Rivals gunning for MacTavish Cup final
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE two RBS MacTavish Cup semi-finals taking place on Saturday are the biggest attractions on Saturday’s fixture list.
And a repeat of last year’s high-octane final – won on penalties by Lovat against Glenurquhart – is a mouthwatering possibility.
With Kinlochshiel standing in their way, holders Lovat are a good bet to reach the final again. However, ’Shiel’s chances of causing an upset are considerably enhanced with the tie taking place on their own confined Kirkton pitch.
The teams met six weeks ago at Balgate when Lovat won 4-2. Last year Lovat were made to work for a 2-1 Premiership win at Kirkton after ’Shiel earned a 1-1 draw at Balgate earlier in the season.
Reaching a cup final of this magnitude would be a huge achievement for the Wester Ross club, and this will be a huge motivator for manager Colin Fraser, whose team have pulled off some big results on their own turf in recent years.
Lovat’s nine-game winning run came to an end in their last outing against Glenurquhart two weeks ago, and it is hard to imagine the slick Kiltarlity outfit succumbing to a second successive defeat.
Having engineered that 2-1 defeat of Lovat in their last game, Glenurquhart go into their head-to-head with Newtonmore at Blairbeg Park brimming with confidence.
’More may start as favourites but Paul John MacKintosh will have every cause to be wary ahead of the trip to Drumnadrochit, having being denied a place in last year’s final after going down 2-1 to Glen on the same pitch.
The AJG Parcels Celtic Society Cup, the South equivalent to the MacTavish Cup, is also at its last four stage. Glasgow Mid Argyll, despite having home advantage, will do well to prevent holders Kyles Athletic reaching the final, while Oban Camanachd could cause problems for Premiership opponents and 2013 defeated finalists Inveraray at The Winterton.
With six Orion Group Premiership teams on MacTavish and Celtic Society Cup duty on Saturday, the only two top-flight teams not involved, Kingussie and Lochaber meet on league business at The Dell.
A Kingussie win would take them to within one point of joint leaders Newtonmore and Lovat, while a Lochaber win would take the Spean Bridge side level on points with second-bottom placed Inveraray.
Kilmallie and Caberfeidh are the only Marine National Division teams in action, with their meeting at Canal Park giving Cabers the opportunity to move joint top, with Kilmallie rising to second should they make home advantage pay.
Due to ties taking place in the Sutherland and Strathdearn Cup tournaments for reserve teams, Marine Harvest North Division One is limited to a single fixture, the derby between Lovat and Strathglass.
When the teams met on the opening day of the season Strath romped to an 8-1 win and Lovat will be hoping to run their near neighbours closer this time around. Throw-up is at 11am.
It’s also semi-final day in the newly-launched MacTavish Plate competition, with Fort William favourites to defeat Marine Harvest North Division Two opponents Boleskine at An Aird. In the other semi, Skye look to have the edge over fellow North Division One side Inverness, who travel to Portree.
