Shinty: Newtonmore and Kyles ready for semi-final battle

WHEN the Scottish Hydro Camanachd Cup reaches semi-final stage a palpable tingling resonates through the Shinty community, and today’s tie between Newtonmore and Kyles could cause hairs to stand on end.

Inveraray have already tramped the hard path to the final at Mossfield Park in Oban on 15 September, overcoming the hurdle that was Kinclochshiel last weekend.

The fact that one team is already in the final only serves to heighten what is already a bill-topping contest between two captivating sides today.

Kyles secured a double last year but must have been the only club in the sport to end the season with two trophies and a disappointment big enough to leave the players feeling quartered.

Who inflicted this hurtful jolt? None other than today’s opponents, Newtonmore, who sunk them in Dunoon on the final day of last year with eight minutes to go in the title decider.

Had Kyles clung on for those final fateful few moments, as darkness and an expectant hush began to settle around Dunoon Stadium, they would have been champions.

Instead, a Danny McRae goal did for them and onlookers in the stand could see the life and energy trickle out of the youthful Kyles players as they sunk to their knees at the end of a watershed season.

Whether that 90 minutes has a psychological effect today, in front of the live BBC Alba cameras, remains to be seen. Once again, both sides are the championship front runners with hardly a sliver between them.

But veteran Kyles keeper Kenny MacDonald, who has seen many big occasions, acknowledges it took a long time before that pain subsided.

“That game did hit the boys quite hard. To get to the last five or ten minutes… it was hard to take. In saying that, it has made them more determined.”

As for today, he is thoughtful; mindful of the golden opportunity that exists for a balm to last season’s heartbreak but also aware of the task that lies before Kyles. “There is not much between us. We seem to do better against them in Newtonmore and they seem to do better down here in Tighnabruaich.

“The fact that game is in Oban might suit us.” Kyles like the open spaces of Mossfield but Newtonmore are in possession of a winning habit.

“I think winning the trophy last year took all the pressure off us,” says ‘More boss Norman MacArthur. Don’t be surprised if it all comes down to a goal.