Shinty: Newtonmore boss hoping Macaulay Cup tie can kickstart season
More manager Peter Ross said: 'It's been a bit of an up-and-down season for us so far.
'It started well against Caberfeidh, but we've been unlucky in a couple of games, and I'd say the Skye match was the only one where we really deserved to lose.
'That said, you make your own luck in this game. We want to have good cup runs and the Beauly game presents that opportunity.
'Drew MacDonald went over his ankle in training, so we'll assess him nearer the time and Conor Jones is still struggling after being hit on the knee.
'Brodie MacBean is back playing with the second team after injury though, and I'm delighted about that. He got good minutes under his belt against Inverness last week and he's a player who can light up games.'
Beauly lost 2-0 to Newtonmore in the league a fortnight ago and are in the process of introducing several promising players into their squad. Euan Mccormick misses out as he completes his 5-game suspension.
Fort William and Skye Camanachd both have injury concerns ahead of their tie.
The Fort hope Scottish international Lachie Shaw will be able to play with a protective glove.
Assistant manager Alan Knox said: 'Lachie broke his thumb against Kingussie three weeks ago.
'It's not a bad break but he has to wear a brace for a couple of weeks, but he should be fine for Saturday.
'Cam Stephen and Johnny Forster should also return and hopefully Craig MacDonald too if his hamstring allows.'
Skye boss Kenny MacLeod added: 'Archie Millar is making good progress from his arm break and James Morrison, who has also missed the last couple of weeks, is getting there too. They won't be ready for this week, but they have a chance of featuring against Newtonmore the week after.'
Ross Gordon suffered a knock in the win over Beauly the last Saturday, but he is fit to play.
Inveraray host Glasgow Mid Argyll and there's another all-National Division tie between Col Glen and Bute.
Kyles Athletic reached the quarter-finals without striking a ball as an injury-crisis has left Aberdour depleted.
An Aberdour spokesperson said: 'This is not a decision we've taken lightly, and we waited until midweek to see the extent of the injuries.
'We're already thin on the ground but despite this, we've done our utmost to fulfil all fixtures but unfortunately are unable to do so this weekend.'
Oban Camanachd also received a walk-over as Kilmory were unable to fulfil their tie.
Kingussie have the chance to go clear at the top of the table when they host Caberfeidh in the Mowi Premiership's only fixture.
Kingussie manager Iain Borthwick said: 'We're getting to the interesting part of the season now and from our point of view, things are looking good, and we're slowly getting players back.
'Fraser Munro returns to the squad against Caberfeidh whilst Lee Bain completed training this week and he'll get some game time with our second team.
'We'll still be without Rory MacKeachan and Zander Michie though.'
Caberfeidh's Ben MacDonald is ruled out through work commitments. Cabers were the last team to beat Kingussie and that was in a Mowi Premiership fixture at Castle Leod on 23 September 2023 when Craig Morrison's goal was all that separated the sides.
Mowi National Division leaders Lochaber have a derby against Kilmallie while there is also a derby between Glenurquhart and Strathglass.
WCA Mowi Premier League leaders Badenoch suffered their first defeat of the season, going down 3-2 at Lochaber. Leah Maxtone scored twice for Lochaber with Mairi Duncan getting the other. Ellie Miller and Hope Borthwick replied.
Four-goal Holly Maclean helped Skye beat Inverness 5-0. Kirsty Dibble got the other.
