Fraser Gallagher faces player shortage as Lovat close 2017 season against Oban
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LOVAT bring the curtain down on the 2017 season when they meet Oban Camanachd at Mossfield in the Marine Harvest Premiership tomorrow.
Manager Fraser Gallagher is struggling to pull together a competitive squad for a game which, should the Kiltarlity side win, would see them leapfrog Newtonmore into third place in the league.
“As things stand I have only seven of the lads who played in the Camanachd Cup final available, so our team on Saturday is going to be something of a mixture of first and second-team players,” he said. “It is so serious I will be looking out the boots and will be naming myself in the squad.”
Suspension and injury have wreaked havoc with his squad. Greg Matheson serves a one-match ban while Calum Cruden has two more games of the three-match ban he received after being red-carded in the Camanachd Cup final to serve.
Danny Kelly and Craig Mainland picked up injuries in last Saturday’s shinty-hurling international while Lorne MacKay is working.
Gallagher, who flies out to Cyprus on a well-earned holiday on Sunday, has yet to decide on his own future but will come to a decision soon to allow ample preparation time for the Lovat Cup joust with old rivals Beauly on January 2.
Caberfeidh’s elevation to the Premiership will be confirmed tomorrow if Fort William fail to beat Inveraray by 14 goals when they meet at An Aird, in the final match of the season in the second tier of National shinty.
Beauly will attempt to play their penultimate match of the season in North Division One when they head east to play Aberdeen University at Balgownie. In North Division Two, with the title convincingly won by Glengarry, there are only six matches left with three going ahead tomorrow. Boleskine round off a difficult season with a match away to Caberfeidh while Inverness entertain Kilmallie at the Bught.
The annual Marine Harvest Awards dinner took place in Inverness on the eve of the shinty-hurling international and it was perhaps no surprise that Kinlochshiel and Kyles Athletic dominated proceedings.
Kyles’ Andrew King took the gong for the overall player of the year while ’Shiel’s Mark MacDonald won the Premiership award. ’Shiel’s Johnson Gill picked up the Premiership coach of the year with Kyles’ James Perlich becoming overall coach of the year.
Awards to local players included Caberfeidh’s Blair Morrison for the National Division Player of the Year while Strathglass’ Freya Strachan was awarded the WCA Development league award.
