Badenoch derby day leaves local contenders tied at two-apiece
Mowi Premiership derbies are special - but Badenoch’s take things a step further.
Saturday’s fiery 2-2 clash between Newtonmore and Kingussie did not disappoint, beyond the 2-2 result.
The first derby clash of the season brought a Kingussie with a perfect Mowi Premiership record to a packed Eilan. The Kings had notched three wins from three games.
On the other hand, ‘More had started the season with an impressive win at Caberfeidh and although they faltered against Fort William, they created enough chances to win that one too.
Kingussie manager Iain Borthwick pulled off a pre-match coup by including both James Falconer and Ryan Borthwick for the first time this season.
Keeper Rory McGregor declared himself fit after missing the previous week’s league win over Lovat whilst Dylan Borthwick also recovered to play. However, Cameron Bremner missed out through injury with Fraser Munro starting at wing centre.
The details of the how the deadlock unfolded can be accessed in full Thursday’s Strathy and are well worth the read.
Following the duel Kingussie manager Iain Borthwick observed: “The boys were brilliant in the second half, and I thought we’d snatched a late winner when Dylan Borthwick’s effort hit the post, spinning up, and Savio Genini just couldn’t get to it with the final whistle sounding just after..”
Newtonmore boss Peter Ross said: “I’m not disappointed with the draw but I’m not happy either and that’s just because I believe in my players. Kingussie have the best forwards in shinty, but our keeper Kenny Ross made some outstanding saves and defenders Rory Kennedy, Daniel Sloss, Ritchie Irvine and Steven Macdonald were brilliant as were Craig Ritchie, Tristan Ross and young Joe Coyle who was fantastic.”
Check out Thursday’s paper.
