The Shinty Preview – Saturday 9 March 2013 - UPDATED | |
08 March 2013 The second round of fixtures of the new shinty season take place on Saturday 9 March 2013.
Orion Group Premiership Lovat v Newtonmore Lovat welcome champions Newtonmore to Balgate. Lovat finished third in shinty’s top division last season and beat Newtonmore home and away in the process. Jamie Matheson will be missing for Lovat after picking up a freak knee injury early in the draw with Lochaber last weekend which is likely to keep him out for a large part of the season. This is a blow to Allan MacRae’s plans and to the player himself who had won back a place in attack alongside his brother Greg Matheson. Newtonmore manager Paul John MacKintosh will be without Drew MacDonald who has a hand injury whilst Glen MacKintosh will also be missing. Newtonmore were wasteful in front of goal against Glenurquhart last weekend and will face a well-drilled Lovat defence this weekend. Throw up is at 1.30pm
Glenurquhart v Kyles Athletic Glenurquhart could hardly have had a harder league start to the season. They opened last week at the Eilan against last year’s winners Newtonmore and now play Kyles Athletic, the team who finished in second place last term, at Blairbeg. Defender Ally MacKintosh should return for the Glen after missing last week’s defeat to ‘More through illness. New signing Roberto Zavaroni impressed when he made his Kyles’ debut as a substitute last weekend and both defender Andrew King and forward Grant Irvine are nearing a return after injury.
Kingussie v Lochaber Kingussie play Lochaber at the Dell. The King’s, with Craig Dawson in goal, won at Kinlochshiel last Saturday with Lochaber picking up a point in a goalless draw against Lovat. Louis Munro is available for Kingussie but misses out next week as he serves a one match ban for a points accumulation. Garry Munro is still an injury double for the Kings but co-managers Russell Jones and Davie Anderson will give him every chance to prove his fitness ahead of the game. Lochaber made a solid start to life back in shinty’s top division last weekend with defender Neil MacDonald outstanding for Michael Delaney’s side.
Fort William v Kinlochshiel Fort William meet Kinlochshiel at An Aird. This will be Kinlochshiel’s first visit to An Aird on Orion Group Premiership action, having faced the Fort at their temporary Blackpark home last season. Both sides lost their opening fixture last weekend so will be desperate to take something from this one. Fort William manager Victor Smith will be pleased to have Stevie Stewart back after he missed last week’s game at Inveraray through suspension. Scott Kennedy will continue to deputise for his brother Graham Kennedy in the ‘Shiel goal and visiting manager Johnston Gill will consider whether to call up new signing Davie Glass after the former Inverness player made his debut for the ‘Shiel reserves last weekend. Throw up is at 1.30pm.
Oban Camanachd v Inveraray Oban Camanachd and Inveraray meet at Mossfield. David MacInnes should be included in the Oban Camanachd squad after being unavailable for last week’s trip to Tighnabruaich. Inveraray’s interim co-managers Garry MacPherson and Graham MacPherson made a winning start against Fort William last weekend. The wide-open space afforded by the Mossfield pitch will suit Inveraray’s style of play so this could a cracker.
Marine Harvest North Division 1 Caberfeidh v Kilmallie Caberfeidh and Kilmallie clash at Castle Leod. Liam MacDonald is still out injured for Kilmallie whilst John Stewart is also a doubt. A much changed Caberfeidh side showed their mettle by beating Strathglass at Cannich last weekend.
Strathglass v Skye Camanachd Strathglass are at home for the second successive Saturday with Skye Camanachd the visitors to Cannich. Donald Fraser and Mark MacLeod remain on the Strath injury list whilst forward Robert Geddes has a hamstring problem. Skye are at full strength with defender Shockie MacLennan back after suspension and midfielder Shaun Hedley could make his first appearance of the season. Throw up is at 3pm.
Beauly v Inverness Beauly play Inverness at Braeview Park. Beauly went down to Kilmallie last week so will be keen to get back on track with a home win. The Capital side should have James Cameron back after he missed last weekend’s defeat to Skye through work commitments.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Glasgow Mid Argyll v Lochside Rovers Glasgow Mid Argyll and Lochside Rovers meet at Yoker. GMA failed to break down a stubborn Taynuilt side last weekend and had to settle for a share of the points so they will be out to secure their first league win of the season. Former Taynuilt player Ewan MacCorquodale misses out for the visitors following his red card last weekend.
Bute v Glenorchy With nine teams in Marine Harvest South Division 1, Bute were left idle last week so they make their first competitive appearance of the season against Glenorchy at the Meadows. This should be a good match between two of the contenders for a top three spot and promotion to the new national second tier in 2014. Bute are now managed by Graham Fisher who takes over from Barry Martin. Club stalwart Hector Whitelaw has retired from first team shinty and forward Roberto Zavaroni has joined Kyles Athletic. Fisher placed greater emphasis on attack during Bute’s pre-season programme with Scotland international Iain MacDonald featuring in the Islanders’ forward line. James Dunn is also available for this one. Glenorchy are early league leaders after doubles from James Livingstone and John Sartain helped them to a 5-1 win over Aberdour.
