The Shinty Preview – Saturday 5 May 2012 | |
04 May 2012 The first round ties from the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup bring together the non-Orion Group Premiership sides on Saturday 5 May 2012.
Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup – First Round Glasgow Mid Argyll v Oban Camanachd The first tie of the opening round of the 2012 Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup is the 12 noon meeting between Glasgow Mid Argyll and Oban Camanachd at Yoker. Mark Bain and Craig Anderson will provide the main goal threat for the home side whilst Aidan MacIntyre and Matt Rippon have been amongst the goals for the visitors. The first round ties see the sides from outwith shinty’s top flight looking to win a place with the big boys in the second round. Lochaber v Lochcarron With only two months of the new season gone, it is remarkable that Lochaber and Lochcarron meet this weekend for the fourth time this term. Lochcarron are the only side to have taken a point from the Spean Bridge men in the league when the sides drew 1-1 at Battery Park on the opening day of the shinty season. Lochaber have won their two other meetings and they will start favourites in this Spean Bridge tie. Lochaber have been boosted by Scott Patterson’s return a fortnight ago and he scored in the win over Caberfeidh last week. Ross Matheson is suspended for the visitors but defender Daniel MacRae is nearing a return from injury and Ben Dalgety could also be back. Skye Camanachd v Caberfeidh Encounters between Skye Camanachd and Caberfeidh are always close affairs and their tie at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree should be no different. The islanders’ boss Willie MacRae has injury doubts over defenders Neil MacVicar and Jamie MacDonald. Neither Iain Nicolson nor Shaun Hedley are available. Skye will also have to keep a close eye on Cabers forward Kevin Bartlett who scored twice against Lochaber last weekend. Oban Celtic v Beauly Beauly travel south to play Oban Celtic in Oban. Both sides have had some indifferent results of late. However Oban Celtic are currently bottom of Marine Harvest South Division 1 whilst Beauly are in second place in Marine Harvest North Division 1 so the visitors should be favourites. David Neilson could return for Beauly. Oban Celtic’s keeper Jack Hill is suspended following his red card against Kilmory last weekend. Kilmory v Taynuilt Marine Harvest South Division 1 side Kilmory have home advantage against Tayforth who play in the league below. Kilmory will be without suspended hit-man Hal Jones. Strathglass v Aberdour Strathglass and Aberdour renew rivalries at Cannich. The sides were drawn to meet at Cannich in the same stage of the competition last season. However an unplayable pitch meant that the tie was switched to Fife a fortnight later when a Darren Reid hat-trick helped Strathglass to a 5-0 victory. Colin Chapman is a doubt for Strathglass as he has a hamstring problem.
Strathdearn Cup – First Round Glengarry v Caberfeidh Glengarry and Caberfeidh meet at Craigard to try and win the final place in the Strathdearn Cup second round. The home side sits second in Marine Harvest North Division 2 and they will start as favourites against their lower league opponents.
