NEWTONMORE LIFTED the Camanachd Cup for the 29th time in their proud history, but only after one of the most exciting Camanachd Finals ever played writes John Robertson.
No one who was at the 'battle of the Bught' in Inverness on Saturday will forget this match.
Quite simply, this is as good as shinty gets: a crowd of more than 3,000, ideal weather conditions and an enthralling final that sparkled, crackled and lit up the city's Bught Park with an electricity it hasn't seen for many a long year.
The game had everything - goals, intrigue, commitment, end-to-end play and chances galore.
The game started with Danny Macrae scoring the second fastest goal in a Camanachd final, when he fired the ball home from the right wing after 13 seconds.
Steven MacDonald made it 2-0 to Newtonmore in the sixth minute when he found himself with space to shoot 20 yards out.
Early in the game, Kingussie were forced to make a change, and 47-year-old Rory Fraser came on and produced a performance for the remainder of the match that showed why he is one of the sport's legendary players.
It was the 33rd minute before Kingussie struck back, when Fraser Munro scored the best goal of the game finding the top corner from the left wing.
The game ebbed and flowed with both goalkeepers having to make excellent saves to maintain the score, until Danny Macrae found some space 18 yards out and gave Newtonmore a 3-1 half time lead with a powerful shot.
After the break, Kingussie brought Ronald Ross back to centre-forward and brought on Louis Munro, who, by the end, was possibly the Red and Blues' best player.
The pattern of the match did not change with chances at both ends, but Kingussie had more luck in front of goal.
Martin Dallas found the net for the Kings after 64 minutes and then Ronald Ross fired the ball in to the bottom corner of the net in the 78th minute to level the score.
The remainder of the 90 minutes was played with an intensity that only a Badenoch derby could produce and the supporters went through agony as chance after chance was missed at both ends.
Towards the end, the match was stopped for a few minutes when Norman Campbell, who fully deserved his man of the match award, was accidently struck on the back of the head with the ball from a clearance by his own keeper.
The thirty minutes of injury time were played on a knife edge, with the goalkeepers continuing to be kept busy.
The script though was written for Macrae, who, with five minutes remaining, completed his hat-trick with a turn and low rocket shot that gave Andrew Borthwick no chance.
At the end of the match, amid scenes of celebration from hundreds of Newtonmore supporters, the trophy was presented to captain, Scott Campbell, and medals to all the players.
Opinion: You have to hand it to the Blue and White's manager, Norman MacArthur, he got everything right on the day; from team selection to tactics to the motivation of his players.
And no one in the ground could have said his side didn't deserve their victory.
