Kinlochshiel were forced, as sporting parlance goes, to concentrate on the league much earlier than they would have hoped, but being able to do so could yet bring a huge reward in the form of the prize identified by their principal rivals as the most important in their sport.
It was James Perlich, manager of current Premiership leaders Kyles Athletic, who stated, following his side’s Macaulay Cup final victory over Newtonmore, that winning the league was their main target, a view that may have been influenced by their earlier elimination from the sport’s most famous competition, the Camanachd Cup, by those same opponents, but which feeds off another truism that league success is generally considered to be the best measure of consistency.
Kyles lead only on goal difference, though, tied on points with Kinlochshiel who have had no cup ties to distract them since being knocked out of the Camanachd Cup more than three months ago during something of a mid-season slump which also saw them suffer their only league defeat of the season the following week.
Having begun so promisingly with a six match winning streak culminating in a 4-1 thrashing of Newtonmore, their campaign might have stalled completely at that point, but they earned a 1-1 draw at Lochaber the following week and with MacRae brothers John and Keith returning to goal-scoring form, they have won all bar one of their seven league matches since – a 2-2 draw at Kyles the only blip – while rattling in 23 goals.
That five goal differential advantage boasted by Kyles means Kinlochshiel cannot afford a slip up either this weekend, when they visit Newtonmore or next, when they face Glenurquhart ahead of a potential title decider when Kyles visit them the following week in their last match at Kirkton before moving to their new pitch in Balmacara.
An added complicating factor this weekend is that, with Kyles at Lovat, the teams sharing the Premiership lead are hosted by those who have reached the Camanachd Cup final and must seek to strike a balance between looking after players who are either nursing injuries or have accumulated enough disciplinary points to be in danger of facing a suspension and seeking to maintain and hone sharpness ahead of the September 30 showpiece.
Six points behind with one more league match to play than the leaders, five in all and still to face both, Newtonmore still meanwhile have the most outside of chances of completing the full four trophy ‘Grand Slam’ that has eluded them during their dominant run in the league. An intriguing day in the Highlands awaits.
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