Orion Group Premiership Newtonmore v Fort William The match of the day in the Orion Group Premiership should be the meeting between leaders Newtonmore and Fort William at the Eilan. Newtonmore are without Glen MacKintosh who serves a two match ban for his red card against Fort William a fortnight ago. Gary Innes misses out for the visitors as he is in Shetland playing with his band Manran. Alex Duncan starts a two match ban for the Fort. Kilmallie v Kinlochshiel Kilmallie go in search of their first win of the season when they welcome second place Kinlochshiel to the Canal Parks. Kilmallie’s Michael Rodger serves the second game of a two match ban but Peter Carmichael is available again after serving his one match ban. Kinlochshiel have John Don MacKenzie back from a two game suspension and captain Gordie MacDonald made a scoring return from injury in the win over Bute last week. However Finlay MacRae is still a doubt with a hamstring problem and he only has an outside chance of making it. ‘Shiel’s Calum MacLean suffered a suspected broken nose against Lovat last week. Kyles Athletic v Lovat The meeting of fourth place Kyles Athletic and third place Lovat at Strachur should be another cracking game. Andrew King returns after a two match ban for Kyles Athletic to bolster their defence. Lorne MacKay serves the second game of a two match suspension for Lovat but Callum Cruden is available ahead of a one game ban next week. The visitors include teenager Graeme MacMillan in their squad. Inveraray v Bute There is a local derby at the Winterton where Inveraray welcome Bute. Bute are boosted by the return from suspension of both keeper Kevin Queen, James Craig and David Whitelaw. Throw up is at 3pm. Glenurquhart v Kingussie Glenurquhart and Kingussie meet at Blairbeg. Liam Girvan has a chance of making it for the Glen after injury but David Girvan and Paul MacKintosh remain longer term absentees. Fraser Heath made a substitute appearance for Glenurquhart last week after he suffered a hand injury earlier in the season. Kingussie have Louis Munro available again after he served a one match ban and Paul Gow and Greg Dawson should also be back. Ronald Ross will also play.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Strachur v Glenorchy Second bottom Strachur welcome third place Glenorchy to their excellent new pitch and clubhouse facilities. Glenorchy won 2-0 when the sides met in March. Throw up is at the earlier time of 1pm.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Fort William v Newtonmore With second place Glengarry in cup action, leaders Newtonmore have the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table when they visit the Black Parks to play Fort William. The Fort’s Jack Fraser picked up a leg injury last weekend. Newtonmore’s squad will be put to the test as both Brett Munro and David Campbell are suspended whilst midfielder Neil Stewart has a dislocated knee. Kinlochshiel v Skye Camanachd Third place Skye Camanachd have a local derby against Kinlochshiel at Kirkton. ‘Shiel’s player availability will be influenced by how many players recover from injury for their first team squad. Skye defender Ally “Spod” MacLeod is nearing a return from a hand injury for the Islanders. Kingussie v Glenurquhart The Dell is the venue for the game between Kingussie and Glenurquhart. Both sides have shown good form of late. Greg MacRae remains out for Kingussie with a broken foot. Lovat v Aberdeen University Lovat play Aberdeen University at Balgate. The Students are fifth in the table whilst Lovat are eighth but the sides are only separated by a single point. Indeed only four points separate second top and second bottom in the league.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Lochside Rovers v Col Glen League leaders Lochside Rovers host third place Col Glen. The home side will be without the suspended Ross MacMillan and Connor Howe. Inveraray v Ballachulish Inveraray play host to Ballachulish. The visitors have a one point advantage over their rivals in the league and they have a couple of games in hand so this match is a chance for them to extend their advantage. Alex Whittaker is suspended for Ballachulish. Throw up is at 12 noon. Bute v Kyles Athletic The Bute and Kyles Athletic second teams have a derby clash at the Meadows. The sides are only separated by two points in the league in Kyles Athletic’s favour. Glasgow Mid Argyll v Tayforth Second bottom Glasgow Mid Argyll and second top Tayforth meet at Yoker. Throw up is at 3pm. Ardnamurchan v Aberdour Ardnamurchan have home advantage against Aberdour. The sides occupy two of the bottom three positions in the league and both will see the game as a realistic opportunity to pick up some points.
Marine Harvest North Division 3 Beauly v Kilmallie League leaders Beauly are at home to fourth place Kilmallie who were relegated from Marine Harvest North Division 2 last season. Boleskine v Lewis Camanachd Boleskine trail leaders Beauly by just a point and they take on Lewis Camanachd at Farr. Throw up is at 1pm. Lochbroom v Strathspey Camanachd Third place Lochbroom meet new-boys Strathspey Camanachd in Ullapool. Inverness v Strathglass There is a noon Bught Park meeting between Inverness and Strathglass. The sides are tied in third and second bottom place in the table, each with three points, so both clubs will see this match as an opportunity to climb the table. |