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Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final ………….. 2 Days To Go! | |
12 September 2013 The Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final between Kyles Athletic and Newtonmore takes place at An Aird on Saturday 14 September 2013. The Camanachd Cup was traditionally contested on a North / South basis, with the winners from the North section facing the winners from the South in the final, until 1983 when the draw was made open. Kyles Athletic and Newtonmore regularly faced eachother in the final prior to the introduction of the open draw and contested every final between 1975 and 1980. However, remarkably given both teams’ Camanachd Cup tradition, they have not met in the final since.
Saturday 29 May 1976 Camanachd Cup Final Kyles Athletic 4 Newtonmore 2 Kyles Athletic’s young team came of age a year later as they gained revenge for the previous year’s replay defeat to Newtonmore with a 4-2 win in the 69th Camanachd Cup Final and this 3pm throw up will live long in the memory of the 6,000 plus crowd which packed the Bught Park, Inverness. North Division 1 champions Newtonmore had beaten Kingussie 5-1 to win the MacTavish Cup for a record seventh successive season. George Fraser (twice), Brian Stewart, John Fraser and Ken MacKintosh all counted for Newtonmore whilst George MacPherson replied for Kingussie. They were also Macaulay Cup holders and were out to complete shinty’s Grand Slam. South Division 1 champions Kyles Athletic also had the Glasgow Celtic Society Cup in their trophy cabinet. Both sides made changes to their final line-ups from the previous year. Kyles called 17 year old Iain MacBride into the side in what was his first final with Duncan McNeil, who had lost his place in the side three months earlier following a hand injury, dropping onto the bench. There was also a place for 36 year old Tom Nicolson who already had six winners medals, and an Albert Smith medal for man of the match in the 1974 final, to his name. Newtonmore started 17 year old Angus MacRae, a substitute twelve months earlier, at wing centre, in place of their captain Ian Bain, who had been struggling with injury and dropped onto the bench. There was also a starting place for another of the previous year’s substitutes; 17 year old Ken MacKintosh. The second half of the final was featured live on BBC Scotland’s Sportsound programme whilst there were edited highlights from the final on BBC1 on the following Tuesday at 11.20pm. Kyles Athletic had beaten Edinburgh University 6-0, Inveraray 3-1, Strachur 4-0 and Glasgow Mid Argyll 4-2 to reach the final whilst Newtonmore saw off Beauly 3-0, Lovat 9-1, Kilmallie 5-0 and Glenurquhart 7-3 I the semi finals. Former Scotland captain Tom Nicolson was causing the Newtonmore defence all sorts of problems in the early stages and he split the ‘More defence with one pas which allowed Chic Turner to nip in and guide the ball past Hugh Chisholm for the opening goal. Kyles kept the pressure on the Newtonmore defence and keeper Hugh Chisholm and over-worked full back David Cheyne kept their side in the game. Newtonmore slowly started to come more into the game and John Fraser twice tested Billy Paterson in the Kyles goal. The final became an end to end tussle and Hugh Chisholm was called into action to keep the youthful Kyles attack at bay whilst Tom Nicolson took an Iain MacBride corner in mid-air but his effort went just the wrong side of the post. Kyles made the best possible start to the second half and they doubled their advantage on 47 minutes when Chic Turner sent a glorious 20 drive from a tight angle on the left into the ‘More net to make it 2-0. Newtonmore were not going to surrender their title easily though and they responded in the beat way possible as two stunning 20 yard strikes from George Fraser on 58 and 62 minutes squared the game at 2-2. It was time for Kyles to show what they were made of and they stated their intent just a couple of minutes later when Russell Thorburn fired them back into the lead. It was time for Kyles to hold their nerve and Chic Jamieson at the back, Kerr Crawford in midfield and the menacing Tom Nicolson in attack, provided