Badenoch lead second placed Skye by two points and they host Inverness this weekend
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Motherwell fans need to lose 'get rid' urges amid new style
Ok, I admit it. When Calum Ward was dribbling the ball out from the back the other day and trying to thread passes on the edge of his 18-yarder as if he was Franz Beckenbauer in his pomp (he isn't) my heart was in my mouth just a little. I don't know if it's a reflexively Scottish thing to immediately get the heebie jeebies when your team tries something as 'continental' and 'woke' as playing the ball out from the back, but watching the Motherwell players trying to execute the philosophy of Jens Berthel Askou for the first time, even in a pre-season kickabout, seemingly sparked a dose of the vapours among a good chunk of the support. One can only imagine how many of the Fir Park punters would react if the team attempts this on the opening day of the league campaign against Rangers. Though, we don't really need to imagine it at all, because we can simply recall the reaction when Jim Gannon and then Graham Alexander initially tried it during their own tenures as manager. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) With the greatest of respect to the likes of club legend Stephen Craigan and then later on, cult hero Bevis Mugabi, they didn't look altogether comfortable with the notion, to say the least. And as for the fans? Well, the good folk from St John's better be on alert for a sharp increase in medical incidents just above the dugouts. Read more: These managers soon ripped up Plan A, and tailored their style to suit the tools with which they were working. And after the friendly defeat to FC Twente, many speculated online that Berthel Askou would soon come to a similar realisation that his players just weren't good enough to pull this sort of thing off. That a modern, progressive style just isn't for the likes of us. But here's the thing. I'm not sure he will. Granted, he might not have his keeper playing quite so high up the pitch at times, and he clearly doesn't intend him to be on the ball quite as often as he was in the midweek game. Much of that was caused by the players ahead of the defence not quite executing the sort of movement he wants from them, by the by, hence the frequent shouts accusing them of 'hiding' from the dugout. There will be tweaks to what we saw against Twente when the competitive stuff gets underway, for sure, but when Berthel Askou arrived, his pitch was that a more 'dynamic' and 'aggressive' approach with 'more dimensions' was vital to the success of his team. Having met him, he doesn't seem the type to be swayed from that belief by groans from the crowd and people imploring him 'to get the ball up the f****** park'. Let's not forget, this is what a large section of the fanbase (me included) wanted. An end to years of predominantly long hoofs, 50/50s, and scrapping for second balls. Entertaining and enterprising football. Players taking the ball under pressure and being comfortable on it. High pressing, high intensity. And yes, a little higher risk. There were glimpses of it under Michael Wimmer, and now it seems from early impressions that Berthel Askou is going to crank that up another notch. (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) He has time to bring in players more suited to such a game model, but there were signs on Tuesday that even with the current group, this can work. When it came off, and when Motherwell broke the Twente press, they created opportunities. A proper balance will have to be found. There's nothing wrong with going long when the occasion demands it, and as some of the pitches deteriorate towards the winter, those occasions will increase. I can understand the reticence from some to embrace this sort of style. In a division where the margins are razor thin, increasing the risk around your own area seems counter-intuitive. But the rewards could be great. Brendan Rodgers picked up on this theme a couple of years ago. Ok, he has far better players at his disposal than Motherwell do, but when discussing taking his Celtic side into the Champions League, he hit back at those who criticised him for playing out against teams better than his own. "People don't pick up on the balls that get smashed up the pitch that come right back at you and it ends up in a goal,' Rodgers said. 'No-one ever talks about that. But the minute a short build-up leads to a goal? 'I guarantee the stats are greater for mistakes in the long ball build-up. Any top team in the world will build from the back. If you make a mistake, you can't kill your goalkeeper. It's about decision making.' This isn't Berthel Askou reinventing the wheel, here, after all. Teams around Europe have been doing this for years. And the players, no matter what you may think about some of them and their technical limitations, are capable of controlling the ball and passing it 10 or 15 yards. It all boils down to their decision-making, and with more practice and repetition, that will get better. But it will also take patience from the crowd. If we want to move away from the drudgery of the past and towards a more sophisticated and entertaining brand of football, we have to give Berthel Askou a chance to implement it. Therefore, I am hereby banning myself from uttering the words 'get rid!' in the early stages of the season, and I politely suggest you do the same. Even if we all know that little voice inside of us, who wants us to play it safe and to pretend it's still 1987, will be screaming at us to do so. Even if one hand is over my eyes, I'll be keeping the other one over my gub.
