The Shinty Preview – Saturday 28 July 2012 | |
27 July 2012 The final Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup quarter-final tie between Newtonmore and Lochaber and the all-Badenoch Sutherland Cup Final are the pick of the shinty fixtures on Saturday 28 July 2012.
Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup Final Kingussie v Newtonmore The Aberdein Considine Sutherland Cup Final between Kingussie and Newtonmore takes place at the Dell. The final was to have been played at Beauly’s Braeview Park but there were difficulties placing TV camera’s behind the goals with the whole match shown LIVE on BBC Alba. Current holders Kingussie will be underdogs against a ‘More side which look to be running away with the Marine Harvest North Division 2 title. Both sides will field a mixture of youth and experience with Hamish Anderson, Rory MacKeachan and Savio Genini three of the Kings young guns whilst Mike Russell, Calum Stewart and Liam Mullender are three of Newtonmore’s bright sparks. Much will depend on how Kingussie handle reserve shinty’s top scorer Evan Menzies. Throw up is at 4.05pm and Graeme MacMillan is the match referee.
Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup – Quarter-Finals Newtonmore v Lochaber Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup holders Newtonmore meet Marine Harvest North Division 1 side Lochaber at the Eilan. Lochaber are the only side outside shinty’s top flight still in the competition. The sides met in the Co-operative MacTavish Cup Final where ‘More ran out 5-1 winners at the Bught Park. However Lochaber are a better team for that experience and it will be important for them to make a good start in this tie. Newtonmore captain John MacKenzie is free of suspension whilst Lochaber wing back Brian MacDonald misses out with a broken hand. A large crowd is expected and throw up is at noon.
Orion Group Premiership Inveraray v Lovat Title challengers Lovat will be put to the test when they travel to the Winterton to play Inveraray. Inveraray captain Scott Robertson is still likely to be missing. Inveraray are third bottom of the league and they trail second place Lovat by nine points. However they have four games in hand and if they win these, they would cut the gap to a single point. This one is sure to be a cracker. Kyles Athletic v Glenurquhart Kyles Athletic should have full back Donald Irvine back after he missed last weekend’s defeat to Newtonmore because of work commitments. However young defender Zac Coley is out as he sustained a fractured finger when representing the Scotland U17s in their midweek win over Dublin U17 at Parnell Park. Glenurquhart’s Ruairidh Cameron, Dave MacLennan and Billy Urquhart all missed last weekend’s win over Kinlochshiel but at least two of them should return for the journey South. However Glen defender Stuart Reid is unavailable. Throw up is at 3pm. Bute v Fort William Bute welcome Fort William to the Meadows. A defeat for the home side, coupled with an Inveraray win against Lovat, would confirm the Islanders relegation back down to Marine Harvest South Division 1. Fort William captain Bryan Simpson is on holiday, Gary Innes is unavailable and Alex Duncan serves the second game of a three match ban. However defender Kyle Grant is available before serving a one match suspension next weekend for a points accumulation. Throw up is at 3pm.
Marine Harvest North Division 1 Skye Camanachd v Caberfeidh League leaders Skye Camanachd meet second place Caberfeidh at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. Skye manager Willie MacRae will be without defender Allan MacKinnon and forward Danny Morrison as both are on holiday. Throw up is at 1pm. Strathglass v Inverness Strathglass will be without new signing Innes Simpson whose torn calf picked up in his debut against Lochcarron could keep him on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Inverness will again be without Somhairle MacDonald whilst Davie Glass is an injury doubt. Forward James Cameron starts a two match ban for his red card against Beauly a fortnight ago.
Marine Harvest South Division 1 Strachur v Oban Camanachd Strachur play Oban Camanachd at the Strachurmore Sports Centre. The sides met at Mossfield last weekend with the Oban team running out 6-1 winners. Oban Camanachd are without the suspended Gareth Evans. Glenorchy v Taynuilt Glenorchy play Taynuilt at Mart Park, Dalmally. A Ciaran MacKay double gave Taynuilt a 3-1 win when the sides met in the corresponding fixture in March. Taynuilt are likely to be without last weekend’s two goal hero Willie Irving. Glasgow Mid Argyll v Kilmory Glasgow Mid Argyll and Kilmory meet at Yoker. GMA will be without Garry Luke who has a broken ankle. Kilmory’s Bruce Johnston is available but he misses their next match as he serves a one match ban for a points accumulation.
Marine Harvest North Division 2 Fort William v Glenurquhart Fort William take on Glenurquhart at the Black Parks. The Fort were 2-0 winners when the sides recently met at the same venue in the Strathdearn Cup semi-finals. Skye Camanachd v Aberdeen University Skye Camanachd and Aberdeen University cross camans at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree. Stewart Grant returns from holiday for the Islanders but keeper Iain Munro is working at the Olympics. The Students feature several former Skye players in their line-up including Kieron Roberts, Kenny MacLeod and Jamie Beaton. Throw up is at the later time of 3.30pm. Lovat v Glengarry Lovat play Glengarry at Balgate. The Lovat second string have been boosted by Fraser Gallacher’s return to the side. Glengarry’s Ewan Brady picked up a couple of knocks in the Scotland U17s midweek win over Dublin U17 but he should be fine to play.
Marine Harvest South Division 2 Aberdour v Lochside Rovers Aberdour take on league leaders Lochside Rovers in Fife. Two more wins will give Lochside the title and a return to Marine Harvest South Division 1 providing Oban Camanachd win promotion to the Orion Group Premiership. Col Glen v Ballachulish Col Glen have home advantage against Ballachulish. The visitors need to win to keep up the pressure on table toppers Lochside Rovers. Bute W/O v Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan were unable to raise a team for their trip to the Meadows to play Bute so the points go to the home side. Kyles Athletic W/O v Glasgow Mid Argyll Glasgow Mid Argyll were unable to raise a team for their trip to Tighnabruaich to play Kyles Athletic so the points go to the home side. Tayforth W/O v Inveraray Inveraray were unable to raise a team for their match at Tayforth so the points go to the home side.
Marine Harvest North Division 3 Strathglass v Beauly Strathglass and Beauly have brought forward their Cannich meeting to Friday 27 July 2012. Beauly are without Jordan Keil who is unavailable. Lewis Camanachd v Boleskine Lewis Camanachd play their final home match of the season against Boleskine at Shawbost. With only a trip to Beauly remaining, this has been another successful season for the Islanders in terms of fulfilling their fixtures despite the travel involved. Boleskine’s Michael Pirie is free from suspension after serving a one match ban. Strathspey Camanachd v Lochcarron Lochcarron travel to play Strathspey Camanachd. New boys Strathspey have already amassed 10 points with three fixtures still remaining. The visitors have not played since the first Saturday of the month but they have won their last four games. Caberfeidh v Kilmallie Caberfeidh and Kilmallie clash at Castle Leod. Caberfeidh’s Graham MacGregor serves a one match suspension for a points accumulation. Throw up is at noon. |