NEWTONMORE are Camanachd Cup champions for the fourth year in a row and for the 34th time in the history of the competition after a 5-1 win over Oban Camanachd at An Aird.
The tie was rearranged after being postponed the previous week due to horrendous weather conditions.
The victory was convincing but it masked a decent effort by the Argyllshire side who just could not find the spark in front of goal. Newtonmore full-back Rory Kennedy won the Albert Smith medal as man of the match, perhaps indicating how much pressure Oban had managed to apply.
After the match, Kennedy paid tribute to his team-mates: “We soaked up a lot of pressure, particularly in the second half. Our back four has worked well all season and I am just glad we managed to get this one over the line.”
Newtonmore edged a quiet first half and posted a half-time lead, with Drew MacDonald scoring in the ninth minute.
Little had been seen of Camanachd in attack but they began the second half with greater purpose and quickly forced two corners. But they were dealt a hammer blow in the 49th minute when More substitute Jamie Robinson, scored with a shot which deflected off defender Malcolm Clark.
Oban continued to press the Newtonmore defence and came close, first with a Daniel MacVicar effort in the 51st minute and two minutes later their captain Daniel Cameron almost made the breakthrough as he followed up on an Andrew McCuish effort.
But their spirit was finally crushed in the 59th minute when MacDonald sparked a sweeping move, feeding the ball forward to Menzies who found MacKintosh in space and he scored with a clever finish from the edge of the penalty area.
Almost straight from the throw-up, More’s Ewan Fraser found himself unmarked in the Oban penalty area with a chance to finish the match but fluffed his shot.
That was a let off and from it Oban worked the ball forward to David Lafferty unmarked on the left. His first effort was a fresh-air shot but he steadied himself before sending a fierce head-high drive into the net.
Oban sensed a comeback and the Newtonmore defence, which had looked rock solid, began to creak. In the 64th minute a sickening clash between Newtonmore’s Steven MacDonald and Oban’s Daniel Cameron drew gasps from the crowd and there were concerns as the former lay motionless. He was replaced by David MacLean just minutes later clutching his shoulder. Cameron was booked for his part in the incident.
Camanachd continued to press and in the 75th minute Daniel McCuish was put through by his namesake Andrew but failed to apply the finish.
They paid the penalty almost immediately and in a quick breakaway a fine interchange of passing involving Michael Russell, MacKintosh and Menzies ended with the latter finishing with a powerful shot from the edge of the area. Seven minutes later Menzies turned provider to allow MacKintosh to score the final goal.
Elsewhere, in the Mowi Premiership, Lovat stay top after a 5-3 victory over Caberfeidh, but they had to come from three goals down to take the points. A Craig Morrison hat-trick for Caberfeidh in the first 25 minutes had Lovat in difficulties, but they responded impressively with two goals from from Greg Matheson and strikes from Lewis Tawse, Fraser Heath and Lewis Bryson. Meanwhile, Kingussie stay in contention following a 4-1 win over Inveraray who now look certainties for relegation.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here