The National
an hour ago
- The National
Motherwell fans need to lose 'get rid' urges amid new style
Ok, I admit it. When Calum Ward was dribbling the ball out from the back the other day and trying to thread passes on the edge of his 18-yarder as if he was Franz Beckenbauer in his pomp (he isn't) my heart was in my mouth just a little. I don't know if it's a reflexively Scottish thing to immediately get the heebie jeebies when your team tries something as 'continental' and 'woke' as playing the ball out from the back, but watching the Motherwell players trying to execute the philosophy of Jens Berthel Askou for the first time, even in a pre-season kickabout, seemingly sparked a dose of the vapours among a good chunk of the support. One can only imagine how many of the Fir Park punters would react if the team attempts this on the opening day of the league campaign against Rangers. Though, we don't really need to imagine it at all, because we can simply recall the reaction when Jim Gannon and then Graham Alexander initially tried it during their own tenures as manager. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) With the greatest of respect to the likes of club legend Stephen Craigan and then later on, cult hero Bevis Mugabi, they didn't look altogether comfortable with the notion, to say the least. And as for the fans? Well, the good folk from St John's better be on alert for a sharp increase in medical incidents just above the dugouts. Read more: These managers soon ripped up Plan A, and tailored their style to suit the tools with which they were working. And after the friendly defeat to FC Twente, many speculated online that Berthel Askou would soon come to a similar realisation that his players just weren't good enough to pull this sort of thing off. That a modern, progressive style just isn't for the likes of us. But here's the thing. I'm not sure he will. Granted, he might not have his keeper playing quite so high up the pitch at times, and he clearly doesn't intend him to be on the ball quite as often as he was in the midweek game. Much of that was caused by the players ahead of the defence not quite executing the sort of movement he wants from them, by the by, hence the frequent shouts accusing them of 'hiding' from the dugout. There will be tweaks to what we saw against Twente when the competitive stuff gets underway, for sure, but when Berthel Askou arrived, his pitch was that a more 'dynamic' and 'aggressive' approach with 'more dimensions' was vital to the success of his team. Having met him, he doesn't seem the type to be swayed from that belief by groans from the crowd and people imploring him 'to get the ball up the f****** park'. Let's not forget, this is what a large section of the fanbase (me included) wanted. An end to years of predominantly long hoofs, 50/50s, and scrapping for second balls. Entertaining and enterprising football. Players taking the ball under pressure and being comfortable on it. High pressing, high intensity. And yes, a little higher risk. There were glimpses of it under Michael Wimmer, and now it seems from early impressions that Berthel Askou is going to crank that up another notch. (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) He has time to bring in players more suited to such a game model, but there were signs on Tuesday that even with the current group, this can work. When it came off, and when Motherwell broke the Twente press, they created opportunities. A proper balance will have to be found. There's nothing wrong with going long when the occasion demands it, and as some of the pitches deteriorate towards the winter, those occasions will increase. I can understand the reticence from some to embrace this sort of style. In a division where the margins are razor thin, increasing the risk around your own area seems counter-intuitive. But the rewards could be great. Brendan Rodgers picked up on this theme a couple of years ago. Ok, he has far better players at his disposal than Motherwell do, but when discussing taking his Celtic side into the Champions League, he hit back at those who criticised him for playing out against teams better than his own. "People don't pick up on the balls that get smashed up the pitch that come right back at you and it ends up in a goal,' Rodgers said. 'No-one ever talks about that. But the minute a short build-up leads to a goal? 'I guarantee the stats are greater for mistakes in the long ball build-up. Any top team in the world will build from the back. If you make a mistake, you can't kill your goalkeeper. It's about decision making.' This isn't Berthel Askou reinventing the wheel, here, after all. Teams around Europe have been doing this for years. And the players, no matter what you may think about some of them and their technical limitations, are capable of controlling the ball and passing it 10 or 15 yards. It all boils down to their decision-making, and with more practice and repetition, that will get better. But it will also take patience from the crowd. If we want to move away from the drudgery of the past and towards a more sophisticated and entertaining brand of football, we have to give Berthel Askou a chance to implement it. Therefore, I am hereby banning myself from uttering the words 'get rid!' in the early stages of the season, and I politely suggest you do the same. Even if we all know that little voice inside of us, who wants us to play it safe and to pretend it's still 1987, will be screaming at us to do so. Even if one hand is over my eyes, I'll be keeping the other one over my gub.
