Extra time win sees Kyles reach Camanachd Cup final
Oban Camanachd defeat Inveraray in bottom-of-the-table clash at the Winterton
Camanachd Cup
KYLES ATHLETIC will face Lovat in next month’s Camanachd Cup final, after a hard-fought win against Newtonmore on Saturday.
With the sun shining in Taynuilt, a strong travelling support and BBC Alba filming live, there certainly was a ‘ big match’ feel to the game.
In a tough first half, neither side could make the breakthrough, with possession roughly about 50-50.
It was Kyles who drew first blood, however, after Duncan Kerr fired home after 56 minutes.
Kyles looked to have one foot in the final, before a foul in the box gave Newtonmore a penalty. Kyles keeper, John Whyte, made a great stop, but Paul MacArthur followed in his shot and knocked in the rebound to make the score 1-1.
Two minutes from time, Kyles keeper, Whyte, made an incredible save, knocking the ball round the post with his foot to keep Kyles in the match, forcing the game into extra time.
With no goals in the first period of extra time, Roberto Zavaroni put Kyles ahead with 10 minutes of the second period left to play.
Five minutes later, Gordon Whyte made it 3-1, and Kyles looked to have booked their place in the final.
However, Newtonmore pulled a goal back through Evan Menzies with two minutes left to play, giving Kyles an anxious wait, but the Tighnabruaich men held on for a big win against the reigning champions.
The final between Kyles and Lovat will be held at Mossfield, Oban, on September 19.
NEWTONMORE narrowly lost out to Kyles Athletic at the weekend in the semi-final of the Camanachd Cup.
The game went to extra time after ending 1-1 in ordinary time. Kyles then scored twice in extra time to make it 3-1. Newtonmore managed to pull one back, but ultimately it wasn’t enough and the game ended 3-2.
Newtonmore manager, P J Mackintosh, said: ‘It was one of those tight games that could have gone either way.
‘We had a chance to win it in ordinary time, but their keeper pulled off a great save.’
‘Not a lot separates the top teams and there’s a very small margin for error.’
Newtonmore take on Inveraray in the final of the Macaulay Cup this Satuday at Mossfield Stadium, Oban. The game will be shown live on BBC 2 with the programme starting at 3pm. The match throws-up at 3.15pm
Premiership
LOVAT drew 1-1 away to Glenurquhart last Saturday. Lovat opened the scoring on the 54th minute through Lewis Towse, but their lead didn’t last long as Glenurquhart equalised five minutes later.
Lovat manager, John MacRitchie, said: ‘ We should have won, we didn’t take our chances.
‘But the good thing is, we didn’t pick up any bookings or injuries.’
Lovat take on Glenurquhart at home this Friday with a 6:45pm throw up.
They are also in the final of the Camanachd Cup and will take on Kyles Athletic on September 19.
A Stuart Callison double wasn’t enough for LOCHABER when they went down 3-2 to Fort William in last weekend’s derby.
The Spean Bridge man scored in the 45th and 90th minutes but lost out to the Fort’s Daniel Stewart, Alexander Macmillan and Ryan Campbell at An Aird on Saturday.
Ally Ferguson’s men have a free weekend ahead.
OBAN CAMANACHD ran out 2- 0 winners away to their relegation rivals, Inveraray, at the weekend, with goals coming from Daniel Cameron and Malcolm Clark.
The Oban side are now one point clear of Inveraray, who sit bottom of the league, and have three games in hand.
Manager, Ian Hay, said: ‘ We played well. Daniel Cameron got an early goal and that helped us settle.
‘I made three or four changes that seemed to work. I put Daniel Cameron up top, moved David Lafferty in to the centre and put Aidan MacIntrye out on the wing.
‘It was great to get the win, we needed it.
‘I’m quietly confident about staying up, especially if we continue to play like we did on Saturday.’
Camanachd are away to Fort William this Saturday with a 12pm throw up.
FORT WILLIAM manager, Victor Smith, was ‘delighted’ with his team’s 3-2 victory against local rivals, Lochaber.
Daniel Stewart opened the scoring for the Fort at An Aird on Saturday, with a goal in the second minute. Another one each from Alexander Macmillan and Ryan Campbell secured the points for the home side in the derby.
