The fixture was due to be the curtain-raiser at the Marine Harvest Festival of Shinty in Spean Bridge, but was switched to Kilmallie's ground at Canal Park, Caol – leaving players and spectators to make a late scramble to the altered venue 10 miles away.

Indeed, those relying on roadside signs along the approaches to Spean wouldn't have been aware of the women's match at all – the festival was advertised as starting at 12 noon, when the women's match was scheduled to begin at 10.40am.

Conditions were far from ideal at Caol, with a strong wind carrying heavy showers across the pitch at regular intervals but both teams deserved credit for producing an absorbing contest against the odds.

The South side, drawn from three Division One sides, had much the better of the first half and took the lead when Fiona Mathie of Tir Conaill Harps tucked the ball over the line from close range in the eighth minute.

The North had no luck with injuries during the opening period, with first Laura Mackay and then Fenella MacRae having to leave the field after sustaining knocks.

And it was during the reshuffle, after Fenella had gone off and Laura had just returned, that the South struck again in the 36th minute, Glasgow Mid-Argyll's Katie Drain bursting into the D from the left before slotting the ball past Joanne Gillanders in the North goal.

The North, whose squad featured nine players from outwith Division One, felt they were still in with a chance as they had the balance of conditions in their favour for the second half.

But they were dealt a body blow just three minutes after the break when Tir Conaill Harps' Orla Coughlin squeezed the ball home in another goalmouth scramble to put the South 3-0 up.

The North refused to give in, though, and five minutes later Gemma Mackinnon of Strathglass set up Jane Nicol of Badenoch and Strathspey to reduce the arrears with a fiercely-struck shot that gave Susan Colville in the South goal no chance.

Play flowed from end-to-end as both teams carved out chances, but the scoreline remained unaltered until five minutes from the end when another neat passing movement from the North forwards ended with Glengarry's Elaine Cameron tucking the ball past South replacement keeper, Janice Aitken.

The North mounted a final bid to salvage the game but the South held firm to take the honours in a game where all those involved played a full part.

After the encounter the women faced another detour into Fort William for showers before returning to Spean Bridge for the presentation of trophies.

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