The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Clayton Kershaw 3,000 strikeouts: Dodgers legend does it the hard way
Tortuous. At times it was that tough watching Los Angeles Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw on the mound before the magical moment Kershaw became the 20th pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters and he did it against the lowly Chicago White Sox -- the hard way. Entering the game needing only three strikeouts to reach the milestone, Kershaw labored through six innings. Until on his 100th pitch, he recorded strikeout No. 3,000. Kershaw, 37, left with the Dodgers trailing the Chicago White Sox 4-2 - and the home crowd roaring after his achievement. He was on the hook for the loss until the Dodgers rallied with three runs in the bottom of the ninth, earning a 5-4 win with Freddie Freeman's walk-off single. "Honestly didn't pitch that great tonight,'' Kershaw said after the game. "Slider was so bad. But this was such a special night all the way around. It really was. Couldn't have asked for anything more really. It just was so fun to get to be out there.'' Kershaw is not a flawless pitcher, given his share of postseason struggles. But Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was spot on before the game when he called Kershaw "a unicorn." The Dodgers clubhouse also happens to be occupied by baseball's ultimate unicorn - Shohei Ohtani. He's the ultimate two-way superstar, recently throwing a 102 mph fastball and at 30 already having won three MVP awards. But Kershaw has done something Ohtani can't match. In fact, there's a chance no player ever will. It starts with loyalty. Tommy Lasorda, the late Dodgers manager insisted he bled Dodger Blue. There's no need to check Kershaw's veins. Clearly, he's a blueblood. He has spent his entire 18-year career with the Dodgers, and joining the exclusive club of pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts further underscored how rare that is. Of the 20 pitchers in the 3,000 club, only Walter Johnson and Bob Gibson got there while playing exclusively with one club - Johnson with the Washington Senators and Gibson with the St. Louis Cardinals. "I don't know if I put a ton of stock in being with one team early on,'' said Kershaw, who was selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2006 MLB Draft. "Just kind of something that happened and over time. I think as you get older and you appreciate one organization a little bit more. "And the Dodgers are stuck with me, too. It hasn't been all roses, I know that. So there's just a lot of mutual respect, I think. And I'm super grateful now looking back to get to say that I spent my whole career here. ... I have a lot more appreciation for it now.'' Kershaw's on-field contributions to the Dodgers put him in rare company. Ten All-Star appearances. Three Cy Young awards. Two World Series rings. Entering Wednesday, he had a 216-94 career record and a ERA of 2.51. Clayton's journey to 3,000. — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 3, 2025 Roberts said Kershaw also has an impact on the younger pitchers on the Dodgers' staff. "A lot guys grab him, get his ear," Roberts said. "But for the most part, I think that's just kind of how he goes about it. He's always talking the game. He's watching the game. More importantly, he's very consistent. "Even yesterday I was watching in the pen, he was doing his dry work (practicing skills without using a ball) and this is something he's done for 18 years the day before a start.'' Roberts said Kershaw had the 3,000-strikeout milestone in mind when he decided to return to the Dodgers in 2025. But before the season started, Kershaw underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and a ruptured plantar plate in his left big toe. Recovering, Kershaw did not make his first start until May 17. He entered the historic game 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA and with 29 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings pitched this season. It's more than many people expected from a veteran who's grown more brittle, and, Roberts said, "A reminder for me for anyone to never bet against that guy." The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news -- fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
