The Shinty Preview – Saturday 16 March 2013 | |
15 March 2013 There are some interesting fixtures on Saturday 16 March 2013.
Orion Group Premiership Oban Camanachd v Kingussie Early league leaders Kingussie head for Mossfield to play Oban Camanachd. Gareth Evans should return for Oban Camanachd but Garry Lord is an injury doubt after picking up a knock is last week’s thrilling match with Inveraray. The Kings have won their opening two games but they will be without Louis Munro who serves a one match ban for a points accumulation.
Newtonmore v Lochaber Lochaber return to Badenoch for the second successive Saturday as they head for the Eilan to play Newtonmore. Glen MacKintosh should return for Paul John MacKintosh’s side but Steven MacDonald is working and so will miss out. Rory Kennedy required a trip to the dentist after the draw with Lovat but he will be given every chance to prove his fitness. Lochaber boss Michael Delaney hopes to have Lachlan Campbell and Hugh Innes back in his squad after they missed last week’s defeat at Kingussie.
Kyles Athletic v Fort William Kyles Athletic play Fort William at Tighnabruaich. Roddy MacDonald picked up a facial injury in last week’s win over Glenurquhart but he should play. The Fort included Calum Shepherd in the side which drew with Kinlochshiel last week. The 15 year old is the nephew of boss Victor Smith and he captained the North U14 side in their win over the South U14 last year.
Inveraray v Lovat Inveraray meet Lovat at the Winterton. Inveraray have two wins from both their opening fixtures whilst Lovat have two draws. Inveraray have added Kilmallie forward Peter McIntyre to their squad. Lovat will be without long-term injury victim Jamie Matheson with Calum Macaulay likely to continue to deputise. Both Callum Cruden and Lorne MacKay both serve one match bans for Lovat. However Daniel Grieve should return after missing last week’s 2-2 draw with Newtonmore.
Kinlochshiel v Glenurquhart Glenurquhart head west to play Kinlochshiel at Kirkton. ‘Shiel picked up their first point of the season last week when a Finlay MacRae double earned Johnston Gill’s side a 2-2 draw with Fort William. The Glen have had a tough start to the season with defeats against last year’s top two; Newtonmore and Kyles Athletic. Fraser Heath suffered a cut head in that game but co-managers Fraser MacKenzie and Drew McNeil hope to have him available.
Marine Harvest North Division 1 Kilmallie v Skye Camanachd First place Kilmallie welcome second place Skye Camanachd to the Canal Parks. Kilmallie manager Duncan Kelly is on holiday but his team, who have won both their opening games, welcomed Liam MacDonald back after injury last week when he made a substitute appearance against Caberfeidh. Skye Camanachd slipped up at Strathglass last week, when it took a late Neil MacVicar goal to earn them a share of the points. Gilleasbuig MacDonald should return after missing that game but work commitments rule out Iain Nicolson and Shaun Hedley.
Caberfeidh v Beauly Caberfeidh meet Beauly at Castle Leod. Both sides have had a win and a defeat in their opening two games. Work commitments rule out Caberfeidh’s Gavin MacDonald.
Inverness v Strathglass Inverness will hope to pick up their points of the season when they play Strathglass at the Bught Park. Donald Fraser and Mark MacLeod remain on the Strath injury list.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Strachur v Glasgow Mid Argyll Strachur play Glasgow Mid Argyll at Dalmally. GMA top the table and they will be favourites against a Strachur side which has lost their only game.
Glenorchy v Taynuilt There is a derby meeting at Mart Park between Glenorchy and Taynuilt. The visitors will be without player / manager Willie Gillies and his brother Neil Gillies as they will be at a family wedding..
Aberdour v Bute Aberdour will go into their match against Bute with confidence following last weekend’s draw with Kilmory but they will have to keep an eye on Bute’s Iain MacDonald who netted twice in hi forward role last week.
Kilmory v Oban Celtic Kilmory host Oban Celtic. Kilmory were still without Bruce Johnston is serving a three match ban.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Skye Camanachd v Newtonmore Skye Camanachd will have their work cut-out as free-scoring Newtonmore visit Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. The Islanders will be able to call on Kenny Campbell who has returned home after a spell in Australia. Newtonmore have been giving several of their teenage forwards plenty of game time and Sam Richardson has caught the eye.
Beauly v Lovat There is a reserve derby at Braeview Park where Beauly host Lovat. Former Uist Camanachd player Ewen Campbell will feature for Beauly. Lovat boss Graeme MacMillan was without several of his regulars last weekend and his squad will be affected by call-ups to cover a couple of first team suspensions.
Glenurquhart v Kinlochshiel There should be a close encounter between Glenurquhart and Kinlochshiel at Blairbeg. Stuart Reid has featured for the Glens’ seconds this year and he bolsters their defence although they have been minus the injured Drew MacLennan. ‘Shiel had to settle for a point against Fort William last weekend despite having most of the play.
Fort William v Glengarry There is an An Aird meeting between Fort William and Glengarry. The visitors are one of seven teams in the league who have two points from their opening two fixtures. A very young Fort side battled to secure their first point against Kinlochshiel last week.
Kingussie v Aberdeen University Kingussie play Aberdeen University at the Dell. Ally MacLeod misses out for the Kings with a knee injury but Michael Clark and John Gibson return. Forward Jamie Beaton has a broken wrist so is not available for the Students.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Glasgow Mid Argyll v Ballachulish Bottom of the table Glasgow Mid Argyll are at home to league leaders Ballachulish. The visitors will start as clear favourites.
Bute v Kyles Athletic There is a derby match at the Meadows where the Bute and Kyles Athletic reserve sides meet. Bute are still looking for their first point whilst Kyles have won their only league game so far.
Tayforth v Aberdour Aberdour collected their first points of the season last weekend with a win over Glasgow Mid Argyll. They travel to Musselburgh to play Tayforth who are looking for their first point.
Col Glen v Inveraray Col Glen have home advantage against Inveraray. Both sides have picked up to points from their opening two games.
Marine Harvest North Division 3 Lochbroom v Lochaber League leaders Lochbroom play third place Lochaber in Ullapool. Ryan Toal will return to second team action for Lochaber. Both sides have won their opening two games and they are only separated on goal difference.
Lochcarron v Lewis Camanachd Lochcarron host Islanders Lewis Camanachd at Battery Park. Lochcarron had always maintained that they would have a youthful side this year which is why they opted to drop to one league in Division 3. They have still to gain their first league point and they will want to make a better start against Lewis than they did against Kilmallie last week when they were 4-0 down after the first 30 minutes before eventually going down 4-0. Throw up is at 1pm.
Boleskine v Caberfeidh Boleskine and Caberfeidh clash at Farr. Both sides are mid-table having each taken two points from their opening two games.
Strathglass v Kilmallie Strathglass play Kilmallie at Cannich. Kilmallie have benefited from Peter McIntyre’s goals this season but the south based forward has signed for Inveraray this week. Youngster Frankie Innes remains sidelined for the visitors.
Strathspey Camanachd v Inverness Both Strathspey and Inverness will feel they can something from their meeting at Freuchie Park. |