2015 SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Finalists Kyles Athletic and Lovat can both point to omens in their favour ahead of their meeting at Mossfield on Saturday 19 September 2015.
Lovat – 1953 All Over Again
Lovat can reflect back to their last Scottish Final appearance in 1953 which was also against Kyles Athletic, ironically, also at Mossfield. A late equaliser gave Lovat a 2-2 draw and the won the replay 4-1 at Fort William. That legendary Lovat team, which included Willie Cowie, grandfather of current Skye Camanachd player Will Cowie, did a clean sweep of trophies that season, including the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup which they were allowed to enter. Lovat’s route to the final saw them receive a first round bye before they beat Inveroich (Fort Augustus & Glengarry) 7-1 and Caberfeidh 6-1 in the District Final. Newtonmore were defeated 4-0 in the last four of the tournament. Kyles Athletic’s passage had a strong Oban flavour about it. They beat Oban Camanachd 4-3 in the first round and followed that up but edging out Oban Celtic 1-0. A 3-2 District Final success over Oban Lorne Athletic followed before beating Glasgow Mid Argyll 3-0 in the semi-finals.
Kyles Athletic – The Skye Camanachd Factor
Kyles Athletic will hope that the Skye Camanachd factor will work to their advantage on the big day. When Kyles beat Skye in the 2012 SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup quarter-finals at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree, their stalwart Kenny MacDonald mentioned in an after-match interview with Cuillin FM’s Camanachd Live Show that the Tighnabruaich side always do well in the competition when they have defeated Skye in an earlier round. Kenny MacDonald made his debut in the Kyles first team goal in 1983 and the side lifted the famous trophy that year, beating Skye in the semi-finals and Strachur 3-2 in the final. They also beat Skye on the way to lifting the trophy in 1994 when they beat Fort William 3-1 in the final. The only blip came in 2000 when Kyles again defeated Skye but lost to 3-1 Kingussie in the final. MacDonald’s comments in Portree came to fruition when Kyles went on to lift the trophy in 2012, beating Inveraray 6-5 in the final. Kyles beat Skye at Tighnabruaich in the quarter-finals of this year’s competition and Kenny MacDonald is now part of their first team backroom team along with Dan MacRae and Barney Crawford and they support coach James Perlich and manager Norman MacDonald. We’ll soon know whether the lucky omen will work again this year.
Event Details
The 2015 SSE Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final between Kyles Athletic and Lovat takes place at Mossfield. Throw up is at 2.15pm. Deek Cameron will be the match referee and he will be assisted by goal judges Robert Baxter and John MacGregor. Lachie Wood is the fourth official and reserve referee. The four linesmen are Jon Gallagher, Willie MacDonald, Alex MacVicar and John Wood. The whole match will be broadcast LIVE on BBC 2 Scotland.
Earlier in the day, Skye Camanachd U14 and Fort William U14 will contest the MacMaster Cup Final on the Mossfield pitch. Throw up is at 11.15am. Alex MacVicar is the match referee and he will be assisted by goal judges John MacGregor and Alan Harrison.
The 2015 Scottish Hydro Development Trophy Final between Glasgow Kelvin and Aberdour takes place on the Rugby Ground (directly behind Mossfield Park). Throw up is at 11.30am and referee John Wood will be assisted by goal judges Willie MacDonald and Dunkie Kerr.
Gates open at 10.30am and admission £10 / £5 concessions and under 12s go free if accompanied by a paying adult.
The Shinty Memories Quiz, ‘A Question of Shinty’, which was to be held at the Argyllshire Gathering Halls, Oban on Friday 18 September 2015, has unfortunately had to be cancelled.