venue: Gilbertson Park
Group 1 matches
| Pos. | Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | For | Against | Diff. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Shetland Islands | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 10 |
| 2nd | Isle of Man | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 7 |
| 3rd | Saaremaa | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 4th | Åland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 | –3 | 3 |
| 5th | Falkland Islands | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | –13 | 3 |
Current squad
This is the squad that competed at the 2020 Milne Cup held in Orkney.[6]
Goalkeepers
Erik Peterson (C) (Ness Utd), Adrian Morrison (Whitedale)
Defenders
Andrew Flett (Spurs), Joel Bradley (Celtic), Tomas Smith (Ness Utd), Stuart Copland (Ness Utd), James Farmer (Ness Utd).
Midfielders
Sam Ward (Spurs), Calvin Leask (Thistle), Ronan Grant (Spurs), James Aitken (Celtic), Jack Clubb (Celtic), John Allen (Scalloway), Lewis Harkness (Spurs).
Forwards
Greg Tulloch (Whitedale), Paul Molloy (Spurs).
Notable players
- Duncan Bray - inducted in University of Southern Indiana Athletic Hall of Fame [7]
Tournament records
Island Games record
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Final round | 5th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 1991 | 5th place match | 5th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 |
| 1993 | 7th place match | 7th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1997 | 5th place match | 5th | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 1999 | 9th place match | 10th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 |
| 2001 | 7th place match | 8th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| 2003 | 7th place match | 7th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 8 |
| 2005 | Final | 1st | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 2009 | 13th place match | 13th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 2015 | 3rd place match | 4th | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 |
| 2017 | 9th place match | 10th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 12 |
| Total | Best: Champions | 11/15 | 48 | 18 | 7 | 23 | 79 | 93 |
N.B. Football was not played at the 2019 games due to lack of pitches in Gibraltar. A replacement tournament was held in Anglesey where the side came 4th.
North Atlantic Cup[8]
Note: 2 points for a win era.
| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–1973 | 2nd | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 7 |
Milne Cup[9]
Including Kirkwall vs. Lerwick
- 61 Milne Cup wins
Mitchell and Sutherland Shields[10]
Mitchell Shield
- 9 Mitchell shields wins
Sutherland Shield
- 2 Sutherland Shield wins
Selected International opponents
- Last update: 26 July 2009
| Opponents | Matches | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Åland | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 25.00 |
| Falkland Islands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 100.00 |
| Faroe Islands | 24 | 6 | 2 | 16 | 37 | 66 | −29 | 25.00 |
| Frøya | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 100.00 |
| Gibraltar | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 75.00 |
| Greenland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 33.33 |
| Guernsey | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 66.67 |
| Hitra | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 100.00 |
| Isle of Man | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 25.00 |
| Isle of Wight | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0.00 |
| Jersey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | −7 | 0.00 |
| Menorca | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | +0 | 0.00 |
| Orkney | 86 | 50 | 4 | 32 | 207 | 156 | +51 | 58.14 |
| Saare County | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 66.67 |
| Western Isles | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0.00 |
| Ynys Môn | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0.00 |
Honours
- Island Games:
- Champions: 2005
- North Caledonian F.A.
- Jock Mackay Cup:
- Winners: 2014–15
- Jock Mackay Cup:
References
- ^ "Shetland Shock to End: The 2005 Island Games ended with the biggest shock in island games football history". BBC Sport. 16 July 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ "Football and hockey teams get ready to entertain Orkney rivals". The Shetland Times. 29 July 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
- ^ Shields, Tom (22 July 2007). "Island Fling: Tom Shields investigates the very special rivalry between Orkney and Shetland". The Sunday Herald. Glasgow: Scottish Media Group.
- ^ "Shetland Squad : Shetland Football". www.shetlandfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ When Shetland met Faroe and the real romance of the cup
- ^ "Shetland Squad : Shetland Football". www.shetlandfootball.co.uk. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Bray in US university hall of fame". shetlandtimes.co.uk.
- ^ "North Atlantic Cup 1968-1973". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Milne Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Mitchell and Sutherland Shields". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
External links
- Shetlopedia entry on Shetland team
- Official Shetland FA Page