Women’s internationalist and Lovat top scorer Laura Gallacher will miss her club’s Mowi Challenge Cup final against Kinlochshiel on Saturday at Newtonmore.
Laura will be at the wedding of her cousin Greg Matheson, the Lovat and Scotland forward, and her team mate Fiona Urquhart, a prolific scorer this season, is also a wedding guest.
Manager Raymond Rennie said: “It’s going to be difficult without two major players and it means I’ll have to move players about for what will be a tough game.”
Raymond’s daughter Maisie Rennie celebrates her 13th birthday on Friday and is set to be in the line-up skippered by Ruby Fraser.
Kinlochshiel, only formed a couple of years ago and managed by Alex MacInnes, will have the most experienced player afield in Lorna MacRae, who scored four goals for Skye when they won the Valerie Fraser Women’s Camanachd Cup when it was last contested in 2019.
Shinty: Beauly produce five-star display against Inverary to claim Balliemore Cup
“We’ve got a very young team apart from myself and goalkeeper Kristen MacBeth who played for Skye some years ago and has successfully come out of retirement to help Shiel,” said Lorna.
Teenager Lexie Mackenzie has plundered 18 goals in her last six games, including a hat trick in the 5-5 National Division draw with Lovat at Kiltarlity on August 21.
Lorna has been juggling her shinty with playing for Caley Thistle women’s team – and its a similar story with her football team mate Kirsty Deans who captains Badenoch against Skye in the senior event, the Women’s Camanachd Cup final. It starts at 4.05pm, following the Challenge Cup final at 1.45 pm.
Chloe Baikie, aged 15, and 16 year old Kirsty Grant have come in to the Badenoch side this year and performed impressively. Skye beat Badenoch and Strathspey 8-6 in the 2019 final at The Dell, after which Badenoch split from Strathspey, and Caitlin Maclean will skipper the islanders.
SHINTY SPOTLIGHT: 10 questions for Lovat wing centre Ruby Fraser
Finn Kennedy to miss out
Conor Kennedy of Kyles Athletic, who played in the previous North v South Under 21 duel in 2019, will skipper the South in the Caol Cup representative match at Canal Park, Caol. But his younger brother Finn has called off after breaking bones in his hand against Oban.
Blair MacFarlane of Oban is the other survivor from the South side, but this time he is joined by younger brother Louie, who has impressively broken into the Mossfield first team this year. Former Newtonmore player Sorley Thomson, of Kyles, is another debutant for the select managed by Kyles’ Robert Baxter.
Duncan Matheson, who won a Camanachd Cup winner’s medal with Kinlochshiel, is the one survivor in the North squad – he scored two goals in the 3-0 win over South at Taynuilt in 2019.
Fort William provide four of Skye boss Kenny Macleod’s North side in Jonny Foster, Alistair MacRae, Hamish Shaw and Victor Smith while there is a Strathglass trio in Thomas Maclean, Niall McCallum and Ruaridh Strachan.
