The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
MacRae caps memorable weekend with cup brace
Kinlochshiel’s John MacRae made light of lack of sleep to be his team’s two-goal hero as they knocked out Newtonmore to set up an Artemis Macaulay Cup quarter-final against unbeaten Lovat at Balmacara.
MacRae was up most of the night as his wife gave birth to their second daughter – but was wide awake enough to produce the finishing power to torment Newtonmore and breathe new life into their own sluggish campaign.
After the historic Camanachd Cup and MacTavish triumphs last year, the Wester Ross men were suffering a backlash and are already out of the MacTavish, but their 3-0 win at The Eilean was the eyebrow-raising scoreline of the day.
“It’s a result that can kickstart our season,” said manager Johnston Gill.
“We knew if we lost we’d only have the Camanachd Cup to look forward to, but the players worked really hard and rose to the occasion.
“It’s helped that we’re over our spate of injuries. Everyone put in a great shift and this display avenges our opening day home Premiership defeat to Newtonmore and will hopefully enable us to gain some momentum.”
Stonemason John MacRae chipped away at Newtonmore’s cup hopes with strikes in the second and 85th minutes, with elder brother Keith netting in 74 minutes for the Reds’ biggest win at The Eilean for many years – and possibly ever.
Lovat, beaten by Shiel in the Camanachd final last autumn, made it five wins out of five when they won 4-1 against Kilmallie at Canal Park and their tie at Reraig Park looks a cracker.
Kilmallie, who they meet again in the delayed MacTavish Cup tie this weekend, became the first team to put the ball in the Lovat net this season when Stuart Callison levelled Greg Matheson’s early opener.
Lewis Tawse broke the deadlock in 65 minutes before Marc MacLachlan and Tawse again added late goals, with manager Jamie Matheson saying: “It’s another really good result and visiting Shiel for a semi-final spot is quite a carrot.”
Cup holders Kingussie, 4-0 home winners over Fort William, now face a tricky quarter-final against Caberfeidh at Strathpeffer, with Cabers gaining a walkover after Lochaber’s team-raising troubles.
Skipper Savio Genini hit a well-taken double for Kings and was denied a hat trick when keeper Paul MacKay deflected his shot on to the bar. Roddy Young and James Falconer were also on target for The Dell men.
“It was a much better performance and Fort’s keeper pulled off some superb saves,” said Kings boss John Gibson.
“Fraser Munro and Rory MacKeachan made their comebacks in the second half so our injury situation is improving.
“Cabers will be difficult on their own pitch, with the Morrison brothers always a handful, while Kieran MacPherson, from our cup-winning team last season, will be lining up against us.”
Glen Urquhart boosted their promotion challenge with a 4-1 victory over Strathglass at Drumnadrochit with a Connor Golabek double and goals from John Barr and David MacLennan, with Michael Stokes responding.
In the Strathdearn Cup, Zander MacRae hit a hattrick as Kinlochshiel Colts beat visitors Lewis 5-0, Euan Dingwall’s winner saw Strathspey 2-1 home winners over Kilmallie, while Taylor Matheson’s double helped Skye knock out Kingussie 3-0.
• Aviemore was the venue for the annual Disability First Shinty Festival, which saw Abercorn School from Glasgow emerge as winners.
An impressive nine teams and seven schools from Lochaber, Kingussie, Glasgow and North Ayrshire enjoyed coaching from qualified shinty coaches and games throughout the two-day event, which culminated in a tournament.
The tournament was played on a round-robin format, with all nine teams playing each other once. The league matches were extremely competitive with some excellent play and great goals scored throughout the day.
Abercorn, the 2018 winners, topped the group one point ahead of 2019 winners Lockhart Campus.