Taynuilt v Oban Celtic Taynuilt have home advantage again this week with Oban Celtic their opponents. A youthful Taynuilt side did well to earn a battling draw against Glasgow Mid Argyll last weekend. Taynuilt and Oban Celtic drew 1-1 at Taynuilt last season although Oban Celtic won their league meeting in Oban by the odd goal in seven.
Kilmory v Aberdour Aberdour are on the road again this week as they travel west to play Kilmory. Both sides suffered opening day defeats so this encounter presents a chance to get off the mark. Kilmory are still without Bruce Johnston who completes a three match ban.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Newtonmore v Lovat Both the Newtonmore and Lovat reserve sides recorded impressive opening day victories last weekend and they meet at the Eilan. Conor Jones is free of suspension for reigning champions ‘More after serving a one match ban in the 5-0 win over Glenurquhart last weekend. Lovat’s new manager Graeme MacMillan will take his side into the game with confidence following a 6-0 win over Skye although he will be bracing himself to see who first team manager Allan MacRae calls up to replace the injured Jamie Matheson. Throw up is at 1.30pm.
Skye Camanachd v Kingussie Skye Camanachd welcome Kingussie to Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. Stewart Grant remains an injury doubt for the home side but Allan MacLeod should return to bolster the defence. Kingussie’s Rory Borthwick scored twice and the Kings drew 3-3 with Kinlochshiel last week.
Aberdeen University v Beauly Aberdeen play Beauly in the Granite City. Beauly won Marine Harvest North Division 3 and the Strathdearn Cup last season and they made a fine start to life in the higher league, beating Fort William 2-1. The Students on the other hand lost at Glengarry but they are a stronger side on their own patch.
Glengarry v Glenurquhart Fixtures between Glengarry and Glenurquhart are usually entertaining and this weekend should be no different as the side meet at Craigard. Glengarry were 3-0 winners in the corresponding league fixture last season but Glenurquhart won 4-0 when the sides met at Blairbeg later in the year.
Kinlochshiel v Fort William There is a Kirkton meeting between Kinlochshiel and Fort William. ‘Shiel gave a starting slot to 15 year old Nathan Wear last week as they continue to introduce their younger players to the senior game. Fort William have had to contend with several players, including Jack Fraser, stepping up to the first team this season. Throw up is at 1.30pm.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Ballachulish v Col Glen Ballachulish look to be the side to beat in Marine Harvest North Division 2 and they take on Col Glen at Jubilee Park. Former Fort William player Michael Slezas has joined Craig Munro’s Ballachulish squad and he will feature in the game. However David Campbell, who rejoined the club after a spell with Ballachulish, is still on the injury list.
Aberdour v Glasgow Mid Argyll Aberdour and Glasgow Mid Argyll meet in Fife. These sides finished in the bottom two places of the league last season with Aberdour four points better off. They each won their home league encounter when they met last term.
Kyles Athletic W/O v Inveraray The derby clash between Kyles Athletic and Inveraray at Tighnabruaich has been postponed as the visitors have been unable to raise a team. The points have been awarded to Kyles Athletic.
Tayforth W/O v Bute Bute were unable to raise a team for their trip to Tayforth so the points went to the home side.
Marine Harvest North Division 3 Lochaber v Boleskine Lochaber and Boleskine do battle at Spean Bridge. Pat Toal scored twice for Lochaber as they won at Strathspey last week. The visitors have full back Donald Black free from suspension.
Lochbroom v Strathspey Lochbroom will look to follow up their impressive win over Lochcarron last weekend when they play Strathspey in Ullapool. Neil Fraser and Jamie MacFadyen seem to be forming a good partnership in the Lochbroom attack.
Kilmallie v Lochcarron There will be an interesting clash at the Canal Parks between Kilmallie and Lochcarron. Frankie Innes will be an injury absentee for the home side whilst Lochcarron look to bounce back from the opening day defeat to Lochbroom. Lochcarron will field a team of youngsters this season but they are able to call on the more experienced Ian MacKenzie, Andrew Slaughter and Peter MacKenzie.
Inverness v Caberfeidh Inverness play Caberfeidh at the Bught Park. Inverness recorded an 8-0 win over Strathglass last weekend but they had the benefit of five-goal James Cameron who was unable to travel to Skye with the first team because of work commitments. They are unlikely to have that luxury this weekend.
Strathglass v Lewis Camanachd There is a 12.30pm meeting between Strathglass and Lewis Camanachd at Cannich. The match finished goalless when the sides met at Cannich early last season and this could be another close affair. With ferry problems in the Western Isles, Lewis have concerns about getting all their players to the game on time. |