Stuart Cup destiny in the balance after day one of JIC

The race for the Stuart Cup is delicately poised after day one of the 2023 Junior Inter-County.

An opening win for Orkney in the athletics was cancelled out by back-to-back Shetland victories on the hockey and football pitches.

Orkney triumphed in the athletics by 54 points to 42.5, before attention turned to the hockey pitch in Brae.

However, Shetland took victory there, winning 2-0 to leave the overall score at 54 points to 52.5 in Orkney’s favour.

The last event of the day was the football and Orkney got off to the perfect start with Connor Harcus’ looping effort sparked bedlam in the Orkney support.

Shetland hit back though and led 3-1 before Max Linklater restored hope. This proved to be short-lived as Shetland scored a fourth to secure a 4-2 win.

This leaves Shetland in the driving seat, leading 72.5 to 64 ahead of the second and final day of competition on Sunday.

Swimming starts at 9.45am before netball rounds the 2023 edition off, starting from 12.45pm.