What a washout!
What a difference a day makes.
Friday evening saw the Eilan in Newtonmore looking at its best for the second team North Division 2 match between Newtonmore and Kingussie.
But, 18 hours later, it was a very different story when the Macaulay Cup semi-final tie between the same clubs’ senior teams was abandoned after 22 minutes.
The fastest draining field in all of shinty was reduced, by torrential rain, to quantities of standing water and impossible conditions.
The 22 minutes that were played had seen Newtonmore dominate much of the early play, but Kingussie were coming back strongly by the time the referee Billy Wotherspoon called it a day.
Somewhat eccentrically, the referee had booked Jamie Robinson of Newtonmore for a foul that was as much a product of the conditions as intent.
Immediately after brandishing the card, he blew the whistle to bring proceedings to a close.
The match will now be played again this Saturday, when the Red and Blues will be without three players and their manager Steve Borthwick.
He and his family will be at his daughter’s wedding in the Canadian Rockies.
Goalkeeper Andrew Borthwick is Steve’s brother, and also missing will be the boss’ son Ryan, and nephew, Thomas.
The wedding plans had been hatched around the Kings playing bottom side Glenorchy this Saturday and then having a free weekend.
Steve said: “The semi-final wash-out is a disaster for us.”
Assistant Russell Jones will take charge for the semi. “There’s no worries as he has great experience. But he’ll be severely short without Andrew, Ryan and Thomas for such an important tie, with Louis Munro and Ally MacLeod still injured and Rory Fraser on holiday.”
Thanks to the quick thinking of Newtonmore club man Rob Ritchie, spectators were handed a free ticket to the replay as they left the ground.
The winners will play Kyles Athletic in the final after they thumped Oban Camanachd 7-2.
• The previous evening’s game had seen Kingussie somewhat under pressure during the first half with Callum Stewart netting for the home side in 22 minutes.
David Cheyne added a second five minutes later when a ground shot rebounded from the Kingussie keeper’s legs only for the eager Cheyne, following up, to pounce.
So the score remained at half time, but just three minutes after the restart, Martin Dallas pulled one back for Kingussie with an effort from fully 35 yards that evaded keeper Sean McQuarrie’s caman and found the top of the net.
Clearly, this stung ’More into action, and Cheyne grabbed his second just a minute later to restore the two goal margin.
From the 69th minute, the wheels well and truly fell off the young Kingussie side as the vastly experienced Cheyne added two more.
Evan Menzies, still coming back to full fitness after injury, also netted two more for a 7-1 and leaving Newtonmore ten points clear at the top of North Division 2.