Lovat aiming to land more silverware
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LOVAT manager Alan MacRae takes a break from his duties at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as he plots the downfall of Newtonmore in tomorrow’s Artemis Macaulay Cup semi-final.
The Helmsdale policeman has been seconded to the games, but will travel north to take charge as Lovat continue their bid to lift their second grand slam trophy of the 2014 season at Beauly’s Braeview Park.
With Lovat’s title hopes dimming, the Macaulay Cup remains a realistic target for the Kiltarlity side, but MacRae expects a tough battle against the Badenoch giants and is urging his players to learn from last year’s semi-final where Newtonmore handed out them a 4-0 beating at Bught Park.
"It is going to be tough, but I think we owe it to ourselves to produce a decent performance," said MacRae. "We haven’t played particularly well since winning the MacTavish and we need to get back to the level we were at in that game.
"We were poor in last year’s semi, but I fully expect the lads to be up for this one. Braeview is great venue for us and hopefully our support will turn out in good numbers to back the lads."
Full back Drew Howie is a doubt for the match as his leg injury, sustained in a motorbike accident, has taken longer than expected to heal.
However, goalkeeper Stuart MacDonald, along with Owen Ferguson and Jamie Matheson, are available meaning that top scorer Greg Matheson, who deputised for MacDonald in last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Kinlochshiel will be back in his more accustomed role of leading the Lovat attack should he be deemed fit enough to do so.
Newtonmore, beaten in controversial circumstances in last year’s Macaulay Cup final after captain Jamie Robinson was red carded, are determined to avoid any slip-ups this year, particularly after relinquishing the Camanachd Cup.
Manager Paul John MacKintosh will look to Steven MacDonald to mark Lovat dangerman Kevin Bartlett out of the game, but their strength is in midfield where the power and long hitting of Robinson and Paul MacArthur could be a significant factor.
The south section on the competition is also at the semi-final stage and holders Kyles Athletic face Oban Camanachd at Mossfield. Kyles, hitting top form at the right moment, will be favourites to take their place in their third successive final, which goes ahead at the same venue on 23rd August.
Elsewhere, just two matches take place in the Orion Premiership and while the Inveraray versus Glenurquhart match at the Winterton has all the hallmarks of an end-of-season affair, the Lochaber against Kinlochshiel clash at Spean Bridge is a relegation decider.
‘Shiel are in the driving seat in the battle to beat the drop and are on the five-point mark, three ahead of Lochaber, and only need to avoid defeat to stay in shinty’s elite league for another season.
A win for Lochaber would leave them needing to beat Kyles Athletic in Tighnabruaich and hope that ‘Shiel lose their remaining two games.
There are three matches in the Marine Harvest National Division and Bute’s relegation will be confirmed if they lose at home to Kilmallie, who will move to second place if they can take both points.
In other matches, Fort William can leapfrog Beauly into third with a win over Glasgow Mid Argyll, while Caberfeidh will be confident of taking both points at home to second from bottom Glenorchy.
Lovat host leaders Skye in North Division One. This match has a noon throw-up to allow Lovat’s reserve players cheer on the seniors in the Macaulay Cup.
The matches involving Inverness and Beauly will be played tonight with Inverness hosting Kingussie at Bught Park in a 7.15pm start, while Beauly take on Newtonmore at the Eilan. This match starts at 7pm.
Meanwhile, a point for Caberfeidh in their match against Lewis will see them crowned North Division Three champions.
INVERNESS host their annual six-a-side competition on Sunday and event organiser Peter Gow is anticipating an exciting tournament.
A total of 31 teams have confirmed their attendance for the popular competition, which is taking place at Bught Park.
The Highland Industrial Supplies-sponsored event starts at 9.30am with Kingussie defending the Ken Ross Cup for under-14 teams.
At 11.30am, Glengarry’s women’s side begin the defence of the Alistair Gow Shield, but will face strong opposition with teams from as far afield as Glasgow and Aberdour in the mix.
The main event throws-up at 12.30pm with Lovat beginning the defence of the Jubilee Shield and later in the afternoon early exit teams get a second chance of winning silverware in the Rosedean Shield, which is currently held by Beauly.