the experience to lead the younger guns through the closing stages. Kyles found Hugh Chisholm to be in tremendous form but the legendary Newtonmore keeper could do nothing to prevent Tom Nicolson getting the goal he deserved on 84 minutes to make it 4-2. Both teams made late changes with Sandy Weir coming on for Iain MacBride with the youngster suffering from cramp. John MacBean replaced Ken MacKintosh for Newtonmore. Newtonmore fought hard in the closing stages but this was to be Kyles’ day. Referee Ian MacInnes’ final whistle brought this enthralling contest to an end and it was another final fit for shinty’s premier event. Kyles Neil Blair was given the honour of receiving the Albert Smith medal as man of the match for a quite brilliant display. Many will recall Angus MacLeod’s comment in the Scotsman at the time when he said, “Neil Blair made Rangers and Scotland footballer Tom Forsyth (famous for his tough tackling) look like a childminder!” The final was expertly refereed by former Oban Celtic player Ian MacInnes Kyles Athletic captain George Nicolson was presented with the Camanachd Cup, and silver mounted caman (donated by John MacPherson & Sons, Inverness), by Camanachd Association Chieftain Mr W P Cameron. Kyles Athletic from: Billy Paterson, Chic Jamieson, George Nicolson (captain), Neil Blair, Scott Turner, Ian MacBride, Kerr Crawford, Peter Turner, Chic Turner, Tom Nicolson, Robert Baxter, Russell Thorburn, subs Duncan MacNeil, David MacCallum, Sandy Weir, Ronnie Irvine, Alan Cook Newtonmore from: Hugh Chisholm, David Cheyne, Donnie MacGregor, Sandy Ralph, John MacKenzie, Angus MacRae, Ken Smith, David Ritchie, John Fraser, George Fraser, Ken MacKintosh, Brian Stewart, subs Ian Bain (captain), John MacBean Match Referee – Ian MacInnes, Oban Goal Judges – Joe O’Donnell, Oban & Ian MacIntyre, Oban Linesmen – Murdo MacLean, Louis Stewart, Davie MacMillan, Bert Van Beelan
Footnote Kyles Athletic and Newtonmore were also to contest the next four Camanachd Cup Finals and Newtonmore would go on to win them all. Newtonmore were 5-3 winners in Glasgow in 1977. They followed that up with a 3-2 triumph in Kingussie a year later. Another narrow victory, 4-3 in Oban in 1979 followed and the sequence ended when Newtonmore recorded a 6-5 victory following a thrilling final in Kingussie in 1980.
Event Details The 2013 Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup Final is a much anticipated clash and expectations have been raised higher following the sides’ meeting in the recent Artemis Macaulay Cup Final which Kyles Athletic won 4-3. Throw up is at 2.15pm and the whole match will be broadcast live on BBC 2 Scotland. Innes Wood is the match referee and he will be assisted by goal judges George MacKay and Willie Cameron. Ted MacDonald will be the fourth official whilst Archie Ritchie, Alex MacVicar Calum Girvan and John MacGregor will be the linesmen. As well as the main match there are also two national U14 shinty finals taking place earlier in the day. Skye Camanachd and Oban Camanachd contest the prestigious MacMaster Cup Final whilst Lochcarron and Milngavie & Bearsden meet in the Development Trophy Final. Other features include live music performances, trade stalls including the Shinty Shop, a range of local food and drink to enjoy and the Big Screen will be pitchside should you miss any of the action. Tickets are now on sale: both online and by telephone via Ticketmaster. They are priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and under 12s go free if accompanied by an adult. There are also a number of offers available: if you purchase your ticket in advance from Ticketmaster, either online or over the phone, you will receive a free match programme on the day. To buy your ticket visit Ticketmaster or call 0844 844 0444. Additionally, if you attend the BLAS Festival Show "CURAIDHEAN NA CAMANACHD - Shinty's Heroes" which takes place in the Nevis Centre, Fort William on Friday 13 September 2013, you will receive a 20% discount on your Cup Final ticket. Camanachd Association members also receive 20% discount on their tickets if they produce their membership card although both 20% offers cannot be claimed on the same ticket. |