A 5-3 win success over Inveraray at Lovat's Balgate pitch hoists them two points clear of rivals Kingussie whose final game against Kyles Athletic at Tighnabruaich has been rescheduled for Saturday 5th December.

The hard-fought win against a relegation-threatened Inveraray side came at the end of a week of fixture chaos brought about by the heavy rainfall across the country.

The Camanachd Association spent a frustrating week trying to find suitable venues for the three scheduled Premier Division matches after it became clear that no pitch in the south would be playable.

Following a number of false starts, the Oban Camanachd versus Bute match had to be postponed, but after Inveraray agreed to give up home advantage for their vital match against Newtonmore the tie was moved to Kiltarlity.

Kyles, however, were in no mood to compromise and flatly refused to play their match against Kingussie at Beauly. That was a clear contravention of the rules and they were promptly docked two points.

It means that the title race will drag on into December, but Kingussie know exactly what they have to do to retain the title - a simple win against Kyles will see them once more end the campaign with the Premier Division salver they have won every year, bar one, since its introduction in 1996.

Newtonmore, however, have done everything within their powers to achieve their first senior league win since the early '80s, but it may not be enough.

Despite the long journey North, Inveraray put up a strong fight against the title challengers, who went ahead in the third minute through Danny Macrae.

Grant Griffin equalised for the Royal Burgh side, but a Glen MacKintosh double then saw Newtonmore cruise to a comfortable lead until efforts by Scott Robertson and Griffin again made it 3-3 at the interval.

Newtonmore, however, had enough strength in the second half to make the points secure with further goals from MacKintosh and Evan Menzies.

Meanwhile as the Premier Division slowly winds to a conclusion, Inverness Shinty Club are already looking forward to the 2010 season.

The Division One stragglers from the past three seasons are ambitious to improve and have retained the same managerial line-up from last season.

Stevie Munro and James McDougall will be taking charge of the first-team again next year, while Allan MacLeod continues in his role as second team manager.

Confirming the appointments, Inverness president George Campbell was pleased to be able to keep the same management team in place.

"I am delighted to confirm that Stevie, James and Allan have agreed to take on the management posts at Inverness and we look forward to seeing them continue to work together with our squads over the coming season," he added.

Munro is hoping that improved training methods can help inspire Inverness to better things as preparations begin now with next season in mind.

"I am relishing the challenge of the 2010 season and working with James and Allan to bring into effect changes at Inverness with regards to professional training structure," he stated.

His fellow manager McDougall promised that the emphasis will be on fitness programmes and sessions aimed at improving the technical skills of the players.

"For the first time in the history of the club we are going to be training two nights a week," he explained. "We have worked to secure sponsorship from Fit4Less for gym memberships for our players and we will be training here once a week along with a second night being held to work on fitness over the winter and stick skills over the summer.

"We know we must improve our professionalism both on and off the park and as a management team with both Stevie and Allan, we are committed to putting in place this structure.

"We are realistic about what we can achieve with the limited team pool which we currently have at Inverness. However, we hope to be able to attract some new player to our squad for the 2010 season.

"We feel that a more professional outlook from the club along with the added incentive of a free gym membership will assist us in our quest to attract new players to Inverness."

Training for Inverness starts on Thursday at Culloden Academy from 8pm.

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---