Inverness looking forward to new challenge
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COMPETITION for shinty’s top trophy, the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup, gets underway tomorrow with six first round ties involving area league sides from North and South Division One.
The six winners will then be joined by the 10 Premiership sides for the round two draw.
An outing in the Camanachd Cup will come as a welcome break from league action for Inverness manager Allan MacLeod as he prepares his side for the visit of Dalmally-based Glenorchy.
"We are really looking forward to the tie," he said. "League business is relentless and with just six teams in North Division One, playing each other three times, matters can become a wee bit stale.
"So the visit of a team from the south will be like a breath of fresh air and the lads are looking forward to it.
"We don’t know too much about Glenorchy, but they have Premier Division experience and are challenging in South Division One, so they will be a tough obstacle.
MacLeod is hopeful of naming an almost full strength side — a luxury denied to him for most of the 2013 season.
"It’s looking promising with only James Ross missing from what I consider our best outfield line-up, although we have a goalkeeping problem with both recognised keepers unavailable."
MacLeod, an outstanding keeper from his days with Strathglass where he played in the Premier Division and won Scottish under-21 caps, has not ruled out donning the number one shirt himself as an emergency solution.
"We are pondering a couple of ideas, but I am confident we can get it sorted out.’"
Inverness, who last won the Camanachd Cup in 1952, have not done well in recent years and memories are still raw of their dismissal by Taynuilt two seasons ago at home in a first round tie.
Arguably Glenorchy are a stronger side, so a victory for MacLeod and his team will come as a huge boost in a season where they have not had their troubles to seek.
The tie of the round will be at Beauly where Strathglass are the visitors for the third time this season having previously been there once in the league and once in the MacTavish Cup.
Beauly won both encounters by the narrowest of margins and it is a certainty that tomorrow’s encounter will be even closer.
The match throws up a number of intrigues with Innes Simpson, now in Strathglass colours, up against his old team-mates and helping to plot their downfall in his role as player/assistant manager.
Calum Duff, a former goalkeeping coach with the Braeview club but now in charge at Cannich, is starting to see positive changes and last Saturday’s performance against Skye, where his side came close to beating the islanders, was their best performance of the season.
Donald Fraser, the Strath’s outstanding defender, has fully recovered from a hamstring injury and he may be handed a marking role on Beauly’s top scorer Marc MacLachlan, who hit five against Inverness last weekend.
In other ties, Caberfeidh, who had to negotiate a preliminary round tie against Bute, are up against Oban Celtic and will be confident of taking the scalp of another south team.
Skye make the long trip to Taynuilt and there is a top of the table clash at Canal Parks where North Division One leaders Kilmallie face Glasgow Mid Argyll, currently leading the way in South Division One. The final tie is in Lochgilphead where Kilmory face Strachur.
There is also a full programme in the Orion Premiership with the match of the day in Tighnabruaich where Lovat put their unbeaten record on the line against Kyles Athletic.
This match has the potential to shape the challenge of both sides for the rest of the season. Defeat for either would probably spell the end of their league challenge with Kyles dropping six points so far this campaign, while Lovat have let slip four. By contrast, leaders Newtonmore have dropped just a single point.
Glenurquhart and Kingussie meet at Blairbeg with the Glen looking to continue with their recent revival and move away from the relegation zone.
Kingussie’s young side have exceeded expectations this season, but could struggle against an experienced Glenurquhart outfit.
There is a basement clash at Oban where Lochaber are the visitors, while Newtonmore look to continue their march to a fourth successive title when they take on Fort William at the Eilan. Second place Inveraray face a huge test when they face Kinlochshiel at Kirkton.
LOCHABER High School came out on top to claim the Robertson Cup Shinty Sixes title ahead of runners-up Portree High School and third place Kingussie High School.
The tournament took place at Glen Urquhart High School, which will also play host to the Great Glen Schools Shinty Sixes for under-16s in September.