Smith said: ‘ We were delighted to win because it was a local derby, but also because it gives us an extra two points on the board. We had a good tussle, but I think Lochaber under- estimated us a bit and we proved them wrong.’
This weekend Fort William welcome Oban Camanachd, with a 12pm throw up.
Smith said: ‘It’s always a tough game against Oban. Any time we’ve played them in the last year it’s either been a draw or there’s only been a goal or two difference. It’ll be a good game, we’re looking forward to it.’
Steven Stewart is still suspended, but the Fort will have Ewen Campbell available again following his suspension.
They say that league positions don’t lie, but to find a talented and experienced INVERARAY side languishing at the foot of the premiership table takes a bit of believing.
The club has been hit by a number of injuries this season, but four points from a dozen matches is a meagre haul for a side that has been a contender for major trophies for the past decade and more.
Disappointment at losing a Camanachd Cup semi-final a week earlier was compounded by defeat to Oban Camanachd at the Winterton, meaning that the clubs swapped places - Oban lifting themselves from the bottom of the league to be replaced by Inveraray.
In truth, the Loch Fyne-siders appeared marginally off the pace in comparison to the eager and improving Oban Camanachd players. An early goal by Daniel Cameron was followed ten minutes later by another - but this time chalked off by referee, Robert Baxter. The two vital league points were secured for Oban Camanachd fifteen minutes from the end, when Malcolm Clark added a second goal.
On a brighter note for Inveraray, the side travels to Oban this weekend to face Newtonmore in the MacAulay Cup final. Newtonmore themselves will still be smarting following last weekend’s Camanachd Cup semi-final defeat to Kyles, and will be dangerous opponents. An experienced Inveraray team will themselves offer its own threat, and with a big Argyll support, the match could be a close one.
Two second half goals in the space of five minutes ended the scoring in Saturday’s league tie between local rivals GLENURQUHART and Lovat.
Lewis Tawse fired home the opener for Lovat nine minutes into the second half, but the visitors’ lead was shortlived when Glenurquhart’s Iain MacLeod levelled on 59 minutes.
After a two-week league fixture break, KINLOCHSHIEL face a lengthy - and daunting - trip to face Camanachd Cup finalists, Kyles Athletic, on Saturday. Currently lying in seventh place in the premiership, the visitors come to Kames Playing Fields in the hope of denting Kyles’ league title challenge.
National Division
KILMALLIE have been knocked off the top of the national table after going down 4-2 to closest league rivals, Skye.
The former top dogs travelled to Portree to take on the islanders, but returned home empty-handed and in second place.
Mark MacPherson’s men were 4- 0 down at half-time and managed to redeem themselves with a goal each from Liam MacDonald and John Stewart, but it wasn’t enough to take a share of the points and stay in first place.
This weekend, Kilmallie welcome old rivals, Beauly, to Canal parks in what will be an opportunity to pick up crucial points. BALLACHULISH hosted both Glasgow Mid Argyll ( GMA) teams at the Jubilee with the juniors defeating their city visitors 2- 0 with two early goals from Bob Watson.
The senior game started evenly with both teams having chances, but it was the away side that took the lead through Lewis Miller in the 22nd minute.
A drifting shot from Ewan Murray just evaded Cammy Sutherland in the home goal to give GMA a 2- 0 lead in the 31st minute.
Craig Anderson nabbed a third in the 52nd minute after a goalmouth scramble.
Scott MacDonald was sent off in the 85th minute for an off-the-ball offence much to the annoyance of both sides.
This send- off effectively killed the game, but GMA scored another through Lewis Miller in the 85th minute to make the final score 4- 0.
Probably the only positive Balla could take from this game was the return of internationalist, John MacDonald, who will work his way back to full fitness for the final games of the season.
Balla host high-flying Skye this weekend with a few extra players available after suspension and injury. Throw up will be at 3pm on Saturday August 22.
Desparate to reach the top of the league table at the weekend, SKYE successfully knocked Kilmallie off top spot.
The islanders defeated their nearest rivals 4-2 at Portree last Saturday.
This weekend Skye will hope to secure its place at the top of the league at Jubilee park against Ballachulish. Throw-up 3pm.
South Division One
GLENORCHY suffered a 4- 0 defeat at home to Bute at the weekend, with three of the four goals coming in the second half.
Neil McKirdy, Iain McDonald and David Whitelaw all scored, with Iain getting a double.
