Kyles Athletic captain Innes MacDonald has broken his hand and is out of this weekend’s Artemis Macaulay Cup semi-final with Oban Camanachd at Mossfield Park.
Worsening the blow, the defender will also miss the Tulloch Homes Camanachd Cup semi-final against Lovat at Fort William on August 6.
“It’s a major setback being without Innes for these two huge games as we chase silverware,” said Kyles manager Robert Baxter. “An X-ray confirmed the break and Innes’s hand is now in plaster.
“He’s understandably gutted, particularly as he’s unlikely to be fit for the Macaulay final on August 21, if we get through.
“But he’d be OK for the Camanachd final if we’re involved.
“Meanwhile, we’ll just get on with it. This week’s training sessions will be a selection guide as to how we adjust for this Saturday’s tie.”
Lovat striker smacked in face, losing ‘a couple’ of teeth – but returns from hospital to play second half
Kyles’ Camanachd Cup opponents Lovat, meanwhile, got a fright when big striker Marc MacLachlan took a stick in the face in the opening minutes of their 4-1 Mowi Premiership defeat at Oban on Saturday.
He lost a couple of teeth and was taken to hospital – but MacLachlan returned to play the latter part of the second half.
Win gives Oban further confidence for cup clashes
Oban’s internationalist Daniel Cameron also sustained a cheek gash in the game, which required stitches, but manager Gareth Evans expects him to be available for this weekend’s Macaulay semi-final with Kyles.
Oban became the first team (apart from Kingussie) to beat Lovat this season, and Evans said: “We deserved the points for the quality of our second half performance and it gives us a confidence lift with our two semi-finals coming up.
“We scored four absolutely brilliant goals, the best being Daniel Madej’s mid-air volley, and it’s the first time we’ve beaten Lovat in quite a while.
“We’ve been training hard and it’s paying off.”
Daniel MacVicar fired Oban’s early opener, but Lovat levelled from a Fraser Heath penalty in 62 minutes, the first goal conceded in seven games by the home team.
Three minutes later Malcolm Clark restored Oban’s lead and he grabbed his second with a 30-yard piledriver in 80 minutes, three minutes before Madej’s clincher.
Kings lose 100% record
Champions Kingussie’s 100 per cent record this season was dented in a 3-3 home league draw with neighbours Newtonmore.
“We could have won”, said the visitors’ co-manager Norman Macarthur. “Steven Macdonald completely mishit a penalty which Bob MacGregor easily saved.”
James Falconer and Roddy Young put Kings two up early, with Iain Robinson pulling one back before half time.
Savio Genini made it 3-1 in 62 minutes, but Robinson struck twice to compete his treble and earn the Blue and Whites a point.
Kingussie, who meet Lovat in the other Macaulay semi-final this coming weekend, won the penalty shootout 3-2 to retain the Sir Tommy MacPherson Trophy.
Fort relegation clouds darken
Caberfeidh rediscovered their scoring touch with a 4-0 win at Fort William which deepened the An Aird men’s relegation plight, while taking the visitors three points clear of them.
Kevin Bartlett opened in 23 minutes and his cousin Craig Morrison netted three minutes later before completing his hat-trick in 47 and 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, Beauly swamped Col Glen 8-0 in their Ferguson Transport Balliemore Cup semi-final at Ballachulish and will now meet Inveraray in the final at Fort William on August 27.
National Division latest sees Skye march on
In the National Division, Skye maintained their promotion push with a 4-0 home win over Strathglass, with Ross Gordon and Taylor Matheson scoring in the first four minutes, while Will Cowie (penalty) and John Gillies struck second half goals.
Oban Celtic grabbed their second win, a 2-1 home success over Glen Urquhart. Ewen Campbell gave Celts an interval lead, with Lennon Campbell slotting an 81st minute penalty before Connor Golabeck netted for the visitors.
