Shinty: Fort William bid for Camanachd Cup upset against Newtonmore

Kyles Athletic are the first team to reach this year's Camanachd Cup final after beating Kingussie in extra-time at An Aird.

The 2012 champions went behind after King's supremo Ronald Ross opened the scoring on 46 minutes.

Thomas Whyte however levelled only minutes later for the Tighnabruaich outfit.

With no more goals in the normal 90, the game raced into extra-time and once more Kingussie took the lead, this time through Savio Genini.

But Colin MacDonald equalised out the blue and white, before Kyles Athletic's top marksman and last year's Camanachd Cup final hero, Roddy MacDonald, hit the winner.

In the Premiership, Kinlochshiel's David Glass salvaged a point for the Balmacara men over Inveraray with a 90th-minute equaliser to level 2-2, while Lochaber dismantled Oban Camanachd at home with a comfortable 4-0 win.

After the drama of the Camanachd semi-final, Fort William were next to play Glenurquhart on An Aird.

Fort William once more were in desperate search of two points and were denied by outstanding goalkeeping from Scotland's number one between the sticks, Stuart Macintosh.

'Smack' went on to save two Fort penalties and when the ball did finally beat him, the post came to the rescue. After 90 minutes and no goals, both clubs were left with a share of the points.

League action will take a break this weekend for Fort though as they travel to Inverness' Bught Parks to face Newtonmore - live on BBC ALBA from 16:00 BST - for the last remaining Camanachd Cup final spot.

Newtonmore will without question go into this fixture as favourites with their current form and record against Fort William in the past two seasons. However, Fort William, as history will tell you, can never be written off in the Camanachd Cup.

In the past decade Fort William have played in eight Camanachd Cup finals, winning five. Newtonmore played in one in 2011, where they beat local rivals Kingussie in Inverness, to kick-start a week long party after a 25-year absence of the cup in the village.

Newtonmore will be hungry; they now know what it's like to win shinty's most prized possession and expectations to reach this year's final will be high.

Fort William, on the other hand, have so many young players in the current squad that have never been lucky enough to be part of a Camanachd Cup semi-final and will relish the idea of playing in such a fixture.

Without doubt, this is a David against Goliath match-up!

If Fort can get their noses in front and ride the guaranteed wave of Newtonmore attacks, then who knows what could happen?

I am absolutely gutted to be missing the tie, especially as I will be less than 10 miles away from the lads and the big match.

As my team-mates take to the stage of the Bught Parks, I will be doing the same a few miles along the road with Manran, as we support Runrig on their 40th year anniversary 'Party on the Moor' celebrations in Muir of Ord.

We will be playing roughly about the same time as the end of the match, so if the semi-final is not over before we do then that will be my excuse for my bum notes!

As you would expect, my thoughts will be with the lads throughout the day, and if the Bught Parks groundsman wouldn't mind leaving 12 rocks and slings to hand, this may help re-enact the old story.

Best of luck lads.