Glenorchy will get a second chance this Saturday as they travel down to Bute with a 2pm throw up.
OBAN CELTIC defeated Kyles Athletic 7-1 in the South Division 1 on Saturday.
The Oban side sailed through the first half scoring four goals and continued that form in to the second.
Celtic’s goal scorers were David Duffy and Lee Askew, who both got a double, Daniel Madej, Kenny Wotherspoon and Neil Carmichael.
Manager, Davy Hamilton said: ‘It was a good all-round perfor- mance, there were no stars, but everyone was good. It’s the best I’ve seen the boys play all year.’
Oban Celtic are at home to Strachur this Saturday with a 12pm throw up.
LOCHSIDE ROVERS ran out 5- 0 winners at home to Aberdour on Saturday, with goals coming from an Angus Therburn own goal, Keith Burnett, Scott Dempster, Brian MacCallum and 14-year- old Lewis Buchanan.
Manager, Gareth Evans, said: ‘Because we had such a good start, we were able to get a couple of our younger boys on and they both played very well.
‘Out of our squad of 15, nine of our players were under 17-yearsold. But more than anything, I’m happy with the clean sheet. We’ve been leaking a few goals as of late.’
Lochside are away to Kilmory this weekend with an early throw up.
Gareth said: ‘If we want to win the league, these are the types of games we need to win.
‘It’s not the best of parks and they are a sticky team at home.’
TAYNUILT suffered disappointment on Friday night, losing 4-2 away to Inveraray.
Taynuilt’s goal scorers were Steven Parr and Stuart Scott.
They don’t have a fixture this weekend and are not back in action again until Saturday 29, when they will take on Strachur at home.
A Friday evening fixture paid off for INVERARAY’S second string, as they overcame Taynuilt 4-2 at the Winterton. Two goals by Lewis Montgomery and singles from Neil Shaw and young Ruaraidh Graham did the damage for the home side. Steven Parr and Stuart Scott replied for Taynuilt. Inveraray sit top of the division, two points ahead of Bute, though the island club has four games in hand.
Bottom side Kilmory were the visitors to Strachurmore last Saturday, and they left with a deserved point.
The omens were good for STRACHUR when Ian Wilson scored after just thre minutes, but Kilmory were back in it 20 minutes later when Alex Cunningham scored. Fifteen minutes before the break, Ross MacDonald added a second for the home side, but right on the stroke of half-time Kilmory levelled through Craig Taylor.
Strachur now lie seventh in the league, on seven points. The Cowal club is due to travel this weekend on league duty to play Oban Celtic. More used to handing them out, KYLES ATHLETIC’S second team received something of a drubbing in Oban last Saturday. Oban Celtic won the league tussle by seven goals to one, and Kyles will be hoping for better this weekend when struggling Aberdour come calling to Kames.
Just two points off the top spot in the league and with games in hand, BUTE could be considered favourites for the south division one title. Last weekend they beat Glenorchy 4- 0 at Dalmally, with the goals coming from Neil McKirdy in the first half and Iain MacDonald (2) and David Whitelaw in the second period.
The reverse tie is this Saturday, when the Dalmally outfit travels over the sea to Bute.
KILMORY missed a penalty on the way to claiming a hard-fought point at Strachur. The Mid Argyll club lies bottom of the division, and this weekend the task of league survival gets no easier as Kilmory host Lochside Rovers at MacRae Park.
South Division Two
Inching ever- closer to a cherished league title, COLGLEN once again managed to win last weekend. This time it was Glenorchy seconds who were on the receiving end of a 4-1 defeat. The ColGlen scorers were Cally McNaughton (2), Connor Kennedy and Hamish Harrison. Should the Glendaruel side win their final league fixture, the title will be theirs ahead of second placed Tayforth.
OBAN LORN were scheduled to take on Bute on Saturday at the Meadows, but the game was postponed due to an unplayable pitch.
Oban Lorn have two games left this season, a home game against Ballachulish and an away game against Bute.
Dates of the fixtures are yet to be announced.
Strathdearn Cup
GLENGARRY secured a place in the Strathdearn final after defeating Kinlochshiel 3-2 last Saturday thanks to goals from Ruaridh MacDonald, Steven Cameron and Martin Cameron.
The team is not scheduled to play this weekend, but will take on Kilmallie on Saturday August 29.