Inverness on the hunt for silverware
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INVERNESS are on the hunt for silverware as they head west to Lochcarron’s Battery Park to face Skye in the first semi-final of the Balliemore Cup.
Despite the neutral venue, the Highland capital side start as underdogs with the islanders enjoying their best season in years.
Inverness boss Alan MacLeod acknowledged the match will have a massive bearing on his club’s season.
“This will probably be our toughest match so far this season,” he said. “They are going well and defensively they are difficult to break down, but the lads are buzzing and I am feeling optimistic.”
Inverness go into the match smarting from a 6-1 drubbing by Inveraray in the second round of the Camanachd Cup.
A player shortage meant that MacLeod was forced to name himself as keeper in the game, but regular stopper Stuart MacRae will be back between the posts tomorrow.
MacLeod hopes to add up to six regulars who missed the Camanachd Cup defeat to tomorrow’s squad.
The McMaster brothers, Adam and Arran, are set to make their comeback, with Arran returning early from a nasty eye socket injury he sustained three weeks ago.
MacLeod is confident his bolstered squad can come good.
“It will not be easy but I think we can do it,” he said. “As a club we have been starved of success over the years so this is our chance and we need to take it.”
Elsewhere, Lovat will hope to get last Saturday’s damaging Camanachd Cup defeat at the hands of Kingussie out of their system when they host Fort William in the the last eight of the Artemis MacAulay Cup.
Lovat boss Alan MacRae has striker Greg Matheson available and faces a difficult decision whether or not to play him or wrap his most precious asset in cotton wool ahead of next Saturday’s MacTavish Cup final showdown with Glenurquhart.
Centreline player Craig Mainland made his comeback from the bench last Saturday after a four week injury lay-off and could also be in MacRae’s starting line-up.
Fort William received a huge boost last Saturday by beating Skye to pick up the first piece of silverware of the new season, the RBS MacTavish Plate.
Coaches Victor Smith and Adam Robertson will be looking to build on the result without tiring their squad out for their main objective which is winning promotion to the Premiership.
Fort William have currently played just three matches of their fourteen game schedule in the Marine Harvest National Division.
Also in the Artemis MacAulay Cup, Badenoch rivals Newtonmore and Kingussie play at the Eilan tomorrow with the Kings confident that they are beginning to close the gap between themselves and their great rivals.
In the Orion Premiership, relegation issues dominate with three of the bottom four clubs involved in tomorrow’s two matches.
Glenurquhart can ensure their top league status with a win over bottom club Lochaber.
Kinlochshiel face Inveraray, needing both points to keep a resurgent Lochaber at bay.
