Newtonmore lift cup but Kilmallie win praise for their spirited reaction to a traumatic week

Favourites Newtonmore recorded a 41st Mactavish Cup success, beating Kilmallie 3-2 at The Bught Park.

However, Kilmallie won many admirers, not just for their performance but also for their bravery in dealing with the deaths of club stalwart Donald Lamont and top scorer and team-mate Duncan Rodger in the lead-up to the final.

Both were remembered on the big day, but when Fraser Mackintosh scored early in the second half, adding to firsthalf strikes from Steven Macdonald and Drew Macdonald, it seemed Newtonmore would be runaway winners.

Whether complacency set in or whether Kilmallie’s battling qualities came to the fore – probably a bit of both – the underdogs fought back to set up a tense finish.

First, Michael Rodger expertly finished, before Calum Macdougall, who was man of the match, cut Newtonmore’s lead to a single goal.

However, the holders closed out the game and they deserved victory, with classy defender Rory Kennedy lifting his first trophy as captain of the club.

Michael Fraser and Daniel Mackintosh inflicted Kinlochshiel’s first Marine Harvest Premiership loss this season, with Glenurquhart winning 2-0.

Shaun Nicolson and Stuart Callison cancelled Seb Macmillan’s counter as Lochaber moved off the bottom of the table, ironically at Kilmallie’s expense, by beating Glasgow Mid Argyll 2-1.